Latest From St Mary's

4th Sunday of Easter

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:18:54 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 10:14

“He was bearing our faults in his own body on the cross”, says St. Peter, “so that we might die to our faults and live for holiness; through his wounds you have been healed. You had gone astray like sheep but now you have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” Peter did not see Jesus die on the cross. He had been too frightened and despondent to make his way to Calvary, as Mary, John, and several of the women had done. But now, many years later, on writing these words of encouragement to his fellow Christians of the 1st century, he showed how much he himself had meditated on what Christ had done for him and for all men and women. He was testifying to his own experience as one who had been taught, firmly but lovingly corrected, and many times forgiven by Jesus. He knew that the words of the Saviour describing himself as “the Good Shepherd” were not said falsely or as mere poetry. Jesus had always shown the attitude of one who was ready “to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13) and who finally did.

As the Lord himself had noted, there was a difference between the shepherds of his times and those men who were simply hirelings. The shepherd’s flock was his own. The hireling’s flock were someone else’s. As a result most shepherds treasured their sheep and learned to identify each one of them. They felt the loss of any one of them. Hirelings, by and large, were far less concerned about losses. God is the ultimate Shepherd who bears an intimate relationship with his flock, the human family. “To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him.” God did this in a tangible way by Himself becoming a man, a teacher with a human voice, a friend with a human heart, a living example of what we ought to aspire to as human beings. He came into our world, a world He had created for us, to bring us to perfection, to a share in his own holiness. Such is the pasture Jesus refers to— it is holiness, it is, finally, the happiness of heaven and eternal life in God.

Christ Our Lord established his Church to lead us to this pasture of holiness and happiness in unending love. Within the Church he calls some to act as shepherds in his name. These are his ministers, his bishops, priests and deacons, who are summoned by a personal vocation to serve others in this way. Because the response to this calling requires God’s grace and a free acceptance by individual persons, both Jesus and the Church urge us to “pray [to] the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2). We do so, in a special way, on this World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

All of us in the Church, clergy, members of religious orders and congregations and lay people are called to be shepherds for others in one way or another. Parenting, friendship and work based relationships can all be occasions for being good shepherds. At the same time we must also remember that all of us, laity and clergy and religious, are called to be good sheep, letting ourselves be helped and guided by those who sincerely do so in the name of Christ. Ultimately, there should be that desire to let our lives be deeply influenced by a loving entrustment to Jesus. Pope John Paul II once said: “Make a particular effort to seek Jesus and attain a deep personal faith which influences and directs your whole life; but above all may your commitments and plans consist in loving Jesus, with a sincere, genuine, personal love. He should be your friend and support along the way of life. He alone has the words of eternal life”

(Address January 30, 1979).

3rd Sunday of Easter

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 03:48:19 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 24:13-35

“I saw the Lord always before me; therefore, my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope.” These words, quoted by St. Peter in today’s first reading, come originally from Psalm 16, a psalm of David the King. They may have more than one layer of meaning, but their principle focus, Peter tells us, is Jesus, whose unique relationship with God the Father was proven by His resurrection from the dead. In these words we glimpse Our Lord’s own life of piety as a man. With this tender confidence He was able to face the terrible trials of His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the later physical sufferings of his death by scourging and crucifixion.

If we now turn our attention to the touching Gospel account St. Luke gives us of the two disciples returning to their home in Emmaus, we see how Jesus brings this deep trust in the Father to each one of us. The two despondent persons, one of whom is named as Cleopas, were making their way back, after the tragic event of Jesus’ death by crucifixion. Along the way they were commiserating about their failed hopes, and were clearly scandalized by the violent end to Jesus’ life. Like many Jews of their time, the prophecies of a Saviour King or Messiah were interpreted by them as leading to a new political order and a restored prominence for Israel as a nation among the nations. They had seen Jesus’ rise in popularity, his extraordinary impact on people’s minds, his miracles demonstrating God’s favour as a definite sign that this outcome was about to materialize. Instead, they now knew that Our Lord had been subjected to shameful abuse and death-dealing punishment by the authorities, while popular support appeared to collapse.

Now, not even early reports of an empty tomb could raise their expectations. While they continued in this depressed mood, Jesus Himself, newly risen, approached them from behind. Once at their side, He greeted them and entered into their discussion, with gentleness and concern. As God He knew perfectly well what was on their minds, yet as a man He simply entered into dialogue with them, and so gradually helped them to see things from a completely different perspective.

The two disciples, quite mysteriously, did not at first recognize Our Lord. St. Mark, commenting on the same incident, tells us that Jesus appeared to them “in another form.” What this means is not perfectly clear, but must be seen as relating to the resurrected body of Christ, which was not bound by the common laws of nature. For instance, Jesus may have appeared to them as he looked when He was several years younger.

It is later, when Jesus takes bread at supper and breaks it, perhaps in the characteristic manner He was accustomed to do, that the two disciples realized that it was He. Some writers have understood that this circumstance was willed by Christ to remind us of His extraordinary presence in the Holy Eucharist, or, as it was first called, the “breaking of the bread.” We do not see Him there in the consecrated hosts with our eyes, but we acknowledge that He is truly, really and substantially there.

When Jesus then vanished from their sight, Cleopas and his companion remarked: “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Thereafter they might often have thought of those words from the Psalm of David: “I saw the Lord always before me; therefore, my heart was glad.”

This sense of Christ’s presence should be ours too, and can grow as we learn to make more frequent acts of faith, and even to use our imagination somewhat to remind ourselves that Jesus always walks with us through the days of our life, and He is especially close to us with His resurrected Humanity, when we pray near a Tabernacle, and when we receive Him in Holy Communion.

2nd Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:56:42 GMT

Gospel Reflection - John 20:19-31

and a notice about Divine Mercy Sunday

Today ends the Easter Octave or “eight day” extension of the Day of Resurrection. However, the Easter season continues until Pentecost – observing the actual fifty day period that separated the event of Our Lord’s Resurrection from the day of the extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel passage for this Sunday is always the same. It is St. John’s recollection of Jesus’ first and second encounters with the remaining apostles in the Cenacle – the very room where they shared the Last Supper three days before. The doors of the room were locked, St. John recalls, yet Jesus, remarkably, was able to enter. There were no longer any physical barriers for his resurrected humanity. Jesus immediately extends his greeting of “peace be with you.”

There is no bitterness in his words but rather consolation and the desire to set them at ease. Not only that, but there is a confirmation of their role and status as apostles or emissaries of Christ. “Receive the Spirit,” He says, as He makes a sign, breathing upon them – a sign of the power of the Holy Spirit which will be entrusted to them in due time. Along with this gesture He declares that whosoever sins they were to forgive would indeed be forgiven. Should they find reason to hold back, this too would be upheld by God. We see in what Christ says the verification of the Church’s authentic role in mediating in and through Christ. The Church is given real authority both to teach and to act in the name and Person of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

This truth, then, held by Catholic Christianity, has a firm Biblical foundation. Our sacraments are true channels of the grace of Christ. They are not merely signs and ceremonies, but effective acts of sanctification, enabling us to live ever holier lives, as long as we receive them with the right disposition. Here Jesus is not only referring to Baptism, but also and more particularly to sacramental confession. By confessing our sins to a priest, we are absolved, in that very act, of the sins confessed, as long as we are sorry for these sins. When Jesus indicates that it is possible for the Apostles and their successors “to retain” sins, that is, to leave sins un-absolved, He is not limiting God’s forgiveness or mercy on account of the gravity of any sin or any number of sins. Rather, He is making clear that confessors (be they
Apostles, bishops or priests) are called to judge a person’s basic disposition of repentance.

There is no sin, however grave, that cannot be forgiven. There is no number of sins beyond which forgiveness is no longer possible. Jesus forgave both Peter’s cowardice and Thomas’ lack of faith. The only thing that would prevent a person from being forgiven is not really desiring forgiveness or not acknowledging their sin and their intention to reject that sinful way of acting. So we believe in the limitlessness of divine Mercy. Such is the substance of
the devotion whose promotion was entrusted to a humble nun of the 20th century, Sr. Faustina Kowalska

(now St. Faustina).

As Pope Benedict taught in his Easter Sunday message: “Dear men and women whose spirit is sincerely open to the truth, let no heart be closed to the omnipotence of this redeeming love! Jesus Christ died and rose for all; he is our hope – true hope for every human being. Today, just as he did with his disciples in Galilee before returning to the Father, the risen Jesus now sends us everywhere as witnesses of his hope, and he reassures us: I am with you always, all days, until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). Fixing the gaze of our spirit on the glorious wounds of his transfigured body, we can understand the meaning and value of suffering, we can tend the many wounds that continue to disfigure humanity in our own day. In his glorious wounds we recognize the indestructible signs of the infinite mercy of the God.”

Let us never doubt that God is willing to forgive us when we have the misfortune of falling even into a more serious sin. Let’s make use of confession even for our lesser failings. Let’s always be willing to take up the good fight against sin, for love of God and our neighbour.

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY NOTICE - 12 APRIL

W e expect that on Divine Mercy Sunday there would be a greater number of people
seeking confession. Normally we would have confessions available before and during our
Masses, but as we only have one priest available this weekend, confessions will only be
available during the following times:
8:30 am - 9:55 am
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
We appreciate your patience and understanding.

For those interested in attending a Divine Mercy Sunday liturgy, St Patrick's Cathedral will hold one.

For more information, go to: https://melbournecatholic.org/events/divine-mercy-sunday-at-st-patricks-cathedral

Easter Sunday

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Easter Sunday - Gospel Reflection

John 20:1-9

THE SUN RISES in Jerusalem. The night’s darkness slowly gives way as the first rays illumine the city walls, the Temple, the fortress towers… Mary Magdalen and several other women leave the city and begin walking towards the northwest, towards Calvary. The streets are empty. Their hearts are heavy, saddened that Jesus’ death has darkened the whole earth forever. The sun no longer seems to shine as it did when the Master was with them. But they aren’t deterred by the darkness, nor by the guards posted in front of the tomb by the Sanhedrin, nor by the fact that Jesus has been dead for three days now. They don’t know who will roll away the stone sealing the tomb for them, but they refuse to remain shut up at home. Once again they pass by the places where Jesus used to walk. And once again their hearts tremble at the thought of all that has happened. But they refuse to give in to fear.

“The faith of these women really moves me,” said Saint Josemaría in an Easter meditation. “And it reminds me of so many good things about my mother, as you will also be recalling many wonderful details about yours … The women knew about the soldiers posted there. They knew that the tomb was completely shut. But they spent their money to buy the oil anyway, and shortly before sunrise they went to anoint the dead body of our Lord. They needed a lot of courage! When they reached the tomb, they saw that the stone had been rolled back (cf. Mk 16:4). This always happens. When we decide to do what we have to do, difficulties are easily overcome.” [1]

We ask them to help us have a love for our Lord as strong as theirs, stronger than the unspeakable suffering of the Passion. In the hearts of these women, the fire that Christ himself kindled has not been totally extinguished. They have risen very early, and not in vain. God cannot resist such love and He gives them the best news of all, the definitive news in which all the prophecies are fulfilled: “I have risen and am still with you,” he says to each of us. “My hand upholds you. Wherever you may fall, you will always fall into my hands. I am present even at the door of death. Where no one can accompany you further, and where you can bring nothing, even there I am waiting for you, and for you I will change darkness into light.” [2]

THEY HASTEN WITH JOY, although still perplexed, to the Cenacle to announce to the apostles what they have seen. But when the apostles listen to the message the women bring, still breathing deeply from their haste, it seems madness to them. Their words are accompanied by tears and expressions of joy. But Peter and John want to know everything possible about the Master, even though they aren’t convinced by the women’s words. So they both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first (Jn 20:4). We want to run with them and even overtake John. What if what the women are saying is true? What if Jesus has fulfilled his promise? As they run towards the tomb in the early morning light, hope begins to grow in the hearts of these two apostles.

We can turn our eyes to Saint Peter for a moment: “He didn’t remain sedentary, in thought; he didn’t stay at home as the others did. He didn’t succumb to the somber atmosphere of those days, nor was he overwhelmed by his doubts. He wasn’t consumed by remorse, fear, or the continual gossip that leads nowhere. He was looking for Jesus, not for himself. This marked the beginning of Peter’s resurrection, the resurrection of his heart. Without giving in to sadness or darkness, he made room for hope: he allowed God’s light to enter into his heart, without smothering it.” [3]

Even though, like Peter, we have sometimes denied Jesus, also like Peter we want to return to Him. “Now is the time to make a change, my children” Saint Josemaría said in an Easter Sunday meditation. “Holiness means being reborn every day. Don’t let your mistakes get you down, as long as you have good will and begin again each time. Take all your failings, all those obstacles on the path, and place them at Christ’s feet, so that he will be raised on high and triumph – and you will triumph along with him. Don’t let anything bother you: rectify your intention; begin again, try again and again. And in the end, if you can’t manage it, our Lord will come and help you to leap over the hurdle, the hurdle of holiness. This is the way to renew ourselves, to overcome ourselves: a daily ‘resurrection,’ with the certainty that we will make it to the end of our path, where love awaits us.” [4

[1] Saint Josemaría, Meditation, 29 March 1959.
[2] Benedict XVI, Homily, 7 April 2007.
[3] Francis, Homily, 26 March 2016
[4] Saint Josemaría, Meditation, 29 March 1959.

Palm Sunday

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:09:32 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 21:1-11

Our Lord enters Jerusalem amid great acclaim. The One who had always opposed any public display of praise, who had hidden when the people wanted to make him King, today lets himself be brought into the Holy City in triumph. Only now, when he knows death is near, does he agree to be hailed as the Messiah. Jesus knows that, in reality, he will reign from the Cross, since the same people who now joyfully acclaim him will soon abandon him and lead him to Calvary. The palms will become whips; the olive branches, thorns; the cheers, merciless jeers.

The liturgy, with the ceremony of the blessing of the palms and the texts of the Mass (including the account our Lord’s Passion), shows how closely united joy and suffering are in Christ’s life. Saint Bernard points to the close union between laughter and lamentation on this day. The Church “shows us today the new and marvelous union between the passion and the procession; the procession produces acclaim, the passion, lamentation.”[1]

Saint Josemaría said: “‘The palm leaves,’ writes Saint Augustine, ‘symbolize homage, for they stand for victory. Our Lord is on the point of conquering by dying on the Cross. Under the sign of the Cross, he is about to triumph over the devil, the prince of death.’ Christ is our peace because he is the Victor.”[2] Reading the account of the Passion presents us with many persons who played a role in that scene, few of whom suspected the victory Christ would soon attain. We can ask ourselves this week as we relive these events: “Where is my own heart? Which of
these people do I resemble?”[3] How strong is my faith when I contemplate the crucial events the Church invites us to appreciate more fully during these days?

“What is really happening in the hearts of those who acclaim Christ as King of Israel? Clearly, they had their own idea of the Messiah, an idea of how the long-awaited King promised by the prophets should act. Not by chance, a few days later, instead of acclaiming Jesus, the Jerusalem crowd will cry out to Pilate: ‘Crucify him!’, while the disciples, together with others who had seen him and listened to him, will be struck dumb and disperse. The majority, in fact, were disappointed by the way Jesus chose to present himself as Messiah and King of Israel. This is the heart of today’s feast, for us too.”[6]

The experience of those who received Jesus with palms that day can help us to consider what our own idea of Jesus is, what our idea of his reign is. It may happen, for example, that we are sometimes disappointed at how the redemption is being carried out, at its apparently slow pace. Sometimes we want God to triumph quickly, confusing our plans with his. We resist accepting that God is determined not to compromise our freedom nor that of those around us. His love is so refined that it is never imposed. He refuses to take advantage, for example, of the people’s acclaim for his own benefit.

“The heart of Jesus was moving on another track, on the sacred path known to him and the Father alone: the path that leads from ‘the form of God’ to ‘the form of a servant,’ the path of self-abasement born of obedience ‘unto death, even death on a cross’ (Phil 2:6-8). He knows that true triumph involves making room for God.”[7] It means making room for the silent and yet powerful action of God, who makes all things new through the Son’s love for the Father.

And on this path we find the first and most faithful follower of Jesus, his mother Mary. “She is not to be found amid the palms at Jerusalem … But she doesn’t flee from the contempt at Golgotha; there she stands, juxta crucem Jesu, beside his Cross.”[8] And we, by an undeserved grace, can be close beside her.

[1] Saint Bernard, Sermon on Palm Sunday, 1, 1.
[2] Saint Josemaría, Christ is Passing By, no. 73.
[3] Francis, Homily, 13 April 2014.
[6] Benedict XVI, Homily, 1 April 2012.
[7] Francis, Homily, 14 April 2019.
[8] Saint Josemaría, The Way, no. 507.

5th Sunday of Lent

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 22:01:42 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 11:1-45

Jesus knows his hour is approaching. He has already announced this on several occasions to his disciples (cf. Jn 8:20; 13:33-38). Despite these warnings, Jesus realizes it will be hard for them to understand what is about to happen. So, to strengthen the apostles’ faith, when news of the illness of his friend Lazarus arrives, He decides to wait. And He gives a reason for this which, at first glance, is not obvious: This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it (Jn 11:4).

Our Lord is not insensitive to the suffering of Lazarus, nor to that of his sisters. On the contrary, we see Him crying at the tomb of his friend after Martha and Mary open their hearts and share their sorrow and pain with Him. Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died (Jn 11:21), Martha exclaims. We can intuit that Christ did not come immediately upon receiving the news because He wanted to give a new dimension to their suffering. Martha knew that Lazarus would be restored to life in the resurrection on the last day (Jn 11:24). But she didn’t expect to enjoy her brother’s company again in this life. “Jesus could have avoided the death of his friend Lazarus, but he wanted to share in our suffering for the death of people dear to us, and above all, he wanted to show God’s dominion over death.

On arriving in Bethany, the first “miracle” Jesus works is, in a certain sense, helping Martha escape from the “tomb” her thoughts have trapped her in. He doesn’t reproach her for a single tear she has shed over her brother’s death. In that moment of deep sorrow, Jesus wants to strengthen her hope. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (Jn 11:25-26). And Martha, despite her great sorrow and confusion, answers: Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. (Jn 11:27). In the midst of her weeping, Martha continues to have faith. Regardless of her brother now being dead, she believes that whoever is with Christ will not die. Her sadness over Lazarus’s death and her lack of understanding over why her Friend hadn’t come sooner doesn’t prevent Martha from recognizing that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who gives meaning to her own life.

When Jesus arrived at the tomb, He asked those present to remove the stone. But Martha protested: by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days (Jn 11:39). Our Lord reminds her of his recent conversation with her: Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? (Jn 11:40). Then they removed the stone and Jesus, after addressing his Father, cried out with a loud voice: “Lazarus, come out!” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth (Jn 11:43-44).

Christ refuses to accept the tombs we have sometimes built for ourselves, with our mistakes and confusions. He invites us to come out of the tomb, like Lazarus, and embrace the life He is offering us. “He invites us, almost orders us, to come out of the tomb in which our sins have buried us. He calls us insistently to come out of the darkness of that prison in which we are enclosed, content with a false, selfish and mediocre life.” [4] But He also counts on our freedom to accept this call or not. Jesus does not force us to get up. He holds out his hand to us and waits for us to take it. “Lazarus rose because he heard the voice of God and immediately wanted to get out of the situation he was in. If he hadn’t wanted to move, he would have died again. A sincere resolution: to always have faith in God; to always hope in God; to always love God... who never abandons us.” [5]

[1] Francis, Angelus, 29 March 2020.

[2] Saint Josemaría, Friends of God, no. 221.

[3] Saint Josemaría, The Forge, no. 159.

[4] Francis, Angelus, 6 April 2014.

4th Sunday of Lent

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:37:59 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 9:1-41

There are several incidents described in the Gospels that involved Jesus curing someone who was blind. None are more remarkable than the one St. John recorded for us as part of his testimony to Jesus as the world’s Saviour and the Son of God. The blind person he remembers was someone who had been so from birth. As a result he was helpless to support himself nor was his family able to do so once he had come of age, so he resorted to begging. On passing by, some of Jesus’ disciples were obviously saddened by his situation and wondered how someone could suffer such misfortune. Their own thoughts are limited to the view that either this man or his parents had sinned. In the Jewish mindset of the time, it must have been common to try to link every misfortune with the sinfulness of someone involved. But how could he have sinned before birth? Or why would this man have been punished for the sins of his parents? At times we might be troubled by similar dilemmas resulting from our limited knowledge and point of view of hurtful occurrences in life.

Our Lord’s response is one they obviously did not have in mind. “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him” (John 9,v.3).

Not all suffering is sent by God as punishment. All suffering He allows does have, however, some deeper meaning, purpose and value that is in agreement with His justice and love. What this purpose may be is not apparent to all at all times since any one of us sees with only limited vision. This is another kind of ‘blindness’ that may or may not be culpable.

In the specific case of the man described in today’s Gospel account, the purpose would, in fact, quickly become clear to those early disciples and to the man himself. The power of Jesus to cure even the most hopeless illnesses and disabilities was demonstrated beyond doubt to persons with an open mind. Such power must surely be divine. No human remedy could explain an instantaneous gaining of sight a person never had. And when this miracle was added to so many others Jesus did that required an act of creating from nothing, his identity as the Son of God was assured. Yet John’s recollection goes on to tell us that persons of religious authority, namely certain Pharisees who were consulted regarding the incident, refused to accept that a miracle had occurred. Their scepticism was a result of definite prejudices against Jesus and his followers. Perhaps they thought that their permission or authorization should have been sought! Jesus was not in their ‘camp,’ so He could not be taken seriously or trusted. What is more, there must have been resentment over His eclipsing their own image as ‘holy men’ and ‘teachers’.

Besides John wanting us to realize that Our Lord truly was ‘the Word made flesh’, he wanted to leave us an example of that spiritual blindness that he also speaks of at the beginning of his Gospel. “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not”(chap.1, v.9-11).

In this time of Lent we should ask God to free us from any form of spiritual blindness we might be experiencing. And it is so good and important to pray for others to be helped in a similar way. St. Josemaria often repeated a short prayer or aspiration that went like this:
“Lord, that I may see, that we may see (meaning those to whom he was most closely tied), that they may see” (that is to say, everyone). And let’s not lose sight of the fact that the truth about Jesus Christ as God and man, and as a man who actually died for our sake’s – showing God’s love - (and rose again), is the basis for the greatest kind of hope the human family knows – Christian hope, and therefore, Christian joy and cheerfulness.

3rd Sunday of Lent

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 01:29:49 GMT

Letter from Archbishop Peter Comensoli -

Synod for the Archdiocese of Melbourne - 2026

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus,

My prayerful greetings to you in the Lord.

In recent years, the Church throughout the world has entered a time of attentive listening, discernment and renewal through what we have come to call a synodal way of being. Many of you have taken part in important moments of consultation and reflection: for the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, for the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, and within our own Archdiocesan journey of renewal, Take the Way of the Gospel. Through these experiences you have generously embraced the call to walk more faithfully with Christ and with one another.

From the earliest times of the Church, gatherings of the faithful — which became known as synods (from the Greek synodos, meaning “journeying together” or “walking the same path”) have met to discern important questions in the light of the Word of God and through attentive listening to the Holy Spirit. “Synodality” therefore, describes the way in which this journeying together takes place: the shared participation of the whole People of God in the life and mission of the Church.

Such a journey requires patience, humility and trust in the guidance of the Spirit. At its heart is a simple but profound discipline: to listen — to the Gospel, to the lived experience of our communities, and to the Spirit who speaks through God’s faithful people.

Across our Archdiocese there is a rich diversity of gifts and a deep desire for renewal. Many have expressed hopes for stronger communion, renewed missionary purpose, deeper formation, and a Church in which every person knows they belong. These are signs of the Spirit at work among us.

As your Archbishop, I carry these hopes with you. I am deeply grateful for the generosity and faith you have shown in walking this path together.

In light of these reasons, today, Sunday 8 March, I formally convoke a Synod for the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The purpose of this Synod is to help shape our evangelical and missionary priorities for the years ahead. It will be a time for our local Church to listen attentively to the Holy Spirit and to discern how we are called to proclaim the Gospel more faithfully in our time and place.

I invite every parish, community, ministry and Catholic organisations across the Archdiocese to take part in this journey.

In the months ahead, you will be asked to gather in prayer, to listen to one another, and to reflect together on how the Lord is calling our Church to a renewed faith and fruitfulness.

This synodal journey will focus particularly on three themes I shared with you at the end of last year: Young Discipleship; Missionary Leadership; and Formation and Participation.

As you reflect on these themes, I encourage you to ask some simple but important questions:

Where is the Holy Spirit leading our Archdiocese at this time? To whom are we being called to accompany in faith more intentionally? How might we reflect the face of Christ more clearly in our local Church?

As we begin this journey, I entrust our Archdiocese to Mary, Mother of the Church. She pondered the mysteries of God in her heart and remained steadfast among the first disciples. May she guide us to be a Church that listens with faith, loves with generosity, and follows Christ with renewed confidence and hope.

With every grace and blessing, I remain,

Yours sincerely in Christ Jesus,

Most Reverend Peter A Comensoli

Archbishop of Melbourne

2nd Sunday of Lent

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 08:55:48 GMT

Lenten Reflection

Pope Leo XIV

Message of the Holy Father Leo XIV for Lent 2026, 13.02.2026.

Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion

Dear brothers and sisters,

Lent is a time in which the Church, guided by a sense of maternal care, invites us to place the mystery of God back in the centre of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our heart from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life.

Listening

This year, I would first like to consider the importance of making room for the word through listening. The willingness to listen is the first way we demonstrate our desire to enter into relationship with someone.

In revealing himself to Moses in the burning bush, God himself teaches us that listening is one of his defining characteristics: “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry” (Ex 3:7). Hearing the cry of the oppressed is the beginning of a story of liberation in which the Lord calls Moses, sending him to open a path of salvation for his children who have been reduced to slavery.

Our God is one who seeks to involve us. Even today he shares with us what is in his heart. Because of this, listening to the word in the liturgy teaches us to listen to the truth of reality. In the midst of the many voices present in our personal lives and in society, Sacred Scripture helps us to recognize and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering. In order to foster this inner openness to listening, we must allow God to teach us how to listen as he does. We must recognize that “the condition of the poor is a cry that, throughout human history, constantly challenges our lives, societies, political and economic systems, and, not least, the Church.” [1]

Fasting

If Lent is a time for listening, fasting is a concrete way to prepare ourselves to receive the word of God. Abstaining from food is an ancient ascetic practice that is essential on the path of conversion. Precisely because it involves the body, fasting makes it easier to recognize what we “hunger” for and what we deem necessary for our sustenance. Moreover, it helps us to identify and order our “appetites,” keeping our hunger and thirst for justice alive and freeing us from complacency. Thus, it teaches us to pray and act responsibly towards our neighbour.

However, in order to practice fasting in accordance with its evangelical character and avoid the temptation that leads to pride, it must be lived in faith and humility. It must be grounded in communion with the Lord, because “those who are unable to nourish themselves with the word of God do not fast properly.” [3] As a visible sign of our inner commitment to turn away from sin and evil with the help of grace, fasting must also include other forms of self-denial aimed at helping us to acquire a more sober lifestyle, since “austerity alone makes the Christian life strong and authentic.” [4]

In this regard, I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbour. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.

Together

Finally, Lent emphasizes the communal aspect of listening to the word and fasting. The Bible itself underlines this dimension in multiple ways. For example, the Book of Nehemiah recounts how the people gathered to listen to the public reading of the Law, preparing to profess their faith and worship through fasting, so as to renew the covenant with God (cf. 9:1-3).

