Well might we wonder whether the Lord’s words about persecution came to mind as the martyrs met their fate: persecuted and seized, betrayed and tried, hated and killed.  During the English Reformation, there was a woman to whom all of that happened and more.  We call her Saint Margaret Clitherow. St Margaret married a widower with two sons, and with him had three children.  At the age of 18 Margaret converted to Catholicism.  Her new faith brought her difficulties almost from

St John Lateran wasn’t the first church in Rome.  By the time of Constantine, there were about forty Christian churches dotted through the city.  They were often associated with the lives of martyrs: one was a patron’s old house before he and his family were done in; another was the bishop’s urban hide out; another was where heroes were buried.  Excavations of these sites revealed houses with internal walls removed: large indoor spaces were needed to accommodate all the peopl

Gospel episodes like this one prompt an important question: if the dead can be raised to life again with us, what happened to them between death and their revival?  It’s important to consider, because the dead who were raised by Jesus weren’t newborns or zombies: they were the same person.  The youth whom Jesus raised started talking, just one of the signs that he was his old self again.  No doubt, his first words were: “What’s all the fuss about, Mum?” So, what happens after

St Dominic's Parish was pleased to welcome Dr Trudy Dantis to give the 2025 Dominic Oration. The Dominic Oration is an annual public lecture on parish life. Last year's Dominic Oration was given by Archbishop Anthony Fisher, as part of our centenary celebration. The Archbishop addressed the question: What is the mission of a Dominican Parish? Dr Dantis will give this year's Dominic Oration on the topic: What future for Melbourne’s Catholic Parishes? Dominic Oration by Dr T

Well, if you’ve ever wanted to know what it's like to be God, today is your chance. I hope you're not too disappointed if the experience wasn't of wondrous power or creative knowledge. The Lord’s parable answers the question: what is it like to receive prayer?  Making prayers is a task we have some affinity with already.  There are our common prayers of the Mass and Divine Office, and private prayers at other times.  I love seeing our votive candle trees all lit up.  Each can

At the end of his mortal life with us, Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  That is, the Son of God called on his Father in the depths of suffering and distress.  It was a dark day for humanity when the Son saw his abandonment, when not even God’s only Son seems to catch heaven’s ear. There are uncertainties about him saying “Why have you forsaken me?”: is he quoting a psalm?  Has he lost sight of heaven?  Is he showing us what to do?  In what sense i

The first Mass, the original Mass, the one which Jesus himself offered, took a whole day to say: from sunset on Holy Thursday to sunset...

“Increase our faith” is the prayer of those who have judged themselves.  And as soon as we realise that self-judgment is in view, our...