Many people in our society equate success and respect with those who have either many possessions or with those who are in high office or are leaders of big business corporations or prosperous nations.  We are seldom exposed to the beauty and the richness of ordinary people.  Unless one performs or unless one demonstrates that whatever he or she touches will always turn to gold then one is regarded as unimportant and irrelevant.  The problem is that very often what society considers important and exemplary, is in reality a failure.  Very often what the general opinion of society considers as successful and therefore something to be promoted and imitated, is in reality a recipe for disaster and anxiety.

It is enough to look at the papers of the past weeks.  How many of our people spend most of their days dabbling in shares.  I am often fascinated when watching the news.  During the segment on business there is always some item and footage showing the electronic board where the different shares are displayed.  What saddens me, is to see a constant stream of people just glued to that electronic screen looking intently on how their shares are doing.  Very often we see people sitting on a bench oblivious of what is happening around them, just looking mesmerized at the information on the screen.  What matters is how their money is going.  How their interest are being cared for.  How their possessions are faring.  Of course we need to have money.  That is why we work so hard to be able to sustain ourselves and our families in a comfortable manner.  However in reality many of us think that having more and more is the key to success.  Many put blind trust in our financial institutions which are always pursuing the more.

It only takes the financial collapse that the world is experiencing at the moment to put us back in balance and hopefully to make us reflect on what really brings happiness and a true meaning of life.  In an article in the “Tablet” a weekly Catholic periodical published in the United Kingdom, Chris Blackhurst who is the editor of the “Evening Standard” offers this comment.  “In this unraveling of the capitalist financial system, the banks are paying the price for their own greed.  Driven by a bonus culture and  a desire to produce even bigger returns for shareholders, they feed into the trap of believing in their collective invincibility.  When the dust has settled on the credit crunch, there must be a return to old fashioned banking and a stronger ethical position where caution and not profit is the watch word”. What a lesson. This is what Jesus has been saying over the past two thousand years. Greed is no good.

On the other hand, the Gospel message of today reminds us that all of us are talented.  All of us possess amazing and powerful qualities. All of us given the right encouragement and direction can make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.  During his twenty seven years in prison, nobody who mattered in South Africa gave any hope to Nelson Mandela.  Many people in authority did not think much of him.  After all he was a prisoner.  He was the very opposite of being unsuccessful according to the world’s criteria. Yet he possessed a great heart.  He possessed courage.  He possessed a dream to bring equality to his country and nothing was going to stifle or destroy his perseverance towards what is right, just and true.  He became the President of South Africa. As president he did not harbor revenge or hatred against those who prosecuted or put him down over so many years.  Instead he reached out in a spirit of reconciliation so that his country would provide hope and material sustenance for all.  Indeed what was considered a person of not so much importance in reality became the keystone of the nation.

The story of Nelson Mandela is being constantly repeated in our county, in our diocese, in our parishes and in our homes.  How many people like you are providing hope, and encouragement and empowerment to so many others around you.  I received very bad news late Friday night.  One of our young teachers was killed in a car accident south of Shepparton.  It is a tragedy. The school Principal at Yarrawonga Catholic Primary School brought the teachers together that very same evening, to support each other and also to work out together how to communicate what happened to those who were closest to her, the children whom she taught, the parents who she gradually came to know more deeply and especially how to offer support to her family.  Such sensitivity, such Christianity.

I have just returned from a meeting of one of the Commission of the Australian Bishops Conference that I am a member of.  I meet a group of people, parents and helpers who are doing amazing things with people with disability.  Of course sacrifices are called for.  Of course taking care of people with disability is not an easy task.  Nevertheless these people spoke with so much joy and excitement.  They told us that it is a privilege to walk with these people and that they receive much more than they give from those who some people in our society deem less than perfect.  This is very pertinent to remember in view on the debate about the decriminalized use of abortion that is occurring at this time in our State.  I am so excited by so many of our young people who are constantly trying to find ways and means to help other young people to continue to deepen their faith commitment after the experience of World Youth Day.

I am sure that these stories are multiplied with the example and heroic actions of many of our parents and others involved in upholding the values and principles of Jesus.  Every person is important, every person can make a difference in this life.  Every person can be a source of much hope and blessing to others because whatever God creates is good.  Let us not be afraid.  Every little gesture of goodness and faith on our part will never be in vain.  God is there working, very often in mysterious ways to bring it to great fruition.

The Bible is very revolutionary.  If anyone is seeking a radical and alternative lifestyle the way of Jesus is the way to go.  Very often, the message of Jesus is so contrary and so opposite to the well entrenched values and ideas of the majority of our society.  There is often a very clear call for a decision to be made between what the so called powerful people in the world propose and what Jesus stands for.  The two views at times are so incompatible.  The Gospel of today gives us one such glaring example.  Towards the end of today’s Gospel we have Jesus quoting Psalm 118 “It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone.  This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see”.  What a profound statement.  What a great lesson for us.

