Ordinariate Catholics - Perth

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Ordinariate Catholics - Perth

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www.perthparish.org

The Parish of Saints Ninian and Chad is title of the Ordinariate Catholic Parish in Perth, Western Australia.

We are part of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross - a jurisdiction within the Catholic Church. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 - 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵. Find out more about us here: perthparish.org/about-us

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 (𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀):
𝘈𝘵 𝘚𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭'𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘢 (𝘔𝘵 𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘺)
• Each Sunday - Holy Mass 11:00
• Each Monday, Wednesday, & Friday - Holy Mass 08:00
- following Matins (aka Morning Prayer) 07:25
• 1st Sunday of each month - Evensong (aka Evening Prayer) 16:00 (4pm)

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 & 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 - 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 8:00 𝘢.𝘮., 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥.

14/10/2026

Sermon for the 19th Sunday after Trinity
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Isaiah 25:6-10
Phil 4:12-14, 19-20
Mt 22:1-10
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We all receive invitations to events that we either reject, accept but don’t follow up on, or accept and attend. We have been invited by God at our baptism to live our life as a disciple of Jesus. We affirm our response to that invitation at our confirmation and during each Easter Vigil liturgy, but it is those who remain faithful to the end who will participate in the heavenly banquet following God’s Final Judgement.

Isaiah’s vision of this banquet occurred on a mountaintop. It was not restricted to the Children of Israel but was extended to those from every nation who acknowledged God as their Lord. What guarantees a place at the heavenly banquet is not a blood line, a DNA match or nationality, but faithfulness to God.

When Jesus told the Jewish leadership His parable about the wedding feast, He wasn’t telling them something new. They knew what Isaiah had said, but in Jesus’ parable, God is the king who invites His chosen people to the wedding feast in order to celebrate the marriage between heaven and earth. In this parable the original guest list of observant Jews refused the invitation, so Gentiles and sinners were invited. Yet even before the festivities began, one man was expelled because he wasn’t wearing a wedding garment.

Now nice Christians who believe in diversity, equality and inclusivity would think this was rather harsh, yet dress code matters. Even some Aussie pubs have dress codes – no thongs or tank tops! In the New Testament, clothing is the image of being in a right relationship with God. A wedding garment was a sign of worthiness and respect and in the Book of Revelation (Rev 7:13), the saints are dressed in white robes, which is a sign of their righteousness.

Jesus then said that many are called but few are chosen. By that He means that while salvation is available to all, only a few choose to accept the gift with all that that involves. Jesus is giving a warning against causing others to sin and also about lukewarmness in discipleship. Again in the Book of Revelation, God condemns the Christians in Laodicea because they are neither cold nor hot, but only lukewarm (Rev 3:14-22). God expects His committed faithful to have high standards in living and proclaiming the faith. Half-heartedness and Tokenism will not do.

Our baptism is our invitation, and our response to that will determine whether there is a seat for us at the heavenly banquet. St Paul tells the Philippians that being a good disciple is no walk in the park smelling the roses. Some of the Philippians were finding discipleship too hard, so they were thinking of giving up. St Paul tells them that he knows more about the hard demands of discipleship than they do. He has suffered for it, but he also knows that with God’s help, there is nothing that cannot be achieved. So his message is simply, “Keep on, keeping on,” and invite others along the way.

Being a good Catholic Christian requires more than ticking a box on a census form; more than being cultural Catholics or pick and choose Catholics, picking the bits of the faith we like and rejecting the rest. Discipleship demands more than turning up for Mass on special occasions or when we have nothing better to do. The Church’s primary mission is the salvation of souls and everything else flows from that objective.

Salvation requires us to shift direction from living in a state of guilt, or a state in which we are content to be healthy, whole and happy, to being forgiven and holy. Salvation requires that we abandon being a slave to selfish feelings and desires and embrace the freedom that flows from being a loyal servant of God.