Likewise, our parishes, families, ecclesial groups and religious communities are called to undertake a shared journey during Lent, in which listening to the word of God, as well as to the cry of the poor and of the earth, becomes part of our community life, and fasting a foundation for sincere repentance. In this context, conversion refers not only to one’s conscience, but also to the quality of our relationships and dialogue. It means allowing ourselves to be challenged by reality and recognizing what truly guides our desires — both within our ecclesial communities and as regards humanity’s thirst for justice and reconciliation.

Dear friends, let us ask for the grace of a Lent that leads us to greater attentiveness to God and to the least among us.

1st Sunday of Lent

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 10:32:18 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 4:1-11

Lent began four days ago, on Ash Wednesday, with a Mass that included a special way of showing sorrow for our sins and the desire to fully repent of all that separates us from God —it was the imposition of ashes. This ceremony asked us to acknowledge the humble origin of our bodies in the earth’s elements, and the fact that in due time our bodies would turn back into dust. The real purpose was, however, to recognize that all we are, body and soul, we owe to God’s creative power and goodness. Of ourselves we are nothing. So we need God. We need his forgiveness. We hope for His love. We wish to be renewed in Him.

The pride of our first parents, enkindled by another proud creature—Satan, a fallen angel—made them think they could stand alone as gods, autonomous and self satisfied. The truth was that they couldn’t and shouldn’t. Instead they could only find completion and happiness in responding to God’s love with love. Subsequent to the Fall—that is, the first or original sin—the resulting weakness of each human person resulted in many other kinds of sin being committed. This is one the of points St Paul makes in his letter to the Romans. Sin is wrongdoing, understood not only as some form of injustice, but also as something that moves us away from God. It is an affront to God’s love.

Yet we trust in God’s forgiveness of our sins. We hope He will lead us to new life, and eventually eternal life in union with Him. That possibility is guaranteed for us by what Jesus, his Son, did for us. As St Paul teaches, He took up the role of Adam to undo what Adam did. He faced Satan, allowed himself to be tempted as Adam had been tempted. He showed what the response should have been.

Actually, Our Lord bore three temptations, under far more difficult circumstances. He was severely physically weakened through his strenuous fast. He was not living in a Paradise, but in a hostile wilderness. He was completely alone. In that state, He refused to please the flesh (This was to encourage us to fight against all sins of weakness such as gluttony, faults against chastity and temperance). He refused to give way to pride and presumption. He proclaimed that God alone was to be worshipped—as the unique source of all that is good— and to Him all thanksgiving should be shown.

In Eden, Satan won a victory in his campaign against God. In the wilderness, he saw himself defeated by Jesus. But in due time he would try to make a comeback against the One he could not understand, only to fail again. However, he persists in his efforts against all the living, especially anyone who seeks to follow Our Lord. Pope Benedict XVI, in his message for Lent, has written: “It is a powerful reminder that Christian faith implies, following the example of Jesus and in union with him, a battle ‘against the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world’ (Eph 6: 12), in which the devil is at work and never tires – even today – of tempting whoever wishes to draw close to the Lord: Christ emerges victorious to open also our hearts to hope and guide us in overcoming the seductions of evil.”

Staying close to Jesus, through prayer, acts of self-denial and the effort to think more of the good of others and not just that of ourselves, together with the consoling help of the holy Eucharist and sacramental confession, we will remain safe and ever stronger.

Season of Lent

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:00:33 GMT

A time for renewal

We will begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, on the 18 February. For these 40 days up till Good Friday, we are invited to seek the Lord in prayer, fasting and almsgiving in a spirit of repentance and conversion, to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.

“These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies,

pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving,

and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). “ - CCC 1438

Lenten Obligations

Catholics aged 18-59 should fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Catholics aged 14 and over should abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Catholics aged 14 and over should abstain from meat on every Friday of the year, including Lent, or substitute this with another form of penance, either in prayer, fasting or almsgiving.
Taking up some form of voluntary penance throughout the season is also expected.

To participate in your Lenten journey please note the following:

Ash Wednesday Masses are at 7am, and 12:30pm.
Each Friday we will have the Stations of the Cross at 5:30pm.
Fulfill your almsgiving obligation by donating to Project Compassion. You will find the Caritas donation boxes on the tables inside the church.

"We are at the beginning of Lent: a time of penance, purification and conversion...our

heart is ready and, we have made up our minds, to purify ourselves. He hears us and

will not disregard, the petition of a humble and contrite heart." -

St Josemaria, Christ is Passing By, p.57

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 04:37:43 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 5:17-37

“If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power“ wrote the author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus in times before Our Lord. Every devout Jew knew the commandments by heart and understood that they were the essence of God’s law. Until a couple of generations ago, every Catholic learned the ten commandments as a child. However, it is not common to find young persons who can recite them. Yet these are not arbitrary rules set up a part of a game, or a test of memory. They are the essence of what it means to live a humanly good life. As such, these principles have been—in large measure—recognized by other cultures and religions. They form what the Church has called “the natural law” of morality.

Jesus confirmed the relevance and importance of the commandments on numerous occasions. He also opened people’s eyes to how they could be lived to the full. His teaching was the completion and perfection of what the Holy Spirit had taught through Moses and the prophets. He himself was the living expression of this perfection to which men and women were called as sons and daughters of God, created in his image and likeness. “Till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, one little stroke , shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved” This purpose is our sanctification, the completion of our humanity according to the pattern of Jesus Christ, true God and true man.

The Law as given to Moses gave the broad strokes of moral truth. Jesus came to refine the picture and to enable us to be shaped by it. In Matthew’s Gospel this refined picture is gathered together in its early chapters, where we find many sayings of Jesus’ sayings—many of his moral exhortations.

Some writers have pointed out that the success of our “Western” civilization is owed to Christian beliefs and Christian morality. Even though throughout history this morality has been challenged and often only imperfectly lived even by Christians, it has made a huge and positive difference in the course of history. This is because it is the truth and because it makes men and women better and, ultimately, happier. It is a proven fact that, with God’s help, we can live by the commandments and that it is worth doing so. Besides, God promises that these commandments will lead us to eternal joy in the life to come. He himself will make us perfect in love and perfectly happy.

We also should remember that Christian morality is not so much about avoiding evil as about affirming what is good. Expressions such as “Thou shalt not…” keep us from harmful ground. From there we are invited, especially by Christ, to move ahead in the direction of sincere love. Our Catholic faith and religion is about an encounter, in Christ, with the God who loves us and invites us to share in His life, his perfection and this happiness.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way: “The Decalogue must first be understood in the context of the Exodus, God’s great liberating event at the centre of the Old Covenant. Whether formulated as negative commandments, prohibitions, or as positive precepts such as “Honour your father and mother,” the “ten words” point out the conditions of a life freed from the slavery of sin. The Decalogue is a path of life: If you love the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply.”

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 07:30:35 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 5:13-16

When Jesus spoke with his disciples, that is, with those who did not simply come to hear him out of mere curiosity, or as a one-off encounter, but with those who had come to believe in him, he did not simply speak to them in parables. The parables were his method of teaching those who were not committed to his way. They were stories designed to capture the attention of people whose level of interest was mixed, encourage their curiosity, and hopefully, draw them to go deeper into the truths he was revealing. When he was surrounded by faithful followers, he taught in a more direct way. Sometimes he would console them with the promises of God’s love and mercy,. At other times he would challenge them, but in an encouraging way. Since we, hopefully, want to be faithful followers—true Christians—we should want to respond to those challenges that Jesus directed and continues to direct to those who love Him.

We hear Him saying today: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? …. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub…you must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.” What is obvious is that Jesus does not want us to be persons whose only concern is to avoid doing

something so wrong that it puts our own soul in danger of being lost. He wants us to be persons who are doing our best to attract others to the Christian faith , to the Catholic Church. He wants us to be genuinely interested in others, concerned for both their material and spiritual well-being. He wants us to give an example of sincerity, justice, self-control, humility and love of God that others sooner or later notice. In other words, he wants us to growing in personal holiness. In one of the last letters that Pope John Paul II addressed to the whole Church, he wrote: “This ideal of perfection must not be misunderstood as if it involved some kind of extraordinary existence, possible only for a few ‘uncommon heroes’ of holiness. The ways of holiness are many, according to the vocation of each individual . . . The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction.”

And Pope Paul VI had this to say in Evangelii nuntiandi: 21. Above all the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. Take a Christian or a handful of Christians who, in the midst of their own community, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing of life and destiny with other people, their solidarity with the efforts of all for whatever is noble and good. Let us suppose that, in addition, they radiate in an altogether simple and unaffected way their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something that is not seen and that one would not dare to imagine. Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live: Why are they like this? Why do they live in this way? What or who is it that inspires them? Why are they in our

midst? Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and a very powerful and effective one.

We are not asked to be superheroes or persons who achieve some result that merits being recorded in a history book. It is not expected that we manage never to stumble or fall flat on our face. What is expected is that we will not be happy to do just the minimum throughout life, or simply try to protect ourselves, avoiding the biggest sorts of pitfalls. God wants us to make a difference for our families, friends and workmates, to show love and generosity, soothers will come to see that it makes a difference to believe in Christ, to be his disciple, a Catholic Christian.

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:24:41 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 5:1-12a

St. Matthew describes for us what was likely to be a frequent way of teaching employed by Our Lord. “He went up the hill.” Along Lake Genesareth there were the rolling hills typical of some parts of Galilee. Because of the large numbers of people that would gather, Jesus had to take some special measures to be able to speak to them and be seen. Just as on some occasions he would speak from the raised vantage point of Peter’s boat, set off a short distance from the shore, here he used the raised platform provided by a gentle slope. There would have been a certain solemnity about these occasions. In retrospect the disciples might have recalled Moses bringing down the words of God from Mount Sinai. But there must have also been a great familiarity. We are told, for instance, that Jesus “sat down.” And whereas no one dared accompany Moses on his visits to the summit of Sinai, here Jesus was surrounded by people eager to hear him and experiencing a real intimacy with him.

What he taught was often framed in the language of a parable that engaged even the superficial listener or the stubborn critic. At other times the teachings were more direct, probably because his hearers were largely the more sincere types and those who already considered themselves his disciples. The words of today’s Gospel are an example of such teachings. They are known to us as the Beatitudes. Here Jesus phrased things in a rhythmic or poetic form, matching virtuous attitudes and dispositions with promised blessings coming from God. More accurately than “Happy are…” is the translation “Blessed are…” From there comes the expression “The Beatitudes” ( beatus = blessed in Latin).

These sayings of Our Lord, which he perhaps repeated on different occasions and with varying groups of disciples, are central to the Gospel message of Our Lord and they form a program for Christian life. Notice that Jesus firstly says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The meaning of this has often been explained as a detachment from material things, and even from self. So we learn of the “spirit of poverty” and humility and are encouraged to grow in these dispositions by the promise of “the kingdom of heaven” (i.e. God Himself). On the contrary, if we are caught up and absorbed by the acquisition and possession of many things, putting our hearts and minds there so much that we seldom think of anything else, then we can hardly expect to find God and to enjoy his company. We even put ourselves in danger of losing him forever. Similarly, those who are vain, arrogant or self-absorbed, or who seek to achieve happiness through their own hands alone, miss the true meaning and perspective of life. That meaning lies in love – love of God and others. The love of God grows in the measure in which we acknowledge what we have received from Him and what he – far above all created things – is in Himself. Another “beatitude” urge us to be “gentle” or “meek” (in the way Our Lord was). Meekness is not weakness but strength – the strength to control anger and therefore not to fault through excess even in the face of injustice. Our Lord did not act in a domineering way even though He had the power to conquer the opponent. He was strong and firm but he did not bully or abuse. This is Christian meekness. Of the meek Jesus says: “They shall have the earth for their heritage.” How do we behave as parents, as supervisors, as neighbours, as friends, as citizens fighting for a just cause?

The Beatitudes refer to Moses and the Commandments. In this regard, Pope Leo the Great had to say: “And so it was that he who had spoken to Moses spoke also to the apostles. Writing in the hearts of his disciples, the swift hand of the Word composed the ordinances of the new covenant. And this was not done as formerly, in the midst of dense clouds, amid terrifying sounds and lightning, so that the people were frightened away from approaching the mountain. Instead, there was a tranquil discourse which clearly reached the ears of all who stood nearby so that the harshness of the law might be softened by the gentleness of grace, and the spirit of adoption might dispel the terror of slavery”

In their originality and profundity the Beatitudes are a sort of self- portrait of Christ, and for this very reason are invitations to discipleship and to communion of life with Christ. So as we listen to or read each of them we can carry on our own examination of conscience to see if we try to grow in these Christian attitudes day by day.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 07:00:56 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 4:12-23

We all know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and that he grew up in Nazareth, the town where Mary lived at the time of his conception. But we might have passed over the fact that for some period of time as an adult he settled in Capharnaum, another town in the northern region of Palestine known as Galilee. According to Matthew, this occurred after his return from the time he spent fasting in the wilderness outside of Jerusalem. By this time he had already attracted the following of a number of disciples, including Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John, Philip and Nathanael. His settling in Capharnaum may have had something to do with the close relationship already existing at this stage with the two sets of brothers, who together with the father of John and James (Zebedee) formed a fishing partnership. It seems that he actually stayed at Peter’s house, which overlooked the Sea of Galilee (Lake Genesareth).

Therefore when, as we hear in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus summoned these men saying “follow me”, he was not acting on the spur of the moment, nor were they following a perfect stranger. Zebedee may have been initially disappointed in his sons leaving the business he thought they would one day inherit. However, he was not taken totally by surprise. No doubt he too had come to admire the man from Nazareth whom his sons insisted was the long awaited Messiah. Later, we hear how his wife considered it an honour that her sons should be closely associated with Jesus.

Isaiah’s prophecy, read today, is familiar and very touching. Capharnaum bordered on the territories that had been assigned to the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali, sons of Jacob, centuries before Christ. This region, which later formed part of the northern kingdom, separated from Jerusalem and the Temple, was conquered by the Assyrians, as prophets had foretold. It became a land of spiritual darkness, isolated from the heartland of the covenant of Moses. Isaiah then foresees a spiritual reawakening and a privileged role for this unfortunate region. But it was to be in the distant future.

How clear is the fulfilment of this ancient prophecy with Jesus’ choice to live in the house of Peter and from there to begin his call to repentance, the spreading of the Good News of God’s salvation. “You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase; they rejoice in your presence as men rejoice at harvest time, as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.”

Most of the early disciples of Jesus came, then, from a region somewhat despised in the Jewish mindset. Remember how disparagingly they were sometimes referred to as “Galileans.” Yet how confident and happy they were to know that they had met Jesus. Some would leave everything they were most familiar with in order to assist him and become bearers of his message and teaching. They did not know everything about him, especially in those early months. But what they did know convinced them he was sent from God.

We are the heirs of their later, mature faith and knowledge. We know of his miracles and the world changing influence of his doctrine. Yet we may so often be reluctant to go out of our way to help others know something about Christ, his teaching and his Church. Perhaps it is largely a lack of confidence in our own ability to explain truths that others may not know or understand. This can be partly remedied by good reading and seeking advice. However, it may also be a result of a lack of personal prayer and dialogue with God. If we seldom bare our souls to him, call on his help, or examine our actions in his presence, then it is not surprising that we are lacking in courage or conviction when it comes to speaking about the deeper things of life and faith. But we should not give way to discouragement or frustration. A helpful confessor or good Catholic friend can often guide us towards ways of strengthening our personal relationship with God. The important thing is to want to be closer to Him and to want to help others be so as well. Then, perhaps when we least expect it, we will find ourselves being “fishers of men.” for God.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:26:15 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 1:29-34

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). These words of the John the Baptist, recorded in turn for us in the Gospel of John the Apostle, who was among the first to hear them, capture in an evocative way the great mystery of our salvation. The Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God.” Isaiah, in a series of prophecies, spoke of a “servant of God” who would be a light to all the nations, so that God’s salvation might “reach to the ends of the earth.” In another passage that forms a part of the same series he compares this “servant of God” with a lamb that “opened not his mouth”, “that is led to the slaughter” because “the Lord has laid on [Him] the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53: 6-7). But when John highlights this touching remark of the Baptist, the clearest reference seems to be to the Passover Lamb, that was yearly sacrificed by the Jewish people as a remembrance of theirliberation from slavery in Egypt.

Jesus would eventually die, be sacrificed on the Cross atop of Calvary Hill, precisely at the time the Paschal lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple. This coincidence was part of God’s providential plan. Jesus, innocent as a lamb, would nevertheless suffer and die making atonement for all human sin. Simultaneously, He would free us from the slavery of sin by meriting for us supernatural grace, to be received through baptism.

The image of the Lamb, representing Our Lord, has appeared in countless works of art and sculpture since early times. Isaiah also uses the expression “like a young plant” and “like a root out of dry ground.” All theses images convey Jesus’ sinlessness, his innocence, which stand out against the background of human disobedience, selfishness, pride and malice. They also help us realize that God becoming a man was not a power play to overwhelm us. Yes, the Baptist does warn of “fire” and the “winnowing fork”, which speak to relentless sinners of God’s justice and purification. But his naming of the Saviour as the Lamb of God means that God prefers to make himself the victim, if he can win us over to truth, moral goodness and love. “He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear his voice in the streets; he will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, till he brings justice to victory; and in his name will the Gentiles hope” (Isaiah 42:1 cited in Matthew 12: 19-21).

There is a big difference between “the fear of the Lord” – that gives rise to wisdom and which can come to us as a gift of the Holy Spirit – and being afraid of God. The former makes us sensitive to whatever goes against the love of God and Christian faithfulness. The latter can breed resentment and ultimately rebellion, while the person never really reacts against the injustice or ingratitude of his or her own faults. There can be an unhealthy sort of religious anxiety that prevents us from experiencing the genuine goodness and love of God. The proper knowledge of God and self-knowledge – something we should humbly ask for – lead, also with God’s help, to sincere conversion. Though at times a person is suddenly struck by a major spiritual discovery that results in an equally sudden life-changing conversion, this is not the way it always happens. Even if there is this sudden change of heart, it will normally need to be followed by many renewals of commitment. We should aspire to an on- going conversion, which, though perhaps marked by some relapses, normally small and short-lived, moves us ever nearer to God. The frequent remembrance of Jesus, the Lamb of God, like the thought of Jesus as Child, can help us to overcome false barriers of fear.

Baptism, it was noted, enables us to receive the grace that Jesus, the Lamb of God, merited for us. On the other hand, the sacrament of confession enables us to regain that grace should we lose it through serious sin. Frequent or devotional confession of even our lesser faults is a greatly formative and helpful way to experience the mercy and healing that Jesus offers. In the Mass, we find what is potentially the greatest source for the healing and strengthening of our souls. Try to remember before holy communion when you hear the priest celebrant say the very same words pronounced first of all by John the Baptist. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Our sins too!

The Baptism of the Lord

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 01:31:05 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 3:13-17

And when Jesus was baptised, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and a voice from heaven saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt 3:16-17).

In today’s feast we celebrate the baptism of Jesus by John in the waters of the Jordan. Though he himself had no stain to be washed away, he wished to submit himself to this rite as he submitted himself to the other requirements of the Law. As a human being he submitted himself to the laws that ruled and governed the lives of the people of Israel who had been elected by God to prepare the way for the Redeemer. John the Baptist carried out, energetically his mission to prophesy and arouse a great movement towards repentance as an immediate preparation for the coming of the Messianic Kingdom.

The Lord desired to be baptised, says St Augustine, so that he might freely proclaim through his humility what for us was to be a necessity (St Augustine, Sermon 51, 33).

By his baptism Jesus left for us the Sacrament of Christian Baptism, directly instituted by Christ with what would be a further progressive determination of its elements, and be imposed as a universal law from the day of his Ascension. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, the Lord was to say on that day. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:13).

In Baptism we receive faith and grace. The day we were baptised was the most important day of our lives. Just as the parched land does not yield its fruits if it does not get water, so also we who were like dried sticks can produce fruits of life only if we receive freely the gentle and abundant rainfall of grace from on high (St Irenaues, Treatise against Heretics, 3, 17). Before we received baptism we were outside the locked gates of Paradise, unable to bring forth the slightest supernatural fruit.

Today our prayer enables us to thank God for this totally undeserved gift, and to rejoice in the countless good things He has so lavishly bestowed on us. Thanksgiving is the very first emotion that should be born in us in response to our baptism: the second is joy. Never should we think of our baptism without deep feelings of interior gladness (Abbott Marmion, Christ, the Life of the Soul).

We must rejoice in the cleansing of our souls from the stain of original sin, and of any other sin we may have committed before our baptism. All men are members of the same human family which was originally damaged by the sin of our first parents. This original sin is transmitted as an inextricable part of our fallen human nature, by generation, not by imitation, and is to be found individually in each one of us (Paul VI, Credo of the People of God). But Jesus gave us Baptism as a specific means of purifying our human nature and freeing it from the terrible affliction of this sin we were born with. The baptismal water operates in a real way, signifying what the use of natural water signifies - the cleansing and purification from every blemish or stain (cf 1 Cor 6:11 and John 3:3-6).

Thanks to the Sacrament of Baptism you have been turned into a temple of the Holy Spirit, says St Leo the Great. Don’t ever let it happen, he exhorts us, that you drive away so noble a guest by your evil deeds, or ever again submit to the power of the demon: for the price you were bought with is the blood of Christ (St Leo the Great, Christmas Homily, 3).

The Epiphany of the Lord

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 02:42:27 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 2:1-12

(From Pope Francis, Epiphany 2018)

Three actions of the Magi guide our journey towards the Lord, who today is revealed as light and salvation for all peoples. The Magi see the star, they set out and they bring gifts.

Seeing the star. This is where it starts. But why, we might ask, did the Magi alone see the star? Perhaps because few people raised their eyes to heaven. We often make do with looking at the ground: it’s enough to have our health, a little money and a bit of entertainment. I wonder if we still know how to look up at the sky. Do we know how to dream, to long for God, to expect the newness he brings, or do we let ourselves be swept along by life, like dry branches before the wind? The Magi were not content with just getting by, with keeping afloat. They understood that to truly live, we need a lofty goal and we need to keep looking up.

Yet we can also ask why, among all those who looked up at the heavens, so many others did not follow that star, “his star” (Mt 2:2). Perhaps because the star was not eye-catching, did not shine any brighter than other stars. It was a star – so the Gospel tells us – that the Magi saw “at its rising” (vv. 2, 9). Jesus’ star does not dazzle or overwhelm but gently invites. We may ask ourselves what star we have chosen to follow in our lives. Some stars may be bright, but they do not point the way. So it is with success, money, career, honours and pleasures when these become our life. They are meteors: they blaze momentarily, but then quickly burn out and their brilliance fades. They are shooting stars that mislead rather than lead. The Lord’s star, however, may not always overwhelm by its brightness, but it is always there, ever kindly: it takes you by the hand in life and accompanies you. It does not promise material reward, but ensures peace and grants, as it did to the Magi, “exceedingly great joy” (Mt 2:10). But it also tells us to set out.

Setting out, the second thing the Magi do, is essential if we are to find Jesus. His star demands a decision to take up the journey and to advance tirelessly on our way. It demands that we free ourselves from useless burdens and unnecessary extras that only prove a hindrance and accept unforeseen obstacles along the map of life. Jesus allows himself to be found by those who seek him, but to find him we need to get up and go, not sit around but take risks, not stand still, but set out. Jesus makes demands: he tells those who seek him to leave behind the armchair of worldly comforts and the reassuring warmth of hearth and home. Following Jesus is not a polite etiquette to be observed, but a journey to be undertaken. God, who set his people free in the exodus and called new peoples to follow his star, grants freedom and joy always and only in the course of a journey. In other words, if we want to find Jesus, we have to overcome our fear of taking risks, our self-satisfaction and our indolent refusal to ask anything more of life. We need to take risks simply to meet a Child. Yet those risks are immensely worth the effort, since in finding that Child, in discovering his tenderness and love, we rediscover ourselves.

Bringing gifts. Having come to Jesus after a long journey, the Magi do as he does: they bring gifts. Jesus is there to give his life; they offer him their own costly gifts: gold, incense and myrrh. The Gospel becomes real when the journey of life ends in giving. To give freely, for the Lord’s sake, without expecting anything in return: this is the sure sign that we have found Jesus. For he says: “The gift you have received, give freely as a gift” (Mt 10:8). To do good without counting the cost, even when unasked, even when you gain nothing thereby, even if it is unpleasant. That is what God wants. He, who became small for our sake, asks us to offer something for the least of his brothers and sisters. Who are they? They are those who have nothing to give in return, the needy, the hungry, the stranger, the prisoner, the poor (cf. Mt 25:31-46). We give a gift pleasing to Jesus when we care for a sick person, spend time with a difficult person, help someone for the sake of helping, or forgive someone who has hurt us. These are gifts freely given, and they cannot be lacking in the lives of Christians. Jesus reminds us that if we only love those who love us, we do as the pagans do (cf. Mt 5:46-47). Today let us look at our hands, so often empty of love, and let us try to think of some free gift that we can give without expecting anything in return. That will please the Lord. And let us ask him: “Lord, let me rediscover the joy of giving.”

The Holy Family

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 04:15:03 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city,

Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him

(Luke 2:39-40).

The Messiah wanted to start his redemptive task in the bosom of a simple, ordinary family. The first thing that Jesus sanctified with his presence was a home. Nothing extraordinary happened during those years in Nazareth where Jesus spent the greater part of his life.

Joseph was the head of the family. He was a father according to the law and it was he who supported Jesus and Mary with his work. It is he who received the message as to what name he must give the Child: And you shall call his name Jesus, and heard the words of those who wanted to protect the Child: Rise, take the Child and his Mother and flee to Egypt (Matt 2:13). Rise, take the Child and his Mother and go to the land of Israel. Do not go to Bethlehem, but to Nazareth (cf Matt 2:20-23). It was from Joseph that Jesus learned his trade, which was to be his means of earning a living. Jesus must often have shown his admiration and affection for him.

From Mary, Jesus learned certain turns of phrase, popular expressions full of wisdom which he was later to use in his preaching. He saw how she kept back a little dough from one day to the next, so that it could act as leaven; she added water and mixed it with the new dough, leaving it to rise, well covered with a clean cloth. When his mother mended their clothes, the Child used to watch her. If a garment was torn she would look for a piece of cloth to match. Jesus, with a child’s curiosity, would ask her why she did not use a new piece of cloth. Our Lady explained to him that when new patches are washed they pull on the old cloth and tear it; that was why she had to make a patch out of used cloth ...The best clothes, the ones they wore on feast days, were kept in a chest. Mary also took great care to place certain aromatic plants between them so as to prevent moths from damaging them. Years later these occurrences will appear in Jesus’ preaching. We never forget this teaching which is fundamental to ordinary life. Mary spent nearly every day of her life like millions of other women who look after their families, bring up their children and take care of the house. Mary sanctifies the ordinary everyday things - what some people wrongly regard as unimportant and insignificant: everyday work, looking after those closest to you, visits to friends and relatives. What a blessed ordinariness, that can be so full of love of God! (J. Escrivá, Christ is passing by, 148).

Between Joseph and Mary there existed a holy affection, a spirit of service, and a mutual desire for each other’s happiness. This is Jesus’ family: sacred, holy, exemplary, a model of human virtues, ready to carry out God’s will exactly. A Christian home must be an imitation of the house of Nazareth: a place where there is plenty of room for God so that He can be right at the centre of the love that members of the family have for one another.

Is our home like this? Do we dedicate to it the time and attention that it deserves? Is Jesus its centre? Do we live only for the others? These are some questions which we could ask in our prayer today, whilst we contemplate Jesus, Mary and Joseph on the feast that the Church dedicates to them.

