Homilies

You Will Be Witnesses
Pentecost Sunday
+ Cardinal George Pell  -  11 May 2008

This is the last feast of Pentecost before we celebrate World Youth Day in Sydney, a final opportunity to call on the Spirit for help.

Therefore this year we shall consider what it is to be a Christian and Catholic witness.

Two years ago at Pentecost I wrote about the nature of power for good or ill.  Last year we meditated on the reality of the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit of love working in our lives.

All three topics are taken from the passage in the Acts of the Apostles (1:8) chosen to provide the central theme for our World Youth Day, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses”. More

Sunday Telegraph Column

Witnesses
Pentecost Sunday
+ Cardinal George Pell  -  11 May 2008

Today is Pentecost Sunday, when Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the first followers of Jesus, powerfully deepening their faith in him and giving them the courage to take his message of love and hope to the world.

It is an important occasion, reminding believers that the religious spirit needs to be regularly renewed if it is to continue to bear fruit for other people. It is also a reminder for non-believers that the spirit of goodness needs to be looked after. It doesn’t automatically renew itself. More

Addresses & Statements

Young Men Rise Up
Launch of Fr Ken Barker's new book
Most Rev. Julian Porteous  -  7 May 2008

Manhood and masculinity have come under some scrutiny and challenge in recent decades. Who cannot forget the rather gross charge of being a “male chauvinist pig”? Still today the word, “patriarchical”, is seen as a pejorative term. Many charges were being made about the male character – most emphasising dullness and insensitivity. More