Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (5: 1-12) where Jesus is with his disciples and introduces the Sermon on the Mount.

Fr Paul says the Gospel today has eight blessings which point out eight ways we can welcome God into our lives. The first blessing we hear and the last one of the eight knit them all together with the same words, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Fr Paul notes we hear through Matthew’s Gospel the spiritual attributes required by a Christian.

Fr Paul says, as we celebrate Australia Day and as expressed in the Gospel, we can give thanks to the blessing of living in this country today.