Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Greetings to you all!

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Dear friends, today we begin the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The liturgy of the Word today, invites us to reflect upon our responses to the invitation of God. God speaks to us at every moment of our lives; so how do I respond to that call of God. Today’s reading emphasis the fact that everyone is called by God to be something, to do something for others with our life and with our unique gifts, God has given to each of us.

Today’s First Reading is about a young man who did not recognise God’s call at first. God called Samuel and he thought it was his master Eli. Twice God called, twice Samuel went to Eli, twice Eli told him to go back to sleep. The third time God called Samuel, Eli realised what was happening and told Samuel, “The next time you hear the call, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’. When the Lord called the fourth time, Samuel was ready, ready to listen to God.

As the Scripture says, “Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him and let no word of his fall to the ground”. That is, he continued to listen carefully to what God was saying, to listen to God’s call. And, in turn, he passed on what he had heard to others. God’s Word is never to be kept just for ourselves. That would be like the man who kept the talent he had been given wrapped it up in a cloth and buried it in the ground.

Dear friends, God is calling me now, today. What is he saying to me? Am I really listening to Him? When I live my life in accordance with God’s calling then my life will be beautiful and also becomes a wonderful inspiration to my brothers and sisters.

There are many distractions in the world, but yet when I keenly pay attention to his calling then my life will be joyful, so always pay attention to God’s calling as we live our daily lives. Amen

Readings and Hymns

Please click here to download the readings and hymns for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time B.

Reflections from the Basilica of St. Patrick

I shall continue to request you all to support us and engage with all the posts and videos from our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Also follow Fr. Angelo on his Sunday homilies.

Please click here to promote our Facebook page and YouTube channel with your families and friends.

Wish you all a wonderful week ahead.

May God bless you all.

Fr. John Sebastian OMI
Rector and Parish Priest

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Greetings to you all!

The Baptism of the Lord

Dear brothers and sisters, Holy Mother Church celebrates today the Baptism of the Lord. With the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, the Christmas season comes to an end. Christmas is the feast of God’s Self-revelation to the Jews, and Epiphany celebrates God’s Self-revelation to the Gentiles. At his Baptism in the Jordan, Christ reveals himself to repentant sinners. From Monday onwards we will begin the Ordinary Time.

First and foremost, the baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity and mission.  The Baptism reminds us of who we are and Whose we are.  The Catechism of Catholic Church No 1279 says, “By Baptism we become the adoptive sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of Heaven and temples of the Holy Spirit. We become incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made sharers in the priesthood of Christ.” Hence, “Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other Sacraments” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 1213).

This feast also reminds us of the graces we have received in Baptism and to renew our Baptismal promises: On the day of our baptism, as Pope St. John Paul II explains, “We were anointed with the Oil of Catechumens, the sign of Christ’s gentle strength, to fight against evil.  Blessed water was poured over us, an effective sign of interior purification through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We were then anointed with Chrism to show that we were thus consecrated in the image of Jesus, the Father’s Anointed One.  The candle lit from the Paschal Candle was a symbol of the light of Faith which our parents and godparents must have continually safeguarded and nourished with the life-giving grace of the Spirit.”

As we celebrate this feast let us become aware of our commitments to the faith, we all profess in Jesus and thus bear witness to our faith and also be a model to others. Amen.

Readings and Hymns

Please click here to download the readings and hymns for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Reflections from the Basilica of St. Patrick

I shall continue to request you all to support us and engage with all the posts and videos from our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Also follow Fr. Angelo on his Sunday homilies.

Please click here to promote our Facebook page and YouTube channel with your families and friends.

Parish Office Working Hours

The Basilica Parish office will resume its working days from Monday 11^th January 2021. You can contact the Parish office from Monday to Friday (9.30am to 3pm). Thanks

Wishing you all a happy weekend.

May God bless you all.

Fr. John Sebastian OMI
Rector and Parish Priest

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Greetings to you all!

Feast of the Epiphany

The Holy Mother Church celebrates today the Feast of the Epiphany.  The word ‘epiphany’ comes from Greek, meaning, a ‘showing’ or ‘manifestation’. Originally the word Epiphany referred to the visit of a king to the people of his provinces.

The Epiphany story highlights two important truths. First of all, it reveals the royal messiahship of Jesus and secondly, of God’s revelation to the Gentiles.

The evangelist Matthew talks about these three wise men, who are central to the feast of the Epiphany. They were pagans who did not know anything about the true God of the Jews.  Yet that God revealed to them the birth of the king, whom he had promised to the Jews.