Like all God’s gifts, we have to choose to receive His gift of salvation. With the gift comes the requirement and cost of commitment, but these are the wedding garment which we need for the heavenly banquet.
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Msgr Harry Entwistle
Oct 11th, 2026
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27/09/2026

Sermon for the 17th Sunday after Trinity
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Ezek 18:25-28
Phil 2:1-11
Mt 21:28-32
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“It’s not fair,” is a cry we hear in many different circumstances. Children squabbling, adults feeling hard done by, etc. The Jews in exile in Babylon thought God was being unfair because they were suffering for their previous generation’s sins. The blame game has being going on since Adam and Eve, it is part of our fallen human condition. Ezekiel’s response to the exiles was that God is not unjust because humans are responsible for their own actions. He was telling them to look at their own attitude to God and stop blaming others. Repentant sinners may suffer the consequences of their sins, but they are forgiven and will be saved.

This is the point that Jesus is making in the parable of the two brothers which He tells the chief priests and the elders of the people. Two sons are asked to work in their father’s vineyard. Note the image of the vineyard again, which represents God’s people Israel and His community. One son says he will not work, but later changes his mind and does, the other son says he will work, but doesn’t. Jesus is accusing the pious Jews who say, ‘yes’ to God but don’t gather sinners and outsiders into God’s community, while the sinners have broken God’s laws but respond to God’s love and return to Him in penitence. The pious Jews may not accept them, but God does. It 𝘪𝘴 possible to change a ‘no’ into a ‘yes.’

St Paul continues this theme in his letter to the Philippians when he reminds them that God does not only work in the lives of individuals, but also works through the community of faith, the Church, which is not a corporate body but the mystical body of Christ. He reminds them and us, that we are not simply to listen to God, we are to act with Him and for Him. Paul says disciples receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism and strengthened in the Spirit at confirmation and are empowered by Him in our discipleship as agents of Jesus. Lastly, Paul reminds the Philippians that as they know God’s power, that power must be visible to others through their worship, prayer, morally balanced lives and good works.

It is easy to sit and hear messages like this, nod our heads, grunt ‘hear, hear’ in agreement but assume it only applies to everyone else, namely the group known as ‘they.’ As a parish community, do we have shared goals? Do we consider our community to be half-empty or half-full? The answer to this question will determine whether we flourish as a community in our new church or just fade away. I don’t mean that we must all think in the same way, that would be disastrous. But we all need to be committed to our common ministry and mission in the Ordinariate which we believe God has called into being through Pope Benedict XVI and affirmed by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV.

There are some signs in the world that the tide is turning against the anti-Catholic forces and their agenda. I saw the results of a survey a few years ago which said that “Christianity in America is 3000 miles wide and only three inches deep.” The same or worse, applies to Australia, yet some people, young and older, do realise that they are spiritually starving and are looking to connect with God, not because they already have a deep faith, but because they want to have one. They want to commit but need to connect first.

A half-full community is not about numbers, it is a community whose members are excited about the Catholic faith and the Church. How can we excite anyone else if we ourselves are not excited? Members of a half-full community participate in God-focussed worship through prayer and offer the sacrifice of the Mass together with the priest. The gospel is preached and the faith taught. The liturgy is ordered and dignified and not entertainment based. Visitors should be able to ‘feel the love’ for God and for each other in such a community. Visitors should be noticed, welcomed, accompanied and leave with a spring in their step and a glow in their hearts. Such a community knows that the primary evangelists of the Church are the laity, not the clergy. If the laity are not active, nothing the clergy do will make any difference.

Ezekiel’s and St Paul’s messages and Jesus’ parable make it clear that the road to heaven for a half-full community is that of action that speaks louder than words, and for a half-empty community, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
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Msgr Harry Entwistle
Sept 27th, 2026
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16/09/2026

Sermon for the 15th Sunday after Trinity
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Sirach 27:30-28:7
Rom 14:7-9
Mt 18:21-35
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I wonder whether Oscar Wilde was serious about the meaning of forgiveness when he said, “You should always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.”

Today's first reading makes it clear that we Christians must forgive their enemies, not to annoy them but because of our love for them. Forgiveness is neither easy nor as simple as it sounds. Broken relationships caused by stupidity or wickedness can be repaired, but how can the damage caused by those actions be healed?

