St Francis Xavier Parish, Armadale | Religious organisation

St Francis Xavier Parish, Armadale

Phone: +61 8 9399 2143

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25.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark playing an ANZAC Day rendition of "Waltzing Matilda".

24.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest piano song: a bluesy version of "Amazing Grace" :)

23.01.2022 One last piano song from Fr Mark: Coldplay's "Clocks".

22.01.2022 Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B In the morning, long before dawn, Jesus got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed... there. A common question that I get asked from time to time is, Why did Jesus pray? After all, Jesus is God, right? So is he praying to himself? What’s going on there? And it’s an understandable question. One answer that is often given is that Jesus is modelling prayer for us, so that we can learn from him how to go about it. And it is no doubt true that Jesus understood that we humans learn most things by imitation, and that he sought to model Life (with a capital L) for us in everything that he did. For instance, following his quintessential act of servicethe washing of his disciples’ feetJesus said, I have given you an example so that you may imitate what I have done to you. (John 13:15). So in his life of prayer with the Father, Jesus is no doubt giving us an example of what perfect prayer looks like, and thus giving us something to strive for. But if all Jesus was doing was play-actingif he had no real need to pray, but was simply showing us how it’s donethen the whole enterprise would have been rather disingenuous. So we don’t want to say that we don’t want to say that it was only for our benefit and not for his. But having said that, how can we say that Jesus needed to pray? After all, he was perfect how can we say that he needed anything? Well, the answer to this is tied-in with our understanding of the Trinity. Now I’m not going to go into the question of the Trinity in much detail now, except to note what I’ve noted before namely, that central to the doctrine of the Trinity is the revelation that Godisrelationship. God is relationship. The Divine Persons of the Trinity are engaged in an eternal exchange of love and glory, of mutual self-donation, divinity given and received. At the risk of being crude we speak of husband and wife becoming one flesh in the marital embrace well we could perhaps say that the Persons of the Blessed Trinity are so intertwined and deeply immersed in this exchange of love with each other that the three are in fact also one. So getting back to Jesus’ need to pray we can say that he needed to pray not because he was lacking for anything, but because his whole lifehis very beingwas (and is) grounded in an eternal and unbreakable exchange of love and self-offering within the Trinity. His whole life was one non-stop prayer. He couldn’t not pray it would have been a contradiction. Alright, well if Jesus’ whole life was one long prayer, why then did he need to take time out to pray in quiet like we heard in the Gospel today? Well, we need to remember that in addition to being fully divine, Jesus was also fully human. He was like us in all things but sin, and so in his humanity he could and did get tiredphysically, emotionally, and spirituallyand would thus need periods of quiet, focused prayer in order to recharge like we all do. So that’s a bit about why Jesus was out there praying. Now let’s look for a minute at what he was doing because what our Gospel passage has to say about how Jesus went about praying is quite instructive. We’re told that he got up, very early in the morninglong before dawnand went off to a lonely place to pray. So the first thing we can see is that he’s taking this seriously. I mean, how many things would we be willing to get up long before dawn for? Maybe if we had a sick child. Maybe if we had to catch a plane. Maybe for work if we had no other option. But voluntarily in order to pray? No doubt part of it was his realisation that this was probably the only chance he’d get. But again it shows his hunger for it, his desire for this chance to commune with the Father. So he makes this his first priority, before he does anything else that morning. Compare this to how we so often approach prayer, perhaps finding a leftover five minutes after we’ve done everything else we wanted to do in the day. And then after filling our days to the brim with busyness, procrastination, distractions, and so forth, we wonder why we sometimes feel distant from God? Another thing worth noting is how Jesus went away to a lonely place. He removed himself from the busy and often shallow mechanisms of social life, from the opinions and feelings and agendas of others. He does not draw his identity and mission from the people around him he draws it from the Father. He does not look sideways for his strength he looks up. And so when he returns to the world of people, he is not rocked when he butts up against the various manifestations of human stupidity. Because he’s grounded in the Father, and draws his strength and identity from Him. - - Here’s the thing for our prayer to have any depth to it, for our practice of the faith to be meaningful and fulfilling, it has to be built upon a real relationship with God. It’s a bit like two people who barely know each other coming together for a one-night stand. If there’s no real relationship underlying it, physical intimacy often falls flat it can feel empty and meaningless. Same thing with a married couple who are finding their physical relations to be unfulfilling, and they might think they need to try different things to spice it up a lot of the time, the real issue is that the relationship is having problems. And it is therefore not surprising that the physical side of thingswhich is meant to be a celebration of the underlying relationshipthis physical side of things often falls flat when the underlying relationship just isn’t there. So consider the example of someone who comes to Mass maybe once or twice a year, and doesn’t really pray much, and then they complain that they just don’t find the Mass to be fulfilling. I mean, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise, because the Mass is in a real sense the celebration of this underlying relationship that each of us have with Christ. So if this underlying relationship with Christ is missing, going to church on Sunday is going to feel flat; it will be unfulfilling. But the problem isn’t with the Mass the problem is the lack of relationship. So think about how a married couple grows in their relationship. It’s in the dating, and the spending time together, and the talking to one another, and the living together, and the being honest with each other. It takes time and effort. It doesn’t happen in five minutes. So too for us in our relationship with Christ. For it to develop and deepen we have to take it seriously, and this means spending time with him in prayer. And by prayer I don’t just mean throwing up the things we want God to do for us I mean really developing a relationship, really trying to communicate with the God who created us, and allowing him to reveal himself to us, and receiving this. So here’s something you might like to try it’s not getting up long before dawn and finding a lonely place, but it does involve a bit of effort. I’m talking about the visit to the church. On your own, during the week, in-between Sundays, to stop by a church for 5-10 minutes, and spend some time with Jesus present in the tabernacle. I really think this could be a game-changer for a lot of Catholics. Because in that personal, quiet intimacy, a friendship is formed, a relationship is formed. And then when it comes for the celebration of the Eucharist, there can begin to be an experience of really celebrating a relationship. So our church is open during office hours, 9am-4pm weekdays you can enter through the parish office. The other thing I’d recommendespecially if it’s been a long timeis going to confession because this is really the equivalent of sitting down for a good heart-to-heart conversation with Jesus. I remember for myself several years ago, when I was starting to come back to Mass after having been away for a while, I could sense Jesus saying to me in my heart, We need to talk. And then when we finally did talkwhen I went to confessionthere was a real sense of the relationship being renewed and healed, there was real forgiveness and then the next time I went to Mass and received the Eucharist there was a deeply fulfilling communion, a real celebration of the relationship that was now starting to develop. So trust me when I say that such steps are worth the effort. For one, I’m certain that you’ll find the Mass will start to become much more fulfilling and meaningful. And two, this relationship with God will start to bear fruit, both in terms of your willingness and ability to be of service to others (such as the service offered by Peter’s mother in the Gospel), and it will bear fruit in terms of your willingness and ability to share the Good News of Christ with others (such as Jesus did right after this period of prayer in today’s Gospel). So as we prepare to receive Jesus again in this morning’s Eucharist, let us ask him for the grace to let him deeper into our lives, deeper into our souls. Let us ask to be shown how we can foster a deeper relationship with him. He’ll initiate the whole thing because Jesus is alive. He’s with you; he hears you. He’s truly present. So take the time to speak to him in person, and let that underlying relationship truly be formed.