4the Sunday of Advent

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 02:28:59 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 1:18-24

St. Paul begins his letter to the Christians in Rome giving his credentials as an apostle who was “specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scriptures. This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendent of David.” Many years before St. Paul wrote, another man was also specially chosen and received this very same message of good news before it was known to anyone, apart from Mary of Nazareth. This man was Joseph, a carpenter, who had betrothed her. Both were of the lineage of the great king David, from whom prophets like Isaiah (first reading) foretold the Messiah (Christ or “Anointed One”) would descend. Many of the Church Fathers (early bishops and theologians) have testified to the belief that Mary had made a vow of virginity as a young girl or child. Such vows were hardly common among Jewish women of the time, who both naturally and religiously sought marriage as a way marked out by God and the manner in which the People of God, children of Abraham, would insure their own future and the coming of the promised Saviour. A young woman like Mary, whose parents were long deceased, would need, in the mind of her close relations, a suitable spouse. Joseph was thought to be the right man. Certainly, Mary, in all fairness, would not have tried to hide her own very personal and unusual commitment from her future spouse. At some point of time she spoke to Joseph of the inspiration that had led her to her life’s decision. He heroically accepted that his marital love for her must follow the special path of honouring her virginity. When she mysteriously conceived, the event brought Joseph to a new critical point. God intervened to assure him that he was to meant to have an indispensable role in the great salvation event of Christ’s coming. The angel Gabriel told Joseph: “She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus , because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.” We are only a couple of days away from Christmas. Think about what sort of man Joseph must have been: manly, resourceful, deeply thoughtful and with a super-natural understanding of life. He has no doubt influenced many men—fathers and husbands, priests and religious– in developing a virtuous masculinity. For single persons, he, like Mary, helps them understand that, with God’s grace, celibacy and virginity are possible and rewarding paths. For married people he develops an awareness of the many ways, apart from intimacy, in which marital love can and ought to be shown. For all of us St. Joseph can be, in the view of Teresa of Avila and other saints, a master teacher of interior life. The great Teresa called him “my father and lord.” St. Josemaria used as a personal watch word the recommendation “Ite ad Ioseph” (go to Joseph). Now as we near the marvellous feast of Jesus’ birth, we can ask him to help us pray near the Christmas Crib, looking at the Christ Child and realizing that He is God with us, Immanuel, and both God and man for us. There also at the Crib we can continue to learn from Mary and Joseph about the dignity God calls us to as his sons and daughters in Christ.

3rd Sunday of Advent

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 05:56:38 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 11:2-11

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near” (Phil. 4:4). These words of St. Paul are the entrance antiphon for this third Sunday of Advent. The imperative “rejoice” in Latin is gaudete; hence, it is traditionally called “Gaudete Sunday.” As at a similar point in Lent, the sobriety of Advent is tempered to allow for the emotions of excitement, expectation and joy. The violet colored vestments worn by the priest can be replaced with rose coloured ones in anticipation of a great celebration of Our Lord’s nativity – the Lord is near (Dominus prope est!).

The rich and poetic inspirations of Isaiah look forward to a great saving act of God. “Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom” (Isaiah 35: 1). This imagery suits our own nation’s experiences well. Then the prophet goes on to tell his followers that not only “shall they see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God” but he heartens them saying: “Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming…He is coming to save you.” Some of us will recall that another prophetic voice of our own time – that of John Paul II – similarly encouraged us at the beginning of his pontificate, saying “Do not be afraid.” Not long afterwards he published his first encyclical letter dedicated to Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of man (Redemptor hominis). Jesus is God who is coming, who has come. With Him come the answers to the deepest longings of the human heart. With Him come the remedies of all human misfortunes, especially that of falling into sin and being alienated from God, from others and even from ourselves.

A believing Christian should be a person who communicates joy, supernatural optimism, and even cheerfulness and good-humour to others. However, that doesn’t mean that they themselves always feel “on top of the world.” Like anyone, a good Christian experiences tiredness, disappointments, the weight of their own personal failings, and sorrows of one kind or another. Physical sickness can bring on feelings of depression , anxiety or impatience. In spite of this, for a person of conviction there remains the sure reference point of God’s love and mercy. There is the knowledge of the compassion of Christ, who literally shared in our human limitations and sufferings, like us in all things but sin. “Happy is the man who does not lose faith in me” (Matth. 11:6). St. James writes, “You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon” (James 5:8). In due time Christ provides the remedy for our needs. Though we may not feel it, we know that we are, in fact, on top of the world. “Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5). And Pope Leo the Great (5th century) gives us this Christmas message—
“….the day our Saviour was born: what a joy for us, my beloved! ….no season for sadness, [His] is the birthday of Life—the Life which annihilates the fear of death, and gives rise to joy, promising immortality” (Sermon 1 on the nativity).

We should ask God always to help us enter into and remain this deeper and supernatural way of seeing our own lives as sons and daughters of God. As St. Josemaria wrote: “The cheerfulness you should have is not the kind we might call physiological good spirits — the happiness of a healthy animal. You must seek something more: the supernatural happiness that comes from the abandonment of everything and the abandonment of yourself into the loving arms of our Father-God” ( The Way 659). St. Philip Neri, who lived in Rome during the troubled times of the so-called Reformation, was notorious for his affability and good humour. At times these even including gentle antics during his sermons that would make people chuckle with delight. These humorous twists are often also found in his writings on the spiritual life. He himself observed: “A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one.”

2nd Sunday of Advent

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 02:43:53 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 3:1-12

A voice cries in the wilderness: ‘Prepare a way for the Lord, make straight his paths’” Isaiah hears within his prophetic mind, several hundred years earlier on, the voice of John the Baptist. If any person is to be considered central to this first half of the Advent season, it is John, the forerunner of Jesus’ public mission. The spirit of Advent is spurred on by his awakening call. His birth preceded that of Our Lord, with whom he was closely related on Mary’s side, by some six months. His public activity as a prophet preceded the beginning of Our Lord’s public life by not much more. How deep and strong, however, was the impact of his mission. Quickly people took notice of this man who was so forceful and persuasive in his words and even more-so, in his actions and way of life. Even to this day, the Baptist serves this role as one who shakes us out of our complacency and makes us realize the true measure of life. John had grown up in an environment of deep faith and hope in God. His parents were Elizabeth and Zacchary, a devoutly observant couple advanced in years. He must have had contact with other fervent Jewish families and teachers. Above all, however, he was marked from the beginning by a special call and a special grace. This call led him to a life of self- denial, self-giving and prayer. He chose not to rely on the usual supports, comforts and pleasures, even legitimate ones, which most of his contemporaries turned to, often to the point of excess. Neither money, nor food and drink, nor camaraderie, nor the lawful comforts of marriage and the home were the goal of John’s life. The goal was God. His hope was entirely in God’s goodness, and justice, and beauty and mercy. What caused him anguish was human ingratitude, posturing, ignorance of virtue, greed, lust and violence. What gave him joy was the approach of the public appearance of the long-awaited Redeemer, whom he himself had not seen or felt close by since childhood or even infancy. For this reason, the Church draws upon John’s testimony on this second Sunday of Advent. We are asked, as a result, to examine ourselves about our own possible excesses, our own superficiality, our own ingratitude to God. We are encouraged to look to Jesus, as our Redeemer and the One who leads us to the truth about God and ourselves. “…Him the nations shall seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious,” Isaiah foretells. His dwellings are the innumerable churches throughout the world, especially those with tabernacles where Our Lord remains truly present. There he teaches those who seek him out in prayer. In Jesus’ presence, now a reality John the Baptist had looked forward to, we are able to have a sincere look at ourselves, without excessive fear because he is also our Saviour and not just our teacher and judge.

John’s words recorded in today’s Gospel are cutting and threatening because he knows he must cut through so much hardened pride and self-satisfaction. His aim is not to finally condemn his hearers but to bring about their conversion. He knows he is there to do the groundwork only, helping as many as he can to embrace Jesus and his words when they
finally encounter him. Something comparable happens to us when we discover the value of making a good confession regularly. Then our receiving Jesus in Holy Communion becomes more meaningful and beneficial. Certainly, if we deliberately failed to confess more serious sins, out of pride or a foolish fear, our communions could hardly be heartfelt embraces of God. What is more, we would give way to a hardening of our consciences and of our bad habits.

Tomorrow the Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Sinless as she was and is, the Blessed Virgin knows our struggles and does not abandon us when we fail. She is called ‘Refuge of sinners.” She reminds us of God’s mercy. She is a bulwark of calm and joyful strength, star of the sea, guiding us to Christ, who purifies us with the Holy Spirit and the fire of his love.

1st Sunday in Advent

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 02:27:01 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 24:37-44

Today we begin a special time of ‘waiting.’ It is called Advent. We wait for Our Lord’s ‘coming’ – in Latin we would say adventus. We wait for his birth in the spirit of those who waited in times past. It was the devout members of the people of Israel who waited from generation to generation for a saviour to be born who would establish a far reaching kingdom of peace, justice and love. This hope was spurred on by men inspired by God, largely those we refer to as prophets, like Isaiah whose words we heard in the first reading.

“Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares” (2: 3-4).

This great expectation and hope was maintained and even intensified in the period just before Our Lord’s birth. It existed in the hearts of men and women like Elizabeth and Zachary, Anna and Joachim, Simeon and the other Anna who so often frequented the Temple. Above all, it was in the heart of Mary of Nazareth.

This reliving of the waiting time before the birth of the Saviour, in the spirit of Mary, will be more and more, as the days of Advent go by, what dominates the Church’s liturgy of the word. Nevertheless, what comes to the fore at the very beginning of this season is the knowledge that the Church is now waiting for a second coming of Jesus. Because this coming will be the final and permanent establishment of his rule of justice and love, we need to be awake and doing our best to live what we know about God’s way. Jesus has already come and taught us this Way. In today’s Gospel it is He himself who urges vigilance. We must not be lax, behaving selfishly and shamefully, as if there was no objective morality or no need to ever give an account of our actions. Some time ago a sporting celebrity spoke of his deep remorse for choices he had made, for a time in which he had let himself go. It had tragic consequences even in the short term, especially for a person he valued. His way out of that pit was his turning to God.” Even in St. Paul’s time he already found it necessary to warn some Christians against this kind of carelessness, in which they were tempted to revert to what were old and bad habits. “The night is far gone,” he says, “the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy”(Romans 13: 12-13).

These passages of Scripture make it apparent that in every period of history, as well as in the lives of each individual person, there is no certainty about when we must give our account. Nevertheless as history moves on, or we as individuals get older, what is certain is that “salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed”(Romans 13: 11). So it is “full time for [us] to awake from sleep”(idem, v.11).

Advent is a ‘strong season.’ It is a healthy wake up call. We are encouraged to pray more attentively and sincerely. We are moved to be more generous to and caring of those around us. We are asked to make a better effort to do our work conscientiously and without unnecessary complaining. We are prompted to guard ourselves against excesses of any kind, and to be content with what is strictly necessary. Of course, these attitudes and this behaviour conflicts with some aspects of the season as it is lived by secular minded people. Let’s not be overcome, but rather let’s bring to others a more genuine sort of joy, one that does not resent but rather feeds on little sacrifices and acts of self-giving. We will be able to achieve this if we seek the greatest source of peace, consolation and strength - friendship with God, a filial relationship with our Creator and Redeemer. All in union with Mary.

Christ the King

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 09:17:01 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 23:35-43

THE END of the liturgical year is marked by the solemnity of Christ the King. These weeks, during which the Church asks us to consider the final things, lead us towards the certainty that Christ is the Lord of universal history and of the personal history of each one of us. “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation, for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth” (Col 1:15-16). Nothing that happens escapes his knowledge. None of our cares or desires are lost, since He governs all creation.

Regnare Christum volumus. We want Christ to reign. This is one of the aspirations that Saint Josemaría Escrivá often prayed from a very young age. He said that “Christ should reign first and foremost in our soul. But how would we reply if he asked us: ‘How do you go about letting me reign in you?’ I would reply that, for him to reign in me, I need his abundant grace. Only in this way will my every heartbeat and breath, my least intense look, my most ordinary word, my most basic feeling be transformed into a hosanna to Christ my King.” [1]

“Today Jesus asks us to let him become our king. A king who, with his word, his example and his life immolated on the Cross, has saved us from death. And this king indicates the path to those who are lost, gives new light to our existence marred by doubt, fear and the trials of each day. But we must not forget that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. He will give new meaning to our lives, sometimes severely tested also by our errors and our sins, only on the condition that we do not follow the logic of the world and its ‘kings’.” [2]

Shortly before Jesus’ death, the leaders of the people and the soldiers began to insult Him: “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself” (Lk 23:37). His kingship remained hidden from those men. They thought that true power lay in political domination over others. They could not conceive how this person, about to die on the cross, was someone important.

Our Lord’s response to these insults is eloquent. He doesn’t try to defend himself. His reign is that of one who gives himself for us, and only thus does our salvation begin. Jesus “wants to accomplish the Father’s will to the end, and to establish his kingdom not with weapons and violence, but with the apparent weakness of life-giving love. The kingdom of God is a kingdom utterly different from those on earth.” [3] This “apparent weakness” is what wins our freedom; it gives life to the world and to people, draws good out of evil and infuses grace without imposing itself.

Every Christian is called to be Christ passing by for those around them. Looking at our Lord on the Cross inspires us to give ourselves like Him. His example leads us to love unconditionally. Those who truly give themselves lay down their weapons and renounce self-defense. Thus we learn to listen without imposing ourselves, to value the good in each person, to offer our time and the joy in our heart without expecting anything in return.

In Christ’s silence in the face of those who were mocking Him, we discover that it is of little use to try to prove we are right or to get our way; even the good we do loses its value if we are not motivated by a sincere desire to serve, like Christ in his Passion. “Service! How I love this word!” Saint Josemaría said. “To serve my King and, through him, all those who have been redeemed by his blood. If only we Christians knew how to serve! For only by serving can we come to know and love Christ, and make him known and loved.” [4]

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 01:12:44 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 21:5-19

The year, as the Church measures it, is coming to an end,. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, true ruler of the universe. A week later the season of Advent begins, the start of a new liturgical year. We will be invited to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Our Lord by living a time of special prayer and penance, somewhat similar to the season of Lent. We notice that the readings presently remind us that time is not limitless. Human history had a beginning and it will also have an end—the end of time. Sacred Scripture repeatedly refers to a day of judgement that marks this end point of history. God, who is the “sun of righteousness” will test the worth of men and women the way the sun tests objects of varying consistency. The sun may make stubble burst into flame, while at the same time give healing to wounded but living flesh. In the first reading, “the arrogant” and the “evil doers” are compared to stubble. They are the ones who have built on the “sand” of pride, of selfishness, of cruelty or indifference. They lack any real consistency. “Those who fear God” are the men and women who have tried to live with an openness to God and to others. They have taken God’s commandments to heart. They have shone gratitude and a sense of
responsibility. Though they may have made mistakes or weakened in resolve at times, they have turned to the Father for forgiveness and healing.

The Gospel captures Jesus’ sweeping view of the course of history from the time of his coming onwards. He did not hide from us that Christians would often face great opposition. This opposition could reach the extremes of violent persecution. We could say that Jesus prepared us for the worse, without meaning that such extremes would be the norm. When St. Paul wrote to the Christians living in Thessalonica, he had to correct their misguided view that the end of the world would surely happen very soon. Perhaps it was this sort of speculation that led many of them to be uninterested in doing much of use. Paul needed to shake off their lazy pessimism. They had missed the point of Jesus’ teaching, which was that we should be ready at all times precisely by being faithful to our duties. We should make good use of our time, having the attitude that each day is a new opportunity for doing something good. Living this way, we are always prepared to welcome Christ, or to deal with situations that may require a certain degree of heroism. Because we have sought and responded to God’s grace on a day-to-day basis, we are in the right frame of mind to respond to even greater grace.

St. Paul’s strong correction of some persons living in Thessalonica points to the worth of ordinary work in God’s plan. Those who are able to work ought to do so since honest work is also noble and beneficial both for oneself and for others. The deliberately idle person, on the other hand, is likely to end up being soft as a sponge, lacking resilience. Like a sponge, he or she is prone to draw to themselves many useless worries and ridiculous temptations. The
comparison with sponges can go one step further to remind us that lazy persons are more likely to be self-indulgent, taking in too much food, drink or sensual impressions.

Work should not be regarded as an unpleasant necessity to be disregarded at the first opportunity. Don’t forget that having nothing to do can end up being more consistently tedious than having too much to do. We were made to love and love shows itself in deeds!

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:26:05 GMT

Instead of finishing the liturgical year as we usually do, counting up to the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are concluding 2025 with a string of diverse liturgical events. Last Sunday was the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed since it fell on 2 November. This is a good reminder for the rest of the month for all of us to keep in mind the souls currently undergoing purification in Purgatory on their way to heavenly bliss.

Today, November 9th , is the Feast of the Dedication of one of the first churches built in Rome following the persecution of our early brothers and sisters in the Catholic Faith during the Roman Empire. Namely the impressive Basilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist, commonly known as Saint John Lateran.

The basilica of St John Lateran was one of the first churches built by Christians following the early persecutions. It was raised in Rome under the Emperor Constantine and is the first Western church to have the invocation of the Saviour. The Lateran Basilica was consecrated by Pope Sylvester on this day in the year 324. Originally celebrated only in
Rome, the feast became universal in the Roman Rite as a sign of unity with the Holy See. This church continues to be the Cathedral of the Roman Pontiff to this day. The basilica is called ‘Mater Ecclesiae Romae Urbis et Orbis’, Mother of all the churches in Rome and of the world. Its long history evokes memories of the many thousands of people who have received Baptism within its ancient walls.

How important is the Church building itself! Human beings build different structures for determined purposes: bridges and roads for transportation and travel, schools to impart instruction, hospitals to care for the sick. Churches stand out as those buildings providing the Christian faithful with a place to worship: to come and speak with God, and listen to Him. As Pope John Paul II taught: Any Church is your house, and the house of God. Value it as the place where we encounter our common Father.

As the Ritual for the Dedication of Churches states: “the Church building is the place where the Christian community gathers together to hear the word of God, to offer up prayers of petition and praise, and, in a principal way, to celebrate the Sacred Mystery of our Faith. The Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, a unique image of the Church is reserved here.” This is why the tabernacle is given so much prominence.

This same document goes on to say: “The altar is surrounded by people made holy by participating in the sacrifice of the Lord and nourished by the celestial banquet, The august Sacrament is a sign of Christ, who is priest, host and altar of his own sacrifice.”

We should often bring to mind that the most Holy Trinity inhabits the souls of the just in a singular way. By means of the grace of God; Christ dwells in each one of us as in a temple (Leo XIII, Encyclical, Divinum illud munus, 9-5-1897). Meditation on this marvellous reality will help us to be more conscious of the transcendent importance of
living in God’s grace. We need to have a deep horror of offending the Lord, because sin destroys Christ’s temple and deprives our souls of friendship with God.

How grateful we should feel here at St. Mary Star of the Sea, to have such a dignified and splendid building in which to come together to hear the word of God, make our common and individual prayers heard to the Almighty Father, receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist—and just sometimes spend time with Him here. We invoke the several saints represented by statues and paintings around the Church, our “older” Brothers and Sisters in the Catholic Faith. We are all really one family.

Month of November

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:04:38 GMT

All Souls

Sometimes All Souls Day falls on a Sunday and when it does, it takes precedence over the ordinary Sunday liturgy, important as that liturgy is. What this reflects is the Church’s continuing care for all the faithful, including those who have departed this life and still may not have reached their definitive destination of heaven.

On All Souls Day we join forces in prayer and in the offering of Mass as suffrages for these persons who may include relatives and friends of ours. It is the Church’s firm belief that God’s mercy provides those who die repentant but still in need of purification and amendment with a further remedy. They enter a state which we commonly call purgatory. In this state they undergo a process of painful purification while at the same time they satisfy a demand of justice.

Personal sins are actions, words or consented thoughts and desires that offend against God’s love and either directly or indirectly harm others as well. What is more, they inevitably cause a person harm in their inner being or spiritual self. One may say that they deform the image of God in which we are created. Of course, this goes more often than not unnoticed, at least for some time. In fact, the person usually considers they have acted in their own interest, or that they have succeeded in enjoying some pleasure, or have avoided some difficulty or suffering. But by acting against God’s love, they have been diminished as far as the true measure of a human life is concerned. Scripture points out that even just or holy men and women have known sin in their lives. What keeps them just or holy is not the fact that they never sin, but that they react against their sins as often as they find they have committed them. They turn back to God with repentance. They try to make amends, even when this costs a good deal of effort. They are prepared to do penance in the form of prayer, voluntary self-denial or the patient bearing of some hardship. They trust in God’s forgiveness. They seek his help, his grace in avoiding similar offences in the future. This is what Job, whose trust in God is so clearly expressed in the first reading, eventually did. As a result, he returned to an even deeper sense of friendship with God than that from which he fell. A person who lives this way normally ends up sinning less and less, and moves towards personal holiness. However, if they do not, then sin takes its toll. If they die repentant but without making amends, then this must be done after death. This is purgatory, which for us remains largely mysterious. However, one should not doubt that it exists and that, due to moral failings we neglect to overcome with God’s grace, anyone of us could find ourselves there.

Getting back to where we started, All Souls Day gives us the opportunity to renew our prayer for those who have died, in case they are still in this state of purgation. The best way we know of praying for them is to offer Mass on their behalf. This kind of ‘suffrage’ bases itself directly on Christ’s redeeming Sacrifice on Calvary, while including something we add
ourselves – the sincere desire to see their time of separation from God and the other joys of heaven ended. Finally, let it be noted that if our suffrages are not needed for particular persons we have in mind, they will benefit others. Our charitable action, on the other hand, will represent a real benefit even for ourselves since sincere love for others brings us closer to Christ and makes up for our own sins. “Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.”

Mass Requests

To request a Mass to be offered for the Holy Souls at Saint Mary’s, please use the Mass Offering envelopes at the back of the church. Please indicate the name of the deceased person(s) for which the Mass will be offered and leave the stipend for the priest: either cash in the envelope or use the tap and go terminal and indicate the amount on the envelope. The stipend or offering is a small monetary gift that is customary to help support the priest and
church. The intention will be mentioned only when the family have arranged with the priest a date for the celebration and will be present at the Mass.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 01:56:30 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 18:9-14

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’

St. Paul, whose words we hear once again with the reading from the 2nd letter to Timothy, must be recognised as one of the greatest of all the saints. It must also be said that he was humanly gifted with a sharp mind and, perhaps, with a strong constitution, though this latter is not certain. What is certain is that he was humanly courageous. Though that boldness of his was once used for a misguided cause – the stamping out of Christian teaching – it served the opposite, holy cause of spreading faith in Christ for the greater part of his life. It is surprising that so few films have been made about Paul, because the plot of his life was so eventful and momentous. If Paul was perhaps initially a proud young man, life and the grace of Christ taught him sincere humility. He recognised his personal errors and was frank about his limitations as well as his struggles against temptations of various sorts. In one of his letters he calls himself “the least of the apostles” and “unfit” to be called one (1 Cor 15:9). In another letter he confesses to the common human experience of an interior battle with bad inclinations (Rom 7: 22-25). At the same time, Paul always acknowledges the help that he has received from God – “grace of God which is with me” – to achieve what he has achieved. At the end of his life he is able to rejoice in the fact that he has not given up - “I have fought the good fight, I have run the race” (2 Tim 4:7). He recognizes that righteousness belongs only to God – who is holy in Himself - and we receive a share in it as a crowning touch at the end of life, if we are faithful.

St. Josemaría Escrivá would sometimes ask young people how many saints might there be here on earth. No one would venture to answer whether there might be few or many. He would then give his answer - “none!” Then he would add something like this: “saints only in heaven”. He would further explain that here on earth there are only saints in the making. Yes, we are all called to holiness and there are many people – hopefully ourselves included - who live in the state of grace. But we should never be complacent and self satisfied, like the Pharisee in the parable that Jesus tells in today’s gospel passage. We need to continually work at our Christian vocation, calling on God’s help, and also on his forgiveness.

This is precisely what that man who prayed at the rear of the Temple did. He went away the better for it. How important it is for each one of us to face up to our failings. How fortunate we are to know about God’s mercy and love. How good it is that we have a special sacrament that helps us not to be proud. How great is the sacrament of confession and reconciliation that allows us to make amends for sins both great and small. We are assured of God’s forgiveness and grace as often we make sincere use of it. Yes, St. Paul did sometimes refer to his living fellow Christians as “saints.” They had been sanctified through baptism, and they were doing their best to live in God’s grace. To that extent they were holy people, but not in the sense of being totally without fault or weakness.

We should never let discouragement, much less despair, enter our lives. We cannot let pride get the better of us, making us frustrated and bitter. Ours should be a cheerful and sporting spirit. “Is any one of you sad,” writes St. James the Apostle. “Let him pray” (James 5. 13 ). This is what the publican did. And he went away with his hope renewed, happy to have experienced the Fatherhood of God.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 02:13:16 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 18:1-8

Amalek (or the Amalekites) was the collective name of a restless and aggressive tribe of Semitic origin who periodically harassed the Israelites. They were a nation of depraved customs, much like the neighbouring Canaanites who occupied the land promised to Abraham —now divided between modern day Israel and Palestine. Underlying Israel’s battles with these people was the perennial struggle between good and evil. The People of God first encountered this group as they were being led by Moses through the Sinai peninsula towards their future homeland. The passage of Exodus read today describes how Joshua led the fight of resistance against the Amalekites, while Moses stood on a hill praying in the manner of those times—with arms outstretched and raised upwards to heaven. When eventually Moses tired and his arms sagged, the advantage went from Joshua’s men to the enemy. In this way it became apparent that the Israelites needed to rely on God for victory and not just on their own strength or tactics. Seating Moses down and holding up his arms, as Aaron and Hur did, insured the triumph of God’s chosen ones. The lesson we gain from this historic event is that winning out over sinful habits, temptations and whatever promotes evil in the world will always require not just effort and struggle but prayer and reliance on God’s grace. What is most moving about this passage is that it foreshadows Jesus’ own triumph on the Cross. With outstretched arms that could not sag, Our Lord had surrendered himself to a suffering that was at the same time a persisting prayer. This prayer insured the eventual victory - in human affairs—of good over evil, of God’s love over Satan’s hatred and perversions. In moments like the one described, both Moses and Joshua can be seen as figures of Christ.

The victory of good over evil is not always apparent, much less immediate. This serves to explain the parable Our Lord recounts – not without its touch of humour - of the poor widow who seeks justice from an unjust judge. Even though the judge has no concern for her, and delays taking any action, she continues with her regular visits. In the end she wears him down and he sees that she is satisfied. The fact that she did not lose hope resulted in her achieving a good outcome. What Our Lord wants us to know is that justice will, indeed, be done in due time, and men and women who do not lose faith will be the beneficiaries. At the same time he laments our weakness of faith by posing the question: will there be faith when the Son of Man returns? How well Jesus knows us, with our doubts and wavering, our impatience and limited vision of events and situations. For this very reason he is always prepared to give us his grace to overcome these weaknesses. Are we humble enough to recognize the need for this grace, in order to live our lives with a supernatural point of view, maintaining trust in God. Or will pride make us stubborn in relying only on our own subjective impressions or feelings. Such pride can result in great bitterness, especially when things go apparently wrong. A couple of recent feature films, starring well known comedians, portrayed professional men who were ambitious but always missing out, each feeling himself the victim of ridiculous contradictions. When they were granted the preternatural possibility of organizing their lives as they felt like, their use of this power eventually led to far worse frustrations and sadness. Finally, they realized their foolishness and self-centredness. Their new-found humility and sincerity turned them around, enabling them to see life in a more generous and objective way. What followed was a capacity to love others, to be loved and the happiness stemming from that. God’s love for us is real, it is creative and it is sanctifying. We need to allow ourselves to be formed by Him into the image of his Son, who met the Cross of contradiction, turned it into a prayer of trust and self-giving and so redeemed us and the world from evil.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 22:58:36 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 17:11-19

Both the first of today’s readings and the Gospel passage deal with persons miraculously cured from one of life’s worse scourges—leprosy. However, the lesson to be drawn is not about how miracles can happen. It is about discovering the true God who can do miracles, beginning with the miracle of the universe and of our own existence. Naaman was a Syrian military chief afflicted by leprosy. A young Jewish girl, captured in an invasion, served in his household. Moved by pity over the state of her master, she told him of the great Jewish prophet Eliseus, who was known to perform miracles by God’s grace. In desperation, Naaman undertook a journey to seek him out. Once there he had to overcome his pride and scepticism to follow the simple instructions of the man of God. And so he was cured. More importantly, he came to recognize that the God of Israel was the one true God. From then on it would be this God that he worshipped.