Many people in our society equate success and respect with those who have either many possessions or with those who are in high office or are leaders of big business corporations or prosperous nations.  We are seldom exposed to the beauty and the richness of ordinary people.  Unless one performs or unless one demonstrates that whatever he or she touches will always turn to gold then one is regarded as unimportant and irrelevant.  The problem is that very often what society considers important and exemplary, is in reality a failure.  Very often what the general opinion of society considers as successful and therefore something to be promoted and imitated, is in reality a recipe for disaster and anxiety.

It is enough to look at the papers of the past weeks.  How many of our people spend most of their days dabbling in shares.  I am often fascinated when watching the news.  During the segment on business there is always some item and footage showing the electronic board where the different shares are displayed.  What saddens me, is to see a constant stream of people just glued to that electronic screen looking intently on how their shares are doing.  Very often we see people sitting on a bench oblivious of what is happening around them, just looking mesmerized at the information on the screen.  What matters is how their money is going.  How their interest are being cared for.  How their possessions are faring.  Of course we need to have money.  That is why we work so hard to be able to sustain ourselves and our families in a comfortable manner.  However in reality many of us think that having more and more is the key to success.  Many put blind trust in our financial institutions which are always pursuing the more.

It only takes the financial collapse that the world is experiencing at the moment to put us back in balance and hopefully to make us reflect on what really brings happiness and a true meaning of life.  In an article in the “Tablet” a weekly Catholic periodical published in the United Kingdom, Chris Blackhurst who is the editor of the “Evening Standard” offers this comment.  “In this unraveling of the capitalist financial system, the banks are paying the price for their own greed.  Driven by a bonus culture and  a desire to produce even bigger returns for shareholders, they feed into the trap of believing in their collective invincibility.  When the dust has settled on the credit crunch, there must be a return to old fashioned banking and a stronger ethical position where caution and not profit is the watch word”. What a lesson. This is what Jesus has been saying over the past two thousand years. Greed is no good.

On the other hand, the Gospel message of today reminds us that all of us are talented.  All of us possess amazing and powerful qualities. All of us given the right encouragement and direction can make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.  During his twenty seven years in prison, nobody who mattered in South Africa gave any hope to Nelson Mandela.  Many people in authority did not think much of him.  After all he was a prisoner.  He was the very opposite of being unsuccessful according to the world’s criteria. Yet he possessed a great heart.  He possessed courage.  He possessed a dream to bring equality to his country and nothing was going to stifle or destroy his perseverance towards what is right, just and true.  He became the President of South Africa. As president he did not harbor revenge or hatred against those who prosecuted or put him down over so many years.  Instead he reached out in a spirit of reconciliation so that his country would provide hope and material sustenance for all.  Indeed what was considered a person of not so much importance in reality became the keystone of the nation.

The story of Nelson Mandela is being constantly repeated in our county, in our diocese, in our parishes and in our homes.  How many people like you are providing hope, and encouragement and empowerment to so many others around you.  I received very bad news late Friday night.  One of our young teachers was killed in a car accident south of Shepparton.  It is a tragedy. The school Principal at Yarrawonga Catholic Primary School brought the teachers together that very same evening, to support each other and also to work out together how to communicate what happened to those who were closest to her, the children whom she taught, the parents who she gradually came to know more deeply and especially how to offer support to her family.  Such sensitivity, such Christianity.

I have just returned from a meeting of one of the Commission of the Australian Bishops Conference that I am a member of.  I meet a group of people, parents and helpers who are doing amazing things with people with disability.  Of course sacrifices are called for.  Of course taking care of people with disability is not an easy task.  Nevertheless these people spoke with so much joy and excitement.  They told us that it is a privilege to walk with these people and that they receive much more than they give from those who some people in our society deem less than perfect.  This is very pertinent to remember in view on the debate about the decriminalized use of abortion that is occurring at this time in our State.  I am so excited by so many of our young people who are constantly trying to find ways and means to help other young people to continue to deepen their faith commitment after the experience of World Youth Day.

I am sure that these stories are multiplied with the example and heroic actions of many of our parents and others involved in upholding the values and principles of Jesus.  Every person is important, every person can make a difference in this life.  Every person can be a source of much hope and blessing to others because whatever God creates is good.  Let us not be afraid.  Every little gesture of goodness and faith on our part will never be in vain.  God is there working, very often in mysterious ways to bring it to great fruition.

The Bible is very revolutionary.  If anyone is seeking a radical and alternative lifestyle the way of Jesus is the way to go.  Very often, the message of Jesus is so contrary and so opposite to the well entrenched values and ideas of the majority of our society.  There is often a very clear call for a decision to be made between what the so called powerful people in the world propose and what Jesus stands for.  The two views at times are so incompatible.  The Gospel of today gives us one such glaring example.  Towards the end of today’s Gospel we have Jesus quoting Psalm 118 “It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone.  This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see”.  What a profound statement.  What a great lesson for us.

