HOMILIES

When the Apostles lead Jesus through a crowed who had gathered at yet another supernatural sight, they took him to a man whose son suffered violent attacks from possessive fallen powers; the boy’s father then threw himself down at his feet crying: “Lord, have mercy on us for my son suffers grievously from that which has been diagnosed as epilepsy. The strange and yet mysterious observation is that although these symptoms may reflect that which has been diagnosed but he or an

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Mark (Mk 8:34–9:1). “Calling the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them: ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man g

DON'T GIVE THINGS UP - TAKE THINGS ON! When fasting, do not be like the numerous hypocrites who lull in seasonal surroundings; sad faces, camouflaging themselves with the appearance of austerity for they definitely will be subject to the judgement of righteousness that awaits them. Rather, when you sincerely fast, do not appear to be doing so; anointing your head with oil and washing your face so that you may go about your daily business as usual. Remember that the Father who

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Luke (Lk 2:22–40). When the days of their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought the Child up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the Law of the Lord: Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now there

Homily on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee 2 Timothy 3: 10-15; Luke 18: 10-14.   We live in a time where there are many doom-sayers who point to this or that which shows that bad things are going to happen. Whilst there can be times where less-than-perfect things do happen, we have the rock of Christ onto which to anchor  our faith and hope (cf. Matthew 7:24–25). Christ does not say that we will never have adversity, but rather He says that to trust in Him will hel

Outcasts - shame to fame! Whilst Jesus passed through the presbyteral town of Jericho, he saw an envied rich man who was the leading tax official hoisting himself up on a sycamore tree out of sight so that he could get a glimpse of the Lord.  Lk 19: 1-4 – [abbreviated]. This week being the last in ordinary time before we enter into the TRIODION which are the three preparatory weeks before Great Lent, we are presented with the story of Matthew the Apostle known formally as Zac

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Mark (Mk 1:1–8). “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’ ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’ John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgivenes

The Sunday Before Holy Nativity Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40; Matthew 1: 1-25. This week we celebrate the feast of the Holy Nativity . This feast, whilst heavily commercialised in the West, is the feast which represents our salvation. Christ came and took on our nature so that we might live; not just live day to day, but have life in Him which never dies. Without the Incarnation, we would not have the opportunity to become full members of His Holy Body, the Church. This seas

Another year over: losses and gains! This last Sunday of the Nativity Fast (Holy Advent) presents us with the genealogy – family tree of the Lord in preparation to receive him in the manger of our hearts. (Mat 1: 1-25) We may be familiar with my ancestry.com and even more with the next step of that process – tracing ones roots in antiquity. Tis a rather tempting offer to unearth ones origins and discover the connection with the famous and non, the good, the bad, and the ugly

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Luke (Lk 17:12-19): “As Jesus entered a village, ten lepers met him. Keeping their distance, they raised their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, Jesus said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. He

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Jewish Community in this time of great loss! Australia is a Land blessed by God, and we must be thankful and proud as a nation that we are free to express our cultural and religious heritages with great freedom! There is no place in Australia for rogue sentimentalities which harbour the objective of the Anicent Rebelion which seeks to destroy what God loves most - us his creation! It is unfortunate that most people struggle with the comma

Homily on the 26 th  Sunday of Pentecost Luke 13-10-17; Ephesians 5: 8-19. Homily – Feast of the Presentation of the All-Holy Theotokos at the Temple This week the Church celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the All-Holy Theotokos at the Temple. This feast is a profound prefiguration   of Mary’s unique and essential role in the salvation of mankind. Without the Theotokos’ “yes” to the All-Holy Trinity, (the Incarnation as it happened in time),   would not have taken pl