Mass of Chrism: 7:00pm Monday, April 15th at St. Dunstan’s Basilica. Bishop Richard Grecco will preside at this Mass, concelebrated with the priests of our diocese.  All parishioners are invited to this integral part of our Holy Week tradition, when the Holy Oils are blessed and consecrated. EASTER TRIDUUM: Holy Thursday – Mass of the […]

Passion Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  For Christ, it’s the beginning of the last week of his life, a week of violent contrasts, which will end in grief and glory.  Throughout the passion our attention is focused on Jesus who appears as a person completely absorbed in prayer, responding quietly and […]

In the readings today we are reminded forcefully of the readiness of God to forgive sin, bind up broken lives and restore people to his friendship. The church wants us to focus our attention on the plight of the sinful woman because before God all of us stand silent in our sinfulness.  The good news […]

This gospel about the merciful father and his two self-centred sons is one of the best loved stories in the scriptures. The two sons of course have their own issues, but the star of the show is the father who welcomes his son home without a word of reproach or recrimination.  Irrespective of what has […]

We tend to think of Lent as a time for stepping up acts of personal devotion and piety without giving much thought to its real purpose, which is an invitation to repent, be converted and return to the Lord our God. Like the Jews in the gospel today, we can fool ourselves into feeling that […]

The purpose of the Transfiguration on the mountain that is described in the Gospel today was to make the apostles aware of the divine presence in the person with whom they walked and talked and to establish beyond all doubt in their minds that Jesus was the Son of God.  It revealed to the disciples […]

At the beginning of Lent the church places us before an open doorway and invites us to embark on a journey of spiritual growth.  Like Jesus in the wilderness, we are being led by the Spirit into a forty-day period of prayer and fasting, to help us reflect on the direction our lives are taking.  […]

In the Gospel today our attention is drawn to a number of practical points on Christian living, which are broad in scope and rich in truth.  Following Jesus is a serious occupation and leaves no room for comfortable complacency.  Our words and conversation, the fruit of our tongues are a true indication of our spiritual […]

One of the key tasks facing any Christian community is to put into action the gospel of forgiveness, by refusing to harbor thoughts of hatred and revenge for our enemies.  Christ calls us to a radical re-ordering of our lives when he warns us to be on our guard against the all too natural temptation […]

The Beatitudes are such a familiar part of the gospel that when we hear them read we can easily miss their meaning.  The message they contain may take a lifetime to learn, but unless we take it to heart there will be no entry into the kingdom of heaven.  Following Christ is not meant to […]