Many people in our society equate success and respect with those who have either many possessions or with those who are in high office or are leaders of big business corporations or prosperous nations.  We are seldom exposed to the beauty and the richness of ordinary people.  Unless one performs or unless one demonstrates that whatever he or she touches will always turn to gold then one is regarded as unimportant and irrelevant.  The problem is that very often what society considers important and exemplary, is in reality a failure.  Very often what the general opinion of society considers as successful and therefore something to be promoted and imitated, is in reality a recipe for disaster and anxiety.

It is enough to look at the papers of the past weeks.  How many of our people spend most of their days dabbling in shares.  I am often fascinated when watching the news.  During the segment on business there is always some item and footage showing the electronic board where the different shares are displayed.  What saddens me, is to see a constant stream of people just glued to that electronic screen looking intently on how their shares are doing.  Very often we see people sitting on a bench oblivious of what is happening around them, just looking mesmerized at the information on the screen.  What matters is how their money is going.  How their interest are being cared for.  How their possessions are faring.  Of course we need to have money.  That is why we work so hard to be able to sustain ourselves and our families in a comfortable manner.  However in reality many of us think that having more and more is the key to success.  Many put blind trust in our financial institutions which are always pursuing the more.

It only takes the financial collapse that the world is experiencing at the moment to put us back in balance and hopefully to make us reflect on what really brings happiness and a true meaning of life.  In an article in the “Tablet” a weekly Catholic periodical published in the United Kingdom, Chris Blackhurst who is the editor of the “Evening Standard” offers this comment.  “In this unraveling of the capitalist financial system, the banks are paying the price for their own greed.  Driven by a bonus culture and  a desire to produce even bigger returns for shareholders, they feed into the trap of believing in their collective invincibility.  When the dust has settled on the credit crunch, there must be a return to old fashioned banking and a stronger ethical position where caution and not profit is the watch word”. What a lesson. This is what Jesus has been saying over the past two thousand years. Greed is no good.

On the other hand, the Gospel message of today reminds us that all of us are talented.  All of us possess amazing and powerful qualities. All of us given the right encouragement and direction can make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.  During his twenty seven years in prison, nobody who mattered in South Africa gave any hope to Nelson Mandela.  Many people in authority did not think much of him.  After all he was a prisoner.  He was the very opposite of being unsuccessful according to the world’s criteria. Yet he possessed a great heart.  He possessed courage.  He possessed a dream to bring equality to his country and nothing was going to stifle or destroy his perseverance towards what is right, just and true.  He became the President of South Africa. As president he did not harbor revenge or hatred against those who prosecuted or put him down over so many years.  Instead he reached out in a spirit of reconciliation so that his country would provide hope and material sustenance for all.  Indeed what was considered a person of not so much importance in reality became the keystone of the nation.

The story of Nelson Mandela is being constantly repeated in our county, in our diocese, in our parishes and in our homes.  How many people like you are providing hope, and encouragement and empowerment to so many others around you.  I received very bad news late Friday night.  One of our young teachers was killed in a car accident south of Shepparton.  It is a tragedy. The school Principal at Yarrawonga Catholic Primary School brought the teachers together that very same evening, to support each other and also to work out together how to communicate what happened to those who were closest to her, the children whom she taught, the parents who she gradually came to know more deeply and especially how to offer support to her family.  Such sensitivity, such Christianity.

I have just returned from a meeting of one of the Commission of the Australian Bishops Conference that I am a member of.  I meet a group of people, parents and helpers who are doing amazing things with people with disability.  Of course sacrifices are called for.  Of course taking care of people with disability is not an easy task.  Nevertheless these people spoke with so much joy and excitement.  They told us that it is a privilege to walk with these people and that they receive much more than they give from those who some people in our society deem less than perfect.  This is very pertinent to remember in view on the debate about the decriminalized use of abortion that is occurring at this time in our State.  I am so excited by so many of our young people who are constantly trying to find ways and means to help other young people to continue to deepen their faith commitment after the experience of World Youth Day.

I am sure that these stories are multiplied with the example and heroic actions of many of our parents and others involved in upholding the values and principles of Jesus.  Every person is important, every person can make a difference in this life.  Every person can be a source of much hope and blessing to others because whatever God creates is good.  Let us not be afraid.  Every little gesture of goodness and faith on our part will never be in vain.  God is there working, very often in mysterious ways to bring it to great fruition.

