Behold I stand at the door and knock...

The 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A  presents to us the parable of the wedding feast, to which many are invited but few want to come; at least among the original invitees! Through the kindness of the king the wedding hall is filled but there is a stranger who doesn't belong. I explain what divine grace is in this podcast and how it enters into our lives as well as give a description of th...

This Saturday a 15 year old boy will be beatified in Assisi. I share with you some of the inspiring details of Carlo's life. If you want to find out more put his name into any search engine and you'll find so many hits. But if you like you might like to try these: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/amp/news/who-was-carlo-acutis-a-cna-explainer-19684 https://www.ncregister.com/blog/17-thi...

The Church is the vineyard of God. This Sunday I offer some reflections about the nature and constitution of the Church and her relationship with Christ. I hope you enjoy. God bless. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to ask questions you can do this via email: frpchandler@armidale.catholic.org.au Also if you would like to support me in this work, please send me a...

God is not fair! How often might we think that and certainly hear that from people of our time. It is only with faith that we come to know who God is and that He is entirely trustworthy. Then we can entrust ourselves to Him and desire to do His holy will. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to ask questions you can do this via email: frpchandler@armidale.catholic.o...

I share with you the homily I gave for the funeral of a 19 year old who died of bone cancer. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to ask questions you can do this via email: frpchandler@armidale.catholic.org.au Also if you would like to support me in this work, please send me an email and I will provide details for how you can make a donation.  Music by TheNonVisibl...

It's the time of First Holy Communion in our Parish but we use the Mass of the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  The Parable of the workers in the vineyard teaches us of God's unbounded and undeserved generosity towards us; something that is enfleshed in Holy Communion.  As I share some of what I say to the children with you, I hope and pray that you will grow deeper in love and reverence f...

Mercy and forgiveness are presented to us today through the parable in the gospel. Divine Mercy is an unmerited and gratuitous gift from God to us. Our response must be not only gratitude but also merciful and forgiving attitude and action towards others. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to ask questions you can do this via email: frpchandler@armidale.catholic.o...

St Peter Claver is one of those many saints of the Counter-Reformation. There were so many of them, martyrs and confessors, founders and foundresses of religious orders, monks and lay people who kept the flame of the Catholic faith alive as many parts of Europe became Protestant. The life and work of St Peter Claver has relevance to our current times. I hope you gain an appreciation of him by list...

Being a watchman or sentry is a crucial task; n ot only in the walled cities of Europe in more troubled times but also now metaphorically speaking. Lest we retreat into privatism, that is a harmful self-sufficiency, Christ our Lord reminds us that we are "our brother's keeper". As well though, the Church has watchmen placed on its towers to safeguard the whole flock. The Lord Jesus...

It is a chastened and rebuked St Peter in this Sunday's gospel reading.   What a difference a week makes! The rock on which the Church will be built makes a error as he tries to protect his friend from suffering. But Christ Our Lord, through a stern reproach and persistent teaching, shows St Peter and the other apostles, disciples and us, that suffering is in the "DNA" of the Christ...

Today's gospel reading is a hot-button issue for some non-Catholic Christians. But it is central to the identity and mission of the Catholic Church. The conversation of Christ with St Peter at Caesarea Philippi is the moment when Our Lord reveals His divine plan for the structure of the Church. It is to be led by Peter (and his successors) who will be the Vicar of Christ, acting in His name a...

The Canaanite woman  and her interaction with Christ, which is the gospel reading for Holy Mass this Sunday, provides us with a clear and detailed instruction on who Christ is as Saviour of all mankind. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved," said St Peter, with boldness, before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:12 If...

Just deviating slightly from my normal program,  here is a talk I gave recently on the theological virtue of hope and the natural virtue of perseverance in the midst of crisis. This is, of course, relevant to the crisis of the pandemic that we are experiencing, but it is always relevant to our lives, where we regularly experience suffering and crises, both small and large. Laudetur Jesus Christus...

The miraculous feeding of the huge crowd  provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon the effects of receiving Holy Communion since this miracle by Christ prefigures (points towards) the Eucharist. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to ask questions you can do this via email: frpchandler@armidale.catholic.org.au Also if you would like to support me in this wor...

The pearl of great price; the treasure hidden in a field; the dragnet that captures all type of fish: these are the image of this Sunday's gospel reading. The task for us is to examine our lives against the mirror of these parables so that we may follow Christ our Lord more faithfully and more fervently. Laudetur Jesus Christus! If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions...

The parables of Our Lord  continue this Sunday with the parable of the wheat mixed with the darnel, and what that means for the farmer and the harvest. This parable gives us an opportunity to be reminded about what the Church teaches us about the presence of evil in the world and in our own actions. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to ask questions you can do th...

The Parable of the Sower and the Seed takes a prominent place in Holy Scripture at this Sunday's Holy Mass. While a well known parable, it always has much to say to us, particularly as Our Lord's words invite us to examine how we are responding to Him, who is the Word that has issued forth from the Father's heart. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or...

"Take my yoke and learn from me for I am meek and humble in heart,"  says Our Lord in today's Gospel reading. He certainly is meek and humble, perfectly so, because He is God. But He is not a wimpy push-over either. His heart, His Sacred Heart, is fiery with love, a love so bright and terrible that it will do anything, even die, for the salvation of the world. That's not the he...

The Lord continues to make demands of us if we are to be His disciples. Being a Catholic, being a Christian is not easy and not for the faint-hearted! The example of St Gianna Molla can inspire us and her intercession from Heaven can help us in living as disciples of Christ in this world and to be loyal and obedient to Him. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to as...

Today we return to Sundays of Ordinary Time. Our Catholic faith is a great treasure but it is not a museum piece. It is meant to be alive and lived as well as to be shared with others. This is for their good as well as for our own salvation. If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions  or to ask questions you can do this via email: frpchandler@armidale.catholic.org.au Also if...

What a wonderful solemnity! Today we honour and worship Our Lord, Jesus Christ, whose abiding presence for His Church is the Most Blessed Sacrament. This is the greatest treasure we have and it is the gift of our Saviour to us. How much we should be grateful! How much we should show this most wonderful Sacrament all the reverence and honour that we can. We must never tire of doing this.  I wish yo...

One of the key Christian dogmas , that sets us apart from Judaism and Islam, and of course, from another other supernatural, spiritual or natural belief system. That God has one nature and three Divine Persons is a mystery but not a contradiction. Our own human capacity to know and reason, as well as our human experience, helps us to penetrate the mystery but not to understand it fully. We believe...

Pentecost Sunday - what a wonderful Solemnity and feast day, which concludes the Easter Season! This podcast is a little longer than usual. I suppose I got carried away, but there is so much to say about the Holy Spirit. Of course, I haven't said it all, but I hope you find what I have said both uplifting and interesting. And, may it deepen your appreciation of and love for the Holy Spirit. T...

This Sunday in some parts of the Catholic world, we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's part of the untidiness of the Church's calendar that in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass as well as in some regions, the Ascension is still celebrated on the Thursday, ten days before Pentecost; as it has been for centuries. But where I am it is moved to Sunday. So, t...

The Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost draw closer as we come towards the end of the Easter Season. We begin to hear this Sunday Our Lord speak to the Apostles of the new and revolutionary coming of the Holy Spirit into the world. As we listen to the Scripture readings this Sunday, we can be moved by the enormity and wonder of our Christian vocation. The hymn for today is the same as last Sunday:...