22.01.2022 This week Fr Mark plays the Mumford & Sons’ song I Will Wait (which is definitely not subliminal messaging for those missing the Mass! )

22.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, including his homily for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time:

22.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's homily for this weekend

22.01.2022 The Vatican has just released a set of guidelines for parishes. Worthwhile reading!

22.01.2022 Another song from Fr Mark: "Lean on Me".

21.01.2022 Here is Fr Mark's homily for the feast of Pentecost. We're also happy to announce that Mass will be offered this week at 9:30am and 10:30am from Tuesday to Friday. For now, we still have to maintain the 20-person limit and have all parish visitors sign-in and use hand-sanitiser. Please enter through the parish office and follow the instructions of our parish volunteer or secretary. Admittance will be granted on a first-come basis. If we have more than twenty people for a ...given Mass, we will have overflow seating in the Betty Knight Hall for another twenty people (unfortunately the folding wall will have to remain closed, but we will have the speakers on and you will be able to receive communion). The cry room remains out of use for the time being. The church will remain open for private prayer until 2pm Tuesday-Friday. Moving forward, our hope is that the further relaxing of restrictions will enable to us to return to our regular weekday schedule of Masses starting this coming Saturday, and potentially even allow for some form of Sunday Mass schedule. This remains to be seen however, and we will inform you of such developments as they unfold. God bless!

