My homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent (Year A) as preached during the 9.30 am Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings proclaimed were Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12.

"Isaiah's prophecy of the Messiah presents a challenge to those people of John the Baptist's day, whose idea of the Messiah had been domesticated to encompass their own preference of what a Messiah might look like? Having seen the promise fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, how are we awaiting the Second Coming? Have we created our own images of the Messiah, or are we prepared for the Messiah to come as God chooses?"

My homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year A) as preached during the 5 pm Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings proclaimed were: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44.

"Today we begin our journey through Advent - and indeed a whole new liturgical year. The Season of Advent calls us to look back with joy to the inauguration of the Reign of God in the celebration of the Incarnation, to look forward to the fulfilment of the Reign of God that will come with the Second Coming of Christ, and to commit ourselves in the here and now to playing our part in making the Reign of God present."

My homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Year C) as preached during the 9.30 am Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The scriptures readings proclaimed were 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43.

"The kingship of Jesus is rooted not in a political settlement but in a covenantal relationship between God and God's People. The Reign of God was inaugurated by Jesus, and we are called to listen to what God is saying to us as we seek to find the answers that will allow humanity to flourish. Human wisdom and ideologies will not suffice; we must rely on God's providence."

My homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) as preached during the 5.30 pm Saturday evening Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings proclaimed were Malachi 3:19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3"7-12; Luke 21:5-19.

"If we focus on trying to interpret the 'signs and wonders' in the world and their connection to the end of the world, we miss the opportunity given to us to be about the primary task of the Christian: to witness to the name of Jesus in the world, here and now."

My homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) as preached during the 9.30 am Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings proclaimed were 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16 - 3:5; Luke 20:27-38.

"We don't know what eternal life will look like, yet we know that God is graciously offered it to all who seek it. We live our lives in this present reality in keeping with what God asks and commands of us, knowing that God is faithful to promise of eternal life that the People of God have received."

My homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) as preached during the 5 pm Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings proclaimed were Wisdom 11:22 - 12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11 - 2:2; Luke 19:1-10.

"When he looks at Zacchaeus, Jesus does not see a tax collector or a public sinner or someone worthy of being shunned; Jesus looks at Zacchaeus with the eyes of love, and gazes on that which God has created in God's own image. It is the look of love that calls Zacchaeus to conversion. We are called, too, to love at others and see them as God sees them - worthy of love for no other reason than they have been created in God's own image. That is the call to conversion we receive when God looks upon us with the eyes of love."

My homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) as preached during the 9.30am Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings were Sirach 33:12-14, 16-19; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14.

"Our Gospel today reminds us that our prayer should focus on God and what God is asking of us, and avoid the overuse of the word 'I'. We are called to recognise that we are called to rely on God and God's grace in order that our lives might reflect that which God is asking of us - and not presume to place ourselves above God and God's place in the world."

My homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) as preached during the 9.30am Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings proclaimed were Exodus 17:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:2; Luke 18:1-8.

"Paul's passionate call to Timothy is to proclaim the message, the message of Jesus Christ, and to do so consistently whether the time is favourable or unfavourable. It is in keeping with the great commission of Jesus to all of us to go, to make disciples, to baptise, and to teach - and to do so in that order."

My homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) as preached during the 9.30am Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Hamilton.

The readings proclaimed were 2 Kings 5:14-17; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19.

"God is always willing to lavish grace and gifts on us, to restore us to the fullness of life that God intended for us. How do we respond? Do we carry on without recognising what we have received? Or, like this other good Samaritan of today's Gospel, do we fall on our knees and thank God? True salvation, freely offered to us by God, invokes a response of praise and thanksgiving in those who have received it."

My homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) as preached during the 5pm Saturday evening Mass in St Mary's Church, Casino (I was visiting my home town on Annual Leave).

The readings proclaimed were Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31.

"Our Gospel reminds us that whatever we've been given - wealth, talents, other resources - not for our self-indulgence, but for the welfare of the Lazaruses of the world. When we do that, when we think first of others rather than ourselves, we will find eternal rest in the bosom of Abraham."