God is with us!

Just a few thoughts

·       Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to all people

·       May the tender love of Mary for her son, Jesus, and the strong protection of him by Joseph, help all of our families to care for each other.

·       We pray for the whole human family, that the glory of Christmas will shine forth across the earth and bring fresh heart to all who long for peace.

Reflections

ü We Love to be Loved

ü Christmas homily by Frank Brennan

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Tidings of Great Joy

Ø Christ’s Birth in Bethlehem – Soothing or Disturbing?

Ø ‘Subtle is the Lord’

Musical Reflection

¯  Gloria In Excelsis Deo

¯  Benedictus

Light of the World

Just a few thoughts

·       "Leadership is not a licence to do less. Leadership is a responsibility to do more." -- Simon Sinek

·       May the Light of Christ shine upon our world in peace, now and always.

·       We pray for ourselves, our families and our friends, that these final days of preparation for Christmas will be peaceful and prayerful for all.

Reflections

ü He is “the light that shines in the darkness”

ü Benedictus

ü Blessed are you who believe – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Prince of Peace, the Christ Child

Musical Reflection

¯  Benedictus

¯  Canticle of Zechariah

What then will this child be?

Just a few thoughts

·       "Make somebody happy today, and mind your own business." -- Ann Landers

·       We give thanks that the White Australia Policy introduced this day in 1901, has been overturned, enabling us to become a multicultural nation, rich in our diversity.

·       We pray for those who carry grief in their hearts at this time of the year, that whatever sorrow afflicts them they will be comforted by the love of friends and the embrace of the community.

Reflections

ü Receiving a gift

ü Let us lift up our heads, truly and deeply open our eyes, and quieten the egoic ramblings in our heads so we can truly hear.

ü Christian Faith Is Pivoted To The Imitation Of The Self-Emptying God – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Mary as Model of Faith

Ø From Saints to Celebrities: Our Evolution in Admiration and Imitation

Musical Reflection

¯  What Child Is This?

¯  Bread of Life

Mary And Elizabeth

Just a few thoughts

·       "Try to be like the turtle - at ease in your own shell." -- Bill Copeland

·       May the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth instil in us a great charity by which we reach out to all in need with tenderness and compassion.

·       We pray for the leaders of the world’s great faiths, that together they will proclaim a powerful message of grace and peace for all humankind

Reflections

ü Australian Women Preach

ü Homily by Frank Bennan

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Archbishop O'Regan's Christmas message 2024

Ø Christmas story calls us to open our hearts wider to receive the unknown

Musical Reflection

¯  Breath Of Heaven

¯  Immaculate Mary

Joy and expectation

Just a few thoughts

·       “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” --  Oscar Wilde

·       We pray for all who live in the land when Mary visited Elizabeth and where Jesus sanctified John in his mother’s womb, that real peace, justice and reconciliation will be theirs.

Reflections

ü The Visitation

ü Our lives are full of visitations or ‘encounters’

ü Singing Practice – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Bishop Vincent’s Christmas Message 2024

Ø Searching for a Womb to Birth a Messiah

Musical Reflection

¯  I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

¯  Make Room

Trust in God

Just a few thoughts

·       "You can have more than you've got because you can BECOME more than you are." -- Jim Rohn

·       We pray for one another at this busy time of the year. May we take time to reflect on our blessings and give thanks for them.

·       We pray that every child conceived may be loved, protected, nourished, respected and brought to birth, especially in places of war, poverty and distress.

Reflections

ü This perplexing picture stands there at the beginning of the gospel

ü Trusting and full of humble faith

ü Come, Lord Jesus – Next Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Celebrating Christmas, holy and hectic

Ø Silent Night, from hymn to hype

Musical Reflection

¯  Ave Maria

¯  Magnificat

Most of what dominates our news programmes focuses on what is wrong with the world rather than what is right.

Just a few thoughts

·       "I am experienced enough to do this. I am knowledgeable enough to do this. I am prepared enough to do this. I am mature enough to do this. I am brave enough to do this." -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

·       We pray for all who love and care for nature. May their efforts to tackle the scourge of plastic waste keep our streams and seas healthy and life-supporting

·       May people of integrity lead the nations to a time of peace, not by force, but by trust, dialogue and respect.

Reflections

ü He was struck dumb!

ü When God speaks, we are meant to listen and respond accordingly

ü Making the peace of God real in the here and now – last Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Jesus - the path and destination

Ø Magic struck twice at number 27

Musical Reflection

¯  People look East

¯  Canticle of the Turning

Joseph, a man of God

Just a few thoughts

·       "A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour - such is my idea of happiness." -- Leo Tolstoy

·       We pray for all women who are expecting a child, that they and their child may be kept safe, and come to rejoice at the time of birth

·       We pray for all who love and care for nature. May their efforts to tackle the scourge of plastic waste keep our streams and seas healthy and life-supporting.

Reflections

ü   Our faith doesn’t rest on dates or customs or folklore

ü Please, be kind to each other

ü Called to a life and spirituality of companionship and empowerment – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Pope Francis urges global death penalty abolition, foreign debt relief

Ø Don’t prioritise profit over people, Pope tells bankers

Musical Reflection

¯  My Soul In Stillness Waits

¯  Holy is His Name

What an ancestry!

Just a few thoughts

·       "Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream." -- Khalil Gibran

·       May Pope Francis, celebrating his 88th birthday today, continue to be filled with the vigour of the Holy Spirit and be blest with good health as the Church joins in joyful prayer for him.

·       We pray for nations and corporations that profit from the world-wide trade in arms. May they invest instead in projects that promote human flourishing.

Reflections

ü A genealogy

ü Seek real joy – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Pope’s Peace Day Message

Ø Films For A Jubilee Of Hope

Musical Reflection

¯  Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

¯  Hail Mary, Gentle Woman

How we exercise authority in our own lives?

Just a few thoughts

·       "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." -- Robert Frost

·       May we who have been baptised into Christ live our faith confidently with joy and hope.

·       May John the Baptist’s call to integrity, justice and generosity herald the dawn of a new human solidarity.

Reflections

ü Sunday homily – Frank Brennan

ü The authority of outreaching love.

ü What does it mean to live with Christ-like authority?

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Unpacking a crisis of civic disconnection

Ø From Saints to Celebrities: Our Evolution in Admiration and Imitation

Musical Reflection

¯  People Look East

¯  Here Among Us

What then should we do?

Just a few thoughts

·       "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind." - Albert Einstein

·       “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” -- George Eliot

·       May we, in these Advent days, be patient and not lose heart, and never make complaints against each other.

Reflections

ü Australian Women Preach

ü The Good News

ü What Should We Do?

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Pope Francis: ‘Ideology kills reality and manipulates people’

Ø The trouble with a shrinking population

Musical Reflection

¯  Comfort Ye My People

¯  Do You Hear What I Hear