The New Testament recounts several cures of lepers by Jesus. Luke is the only evangelist who records the incident of ten lepers all cured on the same occasion. All these men have sought Jesus out in their desperation. All showed themselves prepared to follow Jesus’ simple instruction. All were cured on the way to present themselves to the priests. Once there, all but one left it at that, no doubt overjoyed at their regained health. But were they the wiser and the better for it? Nothing more is said about them. There was one out of ten, however, who was the wiser. He went out of his way to show his gratitude by returning to Jesus and acknowledging before others what had happened. He was a Samaritan and, therefore, a foreigner as far as the Jews were concerned. But he had found faith in the true God. He, like the others, had been cured of a terrible illness. Now he alone, it would seem, had taken up the path to entry into the new People of God. It was this latter blessing that was the greater—to know and be devoted to the true God.

It is possible for a person to go not much farther in their faith than seeking from God protection from various ills and the securing of certain advantages in life. Faith ought to lead us to the God behind the gift, because He is the ultimate Gift, whether or not his presence be constantly felt and consoling. This ought to be the great hunger of our spiritual life—to know Him, and to love Him, with the loyalty of our life of worship and with our daily effort to live with a Christian outlook on life. Many people admired Mother Theresa for her tireless work on behalf of the poorest of the poor. To these people, and maybe even to us, this service seemed to be the eloquent lesson of her vocation. It was truly an extra-ordinary testimony to an essential part of the Gospel message. However, what was an even more important testimony in Saint Teresa of Kolkata‘s life was the quest for God and the yearning to contemplate the face of Christ. Her deepest conviction was that knowledge of and possession of God was the most important outcome of our existence. Though this should require sacrifice and even prove arduous, nothing less could satisfy the heart of man or woman, who are made for God.

Roof Restoration Update

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 04:18:11 GMT

Work has commenced, where restoration to the spire has been complete. Please see below for the before and after photos. The next stage will be restoration to the nave.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 00:29:20 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 17:5-10

Though little is known about the prophet Habakkuk, it is reasonably certain that he lived in the latter part of the 7th century BC. He foresaw and witnessed the captivity of Jerusalem by the Chaldean forces (Babylonians). The anguish he expresses in today’s first reading has to do with seeing how much evil is occurring around him. He wonders why God does not forcefully intervene. The holy city is in turmoil with injustices of all kinds. When God makes known to him that the imminent punishment will come with the invasion of the Chaldeans, Habakkuk poses another question. This good man finds difficulty in seeing how God can allow a pagan nation like Babylon to be the means of punishing the injustice of his people. So this book presents us with a picture of ourselves who can so easily end up questioning God’s role in history. Our limited view of reality together with varying degrees of vanity, self-centeredness and impatience explain this tendency to question God when life becomes difficult. What the prophet must learn is that though God’s plan unfolds slowly, leaving him for some time in the dark, “come it will, without fail.” St. Josemaría Escrivá would often say: “God does not lose battles.” Even though it can seem at times that evil prevails, in fact, it can never have the last word, since nothing compares with the all reaching wisdom and strength of God. However, given the short reach of our reason, we must exercise our faith to acknowledge God’s presence in each and every moment, especially when things get tough. God laments: “See how he flags (wavers, gets slack), he whose soul is not at rights.” How deep does our love of God go? How committed are we to what is morally good, just and decent? How sincere is our love for others? “The upright man will live by his faithfulness.” Trials tend to uncover hidden weaknesses. However, such self-revelation can be beneficial, helping us to be less attached to ourselves and more oriented to God. “Because You, O Lord, are my strength” (cf. Ps 30.5).

St. Luke reports that on a particular occasion some of the Apostles turned to Jesus and, with apparent urgency, beseeched Him saying: “Increase our faith!” In response, Our Lord said: “Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you. Mustard seeds are very small. Yet it would seem that our faith is smaller still. How easily we can be discouraged from following through with a good initiative, resulting from a spiritual motive, when we feel tired, or lazy or when we fail to get a quick result or feeling of satisfaction. Those who have risen to great sanctity and achieved great good did not see their dreams realized overnight. They often experienced dryness in prayer, the misunderstanding of others, and obstacles put in their way, at times even by good and religious people. Are we really just looking for quick personal satisfaction? Is our heart really true about wanting to serve God, our families and the Church? Notice the lesson of Jesus that Luke situates here in his Gospel. It is about being prepared to serve without immediate reward. Should a servant expect to end up eating and resting before he has actually finished his duties? The answer is “no, not normally.” The moral is that we should be prepared to persevere in the fulfilment of our Christian and human responsibilities even when short term rewards are lacking. Such behaviour shows a real faith and a true good will. Such is the road to human maturity and, finally, to personal sanctity.

Faith and faithfulness are two words that do not mean exactly the same thing, but for a Christian they are related. Faith can help us cope with difficult situations and regain calm in the face of contradictions and unforeseen challenges. Faith can also enable us to be faithful in our daily commitments of work and family. Faith is always needed when it comes to the fulfilment of religious and spiritual duties; more so, when these do not prove as gratifying as when we first took them up. Making the effort to bring our lives to our prayer and meditation could end up feeling tedious. However, if we persevere in doing so, it will always end up making a difference in how our lives are lived. And what is more we will one day hear Our Lord say to us: “Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master!” (Matt. 25: 21.23)

Patronal Feast Day - St Mary Star of the Sea

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 10:13:29 GMT

Patronal Feast Reflection - celebrated Sunday 28 September 2025.

Today we at St Mary’s happily celebrate our Patronal Feast remembering how this church and parish have been dedicated to the honour and entrusted to the intercession of Our Lady, under her ancient invocation as Star of the Sea. The following words of Pope Benedict XVI offer us great encouragement to foster our love and prayer to Mary under this beautiful title: “With a hymn composed in the eighth or ninth century, thus for over a thousand years, the Church has greeted Mary, the Mother of God, as “Star of the Sea”: Ave maris stella. Human life is a journey. Towards what destination? How do we find the way? Life is like a voyage on the sea of history, often dark and stormy, a voyage in which we watch for the stars that indicate the route. The true stars of our life are the people who have lived good lives. They are lights of hope. Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history. But to reach him we also need lights close by—people who shine with his light and so guide us along our way. Who more than Mary could be a star of hope for us? With her “yes” she opened the door of our world to God himself; she became the living Ark of the Covenant, in whom God took flesh, became one of us, and pitched his tent among us” (cf. Jn 1:14; n.49).

When it comes to living a truly Christian way of life, the greatest model we know we must look to is Jesus Christ himself. He possessed all the authentic virtues a human being is called to develop in order to be fully human. When the book of Genesis recounts the creation of the first man and first woman, it teaches that God’s intention was to make them “in the image and likeness” of himself. Nothing created can be a total “image and likeness” of God, because God is infinite and, as such , he is unique. Just the same, he can create beings who manifest, in a real but limited way, crucial aspects of himself, such as his intellect and free will, or who share to a high degree in his attributes of goodness, beauty and holiness. Our first parents were made and meant to be such images and likenesses of God to each other and to their children. As human beings they were the “apple of God’s eye”, the reason for which He had chosen to create the whole universe—the environment for their development. However, their great sin of disobedience and disunity with God disrupted all that. Though they continued be, on some level, “in the image of God.” by means of their natural gifts, they lost the “likeness” to Him because they lost the intimate relationship that grace gives. Because God did not cease to love them—and us—he went on to set the stage for the coming of his very own Son—as the perfect God who would become perfect man. So it was that the birth of Jesus Christ was announced to Mary by the angel with these words: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Jesus became one of us not only so as to be able to make amends for our many sins, acting on our behalf, but also, as “perfect man”, to serve us as an example and model for our humanity, so we might become—as we are meant to be—both images and likenesses of God our Father.

Yet God also wished to give us another model, since we, as human beings, have been made male and female. This other model is the woman whom Jesus presented to us from the Cross, saying “Behold your Mother.” She is the woman whom early Church Fathers called: “the new Eve.” She is Mary who has become for us a guide and example drawing us to Christ our Saviour—She is the Star who in times of confusion or temptation lights the darkness and gains for us grace to act in a truly human and divine way. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, teach us to believe, to hope, to love with you. Show us the way to his Kingdom! Star of the Sea, shine upon us and guide us on our way!”

(Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, n.50)

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 03:27:52 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 16:1-13

In the Gospel of the Mass, the Lord tells the parable of the unjust steward who is forced to give an accounting to his master (Luke 16:1-13). The cunning steward thinks to himself, What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship. The steward calls in his master’s debtors and awards each one of them favourable settlements. To the first debtor he says, How much do you owe my master? He replies, A hundred measures of oil. The steward responds, Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then the steward asks another debtor, And how much do you owe? He answers, A hundred measures of wheat. The steward tells him, Take your bill, and write eighty.

When the owner discovers what his steward had done, he wryly commends this shrewd behaviour. And Jesus, perhaps with a tinge of sadness, adds, The sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light. The Lord does not mean to praise the dishonesty of this administrator who prepared for his future security. Why did the Lord propose this parable? asks St Augustine, Not because that servant was a model for us to imitate. Nonetheless, the worldly-wise steward had an eye to the future. So too should the Christian have this determination to secure his eternal reward. If not, the steward puts him to shame (St Augustine, Sermon 359,9-11). The Master praised the quick-wittedness, the decisiveness, the shrewdness, the firm resolve of the steward who made the most of a
difficult situation. He did not give in to discouragement.

We are well accustomed to seeing people make unbelievable sacrifices in order to improve their life-style or standard of living. At times we may be taken aback by the lengths people will go to acquire more wealth, power or fame. The media frequently trains a spotlight on ambitious people and their accomplishments. Well, we Christians must put the same amount of zeal into the service of God. This undertaking has both a material and a spiritual dimension. In the material realm, our society should manifest an authentic concern for the needs of the poor that is shown in education, just remuneration, meaningful social security benefits and programmes directed for the public welfare. In the spiritual realm, we have to make a heroic effort to win Heaven. What zeal men put into their earthly affairs! Dreaming of honours, striving for riches, bent on sensuality! Men and women, rich and poor, old and middle-aged and young and even children: all of them alike.

When you and I put the same zeal into the affairs of our soul, then we’ll have a living and working faith. And there will be no obstacle that we cannot overcome in our apostolic works (Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 317).

At times, it seems as if the children of this world are more resolute in the pursuit of their goals than we Christians. They live as if there existed only what is here below, and they single-mindedly focus their attention on that end. The Lord wants us to put ourselves entirely into his concerns - personal sanctity and apostolate - with at least the same

determination as that with which others engage in worldly concerns. Jesus wants us to have a real interest in his things. This is the only objective that is truly worthwhile. No ideal is comparable to that of serving Christ, of using the talents we have been given as means to that everlasting goodness.

(In Conversation with God, Francis Fernandez)

Our Lady Star of the Sea

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 03:31:05 GMT

Our Parish Patronal Feast Day

We will celebrate our parish patronal feast day on Sunday 28 September at the 10 am Mass .

All are welcome, and invited to remain after Mass for refreshments.

Back in 1852, our parish was fittingly entrusted to Our Lady Star of the Sea (Stella Maris), patroness of seafarers, due to Melbourne’s port laying in the church’s shadow. Our Lady’s intercession, care, and protection, was invoked for the many Catholic immigrants flooding in during the Gold Rush, and today, as pilgrims on our own journey, we too invoke our Lady Star of the Sea to be our guiding star to Jesus. Let us pray for our parishioners, priests and visitors, and those who have passed on, whose prayers, donations, and labour gave us this incredible church.

Our Lady Star of the Sea, Pray for us!

For a brief history on our church go to our About page:

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 02:11:28 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 3:13-17

“Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). What does St Paul mean by insisting that he glories only in the Cross of Christ? Why would one “glory” in such a frightful thing as a cross upon which a man is set to die a painful death? Many devout Christians could give an answer these questions. However, for someone without faith, or who coldly looked upon a crucifix merely as a spectacle of cruelty, it would seem madness to think this way. Even Paul himself understood that the Cross was “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:22).” Yet for Christians, he added that Christ crucified was “the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

First one must accept and understand that it was the Son of God who was on the Cross, and not just some unfortunate individual overtaken by human cruelty. Jesus was on the Cross because he - being both man and God - freely accepted this outcome. He foresaw it, and however much fear he experienced in his final hour, he let it happen. He acted this way out of love for his Father’s will. He also acted this way out of love for us. The fact that he overcame his natural fear and died on a Cross, an instrument designed to occasion great pain, shows the greatness of his love. It must have been largely for this reason – to show limitless love - that God the Father asked this sacrifice of him. The very structure of a cross served to show love, insofar as it meant his arms would be extended both in a position of prayer (according to ancient custom) and in the form of an embrace. “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth,” said Jesus “will draw all men to myself” (John 12: 32-33).

Lifted up on the Cross, Our Lord was able to teach us how to be free and to cure us of all manner of spiritual and moral illness. St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the Church’s greatest thinkers, said he had learned more at the foot of the Cross than from many books. We too can learn so much by reflecting on the example of Jesus at Calvary. That God would, as St Paul says, “empty himself” and take rather the position of a servant, and even allow himself to be humbled to the point of death on a Cross teaches us the foolishness of human pride.

Moreover, Jesus nailed to the wood, stripped of all his belongings, speaks to us of his detachment from possessions. For Our Lord, his personal love of the Father and of his Father’s will was far more important than having many things. We, on the other hand, so easily are led to believe that happiness lies in owning ever more. How often this causes
people to drift apart! Because of Christ’s love for us and for our salvation, he was always prepared to set aside his own pleasure and comfort and even to bear with exceeding pain. Yet we end up neglecting duties towards persons we should love because we are absorbed in seeking sensual enjoyment or in entertaining ourselves. For the same reason we experience great difficulty in relating to God on a personal level. Prayer is neglected and when attempted quickly abandoned. And, very often, we are not prepared to be patient with people or with what requires a sustained effort. The slightest annoyance or discomfort causes us to complain and become sad.

Look at the Cross and at Jesus raised upon it and you will see love, a love that governs and enriches all, giving the things of this world their proper meaning. Contemplating the Cross has motivated so many people to react to their own selfishness and pride. This is why we celebrate a feast that honours the Cross, the instrument by which God, in Christ, has saved us.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 03:09:19 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 14:25-33

Many of Our Lord’s teachings or confidences are expressed with words of tenderness and love. Yet others seem to be “hard sayings”, being sharp in their language, challenging or difficult to understand. The first reading taken from the Book of Wisdom provides an explanation why this is so. It is largely due to the weakness of our fallen human nature and the way we perceive things. The way we think is often affected by strong emotions, by sinful habits, or by pride. At the very least there is the fact that we tend to judge things in a self-centered if not selfish way.

On the contrary, God’s knowledge and intentions are above these kinds of limitations. His wisdom in infinite and his intentions in relation to ourselves as his children are always just, generous and holy. “As for your intention, who could have learnt it, had you not granted wisdom and sent your holy spirit from above?” we hear in the first reading. To grasp these more difficult teachings, we need to ask God, with sincere humility and trust, for greater wisdom.

We might want to imagine the occasion mentioned in today’s Gospel. A great number of people are walking along the road as Our Lord travels from one village to another. Most are not committed disciples but rather people who are hoping for a cure of some illness or for some sign to be worked by Our Lord. Others are curious with little else to do than to join the crowd and relieve their boredom. At a certain moment, Jesus turns around and shakes their muddled minds with a striking statement. “If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple” Then he goes on to tell the parables Luke records for us. These may have intrigued many as if they were riddles. But many others must have realized some deep lesson was contained in them. We know how later it was not uncommon for the apostles and other disciples to question Our Lord about the meaning of such parables.

The parables, as found in Luke, are recounted between the strong statement above and these final similar words of Jesus . “So…none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.” Our Lord teaches us that the way to our eternal salvation must pass through the realization that nothing is to be preferred to God and that anything that could separate us from Him must be despised.

Jesus was the one who most loved His own mother and who reminded us of the commandment to honour our parents and care for them in their needs. But here he alerts us to how a disordered attachment to others, to possessions and to self acts as a obstacle to our own eternal happiness. The parables suggest how a person might try to seek their own happiness in a selfish way, to build their ivory tower in order to then live in it indefinitely. But of course, this is impossible, as death will come sooner or later. Such a person is bound to feel that they never really achieved that enduring sense of self-satisfaction. Or a person might adopt a defensive, even a warring attitude against God and what life presents them with. In either case what results is a delusion and an acting against what really constitutes a person’s way of sanctification and fulfillment, which is attained through the love of God and the grace that inspires it. In fact, whatever adversities life presents and whatever challenges, these are permitted by God as means of purification and growth. Such is the meaning of taking up one’s cross each day, to follow Christ, who bore his Cross for us.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 04:27:45 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 14:1,7-14

Though we have probably heard or read today’s Gospel passage many times, it may not yet have occurred to us that Jesus was hardly just giving advice about where to sit at someone else’s dinner table. It is good to note that St. Luke introduces Jesus’ comment by saying that he told his fellow guests at the Pharisee’s house a “parable.” A parable is a story that illustrates deeper and broader meanings. Our Lord’s parables usually convey important moral teachings or give instruction about spiritual or supernatural realities. The parables Jesus uses on this occasion are inspired in what he sees happening around him in the Pharisee’s house. Members of this religious group were very image conscious and gave great importance to external details like dress, mannerisms, detailed rituals, and having their social position recognized. Though such things have their place, for the Pharisees they became more important than the sincere effort to grow in personal virtue, kindness, interior prayer and good intention. Though there were good men among them, many could be exceedingly proud, arrogant and intolerant. Our Lord Himself would eventually become a victim of their intolerance and of the jealousy of the Sadducees, another group of elite persons in Judea. Jesus remarks, then, are really aimed at these major defects, which, sadly, are not uncommon even today. In fact, we are virtually assured of finding traces of them in our own selves. So Our Lord begins by posing the similar situation of being invited to a wedding banquet.

The image of a wedding is not accidental. Jesus constantly uses the image of a wedding banquet to speak of our being invited by God to eternal life in communion with Him. The way to heaven is not found or followed by those who make proud declarations of self-praise, or at least think in these terms, nor by those who constantly put themselves before others. It is found and followed by men and women who strive to remain humble of heart. Those who will find themselves in the first places in heaven are they who were happy to make way for others. These seats will be occupied by those who knew how to be of service, who were prepared often to wait their turn in the things of this world instead of stepping upon others. “The last shall be first”, Jesus concludes.

Humility does not mean shying away from taking on important roles that one is, in fact, qualified to fulfill. It means not exaggerating our merits. It means understanding that our strengths and aptitudes are gifts entrusted to us so that we may use them to promote not only our own well being but that of our fellow travellers through life. At the same time, a humble person recognizes the merits of other people. Such a person appreciates whatever good is done to himself or herself, even if it is not something of great weight. St. Teresa of Avila used to say that she was grateful for as little a thing as a sardine that might be given to her. Notice that Jesus then goes on to form another parable likewise inspired in what he observes on this occasion. It is the suggestion of inviting to a festive occasion those who can later return the favour in like manner. Once more we should understand the lesson broadly. Do not give simply so you can later receive. Do not only seek the friendship and company of those who can help you. Do not limit your interest, or your courtesy only to those who are of your own social background or position in society. Strive to treat each person you meet with respect, and share your good fortune especially with those who have little to spare or who need the gift of someone else’s concern. And do not be proudly condescending in doing such things. Follow the example of our God who sat down at table beside us.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 02:13:50 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 13:22-30

Today’s Gospel passage, like a few other recent ones, presents us with teachings of Our Lord that touch upon our personal salvation and the need to be vigilant. This time the image used is that of a narrow gate. Jesus speaks in response to a question people still want to ask today: “Will there only be a few saved?” The answer many seek is one that gives assurance that there is nothing to be concerned about. However, Jesus does not give a direct answer. He gives no idea of numbers or percentages. Nor does he imply that all are guaranteed a place in God’s kingdom. Instead he cautions that entry to heaven is not a foregone conclusion and that it, in fact, makes definite demands. These demands are the narrow gate. If a person deliberately ignores or rejects God’s requirements, he or she will not gain access to the eternal happiness of life with Him—the banquet of everlasting blessedness. Such an outcome will have nothing to do with a lack of generosity on God’s part. In fact, God goes out in search of lost sheep. He welcomes with a great embrace prodigal (wasteful and reckless) sons when they repent and return home. But if one is unwilling to put on the wedding garment of grace, of sincere repentance, simply knocking on the door and shouting will not do. Of little value is the mere fact that we might call ourselves Christians, that we have associated ourselves with the Church in some merely external manner. We must really want to be Christian, to be a sincere battler in the life of the Church. If, for instance, a person freely gives way to hatred, rather than to forgiveness, that person cannot enter God’s kingdom. If someone is gravely abusive of power, acting in self-interest rather than for the good of those he or she is called to govern and thus serve, they cannot enter. If a man or woman abandons themselves to pride, lust, violence, or greed, they cannot enter unless they have turned and rejected beforehand these vices and attitudes. Square pegs do not fit in round holes.

God does allow for final repentance, but who in their right mind would be confident of their own change of heart after a life carelessly lived at odds with God’s known will? The narrow gate, then, speaks of an on-going effort to live according to the commandments while inspired by the life of Jesus Christ and the good role models we find in sincere, committed Christians. In St. Matthew’s Gospel there is also mention of a “wide gate” and a “way” that is “easy” which many end up following, but which leads to destruction. Here Our Lord reminds us that simply following impulse, self-interest, force of habit or comfortably remaining within group behaviour of a low standard is certainly easy but destructive in the long term. It certainly puts one at risk of losing one’s very soul.

There are two extremes a Christian needs to be wary of in the development of one’s conscience – laxity and anxious scrupulosity. By and large the more common extreme in our day is the first – a careless, insensitive approach, which neglects any proper examination of conscience. Blame for troubles is usually focused on others rather than self. Bad habits breed easily. Lax Catholics neglect personal prayer, sacramental confession and the most lax – not referring here to those who are simply uninstructed in Church teaching - even weekly Mass. Yet there are people who do suffer from scrupulosity or excessive anxiety over their own state of soul, losing sight of what constitutes deliberate sin or of how great God’s mercy and understanding is. Jesus knows “what is in man”. He knows a person’s basic good will and struggles against temptation. He knows our human limitations. He is compassionate and forgiving. We should never despair of our salvation nor of anyone else’s. As St. Paul says, and the first reading today implies, “God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”. (1 Tim 2:4).

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 03:15:16 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 12:49-53

Saint Luke recounts that when Jesus was drawing near to Jerusalem to suffer the Passion, he revealed to his disciples the deepest yearnings in his heart. He makes reference to his imminent baptism “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” that he is about to consummate and that the Baptist had already announced (cf. Lk 2:16). With paradoxical and disconcerting words, Jesus also foretells the deep change that he will bring about in the world, giving rise to quite diverse reactions even in the heart of families.

In Sacred Scripture fire symbolizes God’s presence, as in the event of the burning bush (cf. Ex 3:14), and also, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit’s actions.” [CCC, no. 696.] Thanks to his sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus will send into the world this new energy, this fire. But as Saint Ambrose says, “this is certainly not a destructive fire but one that fashions a well-disposed will. As Jeremiah declares: ‘there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones’ (Jer 20:9). It is the fire that, as the disciples from Emmaus testify, our Lord himself enkindled in their hearts: ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures? (Lk 24:32).” [Saint Ambrose, Tract. In Luc. 7,131.]

Jesus’ yearning to enkindle human hearts has transformed countless people throughout history who have responded generously. For example, Saint Josemaria tells us his own experience in this regard: “When I felt the premonition that our Lord wanted something and I didn’t know what it was, I shouted, I sang—as best I could!—words you have certainly savoured in your heart, if you haven’t pronounced them with your lips: ignem veni mittere in terram et quid volo nisi ut accendatur? (Lk 12:49). I have come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled. And the answer: ecce ego quia vocasti me! (1 Sam 3:8). Here I am, because you have called me.” [Saint Josemaria, Notes from a meditation, 2 October 1962. In Pedro Rodriguez, The Way. Critical-Historical Edition, Scepter 2009, commentary on no. 801.] We can ask ourselves whether we habitually have this courageous readiness of the saints to second God’s action in our souls. Does our daily dialogue with God set our heart on fire, as happened to the disciples at Emmaus? Do we let the Holy Spirit spur us like them to announce this news joyfully to others, with the same apostolic zeal?

To enkindle this “fire of love” that Jesus’ heart yearned for, he first had to suffer the Passion, which he calls his baptism and which makes him exclaim: “how I am constrained until it is accomplished!” Jesus adds that he has come to bring division and not peace—division even within families. But as Pope Francis said: “It is not that Jesus wishes to split people up. On the contrary Jesus is our peace, he is our reconciliation! But this peace is not the peace of the tomb, it is not neutrality. Jesus does not bring neutrality, this peace is not a compromise at all costs. Following Jesus entails giving up evil and selfishness and choosing good, truth and justice, even when this demands sacrifice and the renunciation of our own interests. And this indeed divides; as we know, it even cuts the closest ties. However, be careful: it is not Jesus who creates division! He establishes the criterion: whether to live for ourselves or to live for God and for others; to be served or to serve; to obey one’s own ego or to obey God. It is in this sense that Jesus is a ‘sign that is spoken against’ (Lk 2:34).” [Pope Francis, Angelus, 18 August 2013.]

Source: https://opusdei.org/en-au/gospel/2025-08-17/

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 03:24:15 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 12:32-48

“There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.” These are comforting words from Our Lord and they should speak to all of us. No one desires our salvation, our reaching the greatest of all destinations, more than our Father God. What Abraham was called to and looked forward to in faith – a new land - was still only a stepping stone to the ultimate goal. It was a land of promise looking to a permanent city of fulfillment – the true heaven.

The Letter to the Hebrews (second reading) puts him and others like him before us so as to motivate our life of faith – faith which is the “guarantee of the blessings we hope for” and the proof for “the realities that remain unseen.” Luke, on the other hand, brings together a number of Jesus’ teachings that urge a vigilant attitude, lest we fail to build on this foundation of faith a life of faithful achievement and real service to others. After all, this is what, in some measure, contributes to our future glory. “What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.”

What Our Lord teaches with this homely image embraces any aspect of our life that begs a just or loving response from us, however small or apparently unnoticed. We might think of such small duties as household tasks, keeping material things in order, being punctual in keeping our commitments to others, or we might also see in this image the importance of giving good example in a place where few appear to know God. Honouring one’s marriage commitment with an undivided heart, day after day; paying attention to the human and

spiritual needs of children; not overindulging oneself at a party or “happy hour” – these and

many other examples could come up in our personal examination of conscience. Probing our conscience is what Our Lord encourages us to do by such pointed analogies.

It is good practice to examine ourselves at the end of each day to see what we have made of its different occasions, of our meetings with other persons. What use have we made of our time. How much was wasted in pointless, passive surfing on the internet, or half asleep in front of a TV monitor. We should not lose sight of the fact that time is not limitless for anyone. One day will be our last in this “tent” that is no permanent dwelling place. Faith, then, ought not to be understood as a pure sentiment, as something we muster to smooth over our disappointments. Instead, it is a conviction of God’s goodness and of his all knowing regard for our personal lives. It is what makes us realize that the good that is done quietly and ‘in secret’, is not ignored by our Father in heaven, who will reward us in due time. “Because you have been in pauca fidelis, faithful in small things, come and join in your Master’s happiness. The words are Christ’s. In pauca fidelis!...Now will you neglect little things, if heaven itself is promised to those who mind them?”