The process of healing must begin with forgiveness. The healing of our relationship with God begins when we make our confession to God, but while God offers us His forgiveness, the healing of our relationship depends on our acceptance of it together with our continuing commitment to live a life of mercy in our dealings with others.

True forgiveness, as opposed to sweeping issues under the carpet, does not come cheaply either for the one asking for forgiveness or the one who forgives. It is easier to 𝘴𝘢𝘺 we forgive someone than to treat them as a forgiven person, and it is easier to 𝘴𝘢𝘺 we accept forgiveness than to live as a forgiven person. Even worse, is to accept that God forgives us, but to refuse to forgive ourselves and live as a forgiven person.

Jesus made this clear in the parable about the merciful king who forgives a debtor for a huge amount that he could never repay. The king's forgiveness was more than words. He didn't extend the loan period, vary the repayment rate or arrange a repayment plan. He wrote off the debt with no strings attached.

The debtor was no doubt ecstatic, but as a creditor he didn't show mercy to one of his debtors who owed him a pittance. As a result the story turns from one of mercy to one of judgment. The king's debtor is turned over to the torturers until the debt is repaid, which of course would be never.

Every time we say the Lord's Prayer we say, “Forgive us our trespasses or sins, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘴.” Forgiveness, like love, is a gift, not a right. These gifts may be offered, but they have to be accepted and reciprocated. Our society is very hot on demanding apologies for anything and everything, but very cool on accepting apologies. Victims seem to be more interested in having money thrown at them than accepting forgiveness offered to them and responding to it by rebuilding the trust that will heal the damage done.

God's judgment falls heavier on the hard-headed than on the weak and foolish. We Christians know that God forgives us when we are penitent, so in turn we must be merciful and forgiving to those who hurt us. Keeping mental tabs on the wrongs of others will come back to bite us at the Final Judgment.

Because we Christians are brothers and sisters of Jesus, we worship Him as God's Son who has healed our broken relationship with God. The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We know we are not perfect, but we know God forgives us and so we must live as forgiven people and extend forgiveness to others. Our own forgiveness depends on doing that.

St Paul says that our lives and deaths affect others. There is no such thing as a victimless crime or a victimless moral lapse because ‘No man is an island entire of itself’ (John Donne).

If the Church is to be a light to the world, we members of it must clean up our personal and community dirt so that through us, the light of Jesus who is the light of the world, can shine even brighter.
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Msgr Harry Entwistle
Sept 13th, 2026
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31/08/2026

Sermon for the 13th Sunday after Trinity
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Jer 20:7-9
Rom 12:1-2
Mt 16:21-27
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We are all familiar with the expression, “Between a rock and a hard place.” This is where Jeremiah found himself in his life as one of God’s prophets. He was reluctant to accept the call to prophecy and while God promised that He would not let Jeremiah down, Jeremiah’s experience was such that he felt deceived by God. “If I speak God’s truth, why do people hate me?”, is a sentiment very much in Jeremiah’s thoughts. Jeremiah knew first-hand the cost of discipleship.

Last week we read of Peter’s confession of faith concerning the identity of Jesus. Today we read of Jesus telling His disciples that He was to be put to death and rise again. He wanted the disciples to understand that His mission was not only to announce the presence of the Kingdom of God, but also to offer the sacrifice necessary to enable others to respond by loving God and embracing the life of the Kingdom. Jesus also wanted His disciples to be under no illusion about the cost involved in living their lives of self-giving discipleship.

Peter reacted negatively to Jesus’ words and was accused by Jesus of being like Satan in his temptations in the wilderness, where Satan tempted Jesus to grab worldly power in order to establish His kingdom. The disciples were still thinking in worldly terms – might is right and power means control. Jesus needed them to change their thinking from the view that God’s Messiah would be another warrior king like King David, to the view of the Messiah as Isaiah’s Suffering Servant. This shift entailed moving from being worldly and self-focussed to being God centred and Christ like. As St Paul reminds us, disciples must develop Christ-like minds which lead to Christ-like actions.

Jesus told His disciples to ‘Take up your Cross and follow me.’ This doesn’t mean that there is a pile of crosses somewhere with your name on one of them. There is only one cross to be taken up, and that is the Cross of Christ. As Cardinal Sarah says, “Without the Cross, a man gropes his way through the night of ignorance and hardness of heart.” It is on the Cross that Jesus, disfigured by suffering and evil reveals the face of the invisible God.