20.01.2022 Check out Deacon Patrick's great interview on the ABC about his important ministry to seafarers: https://www.abc.net.au//sea-sunday-jonah-whale-ta/12443972

19.01.2022 Homily for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A Poor Jesus found himself in quite the pickle in our Gospel passage today. The Jewish teachers maintained th...at tribute should not be paid to a foreign occupying power, so to say yes on the question of taxation would upset them and lay Jesus vulnerable to charges of false and anti-Jewish teaching. But of course, the Roman occupiers demanded taxation from their subjects, so the Jewish leaders would not dare say such things in public. As such, for Jesus to say no on paying taxation would land him in hot water with the Romans and leave him vulnerable to potentially lethal punishment from them. Jesus recognises the trap being set for him, and is able to answer in a way that not only avoids giving any ammunition to either side, but which also makes a very profound point for those with ears to hear. He says, Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. On the one hand, he’s making a point about the relative unimportance of money. It’s a small piece of metal with Caesar’s face on it the value we give it is relatively arbitrary, for as we know, the most important things in life cannot be bought and sold with money. And on a deeper level, Jesus can also be seen as making an important point about where our primary loyalties lie. As Dorothy Day famously said, if we give to God everything that belongs to God, there’s nothing left over for Caesar. Everything we receive is a gift from God, and as such He has a claim over our entire life, including our financial priorities. So everything we doevery decision we makemust be made with an eye to pleasing God. Think about this the coin in the Gospel has the image and inscription of Caesar on it. What, on the other hand, has the image and inscription of God on it, and therefore is to be given to God? We’re told at the very beginning of the Bible: you and I! We are made in the image and likeness of God and therefore we belong to God and we are called to give ourselves to God. And through our baptism we have come into an even more profound relationship with God. Saint Paul puts it this way, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price (1 Cor 6:19-20). So, we are stamped in the image and likeness of God, and we have been purchased by the blood of Christ. We belong to God and therefore we are to give ourselves to God. - - Now, some people have seen in this Gospel passage a kind of political digression, a brief teaching by Jesus on the need for separation between church and state. But historically speaking, the concept of the separation of church and state was an idea that only really emerged in the 18th century, and which was about as far from first century Jewish thinking you could imagine. The Jews believed as a matter of principle that all of life, public and private, should be subject to the rule of God. They longed for the return of the King: the return of God’s rule, not Roman rule, and the emergence of a new King in the line of David, who would enter into Jerusalem triumphantly, defeat the enemies of God’s Law, and establish God’s Kingdom once and for all, over all people. It may be tempting to think that Jesus rejected all of this. But if we pay close attention to the Gospels, we can see that Jesus did no such thing on the contrary, he fulfilled Israel’s expectations for a King on an even higher level. Today’s Gospel takes place just after that moment when Jesus has shown himself to be this new King, when the hopes of Israel have been answered. It takes place just after Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered the holy city of Jerusalem, just as the prophets Isaiah and Zachariah foretold. He is acclaimed as the Messiah, the promised King, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! And what does Jesus do next? Exactly what the King was expected to do: he defeats God’s enemies. He goes straight to the temple, drives out the moneychangers, condemns its desecration, foretells its purification, and prophesises its restoration as the new temple of his Mystical Body. And in today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus answer the trick question of the Pharisees. He turns the question on his accusers, telling them, show me the coin, inscribed with the idolatrous inscription, Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, and high priest of the gods. Jesus rhetorically asks them whose blasphemous inscription is on the coin, and then he responds, Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. Try to catch the irony in Jesus’ reply. His message all along has been that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent give back to God everything he deserves. Caesar may claim absolute authority, and pretend that he is a god be he is most assuredly not the Lord God. As our other readings today make clear, this is the point of today's Gospel: God alone is King he is the Lord and there is no other. And so, we are to give God what he deserves. To quote from today’s Psalm: Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and praise; give to the Lord the glory due his name! - - Today’s Gospel this isn’t the last time we hear about Caesar in the Bible. At the time of Jesus’ trial, before Pontius Pilate, the religious authorities of Israel once again reject God as King. As the Gospel of John says, (when Pilate) said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your king!’ They cried out, ‘Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Do you want me to crucify your king?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king except Caesar.’ So in the end Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. The same ones who tried to entrap him earlier with their trick question about Caesar’s coin, at the time of the true King’s triumph, say, we have no king but Caesar. But it is precisely in Christ’s his Passion, when the hopes of Israel seem lost once again, that the reign of this new and eternal Kingdom is definitively revealed. On the cross, Jesus offers his life into his Father’s hands, defeating evil not by rebellion and violence but by obedience and love as he says, before he gives up his life, it is finished. So, who is our king? Who is your king? In a little over a month we will celebrate the end of the liturgical year with the feast of Christ the King. It’s not a random feast: it’s there at the end of the year because the full coming of the Kingdom of Christwhen almighty God will finally rule over all things at the end of timeis indeed the object of our hope. This feast was begun in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, because so many countries were rejecting God’s authority and stiving to make their own rule absolute. As Pope Pius implored the world to learn, it is only when we let Christ reign over our whole livesnot just in our hearts but in our world as wellfollowing his Law and his Truth, that we will have peace. But Christ cannot reign in the world unless he first reigns in our hearts. Hearing this Gospel today, we should ask ourselves am I giving to God all that he deserves? Am I giving him the first of my thoughts, of my time, of my labours, of my income? Am I thanking him for what I have? Am I turning to him when I am in need? Am I living for his glory? For his Kingdom? Or am I taking something else as my king, my lord, my god? Do I really mean it when I say, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done not just some day in the future but even now, today, on earth as it is in heaven? For we can be sure the Kingdom of God is coming, and his will shall be accomplished. So strive to be there when it does come, not confessing we have no King but Caesar, but instead proclaiming, long live Christ the King!