(St. Josemaria, The Way, 819)

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Our Lord’s very words already give us great consolation. God wants us all to enter into heaven.

Next Friday we will celebrate Our Lady’s entrance into the presence of the Holy Trinity in the life that will never end.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 13:55:43 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 12:13-21

The Gospel relates how once when Jesus was preaching, someone from the crowd asked him to insist on his brother’s sharing their inheritance with him. But instead of granting the petition, as Jesus had often done in the past, he speaks to those present about the danger of avarice and the eagerness for a security based on riches.

To all appearances, it seemed just for that person to seek part of their inheritance from his brother. But we don’t know the particulars of the family conflict mentioned here. Moreover, from Jesus’ cautious reply and since he knows what is in each person’s heart (cf. Jn 2:25), we can deduce that the petition made here is not an upright one. First, because he is asked to be the judge in a material affair that already has its own judges foreseen by the law. Saint Ambrose comments that Jesus shows with his negative reply that he does not wish to be “the arbiter of the material possessions of men but of their merits.” (Saint Ambrose, Catena aurea)

Jesus knows that this petition stems from avarice, which he exhorts his listeners to be on guard against, since neither the desire for material goods nor their possession guarantees a fulfilled human life. As Pope Francis said, “avarice is the first step: it opens the door to vanity, to seeing oneself as important and powerful, and then to pride. And from there come
all the vices, all of them. But the first step is avarice, the desire to accumulate riches. This is precisely where our daily struggle should be: learning how to administer the riches of the earth properly so that they lead to heaven and are converted into riches of heaven.” This is the aim of the Christian virtue of poverty: “True poverty does not consist in not having, but in being detached: in voluntarily renouncing one’s dominion over things.”

[ Saint Josemaria, The Way, no. 632]

With a superficial reading, we might conclude that the protagonist in Jesus’ parable is not acting badly: if the harvest has been plentiful, why not store it up carefully and enjoy it? Many Fathers of the Church have answered this question as Saint Augustine did: “What is superfluous for the rich is necessary for the poor. One possesses what belongs to another
when one possesses what is superfluous.” [ Saint Augustine, Commentary on psalm 147] The eagerness for human security spurs us to accumulate and store up goods “just in case,” when in reality we often don’t use them. They are goods that could be used by others, that is, by those suffering real needs and not only possible or imaginary ones. The rich in their granaries store up the goods the poor cannot make use of. In contrast, when those who are blessed with riches see in them a way to serve others, they learn to live poverty and detachment.

Moreover, Jesus calls that person a “fool” in the parable because his anxious efforts to store up material goods happen on the very day he has to leave this world. It is only natural to want a certain degree of well-being and prosperity for one’s own family, but we need to shun the foolishness of grounding our hope and happiness on material goods. As Benedict XVI said, “Today, the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Word of God spurs us to reflect on what our relationship with material things should be. Wealth, even being a good in itself, ought not to be considered an absolute good. Above all, it does not guarantee salvation; even more, it could put it in serious danger. In the pages of today’s Gospel, Jesus puts his disciples on guard precisely against this risk. It is wise and virtuous not let our heart get attached to the goods of this world, because everything is temporary, everything can end abruptly. For Christians, the true treasure we should seek unceasingly is to be found in ‘the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.’” [ Benedict XVI, Angelus, 5 August 2007]

Mass with the Archbishop

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 13:41:05 GMT

Our Archbishop at St Mary Star of the Sea

Last Sunday, 27 July, we were honoured to have Archbishop Peter Comensoli visit us, and celebrate Mass at 10:00 am.

Archbishop Peter will be visiting all the Pilgrim Places around the Diocese as part of the Jubilee Year of Hope.

It will certainly be a day we will all remember and cherish.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 23:41:40 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 11:1-13

Apart from the miracles he performed there were many things about Our Lord that would have fascinated those who came to know him well. One of these was the way he spent time in prayer. Jesus was not like many of the religious officials of this time who limited themselves to public prayers and highly formalistic rituals. He would be caught out at times apart by himself in the open country, perhaps on the terrace of Peter’s house, or in a garden on the Mount of Olives in silent contemplation or quiet dialogue with the Father. The Gospel mentions one such occasion when some of the disciples were moved to ask him about how to pray. St. Luke gives a shorter version than Matthew of how Our Lord responded. It is Matthew who gives us what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer or the “Our Father.” However, Luke adds a delightful parable Jesus told about a man who persists in rousing his friend from sleep to get the help that he needs. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus helps us to see that the heart of our prayer ought to move along certain lines. It is not just a prayer we can recite but a lesson about the kind of things we should seek when we pray. The principal of these, though not always the first that comes to our minds, is God Himself—God, who Jesus tells us clearly, is our Father, our most supportive friend. Prayer needs to increasingly become a way of loving God, of uniting ourselves to Him. So it is that we begin by recognising who He is, and how we want Him to be known and revered by others - “Hallowed be thy name.” In praying we ought always to bear in mind that God’s will is the good of all, their and our salvation, their and our sanctification so as to share in His happiness forever – Thy will be done.” Such should always be the “attitude” of our prayer. With this attitude we ask for what we think we or others need – our daily bread (what is needed for this day), forgiveness of our sins and readiness to forgive, strength in the face of temptation or other effects of evil . Bread stands not only for food, but also for whatever sustains us, physically or spiritually. Many great Christians have seen that this bread is also the Eucharist, the bread that is really Christ himself. Our relationship with Christ sustains us. This relationship develops through prayer in the form of conversation and dialogue with Him. Most deeply, it develops through sacramental communion. Our weekly Mass is sustenance through Christ to live out the days of the week that lie ahead. We even come to feel the need to receive Him more often by attending, whenever possible, weekday Mass.

Luke and Matthew both tell us how Jesus urged us to pray with perseverance and trust in God. “Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened to you.” Prayer of petition comes rather easily for anyone with faith. But it also can die quickly enough if we do not immediately see results. There are always reasons why God delays. It is certainly not true that He simply doesn’t listen. Might it be that what we are really asking for is, in God’s sight, a stone – something that will weigh us down rather than lift us up? A father doesn’t give his children worthless stones. On the other hand, it may be that what we are asking for is of great value and needs to be appreciated as such. Then God may expect us to show our desire in a more persevering way, and with a willingness to offer little or bigger sacrifices. In the meantime, as long as we are praying we are exercising our faith in Him and this unites us to Him in a special way, contributing to our sanctification.

As a teenager, St. Josemaria felt he needed to dedicate himself to some significant task in God’s service, yet did not know what it might be. For years he prayed saying “Lord, that I might see”, “Our Lady, that it may come to be.” Praying this way led him to the priesthood and then, at the age of 26 and on a particular day, the answer came with unmistakable clarity – it was Opus Dei. If we, who are so imperfect and prone to sin, nevertheless often know what good we can do for others, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 02:27:29 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 10:38-42

If one were to make a quick judgment about what the first reading and the Gospel passage of today’s Mass had in common, it might be to say that they were both giving lessons about hospitality. Abraham received the unexpected visit of three lordly figures and he welcomes them and hurries to look after them providing refreshment according to the customs of his time. Luke’s Gospel, on the other hand, mentions Martha’s efforts to put food on the table for her beloved guest, Jesus, who had arrived to spend some days with this generous and pious family made up of two sisters and a brother. It is true that the common thread of both readings is the welcoming of valued visitors. But each reading provides its own added message.

Abraham was immediately aware that the three individuals before him were no ordinary men. He was honoured by their presence and responded with great and thoughtful generosity. This response would be rewarded by a precious piece of news, that revealed that the men were not men, but angels of the Lord. The news was that Sarah, in her old age, would bear a son, in accordance with God’s earlier promise.

The vision seems especially intriguing in the light of what we know through the later revelation of the New Testament. Abraham was the chosen ancestor of Jesus, who is the Son of God made man, the Saviour of the world. That he is visited by three angels and not just one appears to be a sign of the one God who was preparing to reveal to us his inner life as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Sometimes Abraham speaks as if addressing only one personage, addressing him as Lord, and other times as if speaking to the three. Might the one personage be an angel representing the Son, or even a vision of his future descendent Jesus Christ, the Son incarnate? At the very least the dialogue does hint at the unity and Trinity of the Almighty.

In this passage and the ones that follow in the book of Genesis, Abraham continues to show himself to be a man of faith, with great reverence for God and for anyone who represents him. He pays close attention to whatever is said in the name of God and he strives to act upon it. His is a deep and obedient faith. May ours be like his.

In the house of Bethany where we find Jesus himself, we witness the busyness of Martha in attending to the chores of hospitality. However, we also hear of her anxious and annoyed reaction to her sister Mary’s inactivity as she sits listening carefully to what Jesus is saying. Both of these women sincerely loved Our Lord and had faith in him. Yet on this occasion, Martha loses her fair judgment, and her peace as well. She quickly recovers her composure and good sense hearing Jesus’ affectionate words to her: “Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary that has chosen the better part; and it is not to be taken away from her.”

This little incident – so familiar and touching – can help us a great deal in our own lives, often busy, full of demands or apparent contradictions. Jesus does not mean that we should neglect practical duties. Rather, we should try our best to do them in God’s presence and with his help. Then we will be less stressed, more orderly, and grow in virtue, while becoming worthy of reward in the life to come. On the other hand, it is unlikely we will achieve this kind of unity of life unless we spend some exclusive time with Our Lord.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 01:51:48 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 10:25-37

“For this law that I enjoin on you today is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we may hear and keep it?’ Nor is it beyond the seas….No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.” With these words, the Lord God made the people of Israel reflect on how privileged they were to have received inspired instruction about what was morally good and morally evil—what led to life, and what led to death, spiritually and even naturally. Other nations might flounder in the dark, but Israel had a illuminated path before it. It was the Law, and in particular, the commandments. These commands they should be able to recite, but more importantly to bear
in their heart. What is more, they were not impossible to fulfil. As the Council of Trent taught in response to certain Protestant errors: “God does not command impossible things; when he makes a commandment he is telling you to do what you can and to ask (his help) as regards what is beyond you, and he helps you to fulfil it” (De iustificatione, 11).

What is said here in the Book of Deuteronomy may also be implying that the heart of the Law—the commandments—was not beyond the capacity of human reason to know. At the very least it makes the point that these commandments are in keeping with reason, and are not just arbitrary rules.

Of course, without God’s grace, given the weaknesses of the present human condition, errors of judgement were and are frequent. And even if men and women know what is right and what is wrong in different situations, unless God assists, most are more likely to take the easy way, or the way of pleasure, instead of the right and just way.

Putting it bluntly, God’s commands make sense and are all about what truly suits us as human beings—what enables us to have good and meaningful lives. At the same time, it is inevitable that they will prove challenging and, at times, difficult for us. This is because they often call for the restraining of our instincts, the overcoming of built up bad habits, the seeing beyond short sighted prejudices, and the conquering of laziness or timidity.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is questioned, as he was more than once, about what assures one’s salvation. In answer to the scribe or lawyer who asks, he confirms what are the two primary requirements of a life well lived— the love of God, our Creator and Father, and the love of neighbour as our brother or sister in humanity, the object of God’s creative love. By telling the story (parable) of the good Samaritan, Jesus warns against the cold religious formalism of his time, which made many of his fellow Jews blind to the call to love and compassion. It is a Samaritan—a foreigner who did not have the advantage of God’s revealed teaching, as did the Jews - that responds to the basic moral call to “do unto others and you would have them do unto you.”

Jesus parable is provocative. In practice, who was “the one who showed mercy on him”? The Samaritan, certainly, was a true neighbour to that injured man, but so was the innkeeper. He took it upon himself to spend many days caring for him until his wounds healed, preparing tasty meals for him and helping him to recover his strength. He served the injured man quietly, without drawing attention to himself. As Pope Francis said: “Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviours that are shown in daily living.”[Pope Francis, Misericordiae vultus, no. 9.]

May we never lose sight of the importance of the ten commandments, nor of their role in uniting us to God and preparing us for eternal happiness.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 03:38:00 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 10:1-12,17-20

In the history of Christianity there have appeared, at different times, movements or at least theories based on the idea that the Church was not meant to have an organized structure, much less a so-called “hierarchy” (with different levels of authority). Some have even gone so far as to say that Christ never meant to found a “church.” There is nothing in Scripture to defend these theories. The Gospel passage we reflect on today shows the contrary. Very early on Jesus was organizing his followers into a coherent body of disciples, with some having very well defined responsibilities. When Luke tells us that Jesus “appointed seventy two others” he is referring to these men as other than the Twelve – that is, those to whom he gave the name “apostles.” The Twelve – which included Peter, Andrew, John and James, to mention a few - were those who came to enjoy an especially close relationship with Jesus. It was these men he spent most time with and to whom he explained the most about himself and his mission, in which they would have an intimate part to play. The seventy two were all, of course, disciples, like the Apostles, but with responsibilities subject not only to Jesus, but to the apostles as well. One can already see ranks of authority, where Jesus of course has full authority and the apostles share in it on the highest level. They, in turn, will come to oversee the activity of men who act either as “evangelists” (teachers of the Gospel) or “presbyters” (elders). The latter later came to be known also as priests, once any confusion or conflict with the Jewish priesthood had become unlikely. Although the number of the men initially sent out by Jesus appears in some early copies of the Gospel of Luke appears as seventy, the number seventy two seems more likely to be correct. We notice that this number is a multiple of twelve and points to their subordinate role. The existence of an order of authority becomes especially obvious in the writings of St Paul and in Luke’s early history of the Church, the Acts. There we see Peter acting as if in the place of Christ and being treated with special veneration by the faithful. We see the authority of the other apostles also being recognized. For instance, James, the one who was related to Jesus, comes to occupy a place of governance over the Christians of Jerusalem. Paul continues to have a role of leadership and teaching over a number of the cities he evangelized. After a number of years a council of apostles meets together and makes an authoritative judgement and decree about a matter that was disputed between certain Jewish converts and the non-Jews Paul and others had brought into the Church. Towards the end of the lives of the apostles we see men being ordained by them to continue their role of overseeing the life of the Church. Timothy and Titus are among these and they are given careful instruction by Paul, in letters he writes from his place of final imprisonment. All the time then, since the beginning, the Church grew as an orderly body of believers, being cared for and guided by other believers.

It is true, however, that the Church is not a place where everything requires strict orders, and where there is no freedom for initiative. Most of what happens in the life of the Church does not come from the top down. It comes from the sense of personal responsibility that men and women of faith have, and the lights they receive in prayer and from the good example of fellow Christians. There are also so-called “charisms”, supernatural gifts and inspirations coming from the Holy Spirit that many people have generously responded to, in order to bring a new dimension or specific light to the life of the Church. In this way, numerous religious orders, movements, apostolates, social works, spiritualities and devotions have arisen in the life of the Church, only later to be approved or officially supported by the hierarchy of the Church, to which all things must be prepared to submit if they form an integral part of her life.

Saints Peter and Paul Apostles

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 04:18:44 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 16:13-19

Today the Roman Church celebrates as a solemnity the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. The celebration of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29th, even when it coincides with a Sunday in Ordinary Time, is a testament to their significance and the Church’s recognition of their crucial role in Christian history.

During one of his long trips with his disciples, Jesus questioned them about what people were saying about who He really is. After listening to their replies, our Lord asks them what they themselves think. Peter, with his impulsive love, responds: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This confession about the Master’s identity leads to the revelation of Simon’s own identity and mission: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” And “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

In the ancient world, people often took advantage of the stability of bedrock to support the great weight of a stone wall and fortress, thus incorporating the work of nature into their architecture. And ancient cities were often surrounded by walls with access gates, which could be opened and locked with keys. Having the keys to a city meant having the power to decide who could enter or leave and when. Hence the symbol of the surrender of a stronghold was the handing over of its keys.

Peter listened with amazement as the Messiah solemnly announced that he would be the bedrock on which Jesus would raise up his Church; and that he would have power over the keys of God’s Kingdom, to allow or deny access to it, thus influencing the destiny of the earth as well as that of Heaven itself.

By our Lord’s will, Peter will be the leader of the twelve and of the Church, a source of unity and effectiveness for everyone. And the apostles, even those who had known Jesus before Peter and who perhaps seemed to possess greater virtue in human eyes, accepted the Master’s will with veneration and respect, as they did all his indications and commands.

Later, when Peter denies Jesus during the passion, he discover that his leadership and role in the Church is a gift from God, and not due to his own qualities. But after the Resurrection, we see Peter’s special role accepted by all the first Christians, who prayed together for Peter (cf. Acts 12). Hence we too have the loving duty to pray a lot for the Pope, the successor of Peter, and respect his mission in the Church as the apostles respected the primacy of Simon. As Saint Josemaría once said: “Your deepest love, your greatest esteem, your most heartfelt veneration, your most complete obedience and your warmest affection have also to be shown towards the Vicar of Christ on earth, towards the Pope. We Catholics should consider that after God and the most Blessed Virgin, our Mother, the Holy Father comes next in the hierarchy of love and authority.” (Saint Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, no. 135.)

The book of Acts also tells us that God chose as an Apostle a young Pharisee from the tribe of Benjamin: Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor of Christians. Thanks to the prayer of Stephen (cf. Acts 7:58ff.) and the refined charity of Barnabas (cf. Acts 9:23), Paul would be accepted into the Church. Paul persecuted the followers of Jesus with great zeal. But the apostles humbly recognized in Saul the surprising plans of God and accepted him as an apostle. For just like them, he too saw the Risen Christ and was sent to announce Him to all men and women.

The lives of these two great apostles teach us that, despite our own and others’ limitations, God carries out effectively his plans of love. His grace acts powerfully in hearts that are open to Him. What God asks for fruit to be plentiful is that we, like the nascent Church, persevere united in prayer, with Mary, the Mother of Jesus (cf. Acts 1:12).

Source: https://opusdei.org/en-au/gospel/2025-06-29

Feast Day of St Josemaria Escriva

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 11:35:59 GMT

PLEASE JOIN US AT THE SOLEMN MASS FOR THE FEAST OF ST JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA

SATURDAY 28 JUNE AT 10 am

This is a special celebration for our parish as since 2001, it was entrusted to the priests of Opus Dei, a personal Prelature of the Catholic Church, founded by St Josemaria. As a parish, we have been blessed with the spirituality of Opus Dei, which our priests have generously lived out, and shared over the past 24 years.

Come along to celebrate this special occasion, giving thanks to God for this great saint and our priests.

Morning tea will be held at the school hall after the Mass. All are welcome!

For more information on St Josemaria Escriva, and the spirituality of Opus Dei visit:

https://opusdei.org/en-au/page/texts-on-christian-life/

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 04:07:49 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 9:11-17

Some of the Church’s feast days have their origin in the earliest centuries, such as the feast of Easter or of the Epiphany. Others arose in the Middle Ages or the beginning of the modern era. Still others are of recent institution, such as the feast of St Joseph the Worker, or Divine Mercy Sunday. The feast of Corpus Christi was established in 1264 by Pope Urban IV as it was called for by a series of events and persons that gave spiritual insight into the Church’s greatest gift and sacrament—the Holy Eucharist. The texts of many of the best-known Latin Eucharistic hymns, such as the “Tantum ergo” and the “Lauda Sion” were written by St. Thomas Aquinas to fittingly celebrate this great feast. And while many parts of the world celebrate this day with great pomp and processions -- in Melbourne this year the procession will go from Saint Patrick’s Cathedral to Federation Square - the most important procession is that of Rome where the Holy Father celebrates Mass at St. John Lateran and then processes with the Blessed Sacrament to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

While Holy Thursday recalls Our Lord’s instituting of the Eucharist in the context of the Last Supper and as memorial of his Passion which was to take place the following day, the feast of Corpus Christi celebrates Jesus’ continuing real presence in the Church and in our lives through the preservation of Eucharistic hosts in the Tabernacles of our churches. Of all the seven sacraments, the Eucharist is the one that is meant to play the greatest part in development as Christian men and women. Whereas the other sacraments are seen to be “actions” of Christ, giving us grace and help specific to some stage of our lives or role we are to take on, the Eucharist is Jesus himself strengthening and renewing us as often as we receive him. It is Jesus who fulfils his word: “I am with you all days, even until the end of the world.” He is there under the appearance of bread, the sacred host, that we consume in holy communion. He is there waiting for us in the Tabernacle of a church or chapel near our home, or on our way to work or study or the shops, or in the church where we attend Mass on Sundays and perhaps other days of the week.

In the earlier stages of development of the Church in Australia, there was effort on the part of bishops in some of the major cities to establish churches close enough to each other that any person could reach one of them walking from their home within the space of ten or twenty minutes. One can notice this, for instance, in the older parts of the city of Melbourne. There are some areas of urban Australia where one can count numerous tabernacles within a square kilometre. We can see this as the influence of the Holy Spirit who wishes not only to bring us closer to Christ but bring Christ to a place close to us.

Do we sufficiently appreciate this “availability” of Our Lord? Do we see it for what it is, an opportunity to approach him, even in the physical sense, much as we would seek out any other friend or family member. Do we really treat Our Lord as that greatest and best of friends, whose company we desire and look forward to? Do we understand that he is prepared to comfort and counsel us during those special visits we make?

We cannot really say that Christ is far away, hiding in another universe. The problem is that we ourselves may tend to stay far away, through not seeking him in prayer, or by never spending some time with him in quiet company, especially there where he is present both as God and man—the Tabernacle of a nearby church.

Corpus Christi Procession

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:58:07 GMT

Let's make it BIG and witness our faith to our city as we walk with our Lord in the

Melbourne Corpus Christi Procession, this Sunday, 22 June. (Details on the flyer).

Join the procession at any time, and at any stage. (Please see the map below for the itinerary).

The Most Holy Trinity

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 04:15:14 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 16:12-15

At the Last Supper, Jesus reveals to the Apostles the deepest truths about himself and his relationship to the Father and the Holy Spirit, while assuring them that they will not be left alone. They will have the help of the Holy Spirit, who will continue his mission by guiding the Church throughout time.

The Apostles have been witnesses to Jesus’ preaching and actions, as well as to his filial dialogue with God, whom he always addresses as “Father,” even sometimes using the young child’s term abba, “daddy,” “papa” (cf. Mk 14:36). Now he speaks to them about the help they will receive from the Holy Spirit: “for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (v. 14). The action of the Spirit upon the Church does not consist in raising up or teaching things different from what Christ declared—since the truth does not change over time, nor vary with people’s opinions or viewpoints. Rather he will assist the full understanding of all that the Son heard from the Father and made known to them (cf. v. 15). Jesus had already announced to them that “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). And now he adds: “he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (v. 13). His mission will be to guide us to the truth amid the new and changing situations in history and people’s lives, with the focus always on what Jesus has taught us.

Jesus speaks with naturalness about the Father and the Spirit as Persons distinct from himself and from one another, while implying that they share in the same reality: “All that the Father has is mine” (v. 15). The Spirit “will take what is mine and make it known to you” (v. 14). There is only one God, a single divine nature, subsisting in three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church employs the formula of the ancient profession of faith called the Quicumque when it states: “Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son’s is another, the Holy Spirit’s another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church (Athanasian Creed: no. 266.)

This truth of our faith is not a beautiful, but distant reality. Rather it speaks to us of our personal relationship with God and with each of the divine Persons. As Pope Francis reminds us: “through baptism, the Holy Spirit has placed us in the heart and the very life of God, who is a communion of love. God is a ‘family’ of three Persons who love each other so much as to form a single whole. This ‘divine family’ is not closed in on itself, but is open. It communicates itself in creation and in history and has entered into the world of men to call everyone to form part of it. The trinitarian horizon of communion surrounds all of us and stimulates us to live in love and fraternal sharing, certain that where there is love, there is God.” (Pope Francis, Angelus Address, 22 May 2016).

We have been created in the image and likeness of God. Thus it is a part of our own nature to foster unity and reciprocal love for God and our fellow men and women, in the great family of the world and the Church, in social and domestic relations, in friendship and the workplace. “The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity invites us to commit ourselves in daily events to being leaven of communion, consolation and mercy.” (Pope Francis, Angelus Address, 22 May 2016).

Pentecost

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 04:12:23 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 20:19-23

(From: https://opusdei.org/en-au/gospel/2025-06-08/ )

The Holy Spirit, in the words of Benedict XVI, is “the first and principal gift that Jesus obtained for us through his Resurrection and Ascension into heaven.”[1] Therefore the risen Jesus is eager to give his Spirit to the Apostles, shut in for fear of the Jews, in order to send them out as the Father had sent him, filled with his own peace, joyful and with the power to forgive sins.

This scene narrated by Saint John is closely related to the account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles. As Pope Francis said: “On the evening of Easter, Jesus appeared to the Apostles and breathed on them his Spirit (cf. Jn 20:22); on the morning of Pentecost the outpouring occurred in a resounding way, like an impetuous wind that shook the place the Apostles were in, filling their minds and hearts. They received a new strength impelling them to proclaim Christ’s Resurrection in different languages.”[2]

The scene of Pentecost recalls for us the narrative of the Tower of Babel, in which human pride was punished by the confusion of tongues and the dispersion of peoples (cf. Gen 11:1-9). Now, however, the gift of the Spirit of Love transforms division, coldness and fear into unity, charity and daring. Francisca Javiera del Valle, in her book About the Holy Spirit, says Jesus petitioned the Father from the Cross that “the Holy and Divine Spirit be sent to men, so that all those gathered together in the Word could live with one body and one soul.”[3] While the devil separates people and fosters confrontation and violence (and therefore is called in Greek diabolos, “slanderer,” “divider”), the Spirit instead unites and fosters harmony and life.

It is the Holy Spirit who makes us realize we are children of God, who can cry out “Abba, Father! (Rom 8:15). He infuses in us the seven gifts the Church’s tradition has singled out: “wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord” (CCC,1831). And He fills the soul with the twelve fruits Saint Paul describes to the Galatians: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity” (CCC, 1832; cf. Gal 5:22-23). As the liturgical hymn for this day sings: “You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome guest; Sweet refreshment here below; In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. O most blessed Light divine, May that light within us shine, And our inmost being fill!”

It is good to examine ourselves frequently on how we are letting the Holy Spirit work in our soul, whether we are following his inspirations with a docile and trusting attitude when he invites us to forgive others, to show our love and affection for God and those around us with small acts of service. The whole secret of our sanctity is summed up in being docile to the Holy Spirit. If we strive to act in this way, the Paraclete will produce the same wonders and changes that he worked in the first disciples and in the saints, and will grant us their apostolic boldness and diligence. Saint Josemaria’s advice is very timely: “Let us allow his impulse to guide our lives. Let us feed the desire to spread that divine fire throughout the world, making.it known to all the people around us. Then they too can experience the peace of Christ and find happiness there.”[4]

But the spreading of this current of love and unity, destined for all peoples and initiated on Pentecost, is possible only through the remission of sin, the origin of all evil (cf. Code of Canon Law, no. 403). Thus in the Cenacle the risen Jesus grants the Apostles the power to forgive sins, made specific later in the Sacrament of Penance (cf. Council of Trent, De Paenitentia, ch. 1). Confession is the first step needed to let the Paraclete act in our lives. Thanks to the humble and frequent confession of our sins, with a person who has authority to absolve them, what Pope Francis describes takes place: “the Spirit frees hearts chained by fear. He overcomes all resistance. To those content with half measures, he inspires whole- hearted generosity. He opens hearts that are closed. He impels the comfortable to go out and serve. He drives the self-satisfied to set out in new directions. He makes the lukewarm thrill to new dreams.”[5]

[1] Benedict XVI, Homily, May 23, 2010.
[2] Pope Francis, Homily, May 24, 2015.
[3] Francisca Javiera del Valle, About the Holy Spirit, Third Day.
[4] Saint Josemaria, Christ is Passing By, no. 170.
[5] Pope Francis, Homily, May 20, 2018

The Ascension of the Lord

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 30 May 2025 02:16:09 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 24:46-53

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

These words of Jesus, with which the Gospel according to Luke ends, sum up the great themes that form the heart of our faith and the Church’s mission: Christ died and conquered death, so that all might be saved. The “exodus” of which Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah in the Transfiguration (cf. Lk 9:31), has been fulfilled in Jerusalem. From there he sends out the Apostles, clothed with the power of “the promise of my Father upon you,” that is, the Holy Spirit, to preach throughout the whole world repentance and forgiveness of sins (vv. 46-49).

