FSSP Canberra Latin Mass Chaplaincy

26/03/2026

18/03/2026

March 19.--ST. JOSEPH, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin and Patron of the Universal Church.
ST. JOSEPH was by birth of the royal family of David, but was living in humble obscurity as a carpenter when God raised him to the highest sanctity, and fitted him to be the spouse of His Virgin Mother, and foster-father and guardian of the Incarnate Word. Joseph, says the Holy Scripture, was a just man; he was innocent and pure, as became the husband of Mary; he was gentle and tender, as one worthy to be named the father of Jesus; he was prudent and a lover of silence, as became the master of the holy house; above all, he was faithful and obedient to divine calls. His conversation was with angels rather than with men. When he learned that Mary bore within her womb the Lord of heaven, he feared to take her as his wife; but an angel bade him fear not, and all doubts vanished. When Herod sought the life of the divine Infant, an angel told Joseph in a dream to fly with the Child and His Mother into Egypt. Joseph at once arose and obeyed. This sudden and unexpected flight must have exposed Joseph to many inconveniences and sufferings in so long a journey with a little babe and a tender virgin, the greater part of the way being through deserts and among strangers; yet he alleges no excuses, nor inquires at what time they were to return. St. Chrysostom observes that God treats thus all His servants, sending them frequent trials to clear their hearts from the rust of self-love, but intermixing seasons of consolation. “Joseph,” says he, “is anxious on seeing the Virgin with child; an angel removes that fear. He rejoices at the Child’s birth, but a great fear succeeds: the furious king seeks to destroy the Child, and the whole city is in an uproar to take away His life. This is followed by another joy, the adoration of the Magi; a new sorrow then arises: he is ordered to fly into a foreign unknown country, without help or acquaintance.” It is the opinion of the Fathers that upon their entering Egypt, at the presence of the child Jesus, all the oracles of that superstitious country were struck dumb, and the statues of their gods trembled and in many places fell to the ground. The Fathers also attribute to this holy visit the spiritual benediction poured on that country, which made it for many ages most fruitful in Saints. After the death of King Herod, of which St. Joseph was informed in another vision, God ordered him to return with the Child and His Mother into the land of Israel, which our Saint readily obeyed. But when he arrived in Judea, hearing that Archelaus had succeeded Herod in that part of the country, and apprehensive that he might be infected with his father’s vices, he feared on that account to settle there, as he would otherwise probably have done for the education of the Child; and therefore, being directed by God in another vision, he retired into the dominions of Herod Antipas, in Galilee, to his former habitation in Nazareth. St. Joseph, being a strict observer of the Mosaic law, in conformity to its direction annually repaired to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Our Saviour, now in the twelfth year of His age, accompanied His parents thither. Having performed the usual ceremonies of the feast, they were returning with many of their neighbors and acquaintances towards Galilee; and never doubting but that Jesus was with some of the company, they travelled on for a whole day’s journey before they discovered that He was not with them. But when night came on and they could hear no tidings of Him among their kindred and acquaintance, they, in the deepest affliction, returned with the utmost speed to Jerusalem. After an anxious search of three days they found Him in the Temple, discoursing with the learned doctors of the law, and asking them such questions as raised the admiration of all that heard Him, and made them astonished at the ripeness of His understanding; nor were His parents less surprised on this occasion. When His Mother told Him with what grief and earnestness they had sought Him, and asked, “Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? behold Thy Father and I sought Thee in great affliction of mind,” she received for answer, “How is it that you sought Me? did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But though thus staying in the Temple unknown to His parents, in all other things He was obedient to them, returning with them to Nazareth, and there living in all dutiful subjection to them. As no further mention is made of St. Joseph, he must have died before the marriage of Cana and the beginning of our divine Saviour’s ministry. We cannot doubt that he had the happiness of Jesus and Mary attending at his death, praying by him, assisting and comforting him in his last moments; whence he is particularly invoked for the great grace of a happy death and the spiritual presence of Jesus in that hour.
Reflection.--St. Joseph, the shadow of the Eternal Father upon earth, the protector of Jesus in His home at Nazareth, and a lover of all children for the sake of the Holy Child, should be the chosen guardian and pattern of every true Christian family.

