Follow Me

Just a few thoughts

·        May international solidarity with the Palestinian people raise their hopes for lasting justice and peace.

·        That the footsteps of those who spread the message of Jesus may be a welcome sound, and dispose people to discovering Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

·        We pray for our faith community. During this season of Advent, may the Spirit of Hope open our hearts to God’s message of goodwill, especially within families.

Reflection

ü Learning to Respond  --  Reflection from Brisbane

ü Creating God in Our Own Image  --  Richard Rohr

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Reports call for massive investment in social housing  --  CathNews

Ø Why Christianity? What about other religions?

Musical Reflection

¯ Steal Away to Jesus

¯ Grant Us Your Peace, O Lord

¯ Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

The kingdom of God shelters all

Just a few thoughts

·        May the Church be an instrument for peace, so that during these weeks of Advent she can show the love of Christ to all people.

·        Jesus encourages us to look forward to our final liberation. With strength and confidence let us pray for the salvation of the world.

·        We pray for a global revolution of justice, that the needs of nations most disadvantaged by climate change and the COVID pandemic be met by the world community.

Reflection

ü The east and west’ who recognise and know the Kingdom of God – a canopy, a tent that shelters all.

ü The responsibility of his followers (that’s us) to carry on the work of making the Kingdom a reality for all.

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Our boomeranging prayer  --  Sunday reflection from USA

Ø Sunday Homily – Frank Brennan

ü Healed and Shaped by God  --  Reflection from Brisbane

Musical Reflection

¯ In Christ There Is No East Or West

¯ To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

¯ Wait For The Lord

Prepare the way of the Lord

Just a few thoughts

·        That as the world is bewildered by present events and nations are in agony, may the Church, waiting for Christ’s return, stay awake and pray for strength for all people.

·        We pray for our civic leaders. May they share the vision of proclaiming the hope and peace promised by Jesus.

Reflection

ü A good life consists not so much in the kind of work we do or how “successful” we are but how we have related with other people – with family, other relatives, friends, colleagues and total strangers.

ü Getting Ready and Being Blameless

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Advent—A Time to Learn How to Wait

Ø Seeing Ourselves as God Sees Us  --  Richard Rohr

Musical Reflection

¯ Come O Come Emmanuel

¯ Steal Away

¯ Maranatha

¯ Find Us Ready

Be truly alert to the presence of God

Just a few thoughts

·        Let all Christians give thanks for this past year of grace, the solidarity that has sustained us through another year of the pandemic and the opportunities we have had to worship God in spirit and in truth

·        We pray for all who are afflicted with fear and anxiety, that they be led by the Spirit into the freedom of the children of God.

Reflection

ü Live as fully as we can in the presence of our always-present God.

ü “Towards the encounter” Advent  --  Laudato Si Movement

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Pope: Change habits, protect the earth, help others

Ø Third Convocation of Catholics  --  A forum discussing the Plenary Council and what the hopes are for the next step  --  Summary of online comments

Musical Reflection

¯ City Of God

¯ We Are Marching in the Light of God

¯ Day is Done

The presence of God in the world, a presence in “spirit and in truth”.

Just a few thoughts

·        We pray for Indigenous Australians caught up in the justice system, that they be treated fairly, respectfully and humanely.

·        May we be the good that conquers evil throughout the world, not by force or violence, but by love and respect.

·        “Just imagine how amazing it would be if we were able to open up the doors and our arms to all, invite everyone to come to the table. We need to practice the gospel in actions not just words”.
“I would like a Church that doesn’t need to be called to account by civil society but is a leader in living and promoting Catholic principles.”  --  Comments from Convocation Three

Reflection

ü Jesus’ words of Truth and Life will be forever valid, because they represent a vision of life and those timeless values which we understand as emanating from God and to which every single human being is innately called.

ü Noticing God  --  Reflection from Brisbane

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Waiting in hope  --  Andrew Hamilton SJ

Ø Participation in the systems that govern you is a human right, children and young people included

Ø Doco of the Month: Incarceration Nation  --  SBS on Demand

Musical Reflection

¯ Come to us now and find in us your throne,

O King within the child within the clay,

O hidden King who shapes us in the play

Of all creation. Shape us for the day

Your coming Kingdom comes into its own.

¯ Find Our Way

Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go.

In love we find our way

With trust, hope remains

I’ll be here. Stay right here. Don’t you fear

In love we find our way through the night

In love we find the way

Your love, it’s a way

Living by the vision and values of the Gospel.

Just a few thoughts

·        We pray for women everywhere, today’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will help make the world a safer place for them.

·        ‘The Church will increasingly become more irrelevant to the majority of people as it fails to speak to the world in a way that resonates with their lives.”  --  Comment from Convocation Three

·        May the religious spirit of Jews, Muslims and Christians be renewed in faith and with justice, and so promote harmony.

Reflection

ü What of ourselves requires transformation?

ü Loosing bonds  --  Reflection from Brisbane

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Ethical choices involve more than just the facts  --  CathNews

Ø How can you help if someone you know has anxiety or depression?