They were “witnesses of these things” (v. 48), since they had seen the Crucifixion and the Risen Jesus, and hence were able to understand the Scriptures that speak about the mystery of Christ, about the Son of God made man, who gave his life for us and rose, forever alive and a guarantee of our eternal life. “This is the witness – given not only with words but also through daily life – the witness that every Sunday should come out of our churches to enter during the week into houses, offices, schools, places for meeting and for leisure, hospitals, prisons, homes for the elderly, places crowded with immigrants, the outskirts of cities… We must bear this witness every week: Christ is with us; Jesus rose to heaven, he is with us. Christ lives!”[1]

“Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (vv. 50-52). The Apostles’ reaction is surprising. The most reasonable thing would have been for them to be disconcerted and dejected, because Jesus was departing definitively from them and they were to remain alone in the world, with a task that completely transcended their own strength and abilities, while having to confront the same difficulties the Master had encountered. Besides, if all farewells are painful, Jesus’ definitive departure from this world should have filled them with sadness. How is it possible that “they returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (v. 52)?

Benedict XVI calls our attention to the fact that if the disciples return joyful it is because “the disciples do not feel abandoned. They do not consider Jesus to have disappeared far away in an inaccessible heaven. They are obviously convinced of a new presence of Jesus … The joy of the disciples after the ‘Ascension’ does not mean departure into a remote region of the cosmos, but rather the continuing closeness that the disciples experience so strongly that it becomes a source of lasting joy.”[2]

At the same time, they are joyful because they are aware of the great good that the Ascension brings to all mankind, which, in Christ, is called to share in divine glory. Saint Leo the Great says: “when the Lord entered the heights of heaven, not only did the Apostles experience no sadness, but they were filled with great joy. And truly great and unspeakable was the cause of their joy, when in the sight of the holy multitude, above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, the Nature of mankind went up, to pass above the angels’ ranks and to rise beyond the archangels’ heights, and to have Its uplifting limited by no elevation until, received to sit with the Eternal Father, It should be associated on the throne with His glory, to Whose Nature It was united in the Son.”[3] With the Ascension of Jesus our hope that we too will share in the fullness of divine life in celestial glory is nourished.

[1] Pope Francis, Regina coeli, Sunday May 8, 2016.
[2] Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth. Holy Week from the Entrance into
Jerusalem to the Resurrection, Ignatius Press 2011, p. 281.
[3] Saint Leo the Great, Sermo 1 de ascensione Domini, 4.

6th Sunday of Easter

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 23 May 2025 03:10:10 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 14:23-29

THE EASTER SEASON is drawing to a close. Over the past few weeks, we have recalled several encounters between the Risen Christ and the Apostles and the Holy Women. The Ascension and Pentecost are now drawing near, and the Church invites us to prepare our hearts for these two solemnities. In the Gospel, we read the farewell words Jesus spoke during the Last Supper: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14:23).

Jesus shows us how great God’s love is for us. He reveals the mystery of the divine indwelling in our soul: we are called to be the temple and dwelling place of the Holy Trinity. “To what greater degree of communion with God could we aspire? What greater proof than this could God give of his desire to enter into communion with us? The whole millennia-long history of Christian mysticism, even with its sublime expressions, can only speak imperfectly to us of this ineffable presence of God in the depths of the soul.” [1]

God shows us how close He is to us. He is not content to simply be at our side: He wants to be within us, filling our hearts with his presence. “God is here with us, really present, living,” wrote St. Josemaría. “He sees and hears us. He guides us, and knows our smallest deeds, our most hidden intentions.” [2] Remembering Him frequently will help us to experience his presence, to be faithful in the small and great things that make up our daily lives: “By treating him in this way, with this intimacy, you will become a good child of God and a great friend of his: in the street, in the square, in your business, in your profession, in your ordinary life.” [3] THE ACTION of the Paraclete in the early Church is evident in the Council of Jerusalem. “It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...” (Acts 15:28). The apostles and priests had

gathered to resolve a controversy over how to evangelize all peoples, including the new Christians not of Jewish origin. Beyond this specific problem, the sacred text reveals the enthusiasm with which the early Church spread the faith, following the inspiration of the Paraclete.

This missionary impulse, continually renewed, appears throughout the Church’s history. And it is a reason for hope in the mission of evangelization in which we too are immersed. “The Spirit accompanies the Church on the long journey that stretches between the first and second coming of Christ: ‘I am going away and I will come back to you’ (Jn 14:28), Jesus said to the Apostles. Between Christ’s ‘going’ and ‘returning’ is the time of the Church, which is his Body. The time of the Church, the time of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the Teacher who forms the disciples and makes them fall in love with Jesus: he teaches them to listen to his word, to contemplate his face.” [6]

During his early years as a priest, St. Josemaría had some holy cards in his breviary that he used to mark the pages. One day he felt he was becoming attached to them, and he replaced them with some slips of paper on which he later wrote: Ure igne Sancti Spiritus!: Enkindle us with the fire of the Holy Spirit! “I used them for many years,” he recalled, “and every time I read them, it was like saying to the Holy Spirit: Set me ablaze! Make me a glowing ember!” [7] With these same desires, we can prepare ourselves, while persevering in prayer close to Mary (cf. Acts 1:14), to receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Thus, enkindled with love for God and all men and women, we will be able to transmit divine warmth to everyone we meet, as the apostles did.

[1] Saint John Paul II, Homily, 5 May 1986.

[2] St. Josemaría, Furrow, no. 658.

[3] St. Josemaría, Notes taken in a get-together, 17 November 1972.

[6] Benedict XVI, Homily, 13 May 2007.

[7] Salvador Bernal, Josemaría Escrivá de Balague, Rialp, 1980, p. 337.

5th Sunday of Easter

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 16 May 2025 03:34:52 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 13:31-33,34-35

The words of Jesus contained in today’s Gospel passage are among the most quoted of our Saviour’s teachings and tend both to fill people with admiration and challenge Christians in their daily lives. They are often compared with other words from the Old Testament which Jesus himself referred to: “Love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18). The latter have come to be known as the “Great Commandment.” The teaching is easily understood, even if not so easily or often put into practice. However, Jesus’ words in what we call “the New Commandment” that we love one another as he has loved us—are even more challenging and for that reason also more inspiring for persons of faith.

To love one another as Christ has loved us is what we have been called to do. Jesus laid
down his life for us. He loved without experiencing great consolation, or an equal return of what he gave. He loved us from the Cross where both men and women conspired to confine him. In other words, Jesus loved unselfishly—he loved us truly, sincerely and completely because he wanted our eternal happiness over his own safety, his own possessions, his own freedom from pain and suffering, his own prestige, his own triumph over his enemies— for whose forgiveness he actually prayed.

Such is the high goal that the “New Commandment” presents. It is not a goal that is easily reached, yet it is one that the grace of God enables us to move towards and sooner or later achieve. Our capacity to love – in Christ—is, in a sense, limitless. The example of the Virgin Mary shows this. She truly shared in the divine love with which Christ loves each and every person in this world. For that reason we see her not only as the Mother of Jesus, but our Mother as well. She too, in union with her Son, made the great sacrifice of all that was most precious to her for the salvation of the world.

What can we say about ourselves in the light of these considerations. We are likely to see
much selfishness, much pettiness, resentments towards others, injuries frequently dwelled upon, lacks of generosity in attending to other people’s needs, perhaps even a reluctance to extend the hand of friendship, a rapid tendency to find fault or to be mastered by irrational antipathies. Such signs of our human weakness and self-centeredness need to be countered by prayer and a more sincere approach to the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession. It is a lifelong project to purify one’s sentiments and to learn to love as Jesus loved, - and loves! This project is identical to that of our sanctification – our preparation to enter into eternal life and happiness. The sacraments and prayer are the means God asks us to employ in this project, which is, first and foremost, his project, in which we are called to cooperate.

In the seconding reading St John speaks of his vision of heaven, seen as the new and
definitive Jerusalem, that is to say, the dwelling place of both God and his people. What is essential to this city is not location or physical boundaries, but the love that unites all its citizens with their Creator and Father, and simultaneously with each other. How beautiful will be this immediate experience of God! How great the joy stemming from the clear-cut evidence of being loved and knowing how to love – to give and give oneself - in return. In the measure in which we come to live the “New Commandment”.

4th Sunday of Easter

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 09 May 2025 02:48:29 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 10:27-30

The fourth Sunday of Easter is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” In all the liturgical cycles the Gospel for this Sunday contains some passages from Jn 10:1-30, a collection of Jesus’ sayings centred on the image of the shepherd and the sheep. In the passage for this Sunday, Jesus speaks about the protection God gives to those who turn to Him.

The image of shepherd and the sheep has deep biblical roots. Important figures in the history of Israel were shepherds; for example, Abel (Gen 4:2) Moses (Ex 3:1ff.), and David (1Sam 16:11-13). David and his descendants would be, like Joshua (Num 27:17f.), shepherds of their people. But God himself is often described as a shepherd who watches over the people, “his sheep” (cf. Gen 49:15; Is 40:11; Ezek 34:5; Ps 23:1; Sir 18:13).

The fact that Jesus’ discourses on the good shepherd are presented during the Easter season therefore has a very deep significance, as Benedict XVI explained: “We are led straight to the centre, to the summit of the revelation of God as the Shepherd of his people; this centre and summit is Jesus, Jesus himself who dies on the Cross and rises from the tomb on the third day, rises with all his humanity and thereby involves us, every man and woman, in his passage from death to life.”[1]

The Gospel of Saint John tells us that Jesus pronounced the words read on this Sunday during the Jewish feast of the Dedication of the Temple. This feast commemorates the purification of the site and the dedication of the altar of sacrifice during the era of the Maccabees, who fortified the walls to protect the sacred precinct from profanations like those carried out under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (cf. 1 Mac 4:52-61 and 2 Mac 10:1-9). Moreover, Jesus was
speaking in a place called “Solomon’s portico.” This walled-in space with strong columns may have served as an image for the protection Jesus promised to provide for the sheep.

As Pope Francis said, Jesus’s words this Sunday “communicate to us a sense of absolute security and immense tenderness. Our life is fully secure in the hands of Jesus and the Father, which are a single thing: a unique love, a unique mercy, revealed once and for all in the sacrifice of the Cross … Because of this we are no longer afraid: our life is now saved from perdition. Nothing and no one can take us from the hands of Jesus, because nothing and no one can overcome his love. Jesus’ love is invincible.”[2]

Jesus’ closeness and protection for his sheep will also lead us to a great hope in our life and our efforts to please God. As Saint Josemaria said: “The virtue of hope assures us that God governs us with his all-powerful Providence and that he gives us all the means we need. Hope makes us aware of our Lord’s constant good will towards mankind, towards you and me. He is always ready to hear us, because he never tires of listening. He is interested in your joys, your successes, your love, and also in your worries, your suffering and your failures. So do not hope in him only when you realize you are weak. Call upon your heavenly Father in good times and in bad, taking refuge in his merciful protection. And our conviction that we are nothing (it doesn’t take a high degree of humility to recognize the truth that we are nothing but a row of zeros) will turn into irresistible strength, because Christ will be the one to the left of these zeros, converting them into an immeasurable figure! ‘The Lord is my strength and my refuge; whom shall I fear?’”[3]

[1] Benedict XVI, Homily, 29 April 2012.
[2] Pope Francis, Regina Coeli, 17 April 2016.
[3] Saint Josemaria, Friends of God, no. 218.
Source: https://opusdei.org/en-au/gospel/2025-05-11/

3rd Sunday of Easter

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 02 May 2025 02:11:16 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 21:1-19

Each of the Gospels, whether it is Matthew. Mark, Luke or John recount many incidents in which Peter played a prominent role—be it positive or somewhat negative. There is no doubt that the early Church understood that Peter held a unique position among the twelve apostles. Jesus has a special concern for Peter’s understanding of what he—Jesus—had come to accomplish. “’Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.’

Today’s Gospel, taken from John, recalls an extremely touching moment in Peter’s life. It was one of the first occasions in which Peter was able to be with Jesus after he rose from the dead. During the harrowing hours of Christ’s passion, the faltering Apostle denied knowing the Saviour three times, just as Jesus had foretold. Now he was in Galilee following the instruction Jesus had given them even before his death on the Cross. He still felt, no doubt, a great shame over his recent behaviour. When he realized—after the miraculous catch of fish—that it was Jesus who was on the shore, he jumped into the sea and swam to meet him. After breakfast, Our Lord took him aside and they went for a walk. The young John—full of affection and a certain degree of curiosity—trailed a little behind. He heard Jesus asking Peter three times: “Do you love me?” And Peter’s anxious and heartfelt replies ended in: “You know all things, you know that I love you.” Each time that Peter professed his love and loyalty, Jesus told him: “Feed my sheep.”

It was Our Lord’s renewal of Peter’s commissioning as his “vicar” - that is, his representative, the caretaker of his loved disciples, his faithful ones. There must always be some one person who most definitely represents Christ among his followers, to whom is entrusted the ultimate authority and who is called to unite all the others around the person of Christ. Such is the nature of the role of the Roman Pontiff—the Popes throughout the centuries.

They are the successors of Peter as the “vicar of Christ.” For that reason we show them honour and obedience and we treat them with an affection not unlike that which we would want to show to Christ himself.

St. Josemaria, like so many of the saints in the Church, was deeply moved by this desire to be united to the Bishop of Rome. In one of his homilies he preached: “The Catholic Church is roman. I savour that word, roman! I feel completely roman, since roman means universal, catholic. For it leads me to love tenderly the Pope, il dolce Cristo in terra, as Saint Catherine of Siena, whom I count as a most beloved friend, liked to repeat..... To be roman does not entail any manifestation of provincialism, but rather of authentic ecumenism. It presupposes the desire to enlarge the heart, to open it to all men with the redemptive zeal of Christ, who seeks all men and takes in all men, for he has loved all men first.”

The College of Cardinals that will meet in Conclave as of May 7 for the election of Pope Francis’ successor have asked the faithful to pray for them.

“The College of Cardinals gathered in Rome, engaged in the General Congregations in
preparation for the Conclave, wishes to invite the People of God to live this ecclesial moment as an event of grace and spiritual discernment, listening to the will of God,” read the statement.

The Cardinals said they feel “the need to be supported by the prayers of all the faithful,” since they are aware of their responsibility in choosing the next Successor of Peter.

Prayer, they added, “is the true force that in the Church promotes the unity of all the members of the one Body of Christ.”

“Faced with the enormity of the task ahead and the urgency of the present time,” said the
Cardinals, “it is first of all necessary to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite
wisdom and providence of our Heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.”
“May the Blessed Virgin Mary accompany these prayers with her maternal intercession,”
concluded the Cardinals’ declaration.

Easter Sunday

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:01:50 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 20:19-31

Today the Church throughout the world celebrates the greatest and primary feast of the Christian faith. Today we once again come together to recognize, to acknowledge and to profess that event in human history which sheds a bright light on all other events, whether joyful or tragic – the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. On Good Friday, we remembered and, hopefully, somehow shared in the immense sorrow felt by those who loved Jesus and looked upon Him as one sent by God – the sorrow that resulted from his unjust condemnation and tragic death. We reflected on the weakness of many of those persons who, though well meaning, religious and, on some level at least, devoted to Him, gave way to fear and a disappointment nearing despair. Today, we relive the extraordinary experience they had when Jesus, risen in silence early on the day after the Sabbath, presented Himself to one and another and finally to the Eleven Apostles. If we exclude Mary, whom tradition acknowledges as the first person the Risen Christ, her son, met on that morning, it was the faithful women who had so often assisted Him that were the earliest witnesses of the Resurrection. At some point not long afterwards, Peter, still deeply remorseful over his denials, was lifted up from his sadness by Jesus Himself with affectionate words that included divine and human forgiveness. A few other meetings in different places and at different times preceded Christ’s emotional reunion with the Eleven in the very room where they had shared the Passover meal, the ‘Last Supper’.

The Resurrection of Our Lord has been portrayed in dramatic ways in works of art and even in film. More often than not artists have imagined Jesus emerging from the tomb in the sight of the soldiers and with symbols of triumph. They have wanted, perhaps, to picture his adversaries overwhelmed and his disbelievers convinced by sheer forcefulness of the event. In reality, it must have happened quite differently. What the soldiers saw was not Christ, but an angel, whose appearance did indeed overwhelm them but they were not forced into any particular acknowledgement of Jesus Himself. Nor does Jesus confront the High Priest, or Pilate or Herod. He arose in the silence of night or early morn, left the tomb undetected by the soldiers, and without moving the stone that sealed his burial place. Later, He only made himself known to those who loved Him, to those who sorrowed at the loss of Him, in order to re-enkindle in them the faith that had already begun to take root in their hearts.

God does not force Himself upon us. He does not seek to overwhelm us. What is sometimes called the vengeance of God is only the working of His justice to redress evil. It is not revenge. It is not the reaction of hurt pride. Our Lord showed us by His passion and death His patience and humility. He shows us the same qualities by His Resurrection. For those who are open to belief, what emerges from this singular event are God’s way of saving our souls through persuasion – the persuasion of Jesus’ teaching, of his miracles, of the Resurrection itself as witnessed by chosen ones. What they came to know and understand through what they saw with their eyes and touched with their hands was that Jesus was truly the Son of God, God incarnate. What they came to know in turn was God’s love, which knows no bounds. What they came to understand was that God wanted them to be his ambassadors, his persuaders to win over even those who did not believe, those who had opposed and those who had ignored. Such has been and always will be the mission of the Church Jesus founded. There are however, from time to time, certain souls that God, for the love of all, chooses to overwhelm. Such was St. Paul, the disbeliever and opponent of early Christianity who became the great apostle of those beyond the Jewish world. Perhaps it was because, deep down, this man was ready to believe since he, in his own misguided way, sought to serve God. As we near the end of the Year of St. Paul, we can ask the Holy Apostle to win for us the grace to be good persuaders, in the service of the risen Jesus.

Holy Week

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 02:58:58 GMT

A Journey to our Redemption

Beginning with Palm Sunday, the universal Church will begin Holy Week ending with Holy Saturday. This week, the faithful are called to enter into the events of our Lord Jesus' Passion and death: Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the institution of the Eucharist (the Last Supper) on Holy Thursday, and his Passion and death on Good Friday - signs of his infinite love and mercy for all of humanity.
Let us prayerfully journey through this week with the joyful hope of the resurrection at Easter, the “feast of feasts”

(CCC 1169)

"If we are to accompany Christ in his glory at the end of Holy Week, we must first enter into his holocaust and be truly united to him, as he lives and dies on Calvary." (St Josemaria)

For our Holy Week schedule click below.

Palm Sunday

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 02:31:22 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 19:28-40

“If these keep silent, the very stones will cry out.” This answer of Our Lord to the complaints of bigoted persons resentful of Jesus’ influence and following strikes deep into our hearts. On Palm Sunday, the Church wants to shout out, like those first disciples, “Hosanna to the Son of David…. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” We rebel against that attitude of scepticism, of selfish self-interest, of arrogance and fear of God’s rightful demands that appears to be in the heart of Jesus’ detractors. We reject that pride of the intellect and attachment to status, that self justification of greed and sinful sensuality that sets up a front to the light and grace of the Holy Spirit.

Palm Sunday begins with a symbolic re-enactment of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. His return to the Holy City after a period away was a brief moment of truth and sincerity, joy and celebration that was to be followed by an increasingly sombre time ending in His Passion and Death. So also the liturgy starts with the blessing and carrying of palm or olive
branches—the kind of triumphant gesture that the disciples were inspired to offer. Soon, however it moves to the reading of a long account of Jesus’ last hours, leading to the Sacrifice of Calvary. Red vestments speak of the shedding of blood, the blood of the Son of God made man. The Feast combines joy and hopefulness with the sorrow of love, of
contrition. We wish to repent of our sins in this sacred time, to begin again to live a more Christian life, an interior life of friendship with Christ. We also want to proclaim Him our King—to submit to His authority and to recognize His love and goodness.

While the demands of penance are relaxed on this day, it nevertheless remains a day of purification. We are set more firmly on the path to Easter. We are ready to accompany Jesus in his sufferings. We will do this by not complaining about small inconveniences, by doing our duties with attention and generosity, by offering up sickness, putting more order in our day, and resolving to pray more for others—family members, workmates and friends —and even those who might not want to count us as friends. We will learn to live a spiritual plan of life that ensures that God is not pushed out of our minds and hearts, and therefore, out of our works.

How helpful it is to start the day with a morning offering, and to get into the habit of praying short aspirations as we get dressed, attend to the family chores, set off for work, and face the different demands of the day. How much good can come out of finding at least fifteen minutes a day to spend quietly with Our Lord, meditating on his life, his teachings, the advice of saintly men or women, or speaking to Him about our own challenges, joys and sorrows. What a great boost can come to us if we make the effort to attend a Mass during the course of the week, apart from fulfilling our weekend obligation.

Let’s pray for all the closed minds of men and women, who ignore Christ or actively seek to deny Him. Let’s pray for all those that are misled by others into serious errors of judgement, into prejudice, hatred and violence against the innocent. Let’s pray for those who project the wrongs done by individuals upon the whole of the Church, and close their eyes to what is able to save them from spiritual death. Let us pray for ourselves that we may not be hardened against the inspirations of God.

5th Sunday in Lent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 03:44:57 GMT

Gospel Reflection

John 8:1-11

Included in St John’s Gospel and none of the others is the episode of Christ’s public life read in today’s Mass. It appears to have happened during one of the last periods Jesus spent in Jerusalem, while he was teaching in one of the precincts of the Temple. It typifies the sort of provocative situation the scribes and Pharisees frequently created in order to discredit Jesus. A woman had been denounced as an adulteress and according to traditional law this merited death by stoning. It appears these leaders wished to put Jesus in a kind of trap. If he were to urge pardon for the woman this would amount to discrediting the Law of Moses. If he were to urge the assigned punishment, this would pit him against Roman jurisdiction which did not allow the Jewish authorities to apply capital punishment.

Jesus is able to show his compassion for the woman without incriminating himself. This he does by requesting that a man who has not sinned in some significant way be the first to cast a stone. Since the Pharisees were now surrounded by on-lookers, none was bold enough to present himself as without fault. The exercise had failed. Jesus had seen through their tactic. More importantly for the woman, she was to hear Jesus’ own words of pardon and his call to a sincere conversion.

Some commentators of the text have identified the woman as Mary Magdalene. However, this is uncertain. The important thing for us is to see how Jesus came to introduce a new era in God’s work of salvation—one that emphasizes how His justice is tempered by His mercy and how His desire is always for the conversion of the sinner.

The second reading, which is taken from Paul’s tender letter to his beloved Christians at Philippi, shows how deeply Christ’s love, forgiveness and call to ongoing conversion had affected him. On the one hand, Paul was overwhelmed by knowing Jesus to be the Son of God, the one through whom all things had come to be. On the other, he was deeply motivated by the knowledge that Christ knew him and loved him and wanted him to reach eternal life with Him. One also senses the genuine affection Paul felt for Christ as man, no doubt with his still vivid memory of Jesus appearing to him on the road to Damascus, and calling him by his name—Saul, Saul!

If only we would learn to love Christ this way. We have every reason to, even if He has not chosen to appear to us, or speak to us in a loud voice. We know that he died not only for Paul, but for each one of us. We know that he knows us by name. Our Faith, and to some extent human reason too, makes evident to us that in comparison with the things that we tend to love, be attracted to and even attached to, God must far outshine and out-merit them all. It is only that we cannot at present experience Him directly. We do not want this to hold us back from the kind of loyalty and dedication that Paul lived. We, at least, want to grow in love for Him through our love for Christ and for His Church. Even Paul felt his response was not yet perfect. In our case, what is needed is an on-going conversion starting from the point we now find ourselves at. The woman caught in adultery began from there. If she was Mary Magdalene, or at least someone with as sincere a conversion, she arrived at sanctity itself.

Jesus never wants evil. He only wants what is good and life-giving. Therefore, in his great mercy, he instituted the sacrament of Reconciliation so that no one will be lost, so that we can all find the forgiveness we need, no matter how great our mistakes have been. As Pope Francis said: “Let us not forget this: God never tires of forgiving us! The problem is that we ourselves get tired, we do not want to ask, we grow weary of asking for forgiveness. He never tires of forgiving, but at times we get tired of asking for forgiveness. Let us never get tired, let us never get tired! He is the loving Father who always pardons, who has that heart of mercy for us all. And let us too learn to be merciful to everyone. Let us invoke the intercession of Our Lady who held in her arms the Mercy of God made man.”[3]

4th Sunday in Lent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:04:53 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 15:18

This Sunday of Lent marks a high point in our approach to Holy Week and Easter—an anticipation of Easter joy. This is the meaning of the traditional name—Laetare (“Rejoice”) Sunday. The Latin word “laetare” is found at the beginning of the Entrance Antiphon for this day—”Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breast.” This day we celebrate the undying love that God holds for his people, a love that is full of mercy and forgiveness, even in the face of ingratitude and unfaithfulness.

Numerous times, the Israelites showed themselves ungrateful, and forgetful of God during the time after their liberation from Egyptian oppression, spent in the wilderness of Sinai. Had they been truly repentant and open to God’s guidance through Moses, they would no doubt have been able to leave this place of relative desolation. Still, in the end, God did not go back on his promise to give their descendents a permanent home of their own, in a land able to provide rich food and shelter (1st reading).

In the parable of Jesus (today’s Gospel) regarding the prodigal, that is, “wasteful” son , we see this same kind of ungrateful and irresponsible behaviour in a young man who abruptly leaves his father’s household. He insists, prematurely, on his portion of the inheritance, and goes off to enjoy himself in a way both selfish and foolish. He later finds himself in a place as desolate as Sinai, desperate to free himself from want. Only then does he reflect on the good that came to him from his own father, and the ingratitude of his own heart. Though he expects very little will be given to him on going back home, he finds instead the open arms of a loving father, who treats him to a great banquet of rich food in honour of his return.

The father of the parable is, of course, God. The prodigal son is, in one measure or another, each one of us, when we become forgetful of his presence or neglectful of the love and service we owe Him. In the lives of some of us, perhaps, the story of the prodigal son has been played out rather explicitly. We may have created a desolate place of our own through serious sins of one kind or another, losing the close relationship with God our Father given to us through Christ in baptism. But we came to our senses realizing that certain sufferings were brought on by ourselves. We made a good confession and had the joyful experience of feeling closer to our Father than ever.

A word really needs to be said about the other son who features in Jesus’ parable, the one who never left. Though he stayed on his father’s property and did the essential chores, his efforts must have been half-hearted and even resentful at times. On top of everything he had the gall to think his father was exploiting him and keeping him from having a good time. All this came to the surface on his brother’s return. There was so little love in his heart that, instead of being happy to see his brother reconciled, he brought up all his own self-centred complaints. This son could also be a picture of us if we embraced God’s commandments as an unreasonable burden instead of seeing behind them the love of a merciful Father who is preparing us for a rich inheritance of holiness, fruitfulness, and joy.

