A contractor needed one more man to chop down trees for export. One day, two men appeared willing to do the job but only one could be employed so what the contractor did was to put the two men to a test, they were to chop down as many trees as they could in an eight-hour shift and the man who chopped down more trees got the job.

The readings in today's liturgy from the prophet Isaiah, from St. Paul and St Luke the evangelist, speak about people with character.

A number of years ago I “concelebrated” a wedding with a Baptist Minister. My cousin was marrying a girl who was a devout Baptist and whose parents were active in their Baptist Community.

After the resurrection of Jesus the disciples hid themselves behind locked doors for fear of the authorities. Now one can lock oneself in a room because one believes that the world is unfriendly and hostile, and so prevent the world from entering the room, but then one also can’t get out. Since the crucifixion the disciples had bunched together behind locked doors in fear and anxiety. It must have been like hell.

However there is a way out of this terrible fear. Into this room of trapped people comes Jesus with his gift of peace and he says, “Peace be with you”.

Among the different doctrines of our faith, nothing is more mysterious than the dogma of the Trinity.

Let me start with a story that I read from an article by a good friend of mine, Fr Atilano Corcuera, SVD.

At the scene of the Ascension, St Luke, the author of The Acts of the Apostles, makes mention of two men dressed in white who say to the Twelve:

Leadership for mission is based on inclusivity, dialogue and encounter and it must be deeply anchored in a trusting relationship with God and a desire to share the joy of the Gospel, a visiting US religious sister told the recent Mission: One heart many voices conference in Sydney.

Dr Carol Zinn ssj, a Sister of St Joseph from Philadelphia and Executive Director of the US Leadership Conference of Women Religious, was a keynote speaker at the conference co-hosted by Catholic Mission and Catholic Religious Australia.

During the last supper discourse, Jesus gives his Peace to his disciples. He tells them, Peace I leave with you, my own peace I give you.

Love is a word that we always hear. Every time we hear the word love our eyes light up and somehow our heart beats just a little bit faster.