The Cross is the centre of the Christian life. In the Cross there is no mingling of good and evil as in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. The fruit of the tree of the Cross is not death but life, not darkness but light. It is the place of forgiveness and reconciliation. For Christians, the Cross is the beginning of a new life. As the Curé D’Ars said, “Crosses are the road to heaven, like a fine stone bridge over a river so as to cross it… Christians who do not embrace suffering with and on behalf of Jesus on their journey, travel over a very fragile bridge that is ready to break beneath their feet. (Sarah, Catechism of the Spiritual Life ch. 8).

The suffering of the Cross is that of turning from self-centredness to God-centredness. I saw a poster once that seemed to promote self-denial. It said, ‘My tastes are simple……. I only like the best!’ In Scripture and in the life of the Church there are numerous examples of people, despite the suffering that it brings, who said to God, “Not my will, but thine be done.’ Christian discipleship is not a hobby. It is God-focussed, Christ-centred, Cross-shaped and self-offering tough love. In our woke Western culture we are told to affirm ourselves, because we alone are the centre of our universe. Other people’s rights, views and needs are of no consequence if they don’t fit in with our truth.

Even so, people are still fascinated by Jesus as a historical figure just as they are fascinated by the scandals of the rich, famous and even footy players. Being fascinated by Jesus is a far cry from accepting his invitation to “Take up your Cross and follow me.”

Transformation from sliding into, or from abandoning worldly values, to embracing and living according to the heavenly values of love, justice and mercy, begins in the mind. It is a struggle that involves letting go of always doing what we want and not letting our feelings dictate our every decision. When we are between a rock and a hard place and don’t know the right choice to make, we must avoid making the choices that we know to be wrong. Change our thinking, and we change our behaviour. Remember that Jesus promises that when He returns in the glory of the Father with His angels, each of us will be rewarded, not according to what riches we have amassed, but according to the life we have lived.

As we sang in our Introit hymn, “In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time; all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.”
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Msgr Harry Entwistle
August 30th, 2026
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25/08/2026

Sermon for the 12th Sunday after Trinity
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Isaiah 22:19-23
Rom 11:33-36
Mt 16:13-20
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Isaiah knows how to deliver a knockout blow to those who he thinks have done the wrong thing. Shebna was a high-ranking administrator in the Kingdom of Judah, but he was also a political opportunist who pitted himself against God’s prophet Isaiah. Shebna tried to undermine Isaiah, so the prophet ensured that Shebna was moved sideways and Eliakim, who Isaiah could rely on, was appointed in his stead. Nothing much has changed in Church or secular politics.

Jesus also needed a trustworthy leader in the Church He was gathering, and today’s Gospel reading tells us that it was Peter who is described as the solid rock upon which Jesus would build His Church.

In response to Jesus’ question to the apostles as to who people said He was, it was Peter who confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus realised that Peter could only make a statement like that if the Father had revealed it to him. Some Christians think that ‘the rock’ on which the Church is founded is Peter’s confession of faith, and not Peter himself. However, the revelation was given to Peter and he and his confession stand together. Despite his flaws and shortcomings, Jesus assures Peter that the Church will overcome evil despite the flaws and weaknesses of the members of it.

We are in one of those times at the moment when the forces of evil are spawning a culture of death, negativity and destruction. Christians are persecuted, churches are burned and Governments are actively working for the eradication of our faith and the Church. Notice the sneaky evil way some of it is done – abortion is described as a caring routine medical procedure; euthanasia is ‘end of life’ compassionate care. A Catholic hospital and a hospice in Canberra were forcefully acquired recently so that a wider range of these ‘compassionate’ medical procedures will be available to more people. In some Western countries, quoting the Bible in public is hate speech that could cause civil disturbances. “Evil, be thou my good,” are words from Milton’s Paradise Lost. They are spoken by Satan who has been cast out of heaven and is seeking to corrupt humanity by ensuring that we worship him.