Musical Reflection

¯ City of God

¯ Gather Us, O God

¯ Conditor Alme Siderum (Creator of the Stars of Night)

We continue to reach out in truth and love

Just a few thoughts

·        For those who face persecution or discrimination because of their Christian faith, that they may be patient and courageous, knowing that their endurance will win them their lives.

·        We pray for all who farm the land to produce the food we eat, that they will do all in their power to keep the earth healthy and fruitful.

Reflection

ü What Kind of King? --  Sunday Homily

ü Let us pray that we may have the courage to be true to our Christian values whatever the cost.

ü Martyrs for God  --  Reflection from Brisbane

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Participation-in-the-systems-that-govern-you-is-a-human-right-children-and-young-people-included

Ø Happiness and Meaning  --  Ron Rolheiser

Musical Reflection

¯ Soon and Very Soon

¯ Gather Your People

¯ Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken

The End Times

Just a few thoughts

·        That the leaders of nations and within the Church, will realize that, like the rest of humanity, they have feet of clay, and so never have an inflated opinion about their importance or power.

·        We pray for island nations under threat from rising sea levels, that their pleas for climate justice will be heard and heeded.

Reflection

ü Without Him as the centre of our faith, we will be lost.

ü Live each day to the full for ourselves and others

ü Made for another world  --  Reflection from Brisbane

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Bishops endorse Uluru Statement from the Heart

Ø What happened at the Plenary Council  --  Southern Cross

Ø Dropping off the Edge 2021  --  Jesuit Social Services

Musical Reflection

¯ Gloria, Misa Criolla

¯ City of God

¯ Siyahamba

First comes justice, then piety

Just a few thoughts

·        We pray for the whole human family, that all will unite in bringing to birth a new world order of love, goodness and truth

·        As we come to the end of the liturgical year, we pray with gratitude for all the faithful who have worked to preserve the spirit of our communities through the challenges of the past year.

Reflection

ü Sunday Homily  --  'What have you done?

ü True Discipleship  --  Reflection from Brisbane

The Signs Of The Times

Ø The Kingdom of God is ...

Ø Angels dwell among us

Ø How to save the confessional seal  --  The Tablet, UK

Musical Reflection

¯ Come to Me

¯ Though the Mountains May Fall

I am the Alpha and the Omega

Just a few thoughts

·        The Diocesan Youth Assembly is today. We pray that the spirit of Jesus, our King will open their hearts to the needs and hopes of all youth.

·        For all seekers of truth, that they will find wise guides to accompany them on their quest.

·        We pray for civil and political leaders. May they accept their responsibility to serve all those under their leadership with honesty and justice.

Reflection

ü “The reason I was born, the reason why I came into this world, is to give witness to the truth.”

ü The kingdom of God is already here in the sense that Jesus lives within and among us now. But we know also that his presence is obscured by the continued presence of evil in the world. Individuals and institutions are very far from being aligned on the will of God, and so the kingdom is incomplete.

ü Homily – Frank Brennan SJ

ü Australian Women Preach

The Signs Of The Times

Ø “The Church needs fixing,”  --  The Tablet, UK

Ø Boost for parishes on journey to sustainability

Ø Earthcare Parish Program

Musical Reflection

¯ Hallelujah Chorus

¯ At the Name of Jesus

¯ Sing Out, Earth and Skies!

God of the living

Just a few thoughts

·        ‘Great shepherds give people a lot of freedom. The good shepherd knows how to lead his flock without enslaving it to rules that deaden people. The shepherd has the ability to go in front of the flock to show the way, stay in the middle of the flock to see what happens within and also be at the rear of the flock to make sure no-one is left behind.’  --  Pope Francis

·        That we may appreciate this Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist  through which Christ gives us the pledge of everlasting life  and our share in his resurrection.

·        We pray for civil leaders. May civil leaders practise true servant leadership, humbly directing their public service to the wellbeing of the communities they represent.

Reflection

ü The Feast of Christ The King  --  The Tablet, UK

ü What do Catholics mean when we say the Eucharist is ‘the true body and blood’ of Christ?

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Pope praises justice and peace commissions

Ø The Grace of Grace

Ø Urgent need to finalise federal religious freedom legislation

Musical Reflection

¯ Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

¯ Instruments Of Your Peace

¯ Creation Calls

The Temple

Just a few thoughts

·        Jesus stands as a counter-witness to all that is against truth, love and justice and as such inevitably incurs the anger and hostility of those who have power, power based on falsehood, on self-interest, corruption and injustice.

·        Being a ‘listening Church’ does not mean just listening to one another or listening to the Holy Spirit. It also means listening to what culture — religious and secular — has to say to the Church.’  --  Massimo Faggioli

·        May all who come to this church to pray find in the presence of Christ the peace, strength, forgiveness and guidance they hunger for.

Reflection

ü Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem

ü Beyond every mask and fig leaf    --  Reflection from Brisbane

The Signs Of The Times

Ø New timeline for local Synod of Bishops consultation

Ø Vinnies recommits to Catholic Social Teaching principles on 5th World Day of the Poor

Ø “To be Still and Listen With Us”  --  Miriam Rose Ungunmerr Baumann

Musical Reflection

¯ I Rise Up To Worship

¯ Christ Is the World's Light

¯ Creator of the Stars of Night