19.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's Sunday homily.

18.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, which includes the new parish schedule which takes effect from tomorrow

17.01.2022 Deacon Patrick's seafarer's ministry in the news!

17.01.2022 Since tomorrow is Good Shepherd Sunday (a day when we’re encouraged to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life), here’s a flashback to a song Fr Mark wrote not long before his ordination

16.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, including his homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter:

16.01.2022 Great news! With Phase Four of the State Government's return plan coming into effect this Saturday, we're able to return to our regular Sunday Mass schedule this coming weekend. Check out all the details here:

15.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, including his homily for the Third Sunday of Easter:

14.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark playing a little blues.

14.01.2022 A pastoral letter from Archbishop Costelloe regarding the latest COVID lockdown and the bushfires in Perth.

13.01.2022 Keep it clean! #Joy

13.01.2022 Our first slate of post-quarantine Sunday Masses went reasonably smoothly, all things considered. Thanks to all who helped out at short notice! And here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, including his homily for Trinity Sunday: http://sfxarmadale.org.au//the-solemnity-of-the-most-holy/

12.01.2022 Please pray for our Archbishop as he navigates a difficult situation with the State Government over the seal of confession. Here’s his pastoral letter on the issue: http://perthcatholic.org.au/Our_Archdiocese-Archbishop-Late

12.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, including his homily for Corpus Christi: http://sfxarmadale.org.au//feast-of-corpus-christi-messag/

