“Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” These eight words, together with a rather catchy theme song immediately evoke the Mission Impossible franchise. I grew up with the TV series (1966-73, 1988-89) about a small team of secret agents who apply their strategies and skills against existential threats from cold war enemies, corrupt government... The post Homily for Solemn Mass of Pentecost, Year A, + Adult Confirmations appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

You’re probably wondering about my immobility. I can confirm it wasn’t a skateboarding accident—although I do now have a knee scooter and I’ve been engaging in some stellar manoeuvres. Last month I went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a group of Sydney Catholic school principals... The post Homily for Mass for the Solemnity of Our Lady, Help of Christians, Year A appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

Health officials called her the Mystery Girl, following her rescue from the devastating earthquake in southern Türkiye and neighbouring Syria earlier this year. Three-and-a-half-month-old Vetin Begdas had been buried for five days beneath the rubble of her family home in Hatay province. Amongst the more than 50,000 dead were all Vetin’s siblings... The post III. DEATH OVERCOME: HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

The Lamentation over the Dead Christ on the wall of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua is one of the most haunting representations of grief in Western art. Giotto situates Christ’s companions around His lifeless corpse after He has been removed from the cross. Each expresses grief differently: with hands joined in prayer, reaching out to touch... The post II. DEATH’S GRIEF: HOMILY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

It’s the most natural fear of all. Consciously or not, we do all we can to postpone it and to avoid thinking about it. We stave it off with medicine, hygiene, diet and exercise. But in the end death is inevitable: death and taxes, as they say. St Augustine called it “the debt that must be paid”. When it comes to death, modernity... The post I. DEATH’S DARK SHADOW: HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

We know what the proverb means, but not where it comes from. “The eyes are the window to the soul” has been attributed to Sophia Loren,[1] Charlotte Brontë,[2] Ben Jonson,[3] Shakespeare,[4] da Vinci,[5] Cicero[6] and the Bible[7], though none of them actually said it. The thought is that you can read on someone’s face and eyes what’s going on underneath and who they really are. Eyes are more than receptacles for light; they also give back... The post HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

‘The Wisdom of Crowds’ is the idea that by pooling information, experience and judgment, groups of people make better decisions than individuals alone. Writers in social psychology, market economics, evolutionary biology and other fields argue that, as social animals, we achieve much more by collaborating with others. It’s not a new idea: in the Politics... The post Homily for the Mass of Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year A appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral House for our 13th annual Iftar dinner, honouring especially our Muslim leaders and people, but bringing together people of all faiths for feasting and friendship. Representing our First Australians, I welcome Dr Lisa Buxton who heads our Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. Together with her I acknowledge the elders past and present of the Gadigal clan of Eora nation, traditional custodians of the land on which we meet... The post Iftar Dinner 2023 appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

‘Jesus wept.’ (Jn 11:35) It’s the shortest and most moving verse of the New Testament. In two powerful words we glimpse the fullness of Jesus’ humanity: that rather than expressing a divine distance, impassability and indifference, Jesus is God come close, so close He could be overwhelmed with compassion for the suffering sisters, so close He could know for Himself... The post Homily for Mass for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year A + Day of the Unborn appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

Mr Beast is the YouTube moniker of 24-year-old American internet sensation, Jimmy Donaldson. After a youth misspent watching silly video clips, he decided to go viral himself with a series of outlandish stunts: going to the same fast-food outlet a thousand times in a row; building an exact replica of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory; reading every word in the dictionary; eating a golden pizza… The post Homily for Mass for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), Year A appeared first on Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.