Our Gospel for this weekend is taken from the beginning section of the Sermon on the Mount.

At the beginning of this month in February, in the state of New South Wales where I live, the summer season brings in the longest days and shortest nights.

The coming of the child Jesus to the temple to be presented to God according to the Law of Moses took place forty days after his birth.

In our lives, many of us have “turning points” that make us work more fervently or sometimes make us do things at a more urgent pace.

Friends, we commence Ordinary Time. This is the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time. Last week we celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

I now spend my time on the formation of young people who are discerning to become religious missionaries.

When I was a little child, my dad used to bring me to my godfather and godmother during this time. In some cultures, today is the traditional day for gift giving.

The venerable Father Patrick Peyton coined a phrase that has become a rallying guide for good family living. “The family that prays together, stays together.”

There was a story of a man who was so deeply devoted to St Joseph that when he died he was at the gates of heaven and being interviewed by St Peter.

The truth is: God is already with us.

It is just that we don’t always recognise His presence to know God’s hand at work in our lives and in the lives of others.

As we approach the 25th of December, let us graciously allow our hearts to have confidence in what it sees and to entrust ourselves to it especially in the small humble gifts of love and service we give to one another. Perhaps the time is now to make this mystery become present to others, and to allow ourselves touched by God’s graciousness.

We are well into the season of Advent – a time of preparation and waiting.

In personal and communal living, there are times when all that seems left is a “stump”.

The nature of our world today is that rapid change has become normal.

Churches of different traditions sometimes use special language that is uniquely their own. While mostly we speak in the same way, sometimes our expressions differ.

Recently I came across a newsletter from the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It features an article entitled, "Maintenance or Mission". I would like to share its content with you.

Jesus throughout his life forced us to look differently at the things that are around us.