The faith of committed disciples will not be overcome if we stand firm. Peter became the head of the Church and was given the keys of the Kingdom. That does not mean he is the Border Control officer at the pearly gates. Being given the keys is a sign of authority. When Isaiah installed Eliakim as the king’s steward, he placed the keys of David’s kingdom on his shoulder.

Peter was given authority in the Church, but he and his papal successors are not unbridled dictators, even if some have behaved as though they were. Jesus’ model of leadership is that of a servant, and that is the model for the Pope, his bishops and all Christian leaders. Leaders are also called to be shepherds who gather Jesus’ flock together from wherever they have strayed in order to feed, care and protect them. Without loyalty to the successor of Peter, the Church will split into thousands of fragments as the Protestant churches have done and the Catholic Church is also facing.

In God’s dealings with His people Israel and the Church, He has always given them an opportunity to repent before He judges them. He affords us that opportunity while we are still on earth. This is why the Church and her members must never give up on those who persecute us, distance themselves from God, or try to create division or have given up on the Church and God. We must stand firm in the faith which the Church has received and continue to proclaim God’s love, forgiveness and mercy. Not only that, we must also live the life of the the Kingdom, namely, to love God our creator so that we can love our neighbour in the same way as we love ourselves by working for our and other’s salvation.

When the faithful fall below these standards, evil gains a foothold and chaos reigns. Difficult as these times are, if the worship of God is our priority and we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will not sink into chaos.
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Msgr Harry Entwistle
August 23rd, 2026
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11/08/2026

Announcements:

Weekday Masses this remaining week - Wednesday (12th) and Friday (14th) - will be held in the undercroft at St Paul's, Mt Lawley.

There will be no weekday Masses next week (17th-21st Aug).

Mass for the Assumption of the BVM - Saturday 15th August:
Mass - 7.30am (St Paul's; No Mattins preceding)

12/07/2026

Sermon for the 6th Sunday after Trinity
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Isaiah 55:10-11
Rom 8:18-23
Mt 13:1-9
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Does God keep His promises? Isaiah assured his people that God’s promises are as sure as the rain from heaven causing seeds to germinate. He tells those of God’s people who were in exile in Babylon that God would soon return them to their homeland where they would restore the city and Temple in Jerusalem. They are invited to share in this God’s undeserved free gift of a Second Exodus but Isaiah warned them that they must make an immediate response to God’s powerful act. Procrastinators would miss out.

Jesus also uses the imagery of seed to warn His disciples that they must ensure that what they preach is true to God’s word even though they will receive various responses from people.

Australian farmers use computer-controlled devices to ensure seed is sown without waste, but the farmer in Jesus’ parable was very inefficient in his sowing. He threw seed everywhere even though some seed would not germinate on hard soil because birds would eat it first. God’s word does not grow in hard-hearted people because they are self-focussed. God’s word does not grow fully in those who only want a quick feel-good buzz rather than the hard slog of committed discipleship. Neither will it grow in those who are disciples of convenience who only practice their faith when they have nothing else to do. They are like seed choked by weeds.

Discipleship is about priorities, and Jesus has little patience with those who do not make Him their priority in their life. The mission of disciples must be to sow the seed of God’s word anywhere and everywhere and then leave the rest to God. Once a person says, ‘Yes,’ to God and makes a connection with a faith community, the disciples in that community must nourish and nurture that person so that they can deepen their relationship with God and be committed to Him.

God cannot force anyone to love Him. Discipleship has always been a difficult choice and is so in our age of sentimentalism when feelings override critical thinking and hard evidence. One consequence is that the concept of absolute truth is discarded because all truth is relative and sin is merely an unfortunate weakness. So all religions are equal because they are only different pathways to the same delusion they call God. This is a kind of, ‘whatever floats your boat,’ mentality.

This view called ‘indifferentism’ or ‘relativism’ denies that our relationship with God has been damaged by original sin. Indifferentists have an image of Jesus walking the decks of a cruise ship heading for paradise full of passengers from all faiths and none. They ask whether Jesus would throw those who hadn’t got a baptism certificate overboard into the shark infested waters. The Catholic understanding of original sin is that of Jesus walking the decks of a cruise ship called The Church sailing to paradise and throwing the life raft of baptism to those who are floundering in the shark infested waters, bringing those who choose to be saved on board and in unity with Him be filled with his love and grow more like Him.

