Sinopsis
Homilies and talks given at St. Teresa's Parish, Christchurch NZ by the Community of St. John
Episodios
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The Trinity: The Secret God Reveals to His Friends
15/06/2025 Duración: 10minOn this Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Fr. Michael reflects on the deepest mystery of our faith—not a distant doctrine, but a lived reality. God is not content to remain hidden; He opens His very heart to us through Christ and draws us into His own life through the Spirit. In this homily, Fr. Michael explains how we experience the Trinity in prayer, in our interior life, and even in our longing for heaven. The Trinity is not an abstract idea—it is the secret of God’s love made personal. #TrinitySunday #FrMichaelPodcast #CatholicHomily #HolyTrinity #InteriorLife #Prayer #CatholicFaith #IntimacyWithGod #SpiritualLife #FatherSonSpirit #HeartOfTheFather #LivingTheTrinity #Solemnity
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Pentecost: Alive in the Spirit, Changing the Culture
08/06/2025 Duración: 13minOn this Pentecost Sunday—marking five years since the birth of Holy Family Parish—Fr. Michael reflects on the explosive growth of the community and the deeper spiritual revival unfolding in hearts. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t just comfort us—He commissions us. Drawing from his own upbringing and missionary witness, Fr. Michael urges each of us to reject cultural drift, seek personal conversion, and become men and women truly alive in Christ. Pentecost isn’t just a memory; it’s a movement.
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The Ascension: Where Jesus Goes, We Follow
31/05/2025 Duración: 07minIn this homily for the Ascension of the Lord, Fr. Michael reflects on the profound mystery of Christ’s return to the Father—not as a departure, but as a completion. The Son who descended to take on our humanity now brings that same humanity into the heart of the Father. What does this mean for us? That we are made for heaven, destined for the Father’s love, and invited to offer our lives daily as a living sacrifice in union with Jesus. This is not abstract theology—it’s the roadmap for hope. Come Holy Spirit. #AscensionSunday #CatholicHomily #FrMichaelPodcast #EasterSeason #TheologyOfTheBody #MadeForHeaven #CatholicPreaching #HolySpirit #LivingSacrifice #JesusIsLord #WayTruthLife #ChristianHope
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“The Indwelling Word & Peace of Christ” – Gospel Commentary – 6th Sunday of Easter
25/05/2025 Duración: 13minIn this special recording, Fr. Michael offers a deeper reflection on the Gospel for the 6th Sunday of Easter (John 14). He walks through the text verse by verse, uncovering its rich context—from the Last Supper to the sending of the Holy Spirit. Why does Jesus say, “We will come and make our home with him”? What is the peace He gives that the world cannot give? With clarity and warmth, Fr. Michael unpacks the theological heart of Christ’s promise to dwell within us and give us His peace. #GospelReflection #ScriptureStudy #Catholic #EasterSeason #John14 #PeaceOfChrist #FrMichaelPodcast #Indwelling #HolySpirit #LectioDivina
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“God Dwells Within You” – Homily – 6th Sunday of Easter
25/05/2025 Duración: 10minIn this warm and accessible homily, Fr. Michael reflects on Jesus’ promise: “We will come to them and make our home with them.” Prayer is no longer just a human gesture of worship or awe — through Christ, it becomes a daily communion. Drawing from Scripture, the parish prayer survey, and everyday examples, Fr. Michael offers practical encouragement for those beginning to pray and those who’ve been praying for years. Prayer is not just something we do — it’s living with the God who dwells within us. #Catholic #Homily #Easter #Prayer #JesusChrist #Gospel #Communion #Indwelling #FrMichaelPodcast #6thSundayOfEaster #TalkToGod
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“Love as I Have Loved You” – Homily – 5th Sunday of Easter
18/05/2025 Duración: 12minThis Sunday, Fr. Michael preaches on the radical heart of the Gospel: Christ’s commandment to love as He has loved us. With the story of Michelle Duppong—a young woman now on the path to sainthood—he shows how ordinary people become holy by extraordinary love. This homily is a call to all the baptised to embrace the universal vocation to holiness, through a love that gives all, even in suffering. #Catholic #Homily #Easter #UniversalCallToHoliness #LoveAsChristLoved #SaintsAmongUs #FrMichaelPodcast #FifthSundayOfEaster #Gospel
