Cross
Empty Mirror
3 September 2023
Fr Richard delivers a thought-provoking homily centered around the nature of a mirror and its ability to reverse our way of thinking. Drawing parallels to the ongoing experience of COVID-19 in NSW, the speaker reflects on past lockdowns and the new skills people had to acquire, such as cutting their own hair. Moving on to…
Transformed
6 August 2023
Sometimes we have an experience that was so sublime, so magical, so amazing – that we struggle to even share all its details with a close friend. Even when it is photographed, and videoed, and instagrammed to within a millimetre of its life, some things can defy simple, adequate descriptions. Maybe the event wasn’t even…
Invitation to Paradise
20 November 2022
Season of Growth, Solemnity, Year C
The Solemnity of Jesus the Christ, the King of the Universe First Reading ‡ 2 Samuel 5:1-3 They anointed David king of Israel. Responsorial ‡ Psalm 121:1-5 Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Second Reading ‡ Colossians 1:12-20 He has taken us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Gospel ‡…
Dealing with dysfunction
20 October 2019
Although St Paul tells his young disciple Timothy that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy” (2 Tim 3:16) it is hard to see how that can be applied to our first reading today, taken from Exodus 17:8-13. Like so…
The Gospel of Good Friday
15 April 2017
Although we read the Passion story last Sunday during the Mass of Palm Sunday, that Gospel is always taken from one of the three Synoptic Gospel accounts, depending on the liturgical year. But on Good Friday, there can only be one Gospel that will be our guide and companion – the Gospel that shapes the…
Prayer Reflection on the Cross
25 March 2016
A short prayer on the cross offered at the conclusion of the Stations of the Cross. Play MP3 Recorded at St Paul’s, 10am service (1:47)Good Friday, Stations of the Cross
Exclusion and Embrace on the Cross
25 March 2016
To gather each Good Friday for prayer around an instrument of Roman torture is still a very strange practice to have. To sing songs and come forward in procession to touch, embrace or kneel before this sign of brutality and terrorism… It can also be a very difficult exercise to reconcile the fragility and weakness…
Dealing with dysfunction
20 October 2013
Although St Paul tells his young disciple Timothy that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy” (2 Tim 3:16) it is hard to see how that can be applied to our first reading today, taken from Exodus 17:8-13. Like so…
Stations of the Cross Reflection
6 April 2012
A brief reflection offered at the end of the Stations of the Cross, celebrated at St Paul’s, Camden on Good Friday morning. Play MP3 Length: 2’15” A full recording of the service (slightly edited to reduce some of the silences and not including the final multimedia) Play Full Service mp3 Length: 40’05”
The empty God
24 September 2011
To make sense of the gospel today, you need to see what has been happening earlier in chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel. At the beginning of the chapter Jesus and his disciples have made their triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the day that we now call Palm Sunday. He then proceeded to cleanse the temple,…
Changed by cross and glory
19 March 2011
Lent, New Creation, Season of Growth, Seasons, Teaching, Year A
On the second Sunday in Lent each year we join Peter, James and John to witness that incredible moment when Jesus is changed (in the Greek, metamorphoo, which you can probably discern from the word is an aorist indicative passive third person singular verb, which is a form of ‘metamorphosis’ meaning ‘to remodel’ or ‘to…
A king on a cross
20 November 2010
Christ the King – the final Sunday in the Season of the Year. This feast, and the image of king, undoubtably invokes many images. This week it was announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton were finally engaged which caused many hearts to race in anticipation of a royal wedding in the middle of 2011….
Stones and the Cross – Good Friday
1 April 2010
On Good Friday we reflect on the amazing love that was shown by Jesus. Last night we remembered the nature of our call to be a Eucharistic people and to respond to the call of our baptism through lives of service. Today we continue that reflection by remembering our call to be ministers and priests….
Trusting in the Lord alone
13 February 2010
6th Sunday in the Season of the Year (C) – Jer 17:5-8; ICor 15; Luke 6:17-26. St Valentine’s Day. The question that lies at the heart of our readings today is – where do you place your ultimate trust / faith / hope? Jeremiah rather starkly tells us that if it is in the world…
Ambition and the Cross
17 October 2009
Our gospel today (Mk 10:35-45) comes immediately after Jesus’ third prediction of his passion and death: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles;…