Although God wants everyone to be reconciled to Him, each individual has to choose to be so. As St Paul says, “What we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory as yet unrevealed which is waiting for us” (Rom 8:18).

To share in God’s glory is a gift offered to us and we can share in that now if we choose to accept the rigours of committed discipleship and reject the short, touchy feely, God ‘lite,’ self or community focussed discipleship that some would have us live. I wish the ‘progressives’ who present a ‘pick and choose God lite’ gospel would read the Scriptures carefully and not through a relativist secular lens. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will keep God’s promise and lead all of us along the road to salvation.
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Msgr Harry Entwistle
July 12th, 2026
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01/07/2026

Sermon for the 4th Sunday after Trinity
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2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16
Rom 6:3-4, 8-11
Mt 10:37-42
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Choices, choices, choices; we make them every day and usually the first one is whether to get out of bed or not. Although some choices we make are the right ones, they can still cause distress. St Paul reminded his readers that when they were baptised as a disciple of Christ, they would not only share in His suffering and death, they would also share in His resurrection and new life.

Choosing Christ is not a ride in the park or sauntering along smelling the roses. He said that He brought a sword, not one that destroys, but a sword of decision which can bring division.
When Moses gathered the Children of Israel together after they had worshipped the Golden Calf he asked them to make a choice for life or death. He asked “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Ex 32:26). Choosing to follow Christ or not is also a choice for life or death. Jesus’ sword of division is not intended to split families or friends, but it may do if some of them do not embrace God’s love. St Felicitas and St Perpetua are but two examples of those who chose to love Jesus more than abandoning their faith. They trusted in Jesus’ assurance that true life can only be found in the kingdom of God.

Jesus instructed His disciples on this matter of choice and told them that if people choose to respond positively to them and their message, they are not only responding to, and welcoming Him, but also His Father. To welcome God’s agent Jesus is to welcome God.

This was the case in the encounter between Elisha and the childless non-Jewish Shunammite woman. She and her husband offered Elisha and his companion hospitality because they recognised him as a holy man. In welcoming them they welcomed the God of Israel and because of their generosity they were blessed with the gift of a son.

Day after day we are presented with news items telling us that we are in the post-Christian age and that Christianity and the Church are no longer relevant, and the prophets of doom predict the date of its collapse. Yet there are many young adults and reverting Catholics across the Western world who are open and welcoming of God. Three years ago Philippa Martyr and Stephen Bullivant conducted a survey of Catholics in Australia. Among the respondents there was a sizeable number of young adults who said they attend Mass 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 because they want to worship God and relate to Him in the sacraments, prayer and Scripture. We are privileged to have some of those among us in this community.

The pattern among those who open themselves to God is that they want to connect before they commit. Notice that Elisha wandered through non-Jewish territory and both Jesus and St Paul went to the marketplaces, the Temple and synagogues where people gather. They made themselves available to others. I did this in my prison ministry. I called it, ‘Loitering with intent.’ To be truly available means being accessible, but there is little point being available and accessible if we are not approachable.

Jesus enabled God to be available to His people here on earth. He ensured that He was accessible even to the sinners and outcasts. He was also approachable. People could speak to Him openly. Read the gospels and note how many times people approached Him and shared with Him their needs and desires. Note how He responded to them and who responded positively to Him, and who walked away. As disciples, we too must be available, accessible and approachable to others who want to connect and be willing to accompany those who respond so that they also come to the point of commitment and live their lives as children of God and agents of Jesus.

All baptised Christians are agents of Jesus who is God’s agent, and for us Catholics that means being disciplined in the practice of the faith, grounded and committed in a faith community rather than being a butterfly flitting from one community to another.

Discipleship and evangelism are two sides of the baptismal invitation – like love and marriage, you can’t have one without the other and furthermore we are not called to be secret agents, but visible, active and effective agents who are available, accessible and approachable to other.
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Msgr Harry Entwistle
June 28th, 2026
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