22/02/2026

The chair of St Peter and the Unity of the Early Church

The Feast of the Chair of St Peter reminds us that
the unity of the Church is rooted in an office
established by Christ Himself. When Our Lord said
to Peter,
“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build My Church” (Mt 16:18), He was instituting a
visible principle of unity. The “Chair” represents
teaching authority, governance, and apostolic
continuity. It signifies that the Church’s unity is
safeguarded through a concrete office, not left to
individual interpretation.
It is sometimes imagined that the early Church
existed in perfect harmony, free from conflict. This
is a myth. The New Testament itself records disagreements, such as the
dispute between Peter and Paul. From the earliest centuries, the Church
faced serious doctrinal challenges. Gnosticism claimed secret knowledge
as the true Christian faith, while Arianism denied the full divinity of Christ.
These controversies show that disputes were present from the beginning.
However, disagreement did not mean fragmentation. The early Church
confronted heresies not by forming rival churches, but by clarifying
doctrine and preserving communion. The development of the canon of
Scripture, the formulation of the Nicene Creed, and the gathering of
ecumenical councils were efforts to defend unity. The Church
distinguished between heresy, which had to be rejected, and legitimate
theological discussion within the one body.
For roughly the first thousand years, despite regional tensions and
theological debates, there remained essentially one united Church. The
first major institutional rupture occurred only in 1054 with the East–West
Schism. Even then, division followed centuries of strained relations, not
immediate doctrinal chaos. Before this, bishops remained in communion,
and Rome functioned as a stabilizing center. The Chair of Peter often
served as a court of appeal when disputes arose.
The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century introduced a second
major rupture. What began as an attempt to correct abuses eventually led
to the multiplication of independent church bodies. Over time, this
development contributed to the thousands of denominations that exist
today.
In contrast, the early Church viewed schism with grave seriousness.
Church Fathers described division as “rending the Body of Christ.” They
were willing to exclude those who denied essential doctrines, but they
resisted creating parallel hierarchies. Unity was preserved by maintaining
communion in faith and governance.
The Chair of St Peter therefore stands as a sign that Christian unity
requires shared doctrine and visible authority. The early Church was not
free from conflict, but it was profoundly united in structure and belief. Its
unity rested not on the absence of disagreement, but on fidelity to
apostolic teaching and communion under a visible shepherd

17/02/2026

Ash Wednesday masses tomorrow 7am (low mass)
6:30pm (Sung )

26/11/2025

Pope St Sylvester

Saint Sylvester was born in Rome. When he reached the age to dispose of his fortune, he took pleasure in giving hospitality to Christians passing through the city. He would take them with him, wash their feet, serve them at table, and in sum give them in the name of Christ, all the care that the most sincere charity inspired. One day Timothy of Antioch, an illustrious confessor of the Faith, arrived in Rome. No one dared receive him, but Sylvester considered it an honor. For a year Timothy, preaching Jesus Christ with unflagging zeal, received at Sylvester’s dwelling the most generous hospitality. When this heroic man had won the palm of martyrdom, Sylvester took up his precious remains and buried them during the night. But he himself was soon denounced to the prefect and accused of having hidden the martyr’s treasures. He replied, Timothy left to me only the heritage of his faith and courage. The governor threatened him with death and had him imprisoned, but Sylvester said to him, Senseless one, this very night it is you who will render an account to God. And the persecutor that evening swallowed a fish bone, and died in fact that night.

Fear of heavenly chastisements softened the guardians, and the brave young man was set at liberty. Sylvester’s courageous acts became known to Saint Melchiad, Pope, who elevated him to the diaconate. He was a young priest when persecution of the Christians grew worse under the tyrant Diocletian. Idols were erected at the street corners, in the market-places, and over the public fountains, so that it was scarcely possible for a Christian to go abroad without being put to the test of offering sacrifice, with the alternative of apostasy or death. During this fiery trial, Sylvester strengthened the confessors and martyrs, and God preserved his life from many dangers. It was indeed he who was destined to succeed the Pope who had recognized his virtues.