The Bible is very revolutionary.  If anyone is seeking a radical and alternative lifestyle the way of Jesus is the way to go.  Very often, the message of Jesus is so contrary and so opposite to the well entrenched values and ideas of the majority of our society.  There is often a very clear call for a decision to be made between what the so called powerful people in the world propose and what Jesus stands for.  The two views at times are so incompatible.  The Gospel of today gives us one such glaring example.  Towards the end of today’s Gospel we have Jesus quoting Psalm 118 “It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone.  This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see”.  What a profound statement.  What a great lesson for us.

Many people in our society equate success and respect with those who have either many possessions or with those who are in high office or are leaders of big business corporations or prosperous nations.  We are seldom exposed to the beauty and the richness of ordinary people.  Unless one performs or unless one demonstrates that whatever he or she touches will always turn to gold then one is regarded as unimportant and irrelevant.  The problem is that very often what society considers important and exemplary, is in reality a failure.  Very often what the general opinion of society considers as successful and therefore something to be promoted and imitated, is in reality a recipe for disaster and anxiety.

It is enough to look at the papers of the past weeks.  How many of our people spend most of their days dabbling in shares.  I am often fascinated when watching the news.  During the segment on business there is always some item and footage showing the electronic board where the different shares are displayed.  What saddens me, is to see a constant stream of people just glued to that electronic screen looking intently on how their shares are doing.  Very often we see people sitting on a bench oblivious of what is happening around them, just looking mesmerized at the information on the screen.  What matters is how their money is going.  How their interest are being cared for.  How their possessions are faring.  Of course we need to have money.  That is why we work so hard to be able to sustain ourselves and our families in a comfortable manner.  However in reality many of us think that having more and more is the key to success.  Many put blind trust in our financial institutions which are always pursuing the more.

It only takes the financial collapse that the world is experiencing at the moment to put us back in balance and hopefully to make us reflect on what really brings happiness and a true meaning of life.  In an article in the “Tablet” a weekly Catholic periodical published in the United Kingdom, Chris Blackhurst who is the editor of the “Evening Standard” offers this comment.  “In this unraveling of the capitalist financial system, the banks are paying the price for their own greed.  Driven by a bonus culture and  a desire to produce even bigger returns for shareholders, they feed into the trap of believing in their collective invincibility.  When the dust has settled on the credit crunch, there must be a return to old fashioned banking and a stronger ethical position where caution and not profit is the watch word”. What a lesson. This is what Jesus has been saying over the past two thousand years. Greed is no good.

On the other hand, the Gospel message of today reminds us that all of us are talented.  All of us possess amazing and powerful qualities. All of us given the right encouragement and direction can make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.  During his twenty seven years in prison, nobody who mattered in South Africa gave any hope to Nelson Mandela.  Many people in authority did not think much of him.  After all he was a prisoner.  He was the very opposite of being unsuccessful according to the world’s criteria. Yet he possessed a great heart.  He possessed courage.  He possessed a dream to bring equality to his country and nothing was going to stifle or destroy his perseverance towards what is right, just and true.  He became the President of South Africa. As president he did not harbor revenge or hatred against those who prosecuted or put him down over so many years.  Instead he reached out in a spirit of reconciliation so that his country would provide hope and material sustenance for all.  Indeed what was considered a person of not so much importance in reality became the keystone of the nation.

The story of Nelson Mandela is being constantly repeated in our county, in our diocese, in our parishes and in our homes.  How many people like you are providing hope, and encouragement and empowerment to so many others around you.  I received very bad news late Friday night.  One of our young teachers was killed in a car accident south of Shepparton.  It is a tragedy. The school Principal at Yarrawonga Catholic Primary School brought the teachers together that very same evening, to support each other and also to work out together how to communicate what happened to those who were closest to her, the children whom she taught, the parents who she gradually came to know more deeply and especially how to offer support to her family.  Such sensitivity, such Christianity.

I have just returned from a meeting of one of the Commission of the Australian Bishops Conference that I am a member of.  I meet a group of people, parents and helpers who are doing amazing things with people with disability.  Of course sacrifices are called for.  Of course taking care of people with disability is not an easy task.  Nevertheless these people spoke with so much joy and excitement.  They told us that it is a privilege to walk with these people and that they receive much more than they give from those who some people in our society deem less than perfect.  This is very pertinent to remember in view on the debate about the decriminalized use of abortion that is occurring at this time in our State.  I am so excited by so many of our young people who are constantly trying to find ways and means to help other young people to continue to deepen their faith commitment after the experience of World Youth Day.

I am sure that these stories are multiplied with the example and heroic actions of many of our parents and others involved in upholding the values and principles of Jesus.  Every person is important, every person can make a difference in this life.  Every person can be a source of much hope and blessing to others because whatever God creates is good.  Let us not be afraid.  Every little gesture of goodness and faith on our part will never be in vain.  God is there working, very often in mysterious ways to bring it to great fruition.

God Bless