As Pope Francis said: “The parable is left open-ended: we do not know what the older son decided to do. And this is an incentive for us. This Gospel passage teaches us that we all need to enter the House of the Father and to share in his joy, in his feast of mercy and of brotherhood. Brothers and sisters, let us open our hearts, in order to be ‘merciful like the Father’!” (General Audience, 11 May 2016)

3rd Sunday in Lent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 09:54:14 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 13:1-9

As often happens in conversations in a family or in a group of friends, Jesus and his disciples also spoke about the current news. In this Gospel passage two events are mentioned that had caused a great commotion in Jerusalem: the violent repression by Pilate’s soldiers of an attempted rebellion, which ended with the brutal death of some Galileans who had gone to the Temple to offer their sacrifices to the Lord; and the disastrous collapse of a tower in the district of Siloam, which left eighteen people buried under the rubble (Lk 13:1-5) In the streets many possible interpretations of these events were offered, especially the deeply-rooted popular belief that if someone suffered a misfortune, it must be due to having done something wrong, and that God was punishing them for it.

Jesus rejects this mistaken view out of hand, and insists it makes no sense to try to find guilt in the victims of such disasters. Nevertheless, these tragic events should lead us to reflect on our life. Human life is precarious, and even if a person enjoys good health, death can come when least expected. Those who never ask themselves whether they are doing what is right in God’s eyes, or whether they need to change anything in their life, can find themselves surprised by events and with no time to react. The sudden and unexpected appearance of violence, accidents, or natural catastrophes is a pressing call to wake up from the foolish daze of living as if God did not exist, and a spur to convert and rebuild one’s life on sounder ground. Those who, with a contrite heart, use the means to conquer sin, are removing the sting from the gravest consequence of evil, eternal death, while they are also building a better world. This is the only wise and responsible attitude in order to be ready to meet the greatest misfortunes.

Some people, besides thinking that the victims “must have done something wrong,” may also have felt relieved on seeing their own good fortune and thought to themselves: “I seem to be doing everything right.” Unfortunately that reaction, all too human, continues being quite common today. How often famous personalities from the world of music, films, or politics, after complaining about how badly the world is going and all the problems that afflict society, say on being interviewed that “I have nothing to feel sorry for”!

The Master’s words should lead us to reflect. Jesus calls us to a change of heart, to make a

radical change in the direction of our lives, giving up any complicity with evil and

hypocritical excuses, in order to follow the way of the Gospel with determination. His

teaching is not only for those who are distant from God, with the hope that they react, but

also, and above all, for those who are at ease thinking: “I am good, a believer, and even

practice my faith pretty well.” The parable of the sterile fig tree is addressed to all those who feel at ease in the Lord’s field, and who fail to yield fruit (Lk 13:6-9). If God should call us now to his presence, would we go joyfully, with our hands filled with fruit to offer him? Are we laden down with deeds done out of love, or rather does our selfishness and lack of generosity prevent us from giving all that is expected of us?

Even when our response is tepid, God shows great patience; but we shouldn’t allow this

sterility to last for long. The vinedresser in the parable asks for another year before cutting

down the fig tree, to give it another chance. This Lent can be that “extra year” which our

Lord grants us to carry out the change he expects from us. As Pope Francis says, “It is never too late to convert, never! Right to the last moment, God’s patience awaits us … It is never too late to convert, but it is urgent. Now is the time! Let us begin today”

(Angelus, 28 February 2016)

(from https://opusdei.org/en-au/gospel/2025-03-23/)

2nd Sunday in Lent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 03:33:13 GMT

Gospel Reflection

The second Sunday of Lent presents us with one of the most beautiful and revealing pages in Sacred Scripture: the Transfiguration of Jesus. On a high mountain, our Lord reveals his glory to his three closest disciples to prepare them for his imminent Passion. What he had announced some days before was thus fulfilled: “But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:27). Luke makes us see that all this happened “as he was praying.”

This “preliminary Paschal apparition,” as Pope Francis called it (Angelus, 5 February 2018), transcends barriers of time and space and is laden with rich theological meaning. As the Apostle Peter told the first Christians: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honour and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,' we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16-18).

In the Bible the mountain represents God’s closeness to us. There Moses and Elias entered into intimate dialogue with the Lord (cf. Exodus 24 and 1 Kgs 19). Both figures now appear in glory and speak with Jesus about his departure (exodus) at Jerusalem. They represent the Law and the Prophets, who announce the mystery of the Passion and Resurrection of the Messiah, as the risen Jesus will explain to the disciples from Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:1ff.). In this passage “the whole Trinity is revealed: the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, and Spirit in the bright cloud” (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica III, q. 45, a. 4, ad 2).

Nevertheless, the most important teaching contained here is the invitation the voice makes concerning Jesus: “listen to him!” Moses had announced that God would raise up a prophet like himself, one to whom the people must listen (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15). The voice presents the new Moses: the Son who reveals the Father to us with authority and to whom we should pay heed. Hence we need to follow the Master’s example: to “scale” the mountain of prayer, to reserve in our schedule some time each day to dialogue exclusively with God. In this personal and intimate dialogue we can tell Jesus, with words of Saint Josemaria: “Lord, we are ready to heed whatever you want to tell us. Speak to us: we are attentive to your voice. May your words enkindle our will so that we launch out fervently to obey you” (Holy Rosary, 4th Luminous Mystery).

Saint Josemaría Escrivá saw in this passage our loving search for the Face of Jesus and his Most Holy Humanity: “Jesus, we want to see you, to speak to you! We want to contemplate you, immersed in the immensity of your beauty, in a contemplation that will never cease! It must be wonderful to see you, Jesus! It must be wonderful to see you and be wounded by your love!” (Holy Rosary, 4 the Luminous Mystery). It is worthwhile to persevere in these daily times set aside for prayer, keeping our Lord company, with the eagerness expressed by the Psalmist: Vultum tuum, Domine, requiram (Ps 26:8). Lord, I long to see your face. Our humble perseverance will be well rewarded. The face of Moses “shone because he had been talking with God” (Exod 34:29). And Jesus, who is “Light from Light,” as we profess in the Creed, will also gradually transfigure us with his grace so that our daily life, our work and our dealings with others will be illuminated by the presence of God in our soul.

Peter’s reaction, “it is well that we are here; let us make three booths,” expresses the joy of the encounter with God. It also points to the “eternal dwellings” which the Messiah was to reestablish (Luke 16:9), and which the Jews commemorate in the feast of tabernacles. Peter wants to hold fast to that moment of happiness brought about by intimate contact with God. But as Benedict XVI said in his final Angelus address: “prayer does not mean isolating oneself from the world and its problems … The Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love.” The clear proof that we are listening to the Son as the Father’s voice asks us to do is that his Spirit fills us with
apostolic eagerness to bring God’s light to all mankind. (taken from https://opusdei.org/en-
au/gospel/2025-03-16/)

1st Sunday in Lent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 01:09:14 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 4:1-13

Temptation is an experience familiar to us all, and we know that it has been part of human life since the beginning. But it is not something experienced by other creatures, with the exception of the angels at the first stage of their existence. Animals do not know temptation, because they are not rational. Their behaviour is governed by instinct, training, and adaptation. They are not really free in the way we are. They do not see into the future, reflect on the past, or know what is beyond their senses. Here on earth only men and women are tempted. They are tempted when they experience a desire to harbour some thought, utter some word or act in some way which their reason, their conscience, dictates is wrong. This knowledge— we call it morality—is based on a deeper understanding of life and the way we should live it as human beings. It takes into count the final and most important goal of our existence—to be with God and to be like Him. To love as God loves. To be in communion with Him and with others. We are capable of understanding that this is our definitive happiness, in which all other goods will be contained and in the right proportion.

Unfortunately, since the time of Adam and Eve, we have all too often failed to resist wrongful desires. Once Adam committed that first (original) sin, which was really very deliberate and not the result of strong emotions, temptations have multiplied and so have sins. This was because the intimacy with God was lost and, therefore, an imbalance arose in our very selves, who were meant to live in communion with Him.

A sin is a wrongful action committed with an awareness that it contradicts the love of God and the love God has shown toward us. But sin and temptation are not one and the same thing. We may be tempted many times a day and yet not sin, because we say “no” to the temptation and “yes” to God, “yes’ to what is the greater good.

Temptations arise because of things which may be good in themselves, but which for us, or for us in that moment or circumstance, or for others involved, represent a disorder, a danger or a definite harm. Once we see that, we ought to say “no.” Yet how weak and quickly confused we can often become! Bad habits, selfishness, pride, vanity, the bad example of others, peer pressure, laziness and love of comfort, money, power or sensual pleasures all can rear their heads at one time or another. All too often we might find ourselves giving in.

Our Lord Jesus Christ took upon himself a human nature that was as real as ours and he became like us in everything except sin. Jesus knew what our human experience of temptation was like. He submitted himself to it, as we see in Luke’s Gospel account today. In resisting certain extreme temptations which Satan himself devised to test the mettle of this man he suspected was the Messiah, Jesus has helped us to see beyond the fantasies and fallacies we experience. He has reminded us of the loyalty we owe to a loving and generous God. He has shone us the way to true freedom and the fullness of our human vocation to love and to reflect the goodness of God.

As Saint Augustine put it: “If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.” And again: “For our life in this sojourning cannot be without temptation: because our advance is made through our temptation, nor does a man become known to himself unless tempted, nor can he be crowned except he shall have conquered, nor can he conquer except he shall have striven, nor can he strive except he shall have experienced an enemy, and temptations.” (St Augustine, Exposition on Psalm 61, 2)

Season of Lent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 02:01:52 GMT

A time for renewal

We will begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, 5th of March. For these 40 days up till Good Friday, we are invited to seek the Lord in prayer, fasting and almsgiving in a spirit of repentance and conversion, to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.

“These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies,

pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving,

and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). “ - CCC 1438

Lenten Obligations

Catholics aged 18-59 should fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Catholics aged 14 and over should abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Catholics aged 14 and over should abstain from meat on every Friday of the year, including Lent, or substitute this with another form of penance, either in prayer, fasting or almsgiving.
Taking up some form of voluntary penance throughout the season is also expected.

To participate in your Lenten journey please note the following:

Ash Wednesday Masses are at 7am, and 12:30pm.
Each Friday we will have the Stations of the Cross at 5:30pm.
Fulfill your almsgiving obligation by donating to Project Compassion. You will find the Caritas donation boxes on the tables inside the church.
Click to visit the St Josemaria Institute for Spiritual resources -

Lent 2025: Called by Name

Visit our resources page for other suitable material.

"We are at the beginning of Lent: a time of penance, purification and conversion...our

heart is ready and, we have made up our minds, to purify ourselves. He hears us and

will not disregard, the petition of a humble and contrite heart." -

St Josemaria, Christ is Passing By, p.57

8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 01:11:48 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 6:39-45

In last Sunday’s Gospel Jesus asked us to show great charity towards those who see themselves as our enemies and who hate us (Lk 6:27-38). With another short

collection of sayings, the Master now asks us for the same degree of heroism in our daily life. If we need to be understanding and forgiving with those who persecute us or hold us in contempt, so much the more should we treat with great refinement and humility those God has placed alongside us. And we need to do so bearing in mind Saint Josemaría’s humorous remark:

“none of us is going to achieve sanctity by dealing with Prester John of the Indies, but rather through our dealings with the people we have right here beside us” (Andres Vazquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei, vol. I, Scepter, p. 150, footnote 133).

In the first place, Jesus warns of a subtle and frequent danger in the way we treat others:

progressive forgetfulness of our own defects, while we focus our attention on the defects of

others and even project our own shortcomings on them. “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” Those who fail to struggle first against their own defects are blind when it comes to helping others.

Employing the Semitic hyperbole “the speck in another person’s eye and the log in your

own,” Jesus warns us of this sign of a lack of humility. A speck in the eye is very irritating; it prevents a person from seeing clearly and requires the help of others to remove it. But it

would be much more annoying and bothersome to have a whole log; it would even lead us to look ridiculous before others, who would point out to us the clear evidence of our own faults.

The solution to this danger is clear: a personal examination of conscience that is both humble and demanding, and an understanding imbued with charity towards others. As Saint Josemaría said when speaking about married love: “Each of us has his own character, his personal taste, his moods—at times his bad moods—and his defects. But we all have likeable aspects in our personality as well, and for this reason, and many others, everyone can be loved. It is possible to live happily together when everyone tries to correct his own defects and makes an effort to overlook the faults of others. That is to say, when there is love which cancels out and overcomes everything that might seem to be a motive for coldness or disagreement. On the other hand, if husband and wife dramatize their little differences and reproach each other for their defects and mistakes, they put an end to peace and run the risk of killing their love” (Conversations, no. 108).

The Apostle Saint John insists that Jesus asks us to love one another not “in word or speech

but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18). It may be easy to denounce the defects of others. It is

more difficult, but much more effective, to encourage others to correct themselves through the example and witness of our personal struggle. Perhaps that’s why Jesus also points out in this Gospel passage that trees are known by their fruits. Jesus encourages us to have a heart like his that bears witness with deeds to an immense charity. As Pope Francis said, “one is recognized as a good Christian, just as a tree is recognized by its fruits.” In union with Jesus, “our whole person is transformed by the grace of the Spirit: soul, intellect, will, affections, and even the body, because we are a unity of spirit and body. We receive a new way of being, the life of Christ becomes ours: we can think like Him, act like Him, see the world and what is in it with the eyes of Jesus” (Audience, 3 May 2015). Then it will be easy for us to be humble and understanding, to help others to improve, and to show refined

charity with deeds and in truth.

Requiem Mass for Fr Joseph Martins

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 01:09:09 GMT

Requiem Mass For Fr Joseph Martins (former PP of St Mary's)

Above: Dedication of the altar coram populum in 2005. Fr Joe is the priest in the centre.

This coming Saturday, 1st March 2025 at 10:00am , a Requiem Mass will be offered for the repose of the soul of Fr Joseph Martins (Former Parish Priest of St Mary's) at St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne.

Fr Joseph Martins

(17/09/1939 - 19/02/2025)

A much loved priest of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, USA on 17 September 1939. Arrived in Australia in 1970 as foundation Master of Warrane College, UNSW. Ordained a priest in 1996. Parish Priest of St Mary Star of the Sea from 2001 to 2007. Passed away peacefully at Macquarie University Hospital, having received the last sacraments and accompanied by family, on 19 February.

Aged 85 years.

125th Anniversary

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 02:04:02 GMT

Celebration of a Place of Pilgrimage marking 125 years!

On the 20th February, St Mary Star of the Sea celebrated its 125th anniversary since its official opening, a timely celebration with our Jubilee year.

To highlight this event, the Melbourne Archdiocese has written an article featuring our church, and an interview with

Fr Andrew.

Click on the link to read all about it.

https://melbournecatholic.org/news/gothic-revival-masterpiece-throws-ope-its-door-to-jubilee-pilgrims

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 01:31:19 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 6:27-38

After presenting the beatitudes, the keys for discovering where true happiness lies
(cf. Lk 6:20-26), Jesus now points out the path to attain it, an arduous and thorny path, but well worth the effort of traveling it. His words are demanding.

“Love your enemies.” Doesn’t this exceed our human capacity? It is certainly difficult, but also necessary. We only need to open our eyes to see that, in professional relationships,in political and social debates, and even at times among friends and members of one’s own family, people are hurt and injustices are committed, along with the desire to humiliate others, to hold a grudge, or to inflict revenge. But when these abuses are answered with violence, the consequences are even worse. Conflicts need to be overcome with an entirely different perspective. Jesus’ advice is creative and effective: only love can disarm hatred.

“Do good to those who hate you.” Is it just to demand that we do good to someone who holds a grudge against us or has done us harm? “Jesus does not intend to undermine the course of human justice,” Pope Francis said. “He does, however, remind his disciples that in order to have fraternal relationships they must suspend judgment and condemnation … A Christian must forgive! Why? Because he or she has been forgiven” (General Audience, 21 September2016). Jesus gave his life on the Cross to bring salvation to the whole world, including those persecuting him.

“Bless those who curse you.” How much damage is done by insults, calumnies, slander, gossip, and how easily we justify ourselves when we join the chorus of gossip mongers! We all need to remain vigilant, since as Saint James warns: “The tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell” (Jas 3:6). Speaking ill of others can never be the mark of a disciple of Christ, but rather completely the contrary. A person who knows how to love speaks well even of those who malign him, and desires the best for them—that God may bless them. He prays even for those who harm him: “pray for those who abuse you.”

“Far be it from us,” Saint Josemaria insisted, “to remember who has offended us or the humiliations we have endured—no matter how unjust, uncivil or unmannerly they may have been—because it would not be right for a son of God to be preparing some kind of dossier, from which to read off a list of grievances. We must never forget Christ’s example” (Friends of God, 309). The Christian path requires confronting arduous trials that entail suffering, as Jesus suffered on the Cross. But it is a path of peace, joy and love that leads to happiness. Only those who forgive behave as good children of God our merciful Father and will be blessed.

In his “Evangelii Gaudium”, at the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis encouraged us: “We all have our likes and dislikes, and perhaps at this very moment we are angry with someone. At least let us say to the Lord: “Lord, I am angry with this person, with that person. I pray to you for him and for her”. To pray for a person with whom I am irritated is
a beautiful step forward in love, and an act of evangelization. Let us do it today! Let us no
tallow ourselves to be robbed of the ideal of fraternal love!”

“This Gospel passage is rightly considered the magna carta of Christian non-violence,”
Benedict XVI said in his Angelus address on 18 February 2007. “It does not consist in
succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of ‘turning the other cheek’ (cf. Lk 6: 29) claims,
but in responding to evil with good (cf. Rom 12: 17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of
injustice … Love of one’s enemy constitutes the nucleus of the ‘Christian revolution,’ a
revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power: the revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in his merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel which silently changes the world!”

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 03:11:26 GMT

Gospel Reflection

Luke 6:17, 20-26

Both St Luke and St Matthew have included in their Gospels some sayings of Our Lord
which are known to us as the Beatitudes. There are some differences in the two accounts so we are not sure if they refer to the exact same occasion. It is quite possible and even likely that Jesus would repeat certain teachings a good number of times, in slightly different ways. St Luke’s rendering is more simple in wording, whereas St Matthew seems more careful to capture the sense in which Jesus spoke about “being poor”, “being hungry”, “weeping” etc.

The fact is, for instance, that Our Lord could not have meant that the mere fact of being poor would result in a person being blessed. Matthew makes this clear by recording Jesus as saying “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” These are persons who may or may not be actually poor, but know how to live as if they were. That is, they are not focused primarily on their possessions, and they are ready to do without them. They understand that there is something much more important that gives meaning to their lives., namely a loving relationship with God.

Similarly, whereas Luke writes that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger”, Matthew
wants us to understand that Jesus was not referring to physical hunger due to want of food, but rather to a hunger for holiness and justice. If both are referring to the same occasion, then it is possible that Luke is giving us the actual brief manner in which Our Lord put things to the crowds in a parable, whereas St Matthew is making sure we capture the meaning. Or he is giving us the way in which Jesus later made things more explicit to his disciples.

These brief statements of Christ would have perplexed or even shocked many of those among the crowds of more casual listeners. It was not uncommon to think then, as it is now, that prosperity and comfort, the opportunity for much leisure and pleasures were the necessary makings of a happy life. Some would have even identified this with divine favour or blessedness.

It is true that God can sometimes bless us with some kinds of human success, and that living by the commandments can, in the long run, result in some material advantages. But this is not a hard and fast rule.

On the other hand, people are sometimes discouraged by the observation that many of those who defy the commandments appear to do well, in human terms. What is not usually taken into account, in such cases, is what wrongful behaviour does to a person’s inner life and therefore to their capacity for sincere love and for joy.

Jesus breaks through the deceptions of these views of “the happy life” to show what is the
way he has opened up to eternal life and joy. It is the way of the Cross. It is the way of self-
giving to God and to others. It is the way of standing by the truth that we are creatures of God who owe Him our love and obedience—for He is Goodness itself and the origin of all that is good.

Jubilee 2025 - Pilgrims of Hope

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 09:57:45 GMT

St Mary Star of the Sea

A Place of Pilgrimage, for Pilgrims of Hope

On 24 December, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica to inaugurate the Jubillee Year of Hope for the Universal Church - a special time of grace for prayer, conversion, repentance, and pilgrimage, with a specific focus on Christian Hope. Pope Francis has stated that;

“Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life. In the coming year, pilgrims of hope will surely travel the ancient and more modern routes in order to experience the Jubilee to the full.” (Pope Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 9 May 2024).

Locally, the Archdiocese of Melbourne has nominated 12 churches, with St Patrick’s Cathedral being the primary Pilgrim Place, so that pilgrims can set out on their own journey by visiting these pilgrim places, and walking through their Holy Doors to obtain special indulgences.

We are pleased to announce that St Mary Star of the Sea has been nominated as a Pilgrim Place. This would mean that by visiting our parish, individually, or in groups, and by spending time in prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, or meditation, going to confession, and concluding this time of prayer with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith and the Hail Mary (or any other invocation to Mary the Mother of God), one could be granted the grace of the Jubilee Indulgence.

“Indulgences are a wonderful support on the great pilgrimage towards heaven. While indulgences do not absolve people of sin—that is for the sacrament of Reconciliation—they orient hearts towards God and are characterised by a mysterious interior renewal...Normally only one plenary indulgence can be received per day, but for the duration of the 2025 Jubilee Year, pilgrims will be able to ‘pay it forward’ and obtain a second, on condition that they have

carried out an act of charity offered for the souls in purgatory and received Holy Communion a second time that day.” (Melbourne Catholic, 17 December 2024)

We look forward to meeting you on your journey to our place of pilgrimage where we can provide you with your own Pilgrim Passport and other material. We pray that as you encounter Christ Jesus in the quiet of prayer and contemplation, you will be renewed in hope.

“Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. . . May the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope.” (Pope Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 9 May 2024)

For further reading and more information go to:

https://melbournecatholic.org/news/hope-does-not-disappoint-archdiocese-of-melbourne-announces-local-pilgrim-places-for-jubilee-2025

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/bulls/documents/20240509_spes-non-confundit_bolla-giubileo2025.html

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos

in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

The Black Nazarene Feast Day Celebration

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:56:33 GMT

Join the St Mary's Filipino community, celebrating the Feast day of The Black Nazarene.

The Filipino community will celebrate a centuries old religious tradition honoring the Black Nazarene; a wooden statue of Jesus Christ which we are blessed to have in our church, resembling the originally carved statue dating back to 1606 when it arrived to the Philippines from Mexico.

The schedule of Masses are on the flyer below.

Christmas Season

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:29:36 GMT

May the peace of Christ be with you this Christmas.

During this Christmas season, we are invited to enter into this remarkable story in salvation history, marked by the events in the liturgical calendar. (Find our Christmas season Masses in the main menu). As we journey through this new season in the Church, may the blessing of Christ, Emmanuel, be with us and carry us into the new year.

Read the Archbishop's Christmas message for 2024: https://melbournecatholic.org/news/archbishop-comensolis-2024-christmas-message

Advent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 09:37:32 GMT

Advent Season

This Sunday we begin a new liturgical year with the season of Advent; a time to prepare our hearts and our homes to receive our Lord Jesus in a renewed way.

This season of hopeful expectation, and prayerful preparation to receive the One who brings us hope, peace, joy, and love, can be overshadowed as we find ourselves in the midst of frantic Christmas preparations. This is a time to renew our longing for our Lord by regularly retreating to that quiet place, that manger in our heart calling “Come Lord Jesus!”

“ What a marvelous time in which to renew your desire, your nostalgia, your real longing for Christ to come-“

St Josemaria (The Forge, no.548)

To help you journey through Advent try the weekly Advent reflections from the St Josemaria Institute - Prepare the Way for the Lord - An Advent Reflection. https://stjosemaria.org/?s=advent+
(Find our St Mary Star of the Sea Christmas timetable on our website's main menu.)

November

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 09:22:12 GMT

All Saint's Day and the Commemoration of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

The month of November is traditionally dedicated to remembrance of the dead, beginning with All Saints’ Day on 1 November, a celebration of the saints who have obtained the Beatific Vision, followed by the commemoration of the Holy Souls in Purgatory - All Souls’ Day, 2 November. Whilst the Church has allocated these specific days on the calendar, she has dedicated the whole month of November to the remembrance of our faithful departed. It is an important reminder for the Church to pray for the dead and offer masses for the repose of their souls.

“From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead

and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice,

so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God”. – CCC 1032

There are various traditions that the members of the Church should take part in, aside from praying for the dead, one can visit the graves of loved ones and attend Mass on the feast of the Holy Souls in Purgatory (a plenary indulgence can be gained under certain conditions), so that “our offerings for the dead [may] bring them some consolation[.]” - CCC1032

Mass request envelopes can be found in the foyer of the church for those who wish to arrange a Mass for their departed loved ones.

Mass times: All Saint's Day - 1 November 7:00 am & 12:30 pm

Commemoration of the Holy Souls - 2 November 10:00 am.

For further reading go to the St Josemaria website:
https://stjosemaria.org/lift-up-your-eyes-to-the-heavens/

To listen to a podcast go to:

https://stjosemaria.org/podcasts/surrounded-by-witnesses/

To read an article by Archbishop Comensoli go to:

https://melbournecatholic.org/news/archbishop-comensoli-praying-for-the-faithful-departed

October -Month of the Holy Rosary

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 03:17:19 GMT

Our Lady of the Rosary

The Church dedicates the whole month of October to the Month of the Rosary, highlighting the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. On this day, we celebrate the Holy League’s defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Even though the Turkish forces were very powerful, the Christians won due to the intercession of Mary and the prayer of the Most Holy Rosary.

The faithful are encouraged to pray the rosary this month individually, or in groups, or go to dedicated Marian Shrines to honour our Blessed Mother who intercedes powerfully through means of this prayer. Many saints were devoted to this form of prayer, one in particular was St Josemaria Escriva who said; " The Holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you will be amazed at the results ." (The Way, no. 558)

This year, also on this feast day, and on the anniversary of the beginning of the current war in Israel, Our Archbishop Peter Comensoli (in union with Pope Francis) has asked the faithful to pray and fast for world peace. One could fittingly pray the rosary for this intention.

For a reflection of the Holy rosary and some recommendations on how to pray this month of October go to: https://stjosemaria.org/october-month-of-the-holy-rosary/

For Archbishop Comensoli's letter to the Church, and the Prayer for Peace go to:

https://melbournecatholic.org/news/archbishop-comensoli-calls-faithful-to-pray-for-peace

For further reading on the history of this feast day go to:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/feast-of-our-lady-of-the-rosary-617

Our Lady Star of the Sea

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 03:01:29 GMT

Feast day - Friday 27 September

Mass at St Mary's at 10am

Remembering our Past

On Friday 27 September we at St Mary’s will happily celebrate our Patronal Feast remembering how this church and parish have been fittingly dedicated to the honour and entrusted to the intercession of Our Lady, under her ancient invocation as Star of the Sea, or Stella Maris, patroness of seafarers . Becoming a parish back in 1873, and close to Melbourne's port, it served the large growth of Catholic immigrants due to the Gold Rush, and despite of the economic depression at the time, the need for a larger church was fulfilled because of the dedication and determination of faithful parishioners. The foundation stone of our current church was thus laid in June 1892. We invoke our Lady Star of the Sea to pray for parishioners, priests and Bishops who have passed on, whose prayers, donations, and labour gave us this incredible church, and we ask Our Lady to pray for our current parishioners and priests to carry on in the same spirit of service and dedication to the needs of this church and parish community.