His long pontificate of twenty-one years, famous for several reasons, is remembered in particular for the Council of Nicea, the Baptism of Constantine, and the triumph of the Church. Some authors would place Constantine’s Baptism later, but there are numerous and serious testimonies which fix the emperor’s reception into the Church under the reign of Saint Sylvester, and the Roman Breviary confirms that opinion. Constantine, while still pagan and little concerned for the Christians, whose doctrine was entirely unknown to him, was attacked by a kind of leprosy which soon covered his entire body. One night Saint Peter and Saint Paul, shining with light, appeared to him and commanded him to call for Pope Sylvester, who would cure him by giving him Baptism. In effect, the Pope instructed the royal neophyte and baptized him. Thus began the social reign of Jesus Christ: Constantine’s conversion, culminating in the Edict of Milan in 313, had as its happy consequence that of the known world.

17/11/2025

Jubilee Celebration , Sung Mass at 10 am At the Old Goulburn Cathedral

06/10/2025

OUR LADY of the ROSARY 7 October
(Commemorating the Victory of Lepanto)
(1571)

In thanksgiving for the victory of Lepanto, an ancient stronghold of Greece and a modern port of that nation, Saint Pius V in 1571 instituted an annual feast in honor of Our Lady of Victory. Two years later, Gregory XIII changed this title to Our Lady of the Rosary; in 1740, Clement XII extended the feast to the universal Church.

We have related in the life of Saint Pius V the victory of Lepanto; here we will speak of the Rosary itself, granted to Saint Dominic by Our Lady Herself in the thirteenth century, with promises of the greatest blessings for those who recite it well. The Rosary of fifteen decades affords a simple means of meditation on the principal mysteries of our holy Religion, and a means of drawing closer to the Saviour through the intercession of the One to whom He never refuses anything.

30/09/2025

September 30 Saint Jerome doctor of the church

St. Jerome who is allowed to have been, in many respects, the most learned of all the Latin fathers
best known for his Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate, which became the official version of the Roman Catholic Church. A theologian, monastic leader, and a Doctor of the Church, his extensive biblical scholarship, commentaries, and letters profoundly influenced the early Middle Ages. He is also recognized as the patron saint of translators, librarians, and biblical scholars.

15/09/2025

Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady 15 th September

07/09/2025

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 8th September
(7am low mass and 6:30 pm Sung mass)

The feast of Mary’s birth is celebrated with joy as it marks the beginning of humanity’s salvation. Unlike all others born of Adam, Mary was preserved from sin, adorned with unique graces, and chosen to be the Mother of God. Her birth fulfilled God’s promise in Genesis that the woman’s seed would crush the serpent’s head.

Her greatest dignity is being the true Mother of God—because she bore Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man. This truth was upheld by the Church and confirmed at the Council of Ephesus (431) against the heresy of Nestorius, who denied her this title. The Fathers of the Church constantly affirmed Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer).

Mary’s privileges include:
• Divine Motherhood – the highest dignity possible for any creature.
• Perpetual Virginity – she remained a virgin before, during, and after Christ’s birth.
• Spotless Purity – she consecrated her virginity to God and was preserved from all stain of sin.

The Fathers use many biblical symbols to describe her: the Burning Bush, the Eastern Gate, Gideon’s fleece, etc. She is a model of perfect humility, chastity, charity, and virtue. Her sanctity was so evident that even Joseph, in confusion at her pregnancy, chose to trust her holiness rather than doubt her purity.

Mary’s life teaches that true virtue lies in performing ordinary actions with purity of heart, humility, and devotion to God. Her example is especially set before virgins, but also for all Christians seeking holiness.

The Church has celebrated her Nativity for over a thousand years, with liturgies dating back to Pope Sergius (7th century) and even earlier traditions. East and West alike honor this feast solemnly.

In celebrating Mary’s birth, the faithful give thanks for God’s mercies through her and seek her intercession. Just as Christ obeyed her on earth, so now in heaven he does not refuse her petitions on behalf of the faithful.