Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (6: 14-29) about King Herod ordering the execution of John the Baptist. He then shares a little about St Agatha, whose life we celebrate today. A bit like St Agnes, Fr Paul says, we do not know all that much about the life of Agatha. [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (6: 7-13), in which Jesus sends the twelve out to preach with nothing for the journey. Fr Paul says today in the Gospel we hear Jesus’s instructions for those who are going out on missionary journeys. We hear that they are to travel light. They [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (6: 1-6), in which Jesus returns to his hometown, Nazareth, and speaks at the synagogue. What is interesting about today’s Gospel, says Fr Paul, is that in going home the people that know Jesus recognise him as an extraordinary person of Wisdom; they recognise him [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Luke (2: 22-40), which tells of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to be presented at the temple. Fr Paul says, the celebration we have today, the Presentation of the Lord, has had several names down through history. It has also been known as Candlemas and as [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (5: 1-20) in which Jesus drives the demons out of the tormented man. The Gospel and story of the demoniac is special in several ways, says Fr Paul. Firstly, this is the only time that the writer of Mark’s Gospel tells of Jesus interacting with [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (4: 35-41) in which Jesus, in a boat with his frightened disciples, calms the storm. When we read this Gospel, Fr Paul says, it seems Jesus has chosen a pretty dumb and unappreciative group of disciples. Even though they do call him ‘Master’, they still [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (4: 26-34) in which Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a seed, scattered by a man, that grows he knows not how. Jesus was from the country, from the rich agricultural plains of Galilee where wheat and fruit were everywhere. It was, therefore, natural [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (4: 21-25) in which Jesus says, ‘there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed’ and afterwards shares a little about the life of St Thomas Aquinas, whose life we celebrate today. Thomas was born in 1225 into a noble family in southern Italy. He [...]
Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (4: 1-20) about the parable of the sower. Fr Paul says, today, we ask ourselves what was Jesus’s original intention for this parable of the sower? Was it a warning against different types of temptations for his followers? Or was he reflecting on his own [...]
Prior to reading the Gospel today, Fr Paul explains that the church in Australia celebrates Australia Day as a day of prayer. It is a day, he says, on which we are encouraged to pray for our nation; to pray for the wonder and beauty we have in this country; to pray [...]