Traversing Emmaus

Homily for Fourth Sunday in Easter, 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, and St Peter Chanel Church, Miriam Vale, Qld.

"... they went to synagogue on the Sabbath and took their seats... [and] the next sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. [Being] made... a light to the nations [and] an instrument of salvation... the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." (cf. Acts 13).

"I, John, saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands... the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water." (Rev 7).

"No one will ever steal [my sheep] from my hand [nor] the Father's hand... the Father and I are one." (cf. Jn 10:27-30).

"His brightness is like the day, rays flash from [horns were coming out of] his hands, that is where his power lies hidden." (Hab 3:4).

Artwork: a panel from the Ghent Altarpiece, also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium (H. & J. van Eyck, 1420-1432).

Homily for the Thursday in the Third Week of Eastertide, delivered for the Year 10 RE students of Chanel College, Gladstone, in the College Chapel.

"Now it happened that an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia, and was in fact her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and meet that chariot.’ When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ ‘How can I’ he replied ‘unless I have someone to guide me?’ So he invited Philip to get in and sit by his side... [And] starting [with] this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the Good News of Jesus to him... Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptised?’..." (cf. Acts 8:26-40).

Jesus said to the crowd: No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: 'They will all be taught by God', and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world..." (cf Jn 6).

Artwork: The Baptism of the Eunuch, (by Rembrandt, 1626).

Homily for the Feast of Saint Peter Chanel (Wednesday in the Third Week of Eastertide), delivered at Chanel College, Gladstone.

CHANEL DAY.

"The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way to see it as God’s power to save... Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes? Where are any of our thinkers today...? And so, while the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God." (cf. 1 Cor 1:18-25).

"Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." (Ps 116).

"After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’ He saw Simon and his brother Andrew — and a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John... He called them... and at once they followed him. (cf Mk 1:14-20).

Artwork: The Last Judgement, by Michelangelo (c. 1536–1541).

Homily for the Wednesday in the Third Week of Eastertide, delivered at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld., 2022.

"That day a bitter persecution started... everyone except the apostles fled.. There were some devout people, however, who buried Stephen and made great mourning for him. Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house..." (cf. Acts 8:1-8).

"Jesus said to the crowd: I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst... All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away; I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of the one who sent me — [that is], that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, and that I should raise it up on the last day." (cf. Jn 6:35-40).

Artwork: The Stoning of Saint Stephen, by Rembrandt (1625).

Homily for the Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles (Tuesday in the Third Week of Eastertide), delivered at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld., 2022.

"I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; I taught you what I had been taught myself; [it] will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything." (cf. 1 Cor 15:1-8).

"Their message goes out through all the earth." (cf. Ps 19).

"Jesus said to Thomas: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me... Philip, have I been with you all this time... and you still do not know me...? You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me — on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason. I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask for in my name I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it." (cf. Jn 14:6-14).

Artwork: Спас Лоза Истинная ("Christ the True Vine", 16th C.).

Homily for Third Sunday in Easter, 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"... 'We gave you a formal warning... not to preach in this name, and what have you done...?!' 'Obedience to God comes before obedience to men... we are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.' [And] so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name." (cf. Acts 5:27-41).

"In my vision, I, John, heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered round the throne and the animals and the elders; there were ten thousand times ten thousand of them and thousands upon thousands, shouting, ‘The Lamb that was sacrificed is worthy to be given power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing.’ Then I heard all the living things in creation – everything that lives in the air, and on the ground, and under the ground, and in the sea, crying, ‘To the One who is sitting on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honour, glory and power, for ever and ever.’ And the four animals said, ‘Amen’; and the elders prostrated themselves to worship." (Rev 5:11-14).

"Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias... there [he] stood on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus... After this he said, ‘Follow me.’" (cf. Jn 21; Mt 4:19).

"Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority; every human community needs an authority to govern it... The foundation of such authority lies in human nature — necessary for the unity of the state... The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect... gratitude and good-will." (CCC 1897-1900); "There is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God" (Rom 13:1, cf. CCC 1918).

Artwork: The miraculous catch of 153 fish by Duccio, (14th C.).

Homily for the Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena (Friday in the Second Week of Eastertide), delivered at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld., 2022.

"One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people... If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’..." (cf. Acts 5:34-42).

"Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip... [but] see[ing that] they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, [he] escaped back to the hills by himself." (cf. Jn 6:1-15).

"Eternal God, eternal Trinity, you have made the blood of Christ so precious through his sharing in your divine nature. You are a mystery as deep as the sea; the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find the more I search for you. But I can never be satisfied; what I receive will ever leave me desiring more. When you fill my soul I have an even greater hunger, and I grow more famished for your light. I desire above all to see you, the true light, as you really are." (From the dialogue On Divine Providence by Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor).

Artwork: Saint Stephen Mourned by Saints Gamaliel and Nicodemus, by a follower of Carlo Saraceni, (c. 1615).

Homily for the Feast of Saint Peter Chanel (Thursday in the Second Week of Eastertide), delivered at St Peter Chanel Church, Tannum, Qld., 2022.

"If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God...." (Acts 5:38-39).

"At once he called them and, leaving their father [and] the men he employed, they went after him." (Mk 1:20).

"Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude. 'Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to reach God.'" (CCC 2473).

Artwork: The calling of Peter and Andrew, by James Tissot (c. 1836-1902).

Homily for Wednesday in the Second Week of Eastertide, delivered at New Auckland Place Aged Care Residence, Gladstone, Qld., 2022.

"... at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and said as he led them out, ‘Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life.’ They did as they were told; they went into the Temple at dawn and began to preach... The captain went with his men and fetched them. They were afraid to use force in case the people stoned them." (Acts 5:19-21, 26).

"Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved... On these grounds is sentence pronounced: that though the light has come into the world men have shown they prefer darkness to the light... because their deeds were evil." (Jn 3:16-17, 19).

Artwork: Nicodemus coming to Christ, by Henry Ossawa Tanner (c. 1924-29).

Homily for ANZAC Mass, delivered at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld., 2022.

"The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God, no torment shall ever touch them... If they experienced punishment as men see it, their hope was rich with immortality; God has put them to the test and proved them — tested them like gold in a furnace... When the time comes for his visitation they will shine out; as sparks run through the stubble, so will they." (cf. Wis 3:1-9).

"The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s power to save." (1 Cor 1:18).

"Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid... I have told you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe." (Jn 14:27, 29).

Artwork: Poppies (oil on canvas painting by Princess Kaʻiulani, 1890).