Traversing Emmaus

Homily for the Wednesday in the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"If, as administrators of his kingdom, you have not governed justly nor observed the law, nor behaved as God would have you behave, he will fall on you swiftly and terribly. Ruthless judgement is reserved for the high and mighty; the lowly will be compassionately pardoned, the mighty will be mightily punished... they who observe holy things holily will be adjudged holy." (cf. Wis 6:1-11).

"Rise up, O God, bring judgement to the earth. Do justice..." (cf. Ps 82).

"On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’" (cf. Lk 17).

Artwork: a painting of Saint Albert the Great (n.d.), retrieved from the My Catholic Life podcast.

A conversation with some primary school children about what a Diocese is (followed by a friendly game of Splat).

Artwork: a picture of a church in the city, generated using the Wonder App.

Homily for the Tuesday in the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"God made man imperishable,
he made him in the image of his own nature; the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God...  God has put them to the test and proved them worthy to be with him;  those who are faithful will live with him in love; for grace and mercy await those he has chosen." (cf. Wis 2-3).

"I will bless the Lord at all times." (cf. Ps 34).

"Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’" (cf. Lk 17).

Artwork: Communion by Alphonse Legros (c. 1876).

Homily for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim. By those who love her she is readily seen, and found by those who look for her. Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herself known to them. Watch for her early and you will have no trouble; you will find her sitting at your gates." (cf. Wis 6).

"So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise." (cf. Ps 63).

"We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching..." (cf. 1 Thes 4).

"Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’" (Mt 25:1-13).

Artwork: a painting of the ten virgins (the five wise virgins featured in this section), retrieved from the Scripture Central website.

Homily for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, delivered in the Chanel College Chapel, Gladstone, Qld.

"The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. He said, ‘This water flows east... flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live." (cf. Ezek 47).

"The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, it cannot be shaken; God will help it at the dawning of the day." (cf. Ps 47).

"Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me...'" (cf. Jn 2).

Artwork: an image depicting a Basilica but also the "overturning" action of Jesus upon our places and the practices of worship, generated using the Wonder App.

Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"I am a great king, says the Lord of Hosts, and my name is feared throughout the nations. And now, priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, if you do not find it in your heart to glorify my name, says the Lord of Hosts, I will send the curse on you and curse your very blessing... Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why, then, do we break faith with one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?" (cf. Mal 1-2).

"I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me. Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace. A weaned child on its mother’s breast, even so is my soul." (cf. Ps 131).

"Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children, we felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you so much, that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole lives as well." (cf. 1 Thes 2).

"Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach... [do] not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’" (cf. Mt 23).

Artwork: an image depicting "humble religion" in the marketplace generated using the Wonder app.

Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"Let me sing to my friend the song of his love for his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug the soil, cleared it of stones and planted choice vines in it. In the middle he built a tower, he dug a press there too. He expected it to yield grapes,
but sour grapes were all that it gave." (cf. Is 5).

"The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel; You brought a vine out of Egypt; to plant it you drove out the nations. It stretched out its branches to the sea, to the Great River it stretched out its shoots. Then why have you broken down its walls? It is plucked by all who pass by. It is ravaged by the boar of the forest, devoured by the beasts of the field. God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and see. Visit this vine and protect it, the vine your right hand has planted. And we shall never forsake you again; give us life that we may call upon your name. God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved." (Ps 80).

"There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it; guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus... fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep doing all the things that you learnt [knowing] the God of peace will be with you." (cf Phil 4:6-9).

"Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad... [Beware] that the kingdom of God [is not] taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’" (cf. Mt 21:33-43).

Artwork: "Parable of the Vineyard" by Jacob Willemszoon de Wet, (mid-17th century).

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered in St Peter Chanel's, Tannum Sands, Qld.

"One day as Elisha was on his way to Shunem, a woman of rank who lived there pressed him to stay and eat there. After this he always broke his journey for a meal when he passed that way. She said to her husband, ‘Look, I am sure the man who is constantly passing our way must be a holy man of God. Let us build him a small room on the roof, and put him a bed in it, and a table and chair and lamp; whenever he comes to us he can rest there.’" (cf 2 Kngs 4:6).

"For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord." 

"When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death"

"Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me." (cf. Mt 10:27).

Artwork: an image of the Lord speaking with gang members, generated using the Wonder app.

Homily for Pentecost Sunday, delivered in St Patrick's Catholic Church, Calliope, Qld.

"When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire..." (cf. Acts 2).

"Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth."

"No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit." (cf. 1 Cor 12).

"In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room... Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you... Receive the Holy Spirit.'" (cf. Jn 20).

Artwork: "Tree of Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit", retrieved from here.

Homily for Gladstone Mercy Associates recommissioning Mass (Memorial of Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr; Twenty-Fourth Tuesday in Ordinary Time), delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"Remember all the sufferings that you had to meet after you received the light, in earlier days... Be as confident now, then, since the reward is so great." (cf. Heb 10).

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy." (cf. Ps 126).

"Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life. If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.’" (cf. Jn 12).

Artwork: "Caritas" from the "Seven Virtues" series by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, (c. 1559).