Invocation of Mary Star of the Sea

The following words of Pope Benedict XVI offer us great encouragement to foster our love and prayer to Mary under this beautiful title: “With a hymn composed in the eighth or ninth century, thus for over a thousand years, the Church has greeted Mary, the Mother of God, as “Star of the Sea”: Ave maris stella. Human life is a journey. Towards what destination? How do we find the way? Life is like a voyage on the sea of history, often dark and stormy, a voyage in which we watch for the stars that indicate the route. The true stars of our life are the people who have lived good lives. They are lights of hope. Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history. But to reach him we also need lights close by—people who shine with his light and so guide us along our way. Who more than Mary could be a star of hope for us? With her “yes” she opened the door of our world to God himself; she became the living Ark of the Covenant, in whom God took flesh, became one of us, and pitched his tent among us” (cf. Jn 1:14; n.49).

Festa Tal - Bambina

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 11:00:04 GMT

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Our Lady of Victories.

Last Sunday the 8th of September, the St Mary's Maltese community celebrated both the feast of The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Festa Tal-Bambina , and Our Lady of Victories, usually celebrated throughout Malta on the 8th of September as a national holiday. The statue of our Lady of Victories commemorates the Victory of the Knights of the Order of St John and the Maltese over the Ottoman invaders on the 8th of September 1565.

We also had the privilege of listening to the Maltese band playing the Immaculate Mary adding a special touch to the celebration.

Visit the Maltese Community Council of Victoria Inc. on Facebook to read more. https://www.facebook.com/mccvic/

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 09:44:11 GMT

On 15 August we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A celebration of Mary’s assumption of her body and soul into heaven and the hope of our own bodily resurrection at the end of time. The Church has placed great importance on this feast day thus marking it as one of two Holy Days of Obligation (aside from every Sunday of the year).

Mass times for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary at St Mary Star of the Sea : -

Thursday 15 August 7am & 12:30pm

This month of August is also traditionally dedicated by the Church to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart is an act both of venerating and imitating Mary’s interior life of her joys, sorrows, virtues and deep love for God and Jesus her Son. This is a good time to draw closer to our Lady and to make or renew our consecration to her Immaculate Heart.

May our devotion to the Heart of Mary and our imitation of her love and virtue lead us to a deeper love and union with God.

For further reading go to: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/liturgical-holidays/solemnity-of-the-assumption-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary.html

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

O MARY, Virgin most powerful and Mother of mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves to thine Immaculate Heart.

We consecrate to thee our very being and our whole life; all that we have, all that we love, all that we are. To thee we give our bodies, our hearts and our souls; to thee we give our homes, our families, our country. We desire that all that is in us and around us may belong to thee and may share in the benefits of thy motherly benediction. And that this act of consecration may be truly efficacious and lasting, we renew this day at thy feet the promises of our Baptism and our first Holy Communion. We pledge ourselves to profess courageously and at all times the truths of our holy Faith, and to live as befits Catholics who are duly submissive to all the directions of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him. We pledge ourselves to keep the commandments of God and His Church, in particular to keep holy the Lord’s Day. We likewise pledge ourselves to make the consoling practices of the Christian religion, and above all, Holy Communion, an integral part of our lives, in so far as we shall be able so to do.

Finally, we promise thee, O glorious Mother of God and loving Mother of men, to devote ourselves whole-heartedly to the service of thy blessed cult, in order to hasten and assure, through the sovereignty of thine Immaculate Heart, the coming of the kingdom of the Sacred Heart of thine adorable Son, in our own hearts and in those of all men, in our country and in all the world. As in heaven, so on earth. Amen.

St Josemaria Escriva

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 02:45:55 GMT

Come and celebrate the feast of St Josemaria Escriva!

In 2001 the administration of St Mary Star of the Sea was entrusted to the priests of Opus Dei. Opus Dei, a Personal Prelature of the Catholic Church, was founded by St Josemaria Escriva on October 2, 1928.

The spirit of Opus Dei is a call to personal holiness wherever one finds themselves throughout the world, especially in the ordinary circumstances of life and in the sanctification of work.

Personal, spiritual formation is a charism of Opus Dei, as well as a call to a deep prayer life and frequent reception of the sacraments.

St Mary Star of the Sea, with the priests of Opus Dei, holds monthly recollections for both men and women to help foster one’s journey to holiness, “...that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

(Heb 12:14)

“To be holy isn’t easy, but it isn’t difficult either. To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ. The more closely a person resembles Christ, the more Christian he is, the more he belongs to Christ, the holier he is.”

(The Forge, #10)

To read a biography of St Josemaria go to this website: https://stjosemaria.org/biography/

For more information about Recollections at St Marys click below.

First Holy Communion

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:42:52 GMT

Congratulations!

Last Sunday we shared in a wonderful celebration with the families whose children received their First Holy Communion. It was beautiful Mass and a delight to see the children involved in the occasion.

St Mary Star of the Sea Faith Formation Program

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 10 May 2024 03:51:40 GMT

We are excited to offer a new Faith Formation Program...

Click below for more details.

Rescued Timber Working Bee

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 09 May 2024 04:57:42 GMT

A big thank you to our volunteers!

On Thursday 9 May some of our parishioners (Matt and Oscar in the photo below) and Michael from the Port Phillip Men's Shed, have kindly given their time to de-nailing rescued timber which will be used to repair the eaves on the church garage. Their time has been most appreciated, and like all our regular volunteers, their generosity goes a long way in building our parish home and community.

May

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:07:41 GMT

A Marian Month

The month of May has been traditionally dedicated to honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary. The faithful are encouraged to spend more time in praying to the Blessed Mother through the practice of various Marian devotions.

Some examples of Marian prayers and practices one could engage in are:

The Holy Rosary
The Regina Coeli
Litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Consecration and entrustment to Mary
Enrolment in the Brown Scapular or other Marian scapulars
Pilgrimage to a Marian Shrine

Many of the greatest saints in the Church had a deep love and devotion to our Blessed Mother, a testament to her powerful intercession.

“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin Mary too much. You can never love her more than Jesus.”

(St Maximillian Kolbe)

“Develop a lively devotion for Our Mother. She knows how to respond in a most sensitive way to the

presents we give her. What is more, if you say the Holy Rosary every day, with a spirit of faith and love,

Our Lady will make sure she leads you very far along her son’s path.” (St Josemaria - Furrow #691)

Devotion to Mary never divides our love for the Lord, but deepens it and draws us closer to him.

For further reading go to: https://opusdei.org/en/article/a-marian-month-2/

Family Enrichment Australia - talk on marriage

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 02:52:59 GMT

We are excited to be hosting this informative and practical talk...

Holy Week

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 06:06:13 GMT

A journey to our redemption

Beginning with Palm Sunday, the universal Church will begin Holy Week ending with Holy Saturday. This week, the faithful are called to enter into the events of Jesus' profound journey of his suffering, sacrifice, and victory over death: Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the institution of the Eucharist (the Last Supper on Holy Thursday), and the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday - signs of his infinite love and mercy for all of humanity.
Let us prayerfully journey through this week with the joyful hope of the resurrection at Easter, the “feast of feasts” (CCC 1169)

"If we are to accompany Christ in his glory at the end of Holy Week, we must first enter into his holocaust and be truly united to him, as he lives and dies on Calvary." (St Josemaria)

Click below to view our Easter timetable.

Via Crucis

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 11:21:32 GMT

See this performance on YouTube for a sneak peak: https://youtu.be/BKSpJJSrUrY

Season of Lent

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:22:32 GMT

A time for renewal

We will begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, 14th of February. For these 40

days up till Good Friday, we are invited to seek the Lord in prayer, fasting and

almsgiving in a spirit of repentance and conversion, to prepare our hearts and minds to

celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.

“These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies,

pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving,

and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). “ - CCC 1438

Lenten Obligations

Catholics aged 18-59 should fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Catholics aged 14 and over should abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
Catholics aged 14 and over should abstain from meat on every Friday of the year, including Lent, or substitute this with another form of penance, either in prayer, fasting or almsgiving.
Taking up some form of voluntary penance throughout the season is also expected.

For further information see:

https://melbournecatholic.org/news/lent-a-guide-for-the-perplexed

To participate in your Lenten journey please note the following:

Ash Wednesday Masses are at 7am, and 12:30pm.
Each Friday we will have the Stations of the Cross at 5:30pm.
Fulfill your almsgiving obligation by donating to Project Compassion. You will find the Caritas donation boxes on the tables inside the church.
Visit the St Josemaria Institute for Spiritual resources - A Spiritual Toolkit for Lent -

https://stjosemaria.org/spiritual-toolkit-lent/

"We are at the beginning of Lent: a time of penance, purification and conversion...our

heart is ready and, we have made up our minds, to purify ourselves. He hears us and

will not disregard, the petition of a humble and contrite heart." -

St Josemaria, Christ is Passing By, p.57

Year of Prayer

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 10:43:43 GMT

- a time of preparation.

On Sunday 21 January 2024, Pope Francis inaugurated the Year of Prayer - a time of preparation for the Jubilee Year of Hope in 2025.

This Year of Prayer is a "'time to discover how to pray and, above all, how to educate the people of today in prayer...'"(Archbishop Fisichella, Vatican News, 23 January 2024).

To help Catholics journey through this Year of Prayer, Pope Francis will set up a "School of Prayer" providing many resources through the Dicastery of Evangelisation. Their hope is that the faithful will be able to understand the different forms of prayer and to "pray more fervently [and be prepared] to live properly this grace-filled event and experience the power of hope in God." (Pope Francis, Vatican News, 23 January 2024).

To find out more about the Year of Prayer, and the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, click here:

https://melbournecatholic.org/news/the-breath-of-faith-pope-francis-inaugurates-year-of-prayer

https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html

Black Nazarene Mass

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 09:57:04 GMT

A centuries old tradition celebrated at St Marys

Last week at St Mary Star of the Sea, the Filipino community celebrated a centuries old religious tradition honoring the Black Nazarene; a wooden statue of Jesus Christ which we are blessed to have in our church, resembling the originally carved statue dating back to 1606 when it arrived to the Philippines from Mexico.

The celebration was a triduum of masses which went from Tuesday to Thursday, and the procession and mass on Friday. Several hundred people attended with Fr Andrew as the principle celebrant, and other concelebrating priests including Fr. Joselito Asis, the Philippines chaplain in Melbourne. It was inspiring to see such devotion as the procession moved around the church grounds.

To read about this celebration in Manilla click the link below.

http://melbournecatholic.org/.../manilas-first-mega...

Ordinary Time

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 07:35:19 GMT

- not so ordinary.

We have now entered the ordinary time period in our liturgical calendar. It certainly can feel ordinary for most of us as we transition from the highlights of our Christmas celebrations, new year catch ups, work and school holidays, back to old routines. For the Church, the Advent and Christmas seasons were a period of expectation and celebration of God’s gift to humanity, and for many of us, this out-of-the-ordinary time of year was a time to break away from our toils, to embrace the gift of family and friendships, and prepare ourselves for the year ahead with the hope of seeing the fruit of our new resolutions and God’s gift of peace and love to truly manifest in our lives.

Looking back to the events in the lives of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; the news of the coming of our Saviour (The Annunciation), the journey to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, and the visit of the Magi, the Holy Family certainly had their highs and their lows, as we read in the gospels, but most remarkable would have been their ordinary, hidden life. Even though the gospels remain silent on much of their family life, we could certainly imagine the humble transition the Holy Family had to make from the events at Bethlehem to their home life in Nazareth; raising their family, living their Jewish faith, going to work, preparing meals and doing chores, and keeping commitments to family ties and friendships. Our lives are no different.

The 'ordinary' time of our lives, and for the Church, is precisely the time that we can use the graces and blessings received from the special liturgical seasons to practice our Christian virtues in our work and home, to be the light of Christ in our daily encounters with others, to lean on God in our struggles, and to be someone to lean on in somebody else’s struggles. The spirit of Opus Dei, founded by St Josemaria Escriva, teaches us how to live a holy life in the 'ordinary'. St Josemaria says in Passionately Loving the World (no. 52), “God is calling you to serve him in and from the ordinary. . .There is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it”.

As you journey through this new year, m ay the grace of God, and the peace of Christ carry you and sustain you, and may you share God's blessings with those whom he has placed in your life.

“ Don’t let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail.

Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love.”

(The Way, 1)

For related reading go to the St Josemaria website:

https://stjosemaria.org/discovering-something-divine-in-the-ordinary/

Madonna Della Libera

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 20:31:42 GMT

Our Lady of Liberty

On the weekend at St Mary’s our Italian community celebrated the feast of the Liberation of Colle Sannita (Benevento) Italy back on the 15th of November 1439. After the mass they honoured Our Lady under her title, Madonna Della Libera, (Our Lady of Liberty) in a solemn procession around the church with the beautiful statue that we are blessed to have in our church.

Over the centuries the faithful have invoked the intercession of Madonna Della Libera for deliverance from foreign invasions, persecutions and epidemics. It is said that St Padre Pio had a great devotion to Our Lady under this title.

Maria Santissima Della Libera, Prega per noi.

(Pray for us!)

Mass Times for Melbourne Cup Day (2023)

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 01:50:42 GMT

Mass Times for Melbourne Cup Day (7/11/2023)

8:30 am
10:00 am

Month of November

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 11:37:02 GMT

Holy Saints and All Souls

The month of November, traditionally dedicated to remembrance of the dead, begins with All Saints’ Day on November 1 ^st , the Church Triumphant, followed by the commemoration of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, All Souls’ Day, November 2 ^nd . Whilst the Church has allocated these specific days on the calendar, she has dedicated the whole month of November to the remembrance of our faithful departed. It is an important reminder for the members of the Church to pray for the dead and offer masses for the repose of their souls.

“From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead

and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice,

so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God”. – CCC 1032

There are various traditions that the members of the Church should take part in, aside from praying for the dead, one can visit the graves of loved ones and attend mass on the feast of the Holy Souls in Purgatory on 2 ^nd of November (a plenary indulgence can be gained under certain conditions), so that “our offerings for the dead [may] bring them some consolation[.]” - CCC1032

For more information visit this website, https://melbournecatholic.org/news/all-saints-day-and-all-souls-day, and come to St Mary’s Star of the Sea to fill out a Mass Request Envelope for your departed loved ones found in the foyer of the church.

Mass times 1 ^st and 2 ^nd of November: 7:00am & 12:30pm

Mass times for Friday before AFL Grand Final (Public Holiday)

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 06:31:27 GMT

Mass will be celebrated at & 7am & 12:30pm on 29-IX-23.

Mass times for Friday 29 September - Public Holiday.
(For Friday before the AFL Grand Final and the Feast day of the Archangels)

Mass will be celebrated at St Mary’s, West Melbourne at 7am & 12:30pm.

Symbolon

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 03:25:01 GMT

Embark on an exploratory journey that will enrich your faith and help you discover the beauty of Catholicism.

Many of you have been Christened, or have married a Catholic - you reveled in Renaissance beauty of St Mary's - and found yourselves wanting to know more...

Now, we're excited to provide that opportunity.

Starting September 21st, our trained catechists will deliver a new course Symbolon - The Catholic Faith Explained .

Don't miss this opportunity to enrich your faith and experience the captivating beauty of Catholicism! This is a special invitation from St Mary's to meet in person over 10 consecutive weeks.

Symbolon has a new start date! - 28th of September. Don't miss out!

For more information watch the Symbolon trailer on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/iwBTUFSyf6I?si=CaF3UR1RXRk0sPms

Direct enquiries to Maureen - 0431 483 963

Mass Times for the Solemnity of the Assumption (15-Aug-23)

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:23:20 GMT

Mass times for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(15-Aug-23)

7:00 am
12:30 pm
5:00 pm

Mass in Honour of St Josemaría

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 08:05:28 GMT

Mass of St. Josemaría Escrivá

In a few days time we’ll be celebrating the life of a giant of a saint St Josemaría!

A special Solemn Mass for the Feast Day of St Josemaría will be celebrated at St Mary’s, West Melbourne on 26th June at 7:00pm .

Confessions will be available from 6:00pm.

The Principal Celebrant will be Bishop Anthony Ireland.

Saint J osemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) founded Opus Dei, which opened a new path of holiness for everyone in the Church. He taught people in all works of life how to become holy by performing ordinary work and daily duties with a Christian spirit.

Mass times for King's Birthday (12/6/2023)

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 23:47:33 GMT

Monday, June 12: King's Birthday public holiday: Mass will be at 10:00 am

There will be 7:00 am Mass or 12:30 pm Mass on that day.

May - A Month Dedicated to Our Lady

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 02 May 2023 06:48:08 GMT

The Church's tradition in many places dedicates the month of May to our Lady.

"The month of May is beginning. Our Lord wants us to make good use of this opportunity to increase in his love through dealing with his Mother. Let's try each day to show her, through little things, little attentions, that we, her children, love her, that our holiness and apostolate are becoming something real, that we are making a constant effort to contribute to the salvation which Christ has brought to the world." (Saint Josemaría, Christ is Passing By , 149)

"(The prayer of the Holy Rosary is a) contemplative prayer that is accessible to all, old and young...

In the prayer of the Rosary we turn to the Virgin Mary so that she may bring us ever closer to her son Jesus, so as to know him and to love him more and more. And as we repeat “Hail Mary”, we meditate on the mysteries, the joyous, luminous, painful and glorious phases of Christ’s life, but also of our lives because we journey with the Lord. This simple prayer, in fact, helps us to contemplate all that God in his love has done for us and for our salvation, and allows us to understand that our life is united to that of Christ. In prayer, we bring everything to God, our struggles, our wounds, our fears, but also our joys, our gifts, our loved ones... all to God. By praying, we allow God to enter our time, to welcome and transfigure all that we experience.

Often make use of this powerful instrument, the prayer of the Holy Rosary, because it brings peace to hearts, to families, the Church and the World." (Pope Francis, 18 June 2017)

Resources for the Month of May:

To Jesus Through Mary (homily of Saint Josemaría)
New Mediterranans (V): "To Jesus, Through Mary"
Pope Francis: "I always keep two things in my pocket"
Pope Francis Adds 3 New Titles to the Litany of Loreto
"Totus Tuus!" (words of Saint John Paul II on praying the Rosary)

Holy Week Mass Times 2023

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 22:50:27 GMT

"In a few days we will take part in the liturgical ceremonies of the solemn Easter Triduum. We will share in the final hours of our Lord Jesus Christ's earthly life, when he offered himself to the Eternal Father as Priest and Victim of the New Covenant, sealing with his Blood the reconciliation of mankind to God. It is a drama we can never grow accustomed to: the Innocent One laden with the faults of sinners, the Just One dying in place of the unjust! Nevertheless, the tragedy of Holy Week is a source of immense joy for Christians. O happy fault, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!"

(Blessed Álvaro del Portillo)

Saturday of the 5th Week of Lent (April 1):

- No 10am Mass at St Mary's. Please go to the 10am Chrism Mass at the Cathedral.

Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday), April, 2nd:

- 10.00 am Sunday Mass

- 5.00 pm: English Mass

* Palms will be distributed at each Mass

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of Holy Week, (April 3rd, 4th & 5th):

- 7.00 am Weekday Mass

- 12.30 pm Weekday Mass

Holy Thursday, April 6th:

- 7.30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper

The Church will remain open until midnight for Adoration at the Altar of Repose.

Good Friday, April 7th:

- 10.30 am Stations of the Cross

- 11.15 am Seven Words of Our Lord on the Cross Sermon

- 12.00 noon Holy Rosary

- 3.00 pm Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

Holy Saturday, April 8th:

- 8.00 pm Easter Vigil

Easter Sunday, April 9th:

- 10.00 am Easter Mass during the day

- 12.00 noon (in Lithuanian) Easter Mass during the day

- 5.00 pm English Mass

For more info, please visit https://www.stmaryswestmelbourne.org/holyweek

St Mary's Testament Trivia

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 03:28:57 GMT

Events happening at St Mary's in December 2022

St Mary's Testament Trivia

About

How well do you know your Bible?
Now is your opportunity to share (or expand ) your knowledge of biblical facts at St Mary’s Star of the Sea inaugural night of TESTAMENT TRIVIA.
Invite your family and friends to make up a table of 6 (or more tables of 6) and test your combined knowledge to compete with other tables on Old and New Testament facts, Prophets, Historical Events, Catholic dogma etc.
Prizes to be won and raffles to be drawn.

$25 per head. Primary aged children and younger are free and a separate Trivia Competition will be held for them in the Crypt.

All profits to go to the St Mary’s building fund.

Dinner and beverages provided.

St Mary’s School Hall, 33 Howard St West Melbourne.

Booking Link: https://www.trybooking.com/CEGPE

St Mary's Christmas Concert (Cancelled)

November - St Mary's Young Adults (Adoration & Theology)

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 03:21:57 GMT

St Mary's Young Adults - Adoration and Theology (Virtue of Fortitude)

Just a reminder that the St Mary's Young Adult's Group meets tonight.
Tonight Fr Anthony will be speaking about the Virtue of Justice, with a focus on the virtue of fortitude. All are welcome.
The evening begins with a talk inside the Church Crypt, followed by a time for personal prayer, adoration and confession inside the Church and dinner.

https://www.stmaryswestmelbourne.org/young-adults

Additional Mass for All Souls Day

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 05:47:31 GMT

Additional Masses for All Souls Day

For All Souls Day (2 Nov 2022), there will be an additional Mass at 9:00am.

So for All Souls Day, the Mass Timetable will be as follows;

7:00 am
9:00 am
12:30 pm

Feast of St Mary Star of the Sea - 30/10/2022

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 01:13:52 GMT

10am Mass for the Feast of St Mary Star of the Sea - 30/10/2022

This year, we will celebrate the Feast of St Mary, Star of the Sea on Sunday 30th of October.

Please note that 10:30 am Mass will start at 10 am.

The 5:30 pm Mass will still be celebrated at 5:30 pm.

August - St Mary's Young Adults (Adoration & Theology)

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 23:44:49 GMT

St Mary's Young Adults - Adoration and Theology (Virtue of Justice)

Just a reminder that the St Mary's Young Adult's Group meets tonight.
Tonight Fr Anthony will be speaking about the Virtue of Justice, with a focus on the right to life. All are welcome.
The evening begins with a talk inside the Church Crypt, followed by a time for personal prayer, adoration and confession inside the Church and dinner.

https://www.stmaryswestmelbourne.org/young-adults

Mass Times for the Assumption of Our Lady - 15/8/22

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 02:19:49 GMT

Mass Times for the Assumption of Our Lady - Holy Day of Obligation in Australia

Vigil Mass:

5:30 pm (14/8/2022)

Mass on the Day:

7:00 am
12:30 pm
6:00 pm

"The mother of God has fallen asleep.. But Jesus wants to have his Mother, body and soul, in heaven. And the heavenly court, arrayed in all its splendour, greets our Lady. You and I – children after all – take the train of Mary’s magnificent blue cloak, and so we can watch the marvellous scene. The most blessed Trinity receives and showers honours on the Daughter, Mother and Spouse of God... And so great is the Lady’s majesty that the Angels exclaim: Who is she?"

(St Josemaria Escrivá, Holy Rosary)

50th Anniversary of Fr Anthony's Ordination

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 05:07:17 GMT

50th Jubilee of Fr Anthony's Ordination

Fr Anthony, the parish priest of St Mary Star of the Sea will celebrate his 50th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination on Saturday the 13th of August 2022.

A special Thanksgiving Mass will be celebrated at 10am on the 13th of August , with a BBQ lunch to follow.

Please note that the Thanksgiving Mass will take the place of the Saturday 11am Mass of the day.

For catering purposes please RSVP with the parish office, by sending an email to info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org

St Mary's Choir

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 01:10:24 GMT

St Mary’s is in need of more singers to join the 10:30am Sunday Choir as well as cantors for the other weekend masses.

St Mary’s West Melbourne is in need of more singers to join the 10:30am Sunday Choir as well as cantors for the other weekend masses. Rehearsal for the choir is currently on Sunday mornings from 9:30am for the 10:30am mass. Reading music would be advantageous, but not a requirement. Please contact Andrew, the director of sacred music on music@stmaryswestmelbourne.org or see either Frs Anthony or Felix after mass.

Mass of St Josemaría Escrivá 2022

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 22:35:31 GMT

Mass of St. Josemaría Escrivá

The Mass in honour of Saint Josemaría Escrivá will be celebrated on Saturday 18 June 2022 at 11:00am (taking the place of the usual 11:00am Saturday Mass) .

Novena to the Holy Spirit

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 24 May 2022 01:17:01 GMT

Novena to the Holy Spirit

Parish Newsletter - 21/22 May 2022

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Tue, 24 May 2022 01:00:46 GMT

Parish Newsletter - 21/22 May 2022

St Mary's Young Adults 2022

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 19 May 2022 11:40:05 GMT

St Mary's Young Adults 2022 - Adoration & Theology

Triduum for the Feast of the Black Nazarene – 2022

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 06:16:30 GMT

Triduum for the Feast of the Black Nazarene – January 11th - 13th

_________

Triduum Masses for the Feast of the Black Nazarene – 2022

Tuesday 11 Jan 7:30pm
Wednesday 12 Jan 7:30pm
Thursday 13 Jan 7:30pm

Then the Feast – Friday 14Jan – 7:00 pm with procession

We will have our scheduled novena mass tonight, 10 Dec at 7:30pm.

Live-Stream Links for 10:30am - Christ the King & Confirmation Mass

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 11:05:09 GMT

Live-Stream Links for Christ the King & Confirmation Mass, 10:30am 21/11/2021

10:30am Live stream Links:

Youtube: https://youtu.be/fY8hPPdeY3w
Facebook: https://fb.me/e/d9VCenhfE

Our Church is Re-opening

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:11:13 GMT

St Mary's is Reopening on Friday 22 October

After months of lockdown, St Mary's will be opening to the public on Friday 22 of October.

A lot of planning and preparation has gone into preparing that we can re-open the church safely for the community.

Please give all read all our directives before booking Mass.

Our new Mass times are published here: https://www.stmaryswestmelbourne.org/mass-confession#reopening

Our times for Confessions will soon be published.

For the latest health directives please visit: https://melbournecatholic.org/covid-19-guidelines

Moral Theology Lectures

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 23:39:13 GMT

Registration for Online Moral Theology Lectures for Young Adults and Parishioners

What better time is there to brush up on our moral theology, than when we are at home during this lockdown?

That's right, beginning this Friday 3rd September at 7:00pm for the Young Adults Group and Sunday 12:00pm for other parishioner, Fr Anthony Bernal will be giving a systematic course in Moral Theology.

This course will be weekly during lockdown.

Please see the attached flyer for details of the topics. If you would like to join, fill out this Google Form , in order to receive the Zoom Link.

Feel free to invite anyone that might be interested.

Please register your interest via this link (registrations are still open) : https://forms.gle/hXQgjFSAnf6XfcsK7

Please see the attached flyer for details

Victoria Circuit Breaker Lockdown Announced

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 06:38:09 GMT

Victoria will enter her 6th Lockdown. Church will be closed until further notice.

Victoria will enter into her 6th Lockdown from Thursday 5-Aug 8pm. From then, all public Masses will be temporarily suspended. Mass will be live-streamed and the Church will remain closed during the lockdown.

A list of live streamed Masses will soon be published on our website .

For more info, please visit:

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/seven-day-lockdown-keep-victorians-safe

Keep Safe.

Mass for the Feast Day of St Josemaría Escrivá

info@stmaryswestmelbourne.org (St Mary Star of the Sea) — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 07:19:44 GMT

Annual Mass of St. Josemaría Escrivá

The annual Mass in honour of Saint Josemaría Escrivá will be celebrated on Saturday 26 June 2021 at 11:00am (taking the place of the usual 11:00am Saturday Mass) .

Bookings are no longer needed . This Mass will be live-streamed. The links are published below.

Streaming Links

YouTube (1080p)
https://youtu.be/rvhcTIHdjrc

Facebook (720p)
https://fb.me/e/X8eFCsYG