Homily for the Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"The Lord says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest – it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them. As for you, my sheep, the Lord says this: I will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and he-goats." (cf. Ez 34:11).

"The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want." (Ps 23).

"Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep; he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet. And when everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subject in his turn to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all." (cf 1 Cor 15).

"Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left... [the latter] will go away to eternal punishment, [but the former] to eternal life.’" (cf. Mt 25).

Artwork: an image of Christ the King, with many followers, people and sheep, sharing in his reign, tending to each other, with features inspired by Matthew 25:35-36, generated using Copilot.

Homily for Friday in the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, (Feast of Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his Companions), delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"Judas and his brothers said, ‘Now that our enemies have been defeated, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and dedicate it.’ So they marshalled the whole army, and went up to Mount Zion. On the twenty-fifth of the ninth month, Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they rose at dawn and offered a lawful sacrifice on the new altar of holocausts which they had made. The altar was dedicated, to the sound of zithers, harps and cymbals, at the same time of year and on the same day on which the pagans had originally profaned it. The whole people fell prostrate in adoration, praising to the skies him who had made them so successful." (cf. 1 Mac 4).

"Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, you are supreme over all. Both honour and riches come from you. You are the ruler of all, from your hand come strength and power." (Psalm taken from 1 Chron 29:10-12).

"Jesus went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling. ‘According to scripture,’ he said ‘my house will be a house of prayer. But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’ He taught in the Temple every day. The chief priests and the scribes, with the support of the leading citizens, tried to do away with him, but they did not see how they could carry this out because the people as a whole hung on his words." (Lk 19:45-48).

Artwork: an the saints Andrew Dũng-Lạc, Paul of Tarsus, Thérèse of Lisieux, and a crowd of Vietnamese martyrs standing about the cross. The words inscribed read "It is finished" (cf. Jn 19), generated using Copilot.

Homily for Thursday in the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, delivered in Star of the Sea Parish Office Chapel, Gladstone, Qld.

"The Lord came down in the Cloud. He spoke with Moses, but took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the spirit came on them they prophesied, but not again. Two men had stayed back in the camp; one was called Eldad and the other Medad. The spirit came down on them; though they had not gone to the Tent, their names were enrolled among the rest. These began to prophesy in the camp. The young man ran to tell this to Moses, ‘Look,’ he said, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ Then said Joshua the son of Nun, who had served Moses from his youth, ‘My Lord Moses, stop them!’ Moses answered him, ‘Are you jealous on my account? If only the whole people of the Lord were prophets, and the Lord gave his Spirit to them all!’" (cf. Num 11:25-29)

"The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth... The heavens proclaim his justice, for he, God, is the judge." (cf. Ps 50).

"As Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, ‘If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!’" (Lk 19:41-44).

Artwork: an image of a Spirit-filled lion standing infront of a cross, generated using Copilot, designed to evoke the untamed majesty of God.

Homily for Thursday in the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Optional Memorial for Saint Columbanus, Abbot and Missionary, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"The commissioners of King Antiochus who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to make them sacrifice... [They] addressed Mattathias as follows, ‘You are a respected leader... Be the first to step forward and conform to the king’s decree..." Raising his voice, Mattathias retorted, ‘Even if every nation living in the king’s dominions obeys him, each forsaking its ancestral religion to conform to his decrees, I, my sons and my brothers will still follow the covenant of our ancestors. Heaven preserve us from forsaking the Law and its observances. As for the king’s orders, we will not follow them: we will not swerve from our own religion either to right or to left.’ [F]ired with zeal; stirred to the depth of his being, he... went through the town, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘Let everyone who has a fervour for the Law and takes his stand on the covenant come out and follow me.’ Then he fled with his sons into the hills, leaving all their possessions behind in the town." (cf. 1 Macc 2).

"To the upright I will show the saving power of God." (cf. Ps 50).

"As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus answered him, 'Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.'" (cf. Lk 9:57-62).

"O God, who in Saint Columbanus wonderfully joined the work of evangelization to zeal for the monastic life, grant, we pray, that through his intercession and example, we may seek you above all things and bring increase to your people through our own holiness of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen." (Collect for the Optional Memorial).

Artwork:

A brief address from Bryan Jordan, recounting the inspiration and history of Gladstone's ministry to Seafarers. This address was given over a cuppa in the foyer of the Gladstone Seafers Centre, after Mass in the Chapel — the first of a re-established regular Mass in the centre, to be held monthly hereafter.

Homily for Monday in the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, delivered in the Gladstone Seafarers Chapel, Qld.

"‘Come,’ they said ‘let us reach an understanding with the pagans surrounding us, for since we separated ourselves from them many misfortunes have overtaken us.’ This proposal proved acceptable, and a number of the people eagerly approached the king, who authorised them to practise the pagan observances. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, such as the pagans have, disguised their circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to the heathen rule as willing slaves of impiety... Yet there were many in Israel who stood firm and found the courage to refuse unclean food. They chose death rather than contamination by such fare or profanation of the holy covenant, and they were executed." (cf. 1 Macc 1).

"Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands." (cf. Ps 119).

"As Jesus drew near... there was a blind man sitting [and] begging. When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.’ The people in front scolded him... but he shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied ‘let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.’" (cf Lk 18:35).

Artwork: an image of Jesus sailing ahead of seafarers' cargo ship, generated using the Wonder App.

Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"A perfect wife – who can find her? She is far beyond the price of pearls. Her husband’s heart has confidence in her, from her he will derive no little profit. Advantage and not hurt she brings him all the days of her life. She is always busy with wool and with flax, she does her work with eager hands. She sets her hands to the distaff, her fingers grasp the spindle. She holds out her hand to the poor, she opens her arms to the needy. Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty; the woman who is wise is the one to praise. Give her a share in what her hands have worked for, and let her works tell her praises at the city gates." (cf. Prov 31).

"O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways! By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper." (cf. Ps 128)

"... the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it. But it is not as if you live in the dark... for that Day to overtake you like a thief; we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober." (cf 1 Thes 5).

"Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out...' [to return] 'a long time after,' [and yet, very soon — even right now]." (cf. Mt 25:14).

Artwork: an image of Jesus amid a crowd of sufferers, generated using the Wonder app.

Homily for Friday in the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"Naturally stupid are all men who have not known God and who, from the good things that are seen, have not been able to discover Him-who-is, or, by studying the works, have failed to recognise the Artificer... if they are capable of acquiring enough knowledge to be able to investigate the world, how have they been so slow to find its Master?" (cf. Wisdom 13)

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message. No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world." (cf Ps 19).

"As it was in Noah’s day; as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building... It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed... Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather." (cf. Lk 19).

Artwork: an iconographic image inspired by Luke 19:26-37, generated using the Copilot app.