These three men came in search of the newly born King. When they found Him, they worshiped him and paid their homage by offering him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Today, when we go on a journey, there are many things we think about. When we go to an unknown place immediately we look at the road maps, or now the easily available thing is the GPS, which gives us the direction to the desired destination.

To these three men the star in the sky was their GPS, which led them to the Child Jesus. For them the Star was their symbol of hope, of joy and of peace. To them, the star was but a small reflection of the fullness of the Light of the world that awaited them at the end of their journey.

Today’s gospel finishes by saying that they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and returned to their own country by a different way.

Yes, dear friends, when the star appeared in heaven, they were very joyful and after paying their homage to the newborn baby Jesus, they went back to their country by a different way. It only tells us that when we meet God and experience God in our lives, life is not going to be the same; rather our lives will be transformed.

God always guides us daily through various signs. If we could pay attention to them then there will be much newness in one’s life and thus, we will move away from our farmer way of life and start to live in Christ.

As we begin this New Year, let us pay attention to the hope and guidance that God gives to each one of us throughout this New Year.

I wish you and your families a happy New Year 2021.

Readings and Hymns

Please click here to download the readings and hymns for the Feast of Epiphany.

Daily Reflections from the Basilica of St. Patrick

Since Fr. Angelo and I will take a break during January, there will not be a daily reflection video. Instead, we will post the life and beautiful features of our Basilica for you to see. It will be followed by some inspirational quotes of St. Eugene.

I kindly request you all to engage with these posts and continue to promote our Facebook page and YouTube channel with your families and friends. Please click here to promote our Facebook and YouTube pages.

Parish Office Working Hours

The Basilica Parish office is still closed. We will be back to work on Monday 11 January 2021. Thanks for your patience during this time.

Wishing you a happy New Year. I prayed for you all during the midnight Mass I had with the Tamil Catholics in Perth, that we all enjoy peace, joy and happiness in our lives and prayed for a permanent cure for the COVID-19 virus. We all pray sincerely that this New Year 2021 brings us hope and a quick recovery from this crisis situation in the world.

May God bless you all.

Fr. John Sebastian OMI
Rector and Parish Priest

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Greetings to you all!

Holy Family Sunday

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, tomorrow the Holy Mother Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family. The Church has appointed this Sunday, within the Christmas Octave as the Feast of the Holy family of Nazareth. This Feast is an invitation to all the families in the world to model their families on the values of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The Second Vatican Council called the family the domestic Church. It also emphasised that family is the foundation of society and the church. Every family has a particular role to play in building up the human society.

During this time of Christmas joy, I wish that each family spends time together and appreciates the qualities and commitment of each member of the family, who contributes towards making a beautiful home. In doing so, a great level of trust, love and joy will flourish among each member of the family.

I also highly value that, amidst the business of our lives, we give priority to family prayers. Sometimes, one may think that we waste our time in prayer, but I would say that time is not wasted but it is only invested. No family is without troubles, but just try and see how things turn out to be a beautiful thing when we pray together. God will show us ways and means through which we could overcome all our troubles. I invite you all to consider starting family prayer during the new year.

Pope Francis in his encyclical “Joy of the Gospel” also emphasised the need to think of others as the characteristic feature of the Catholic Church. The failure in concern for others, he calls Lent without Easter. So, let each member of the family always give priority and show concern to everyone in the family, so that we shall remain as a joyful and happy family, like that of the Holy Family in Nazareth.

I sincerely pray during this festive season that you all enjoy a happy time together as family and also let us not forget the beautiful examples that we can tap from the Holy Family of Nazareth. Amen

Readings and Hymns

Please click here to download the readings and hymns for Holy Family Sunday, Year B.

Daily Reflections from the Basilica of St. Patrick

Please continue to promote our Facebook page and YouTube channel with your families and friends. Please click here to promote our Facebook and YouTube pages and to view the daily reflections.

Parish Office Working Hours

The Basilica Parish office closed at midday on 24 December and will reopen on Monday 11 January 2021. Thank you for your patience during this time.

Christmas Gifts

Along with my fellow Oblates, I wish to thank you all for your wonderful gestures of love, concern and support you have given to us during this difficult year, which none of us can forget that easily.

Thank you also sincerely for all the wonderful gifts and the words of encouragement you have sent to us personally and as a community. We assure you of our sincere prayers. We pray that 2021 brings us lots of joy, happiness and good health to everyone in the world.

Wishing you a happy Christmas and a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.

May God bless you all.

Fr. John Sebastian OMI
Rector and Parish Priest