11.01.2022 Join us 3pm today as we pray the rosary for all those affected by the WA bushfires.

11.01.2022 Deacon Patrick is back in the news!

10.01.2022 Homily for the Conferral of Confirmation My young friends, having already received the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, today’s Confirmation will c...omplete your Christian initiation. From today onwards, you will have everything you need to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the world. This sacrament is called Confirmation because the faith given in Baptism is now confirmed and made strong. During our Baptism, our parents and godparents took responsibility for forming us in the faith; by being confirmed in the Church we accept responsibility for our own faith. As a sign of this we renew our baptismal promises. It is customary to have a confirmation name, taken from a saint or biblical figure whom we admire and whose protection and guidance we seek. We also have a sponsor, who plays a role somewhat similar to a godparent at Baptism. In this way, we have both earthly and heavenly support as we take this step into spiritual adulthood. We believe that when we are confirmed we receive a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit into our soul and are strengthened to live the Christian life. Scripture and tradition speak of seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which we receive in a special way in the Sacrament of Confirmation: wisdom (knowing what really matters), understanding (knowing how we ought to live), counsel (knowing how to judge between right and wrong), knowledge (of God), fortitude (courage), piety (reverence), and fear of the Lord (wonder and awe). Now, God is all-powerful. He could just zap up from above and achieve what takes place in Confirmation, or in Baptism, and so forth. But he knows that we struggle to believe in things that we can’t see. So, in his generosity, he has given us in the sacraments physical signsthings we can see, and feel, and hear, and tasteand these are not only a sign of the invisible realities taking place, they are also the means by which they take place. God has taken everyday physical elementswater, oil, bread, wine, etc.and he uses them as the means by which he shares his power and grace with us. It’s a remarkable thing! So for example, the bread and wine used the Eucharist is a symbol of Christ’s body and blood, but we also believe that it actually becomes Christ’s body and blood. The water in Baptism is a symbol of the spiritual cleansing taking place, but we also believe that it actually is what makes this spiritual cleansing happen. In the case of Confirmation, we are anointed with a specially consecrated oilcalled sacred Chrismwhich is a sign of the Holy Spirit, and which actually gives us the Holy Spirit in a new and deeper way. As part of the ritual, the bishop (or the priest appointed by him) lays his hands over us and prays that we be sealed with gift of the Holy Spirit. To be sealed means that God claims us as belonging to him in a particular way. Because of the COVID situation, I have to apply the sacred Chrism with a cotton bud this year, instead of my thumb. And then there’s the famous slap, which I must admit is one of my favourite things about Confirmation, and which is something the candidates are always fascinated by as they’re getting ready to receive the sacrament. This is the first year I get to be the main celebrant at our confirmations, and really, one of the biggest tragedies about the whole COVID situation is that I can’t administer the slap this year I’ve been working out and everything! (I’m just kidding. Kinda.) When explaining the rationale behind the slap, I always like to compare it to the ritual of a soldier being knighted in the Middle Ages, with the sword being touched on the shoulders by the king. If you think about it, that’s a pretty vulnerable situation to be inthe king could just go off with your headbut in a sense it’s a way of preparing the knight for the fact that being a knight is hard, and they’ll face many difficulties as they strive to defend the kingdom. Well, being a Christian in our world is also hard, and the slap is a way of saying brace yourself. Don’t forget, our Lord was treated harshly by the world, and ultimately, put to death by the worldand the disciple is not greater than the masterso we should expect opposition ourselves as we strive to follow our Lord in the midst of the world. And it’s not just opposition from the world a lot of the times it’s just fighting against ourselves. It’s making the effort to go to Mass each week when we’d rather sleep in. It’s making the effort to pray when we’d rather be doing something else. It’s refraining from being selfish when we have a chance to be generous. It’s having the courage to go to confession, even if we’re feeling too embarrassed. It’s putting others first, out of gratitude for all that God has given us. However, at the same time as the slap is given, the minister says, Peace be with you. And the peace being referred to there is the peace that Jesus said he came to bring a peace the world cannot give, and a peace the world cannot take away. This is a peace that we have access to not just when things are going fine, but also when we’re in the midst of great difficulties. As so it’s precisely as we receive the slapa sign of the opposition we may face from the world for being a follower of Christthat we are offered the supernatural peace that the world is not able to touch. - - My young friends, the Sacrament of Confirmation which you are about to receive is a source of great power such as when the risen Jesus told the Apostles that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came down upon them, and that armed with said power they were to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Now, in our day and age, we have been thoroughly trained to view power with great suspicion, as though it is always something that corrupts us and turns good people bad. And, looking back over human history, we see good reason for a healthy dose of scepticism regarding worldly power. But this is not the full story there is a type of power that is not only good, but necessary. A truly Christian understanding of power realises that the most important kind of power is not gained from having the most political influence, or having the biggest army, or having the most money for a Christian, real power comes from being a saint. Real power comes from keeping one’s eyes always on the Lord, and allowing him to have his way in our life. In the eyes of the world, such an approach to life may seem like foolishness. But as Saint Paul once declared, God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. This other-worldly power is most clearly seen in the witness of the martyrsmen and women who gave their lives for their faith in Christ (and a number of out candidates have chosen martyrs for their Confirmation saints). On the surface they were destroyed by the world, just as Jesus was seemingly destroyed at Calvary. But with the eyes of faith we can see that their deaths were actually their greatest victories because by dying with Christ, they shared in his Resurrection, and now they share his glory in Heaven. This is the power of the saints that even the smallest of things they do or endureif done in union with Christ and out of love for himare given eternal significance. Christianity is not just about being good, or about striving to help others. Lots of non-believers can be good and generous people. Nor is Christianity just about following a bunch of rules or having certain beliefs. The rules and beliefs are important, but they are secondary. First and foremost, Christianity is about a person a person who loves us intensely, and who asks us to love him in return. My young friends, maybe you’ve heard me say this before, but it’s worth repeating over and over: Jesus knows you he knows you better than you know yourself. And Jesus loves you he loves you more than you love yourself. So he can be trusted. And his plan for your life can be trusted. So don’t just strive to be good. Strive to know Jesus Christ more and more, strive to love Jesus Christ more and more, and strive to serve Jesus Christ more and more. As you get older, you may have some questions about it all the faith, the Church, God. That’s fine search away. Look for the truth but commit to seeing it all the way through. Because we also believe that the Truth is a Person that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. And so any genuine search for truth will ultimately lead a person into the arms of the living God. - - And so, as you become today full members of our Lord’s Church, I plead with you do not be lukewarm Catholics. Do not be a half-hearted follower of Jesus. We’ve had enough of those. The life of a lukewarm disciple is no fun for anybody, especially for the lukewarm person. Instead, commit now to strive for the only type of life worth living to be a saint. Be someone who allows the God to have his way in your life. Be someone who allows God to use them as an instrument in his glorious work of salvation. Be someone whose life whole-heartedly proclaims the glory of God, so that others might come to know and love him as well. Because, when it’s all said and done, we have been made for eternity. In the fullness of time, everything in this world will pass away. All that will remain is the grace won from things done for the love of God. That’s what will live on forever. And our way of preparing for this here and now is to strive to do everything for the love of God. This is the real meaning of the word holiness. Striving to please God with everything we think, say, and do. And this call to holiness is the duty and the privilege that is about to be yours, as a disciple of Christ, and as a full member of his Catholic Church. And so I congratulate you, I assure you of my prayers, and I ask you never to take your faith for granted. God bless you all!

