THE VOICE IN THE DESERT – A VOICE FOR THOSE IN THE WORLD’S WILDERNESS Blessed are you Lord God of Israel for you have come to visit your people so that we may be free……..and you young child shall go before him and prepare his way. (Lk 1:68-79) These very word from the canticle of Zacharias (Benedictus) proclaim the Goodness of God who accomplishes his promise. Zacharias was a priest of the temple, he and his wife Elizabeth faced the stigmata of being barren which was consid

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, Today the Holy Church places before us the mystery of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and invites us not simply to contemplate it with our eyes, but to receive it into our hearts as the place where God has definitively revealed His love for mankind. The Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross might, at first sight, seem like a contradiction. How can we exalt an instrument of torture? How can we venerate

On the Eve of the Nativity of our All Holy Lady Theotokos, I believe that it is very important to pray for the Christians of the world who do not acknowledge Her importance in our lives. We Christinas from the East and West and blessed to know Her as our Mother and greatest intercessor, however there are many Christians sects that do not recognise Her as Mother of the Lord's Church. Unfortunately, this is what happens when one departs from the true Apostolic faith and enters

My dear people, Thank you for coming to what I can only describe as such a momentous day in my life. As I stood before the bishops who were about to consecrate me, I felt the weight of the office I was about to receive. This is an office which I take to heart as my mission: to serve all of you and, as an episkopos, to build up and strengthen the Body of Christ. To take on the episcopate is to assume a great responsibility within the Body of Christ. This is why the ordinand’s

“The heavenly Jerusalem is where the Father Pantocrator ordained his Son to be wedded and throughout the ages the Lord of the harvest sent forth his servants to announce the great news to his people, but many refused to come and take part.” (Mt 22: 1-3) The above correct translation of the text lets us in the rsvp books of God’s personal invitation to us the Old and New Testament Churches, and yes – nothing changes! We want it our way. We want to be in charge. We want to mak

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Matthew (Matthew 21:33–42). “In that time, Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: ‘Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went away. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. But the tenants too

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ “All these I ha

Homily on the unforgiving servant. today’s Gospel, our Lord and Saviour recounts the parable of the unforgiving servant. This parable reminds us that, in the Christian life, gratitude to God and to others must become part of our regular practice. We have all been given gifts to use in building Christ’s Kingdom on earth. As I have noted before, this is one of the beauties of our faith: we are all invited to take part in building the Kingdom of God. Let us not be like the unfor

ST. PANTALEIMON ORA PRO NOBIS. When the Lord gracefully dismissed the multitudes that came to hear him at the end of that day, he asked his disciples to board the boat and meet him over the other side of the lake. He then ascended the mountain alone to pray as it was dusk. (Mt14: 22-23) The danger for religious people and faithful alike is that we tend to bombard ourselves with all sorts of ritualism in order for us to have some form of authenticity. Yet, I see many of thes

A reading from the Holy Gospel according the Holy Apostle and Evangelist St Matthew (Mt 14:22-34). “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. But by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came wal

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the g

7th Sunday after Pentecost Romans 15:1–7; Matthew 9:27–35 In today’s Epistle, Saint Paul notes that we Christians are to be patient with each other. Patience is one of the great virtues which the All-Holy Trinity has taught us. If we look at the history of our salvation, it is evident that throughout the history of the Old Covenant, God was patient with His people. So too, we are called to be patient with others, even if they drive us to distraction with annoyance. If we do t

The Lord who spoke to the crows beyond the shores of Gennesaret then blessed them and then turned to Simon son of Jonah and said: “Let us go into the deep and then you may cast your net into the sea for a catch!” At this Simon said to the Lord: “Rabbi, we have been out all night long exhausting ourselves to get a small catch but we have nothing!” (Lk 5 1:5) – abbreviated. This Vigil, we celebrate the Apostles who are the protectors of our Church and Eparchy, hence, In this Sa

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Matthew (Mt 8:28–9:1). “When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him; they were so exceedingly fierce that no one could pass along that way. And behold, they cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’ Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them; and th

A Roman centurion approaches Jesus and asks that his servant be healed. We too can ask Jesus for His help.

Homily on the third Sunday after Pentecost Romans 5: 1-10; Matthew 6: 22-33. One thing that is certain is that life can be full of challenges. It is easy to be tempted to give into worry and stress. Yet Christ is clear: we are not to worry and are to trust in Him. He tells us in today's Gospel that we are not to worry, for we will be provided for by God. God loves us and will always ensure that we have what we need. Many atheists try and paint God as a monster, yet their view

An Invitation to keep watch over his flock and pray for the edification of his body the Church The Lord walked by the sea of Galilee in which he observed from afar two brothers who were fishermen, Simon who he later named Cephas (Peter) and his younger brother Andrew who were about their trade casting their nets in the sea for the daily catch. He then called out to them: “Follow me” which they perceived were words that moved their hearts to compassion for he added: “I will

ALL HALLOWS – ENERGIZED BY GOD’S GRACE AND FAVOUR Lord our God, thy Church in the world is constantly adorned with the blood of your martyrs as the vesture of purple and fine linen. Hence, through the testimonies of these holy men and women, your Church unites in prayer: let the presence of your compassion flood thy people with grace. May that peace which you promised to bestow reign amongst us as we draw near to thy mysteries; the transcendent encounter of your mercy personi

Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint John (Jn 7:37–52; 8:12). On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried out, saying: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” This He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Homily on the Seventh Sunday After Pascha Acts 20 16-18, 28-36; John 17: 1-13. One thing that is certain is that in our humanity we are flawed. Yet we have the promise of Christ that if we follow Him, He will lead us along the path to becoming like Him. Many people lament what is happening in the world and even in the Church, but at the end of the day we have Christ’s promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Holy Church (Matthew 16:18). This is why it is im