Rod Serling’s popular sci-fi series, The Twilight Zone, ran for five seasons between 1959 and 1964.  Ranked amongst the most successful television series of all time, it had a reputation for suspenseful, mind-bending narratives that ended with a clever, unforeseen twist. The Twilight Zone has since been remade three times as a TV series and twice as a movie, as well as live theatre and radio. There have been games, comic books, novels, even a Twilight Zone theme park attraction at Disney in Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.  Before each of the original episodes, Serling delivered a cryptic monologue setting the stage for the characters and events about to unfold and reminding viewers that they were about to enter “another dimension… one not only of sight and sound but of mind, a journey into a wondrous land of imagination.”

Homily for Mass of the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B St Mary’s Cathedral, 11 February 2024

For thirty years now ‘adventure’ films have been the most popular; the related genre of ‘action’ films come in a close second.  We laugh hilariously at well scripted comedies, are enthralled by tense dramas, and comforted by touching love stories. But ticket sales prove adventure attracts us most.

Homily for Mass for Bicentenary, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 7 February 2024

“Sir, can we please see Jesus.” (Jn 12:20-33) They were Greeks who had come up to Jerusalem for Passover. They approached Philip because he spoke Greek like them. By now Jesus was the hottest ticket in town—the ancient near-eastern Taylor Swift—and to get near Him you needed connections. He was famed for His miracles, teachings, personality. The Gospel of John highlights seven signs in particular: turning water into wine; healing the dying son of an official; curing a cripple at the sheep-gate pool; feeding the five thousand; walking on water; giving sight to a man born blind; and raising a man from the dead.

Homily for Mass of the 5th Sunday of Lent, Year B St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 17 March 2024

‘Warts and all.’ It means an unsanitised picture or narrative of someone, free of enhancements, complete with flaws. It means being shown the unadulterated truth, the bad along with the good. Some ascribe the saying to Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector (or military dictator) in the 1650s, when England was briefly a republic. Though it was to be a quasi-royal portrait, he told the painter to make a true likeness, unflattering, revealing all his “roughness, pimples [and] warts”.

Homily for the Mass of Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year B, Sydney, 24 March 2024

It’s the holiest place on earth—the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem—and on entering it the first thing you see is the Stone of Unction, traditionally the slab upon which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus laid out the dead Jesus to embalm Him (Jn 19:39-40). Last year I was blessed to visit that place with Father Lewi: a year later and the Holy Land is effectively closed to pilgrims. So let me give you a brief tour…

Homily for the Solemn Mass of the Lord's Resurrection. Sydney. Easter Sunday. 31 March 2024

Shalom aleichem. Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν Eirēnē humin. Pax vobiscum. Peace be with you. So Jesus greets His disciples in today’s Gospel (Lk 24:35-48) and His other post-resurrection appearances (Jn 20:19,21,26). It was, of course, His customary greeting, blessing and farewell,  one common in the Ancient Near-East and the Graeco-Roman world. The apostles followed suit, proclaiming peace in Jesus Christ (Acts 10:36). Paul opens and closes most of his epistles with “Peace be with you”.  Still today, people in Israel greet each other with Shalom, and in Gaza with ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ As-salamu alaykum—a greeting with a special poignancy in those parts at present. For Catholics it has become the liturgical ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’: bishops always begin Mass with “Peace be with you” and often conclude it with “Go in Peace”, recalling the Easter Lord.

Homily for Mass of the Third Sunday of Easter Year B + Day of the Unborn Child, 14 April 2024

Around 1600 Doménikos Theotok/ópoulos—known as El Greco—painted his Pentecost, now in the Prado in Madrid. Born in Crete, where he studied Byzantine iconography, he honed his skills at the feet of the master Titian, while imitating the likes of Michelangelo, Raphael and Tintoretto.

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMN MASS OF PENTECOST (YEAR B) + ADULT CONFIRMATIONS

There’s a million dollar purse just waiting for you. All you have to do is be the first person to solve one of seven extremely complex maths problems.  Some of the conundrums are centuries old and have been attempted by some of the most brilliant minds in history.

Homily for the Solemn Mass of the Most Holy Trinity at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, 26 May 2024

It was probably the largest gathering ever held in Sydney. Half a million people packed the streets for a week. The opening and closing ceremonies gathered people of every stripe from all around our city, country and globe, ordinary people both young and old, and a Who’s Who of celebrities. Despite adverse publicity in the lead up, Sydney was a joyful host, and in the end almost everyone judged it a great success.

Homily for Mass of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, St Mary's Cathdral, Sydney, 2 June 2024

The term ‘quiet quitting’ first appeared in the social media a little over two years ago. A 17-second video clip that went viral on TikTok sparked a global debate about work especially amongst young, disaffected professionals. The online trend quickly morphed into a broader social phenomenon, with countless articles appearing in the mainstream media  and the phrase making its way into the lexicon

Archdiocese of Sydney