08.01.2022 Pope Francis is encouraging us to add these prayers to the end of the Rosary in the month of May:

08.01.2022 We're unable to share Fr Mark's weekly e-letter at the moment (we're having website issues), but here's his homily for the feast of the Ascension:

07.01.2022 Priest hero! Perth priest Fr Liam Ryan helps save a surfer who was attacked by a shark: https://therecord.com.au//shark-attack-perth-priest-joins/

06.01.2022 Fr Mark has recently started a public Facebook page feel free to give it a like if you would like to stay in touch with him in this way: https://www.facebook.com/Fr-Mark-Baumgarten-105480621124119/

06.01.2022 Dear friends, As you have likely heard by now, from 6pm tonight we will be able to gather in groups of up to 150 people, with ongoing restrictions for the next week. As such we will be resuming public Masses at St Francis Xavier parish as of tomorrow morning, though with a few temporary changes. We will be adding an extra Sunday Mass for the next two weeks to allow as many people to attend as possible. The Sunday morning Mass times at Armadale the next two weeks will be: 7:...30am, 9am, & 10:30am (there will be no morning tea these next two weeks). The evening Mass times and Mass at St Kevin’s Serpentine will remain unchanged. We will be blocking off every second pew at both churches to encourage social distancing, and everyone over 12 (including us priests) will be required to wear a facemask throughout Mass (except for receiving communion). Obviously, signing-in via the SafeWA app or the sheets provided is required, and if you are unwell please stay at home (but also let us know if you are in need of assistance). You don’t need to ring ahead to reserve a place at Mass we’re hoping that with the extra Mass we won’t have to turn anyone away. Be aware also that if you are unwell or nervous about attending Mass at present our Sunday obligation is currently lifted. I’m afraid there will be no music at the Sunday morning Masses these next two weeks to allow us to celebrate Mass a little quicker than usual. If the choirs at the evening Masses are willing to sing with a mask on they are welcome to. Weekday Mass times will return to the regular schedule from tomorrow, with the requirement to wear a facemask in place until at least the evening of Saturday 13th February. Our regular reconciliation schedule also resumes tomorrow, with facemasks required in the confessional. Archbishop Costelloe has written a pastoral letter addressing the difficulties of this past week, as well as a letter outlining the temporary restrictions for the coming week or so. You can access these via a special COVID page on the archdiocesan website: http://www.perthcatholic.org.au/COVID19.htm Thanks so much for your patience, and please share this information with your fellow parishioners who might not receive these e-mail messages. Assuring you of our prayers, Fr Mark

06.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, including his homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter: http://sfxarmadale.org.au//5th-sunday-of-easter-message-f/

05.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's latest e-letter, including his homily for the Second Sunday of Easter:

02.01.2022 Here's Fr Mark's homily for this weekend.

02.01.2022 Dear friends, As you have likely heard by now, from Sunday morning Perth will be returning to the pre-lockdown COVID arrangements. For us in the parish this means that we will be able to go without facemasks at Mass and other parish events as of Sunday morning, and we will be able to have up to 250 people present in the church. Please continue to wear facemasks through Saturday night, and please continue to sign-in via the SafeWA app or the sheets provided until further not...ice. As we announced last week, this Sunday morning we will again have an extra Mass: 7:30am, 9am, & 10:30am. Again, there will be no morning tea or music on Sunday morning to accommodate this extra Mass. As of the following weekend (20/21 February), we will return to our standard Mass times, and music and morning tea can resume. Thanks again for your patience and understanding. Finally, a reminder that Lent begins this coming week, with Ash Wednesday on Wed 17th. We will have three Masses on Ash Wednesday: 8am, 9am (full school Mass), and 7pm. Here is a link to Archbishop Costelloe’s pastoral letter for Lent: http://www.perthcatholic.org.au/Our_Archdiocese-Archbishop- God bless, Fr Mark

02.01.2022 Here’s Fr Mark playing a specially-tweaked version of a recent song by American singer Andy Grammer, Don’t Give up on (Him). (And here’s a gorgeous rendition of the original version with Andy and a school choir: https://youtu.be/KL9qp0FNEzU) Also, stay tuned for an update on how the upcoming relaxing of restrictions will affect us in the parish :)