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“Becoming a Lamb in the Lamb” – Homily – Good Shepherd Sunday
11/05/2025 Duración: 13minOn Good Shepherd Sunday, Fr. Michael reflects deeply on the connection between being a lamb and becoming a shepherd. Sharing his personal vocation story and the powerful image of the Lamb who conquers in the Book of Revelation, he reminds us that every vocation begins by receiving the love of God first. Only by being held in God’s hands can we truly be called to lay down our lives with Christ—for Him and for others. #GoodShepherdSunday, #Catholic, #Homily, #Faith, #Vocations, #Easter, #JesusChrist, #Gospel, #LayDownYourLife, #Christchurch, #FrMichaelPodcast, #LambOfGod
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“Letting Go Like Peter” – Homily – 3rd Sunday of Easter
03/05/2025 Duración: 11minIn this moving homily on one of his favourite Gospel passages, Fr. Michael reflects on Peter’s journey from control to surrender. Through the Risen Christ’s tender questions—“Do you love me?”—Peter is restored and made ready for the Cross he once feared. Fr. Michael draws us into Peter’s humanity and invites us to follow Christ not according to our plans, but with open hands, even when love takes us where we do not want to go.
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“Mercy: Justice Fulfilled in Love” – Homily – Divine Mercy Sunday
26/04/2025 Duración: 08minOn this Divine Mercy Sunday, Fr. Michael reflects on the true meaning of mercy: not a denial of justice, but its fulfillment through love. Drawing from the life of St. Faustina, the image of Divine Mercy, and a personal story of conversion, he explains how God’s mercy flows from Christ’s wounded heart and transforms even the darkest of our sins. Mercy takes our misery into the heart of God—and calls us to a new life of grace.
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“The Turning Point of Love” – Homily – Easter Sunday
20/04/2025 Duración: 12minIn this powerful Easter homily, Fr. Michael proclaims the Resurrection of Jesus as the definitive turning point in history—and in our lives. He invites us to move beyond a life guided only by the law of the Old Testament into a new life transformed by grace. Drawing from Scripture, theology, and a touching personal story, he reveals how the fire of Christ’s self-giving love is not just for Him, but for each one of us. Easter changes everything—if we say yes to it.
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“Lose Yourself to Follow Christ” – Homily – Palm Sunday
14/04/2025 Duración: 08minIn this Palm Sunday homily, Fr. Michael invites us into Holy Week by calling us to shift our gaze away from ourselves and fix it on Christ. He reflects on the figures in the Passion—Peter, Mary Magdalene, Judas, and especially Mary—and encourages us to let the liturgy guide us step by step to the Cross. By losing ourselves in love, we learn to follow Christ fully, in silence and strength.
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Lazarus, Come Out: Christ’s Life is More Real Than Death – Homily – 5th Sunday of Lent (Year C – Scrutiny)
06/04/2025 Duración: 10minIn this homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent, Fr. Michael reflects on the powerful moment when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He asks us the essential question: What is real? Is our day-to-day life more real than the God who made it? Is death final? Or is the life of Christ more real—even than death itself? In this final scrutiny Gospel, we are led to renew our trust in Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. Fr. Michael walks us through Martha’s confession of faith, Mary’s grief, and Christ’s tears, showing how even our suffering is not hidden from God. The invitation is simple: to believe again, and to follow the One who raises the dead.
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The Father’s Heart: Beyond Duty and Escape – Homily – 4th Sunday of Lent (Year C)
30/03/2025 Duración: 11minIn this homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Year C), Fr. Michael reflects on the well-known parable of the Prodigal Son—or rather, the story of a father and two sons. He explores how the parable speaks powerfully to the real spiritual struggles many people face today: the temptation to escape responsibility, the danger of doing good without love, and the deep call to imitate the generous, merciful heart of the Father. Whether young or old, all of us are invited to conform our hearts to the Father’s—to go beyond legalism and beyond escapism, into the joy of mercy and communion.