02.01.2022 Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints As some of you know, the year before I entered seminary I undertook a travelling year of discernment, during which time I... strove to figure out just what it was the Lord was wanting me to do with my life. And one of the more pivotal moments for me during that year involved an encounter with the many saints of our Church. It was few months into my year away, and I was at the Cathedral in Los Angeles, California for Sunday Mass. This particular Mass happened to be in Spanish, and as the priest began his passionate Spanish homily, my eyes started wandering a bit. And before long, I was captivated by the remarkable set of large tapestries that hang on the walls of the L.A. Cathedral (some of you may have seen them). They depict a vast collection of well-known saints from different eras of the Church’s historyplus a handful of anonymous saints mixed inall gazing prayerfully at the altar. These life-size images vividly portrayed a Church teaching that I had never really thought about before that at every Mass the entire Church is present, including the saints and angels in heaven. And like the assorted crowd around me in the pewsand like our congregation here this morningthese saints featured a sweeping breadth of nationalities, ages, and walks of life men and women who had known both great suffering and great joy. Then it came time for communion. As I stood in line, I was conscious of being surrounded by many brothers and sisters in Christ, both in person and in the spirits of those who had gone before us. And to my surprise, as a soaring Spanish hymn filled the Cathedral, tears came to my eyes. I may have been on the other side of the world, but I felt at home in a most radical way. At the centre of it all was the Eucharist the Body of Christ. We were taking part in a sacred meal that transcends time and place and the saints in heavenwho ran the great race of faith during their time on earthwere right there with us, as they are this morning. We are united with the saintsand with each otherthrough our union with Christ, in a bond that is deeper than nationality or even family. It is a bond which the world cannot give, and which the world cannot take away. - - Now, not only are we to honour the saints and seek their intercession, we are called to be saints. Each one of us. I’m aware that this might seem like a daunting proposition for some of you. Many believers struggle with lukewarmness in their faith at various times in their life. Many peopleeven those really striving to be good Catholicsknow they aren’t on fire for God as much as they ought to be, or perhaps once were. I suspect that in many instances, the root of this problem is a temptation that we can all face from time to time namely, the belief that God is not enough for me. Now, we might never actually say this or even consciously think it, because if we do stop and think about it it’s a difficult idea to justify. How could Almighty Godthe creator and sustainer of everything that ispossibly not be enough for me, such that I need other things in my life to take priority over him? Nonetheless, the way we go about our lives may well reveal that such an approach has become our operative belief. Perhaps deep down we might struggle to trust God, and so on some level we think we know better than God what’s in our best interest. Again, this is a pretty silly idea once we bring it to the surface, but after a bit of suffering in our life it’s the sort of belief that can easily take hold if we allow it to. So, given all this, if you’re struggling with lukewarmness in your faith life, here’s a suggestion that might be worth trying: allow God to be the most interesting thing in your life. Allow God to be the most interesting thing in your life, and see what happens. If our love of God is low, it makes sense that other things will seem more interesting to us. And so often we don’t really want to let go of the things that might be getting in the way of us growing closer to God. Assorted comforts, entertainment, indulgent behaviour sinful and otherwise. We also might resent having to go to Mass, having to pray, having to serve our neighbour, and so forth. Yet consider how we act with those that we truly love think of how much care we might put into even small gesturesa surprise gift, perhapseven if no-one else will ever know about it, even if they serve no practical purpose. How often do we behave this way towards God? If a married couple becomes too busy to spend time together, it’s normally the beginning of trouble. And if they don’t have time, they need to make time. It’s the same with us and God. Allow space in your life, for God to reveal himself as the most interesting thing your life. Make God a priority, and see what happens. There are simple steps we can take putting aside time to really pray without distractions; having good posture when we pray; striving to be focused and attentive in prayer the sort of things we would do gladly if we were spending time with someone we were in love with. Well, act as if you were in love with God, and see what happens. Jesus exhorts us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself. And this is ultimately for our own benefit, because the simple truth is that we will never be happy if we go half-way with God. If we’re one foot in and one foot out, that’s a recipe for misery. But if we allow God to really be Godand live accordinglywe might just find that striving to please him in our prayer and in our way of life and in our service of others is no longer something we experience as a burden but something we gladly do, because nothing else is really worth it. And it may well be that, by the end of our life, we will have not only allowed God to be the most interesting thing in our life, butwith his gracehe might actually be the true love of our life. And that is a recipe for paradise. So this morning we thank the Lord for the gift of all his saintsof these precious witnesses to the power of his graceand we ask that through their intercession we may be able to love God the way that they do, so that at the end of our life we may be welcomed with them into his heavenly kingdom. All holy men and women pray for us!

01.01.2022 Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A In our Gospel today Jesus asks his disciples two important questions, and it becomes a major turning point i...s his mission with them. Who do other people say that I am? and Who do you say that I am? Of course, the second question is the really important one, while the first question helps prepare for it. This second question has continued to reverberate throughout the centuries, and countless lives and cultures have been shaped depending upon how this question has been answered. In a very real sense, it’s the only question that really mattersboth in our lives, and in the history of the worldand it’s probably the most important question we’ll ever answer. Who do you say that Jesus is? So let’s look into these two questions a bit deeper, looking at their context and what our answers to them mean for our lives. Firstly, the context. Jesus is with his disciples. He’s been with them for a while now, during which time he’s been patiently building a relationship with them, courting them as it were. However, time is starting to run short. It is not long before Jesus will head south to Jerusalem to suffer his Passion. But before he does, he has to make sure that his disciples are ready. So he takes them off to Caesarea Philippi, which is a city a little to the north of Galilee, a bit out of their own territory. By so doing, you could say that Jesus is taking them somewhat outside their comfort zone which is very appropriate considering what he has in mind. So there they are, and Jesus begins by asking them a warm-up question: Who do people say that the Son of Man is? The disciples must have been so delighted by this it’s finally a question they know how to answer! They’ve been completely baffled by him this whole time; he’s always having to explain the meaning of things he’s said so now they finally get something they know. It’s a confidence-builder! So they answer, Well, they say that you’re John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Not bad. They must be feeling pretty good they finally got one right! But let’s step back for a minute. Why would Jesus ask this question? I mean, was he trying to turn his disciples into a little focus group to see how his ministry was doing? Was he taking a poll? Did he even care what people were saying? Wouldn’t he have already known? It’s really worth thinking about why would Jesus ask them this question? I think a likely answer is that, before he can ask them the BIG question, he has to disabuse them of all the stuff that’s floating about in the Spirit of the Age. And a good way of disabusing someone of a particular way of thinking is to ask them to name it. After all, many of the disciples probably had some of these very ideas about who Jesus is in their own head. So he gets them to name it. It would be like if you went to a university campus, and asked the students to list the five most powerful fashionable ideologies at work in our culture. The act of writing them down would help disabuse the students of those very ideologies because chances are they would have been inside at least two or three of them themselves. But the very act of naming themThis is what the world would saygives you a certain distance from them. It’s basically the psychological equivalent of going to Caesarea Philippi. By naming them, you separate yourself from them you’re now outside the Spirit of the Age. And then, you’re ready for the big question. The big question is: Who do YOU say that I am? Simon Peter says, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. BINGO. Put a fork in him, he’s done. He’s ready. Now, even Peter didn’t fully get it, because he still had an idea of the Messiah partly based upon the Spirit of the Age, and Jesus had to rebuke him right after this passage we heard today. But Peter did get the most important thing, and that is that Christ is in a category of one. That’s absolutely essential. Christ is in a category of one. You see, even today, many people try to turn Jesus into just another wise man someone who came to bring a new morality, or a plan to improve the world. They think of Jesus as simply a teacher of religion, and they think that all religions are essentially the same. Well, Peter’s revelation cuts through all that. Jesus isn’t on some pantheon with all the other religious gurus over the years. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God he’s in a category of one. So what does all this mean for our lives? Peter’s confession was a real confession. He wasn’t just offering his opinion. There’s a difference between having an opinion and confessing one’s faith. To make a confession of faith is to have your life change, whereas to offer an opinion is of no lasting consequence. So for instance, if I happen to say Jesus is Lord at some dinner party, I might simply be offering an opinion. But if someone says Jesus is Lord on the streets of northern Iraq tomorrow, they’re making a confession. The former costs me nothing, whereas the latter is weighty and consequential. And it’s not just consequential externally, but also in terms of who I am. To confess our faith makes us a disciple it means we are now different than before. When Simon Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God, something essential about him changed. Perhaps that’s why he needed a new name! The old one didn’t work anymore. Simon the fisherman was following along, checking this Jesus guy out. Peter was fully committeda disciple of the Son of Godand he would never be the same again. There’s a fundamental reorientation in his life. This is perhaps the same reason why we take on a new name at our Confirmation. We’re now a new person committed for the long haul. But we can’t just say it we have to believe it in our bones. If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, it fundamentally changes our life. It rearranges all of our priorities, placing God front and centre. It affects our family, our job, our politics, how we relate to people, how we use our money. It makes demands of our whole life and we do it gladly, because we know that, apart from God, nothing else really matters. So let Jesus’ question echo in your heart this coming week. Who do you say that I am? It’s the most important question you’ll ever be asked. And pray that you’ll be given the grace to answer along with Peter, and believe it all the way through, with all that it means for your life: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Amen.