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Justice, Mercy, and the Call to Bear Fruit – Homily – 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year C)
23/03/2025 Duración: 11minIn this homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year C), we reflect on Jesus’ urgent call to repentance through the parable of the barren fig tree. Fr. Michael explores how different generations in the Church have approached justice and mercy—and how both extremes can miss the heart of the Gospel. Drawing from personal experience, Church history, and Scripture, this talk reminds us that the call to repentance is not a threat, but an invitation to hope. God’s mercy is greater than all our sins, and Lent is the time to return to Him with our whole hearts.
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“The Weight of Glory: Embracing Love and Responsibility” - Homily - 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year C
16/03/2025 Duración: 09minIn this homily, Fr. Michael reflects on the Transfiguration and the meaning of “glory” as Christ reveals it—a glory that comes through love and self-gift. He shares how glory is not worldly success, but the radiance of a life given in love, like Christ on the Cross. Fr. Michael draws on personal experience to show how embracing responsibility, whether in priesthood, marriage, or family life, deepens joy and enlarges the heart. Like Christ on the mountain, we too are called to shine with the glory of love by carrying the responsibilities God gives us. This is the path of the Cross and the Resurrection.
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“Into the Desert: Listening to God This Lent” - Homily - 1st Sunday of Lent, Year C
10/03/2025 Duración: 13minIn this homily, Fr. Michael reflects on Jesus’ forty days in the desert and the invitation for each of us to follow Him into that place of encounter. Sharing his personal experience of time in hermitage and the story of St. Catherine of Siena, he explains how the “desert” is where we learn to listen to God and face our temptations. Lent is a time to strip away distractions, make space for God, and renew our choice to give our lives to Him. Fr. Michael encourages us to embrace this season as a real encounter with God’s love and to seek the grace of confession if needed.
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“A Tree is Known by Its Fruits: Seeking the Heart of Christ” - Homily - 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
05/03/2025 Duración: 10minIn this homily, Fr. Michael reflects on Jesus’ teaching that a tree is known by its fruits. He explores how we often misjudge ourselves, focusing on exterior success instead of the true interior fruits of peace, love, and forgiveness. Through powerful stories of family wounds, forgiveness, and accompanying the dying, he highlights how the spiritual state of our hearts is revealed at life’s most critical moments. Are we bearing good fruit—Christ’s love—or are we clinging to bitterness? Fr. Michael challenges us to trust God fully, let go of resentment, and conform our hearts to Christ, who forgave even from the Cross.
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“The Secret of Lent: Living in the Presence of God” - Homily - Ash Wednesday
05/03/2025 Duración: 09minIn this homily, Fr. Michael reflects on the Gospel’s call to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—not as outward displays but as acts of deep interiority. Through personal stories, he explores how our Lenten practices must flow from an inner relationship with God, rather than seeking recognition. True transformation comes when we give our soul through prayer, our body through fasting, and our love through almsgiving. How can we guard this secret presence of God in our daily lives?
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“The Beatitudes: Belonging to God Alone” - Homily - 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
16/02/2025 Duración: 17minIn this homily, Fr. Michael unpacks the radical nature of the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Luke. True happiness, he explains, is not found in wealth, success, or external behaviors, but in placing everything in God’s hands. Through powerful personal stories, he illustrates how those who let go of worldly attachments and embrace God’s love discover the true meaning of blessing. The Beatitudes call us not just to “behave,” but to belong—to God and to His Church. Are we willing to let go and trust that God alone is enough?
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“Duc in Altum: The Maturity of Faith” - Homily - 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
09/02/2025 Duración: 14minIn this homily, Fr. Michael reflects on the call of Peter and the words of Jesus: “Put out into the deep.” (Duc in altum). He explores the maturation of faith, using Peter as a model of spiritual growth. From listening in faith to stepping out in faith to becoming a fisher of souls, we see how Christ calls each of us into deeper trust, discipleship, and mission. How is Christ inviting you to grow in faith today?