Fr Anthony's Podcast: Recent Episodes
Fr Anthony V. Coloma
I am Anthony, a Catholic Priest of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. I am an Aussie Citizen of Filipino-origin and a lifelong learner residing down under while living the joy of the Gospel and sharing it with the world. I was ordained for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle in 16 February 2019. Prior to moving to Australia, I worked with the BPI Leasing Corporation from 1998 to 2001. I joined the Society of Jesus-Philippine Province in 2002. As a Jesuit, I taught Economics and Psychology in Xavier School, San Juan City; I formed part of the faculty for Christian Living in Erda Tech, Manila; I served as consultant on Ignatian Spirituality for the Office of Mission, Identity and Organizational Development at the Ateneo de Manila University. After leaving the Society of Jesus in 2013, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines employed me as Advocacy and Information Management Officer and con-currently served as Executive Secretary for the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations in the Philippines. In 2017, I moved to the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle as a Religious Assistant at the Inner City Parish of Newcastle. Bishop Bill ordained me to the order of deacon in June 2018. After ordination to the priesthood, Bishop Bill assigned me as the Associate Priest in the Parishes Branxton-Greta and Singleton. I finished writing my thesis for my Master’s Degree in Theology at the Catholic Institute of Sydney. I am currently assigned as Rector of the Oratory of St Christopher in Medowie and Priest Supervisor of St Joseph's Parish in Toronto. I am also serving as Chaplain for Catherine McAuley Catholic College in Medowie and San Clemente High School in Mayfield.
Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Vigil Mass at St Joseph Church in The Junction, NSW
Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Sunday morning Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newcastle, NSW
Homily for the Perpetual Day of Remembrance shared during the Sunday morning Mass at the Church of St Peter-in-Chains in Stockton, NSW
Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Sunday morning Mass at St Mary, Star of the Sea Church in Newcastle, NSW
Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Vigil Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newcastle West, NSW
Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Sunday morning Mass at St Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Denman, NSW
Homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Sunday morning Mass at St Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Denman, NSW
Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Vigil Mass at St Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Denman, NSW
Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Vigil Mass at St Anne's Church in Merriwa
Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Vigil Mass at the Christ the King Church in Mayfield
Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Vigil Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newcastle West
Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time shared during the Sunday morning Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newcastle West
Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "Kilatis your lives and be refreshed by those moments when you sense God actively working and actively present in your life. Hopefully, the next time God makes the God-self present in your life, we will, like the Psalmist, just fix our eyes on the Lord and rejoice at the wonders the Lord has done for us."
Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "Do not be overwhelmed by your desperation. Instead, amidst the desperation hold on to your faith in God. 'Do not be afraid; only have faith.' They are not my words; they are Jesus’s words. Jesus himself affirms for us how the power of faith may overcome even the most difficult of circumstances. I pray that when your desperation subsides and the trigger of your desperation has been resolved, may Christ commend you: 'your faith has restored you.'”
This faith reflection was shared during the Eucharistic Celebration at the St Peter-in-Chains Church in Stockton, NSW.
Homily for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "Today’s readings clearly is an invitation for us to evaluate and assess our faith in God. In the event that we find ourselves being overwhelmed by life’s adversities and are about to whinge and to give up, may the love of Christ impel us to cross our arms and cry: no deal!"
This faith reflection was shared during the Eucharistic Celebration at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Tighes Hill, NSW.
Homily for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "It is this faith in God that enables us to 'go placidly amid the noise and the haste' that life throws at us. It is this same faith that enables us to 'nurture [the] strength of spirit to shield [us from] sudden misfortune.' Faith in the God who cares and is in-charge enables us to face life’s challenges even if they are as overwhelming as massive sandstorms."
This faith reflection was shared during the Eucharistic Celebration at St Peter-in-Chains Church in Stockton, NSW.
Homily for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "Today, the 10th Sunday in Ordinary time, is an invitation for us to be cognisant of the ordinary Christian demand for those who identify themselves as mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters of the Christ, that is, to live our lives with gentle compassion and kindness, with mercy and forgiveness. May our lives be free from hate and vindictiveness. Let us live out our ordinary Christian duties extraordinarily well and there is no shame in this."
Homily for the Solemn Feast of the Trinity: "Today marks the Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity, the God who continues to look at the world, at humanity, at us, at you with the eyes of love … You are essential for God. Believe and burn for God’s embrace! We ought not to feel lonely. Because even in our alone-ness, we have a compassionate Trinity who is there for us — 'for I am with you always, until the end of the age!'”
Homily for the Solemn Feast of the Trinity: "Today marks the Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity, the God who continues to look at the world, at humanity, at us, at you with the eyes of love … You are essential for God. Believe and burn for God’s embrace! We ought not to feel lonely. Because even in our alone-ness, we have a compassionate Trinity who is there for us — 'for I am with you always, until the end of the age!'”
Homily for the Feast of Pentecost ... "Let us work for a renewed, transformed world where 78 percent of the population have an abiding and persisting sense of the Spirit’s gifts and the power of the peace offered by Christ’s love and forgiveness."
Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Easter: "How did your faith in the Risen Christ became a source of strength during those insecure times in your life? How did your faith in the Risen Christ became the light in those dark moments in your life? How did your faith in the Risen Christ brought about inner peace, joy and deep conviction in your life?"
Homily for Palm Sunday: "May our lives, be it in the privacy of our homes or when we are just within spitting distance with each other, be marked with God’s love and mercy towards each other. May we, like Jesus and Xiao Zhen Xie, possess that same courageous conviction that what matters most is not the shortness nor the length of ones life, but that we have lived our lives bringing and putting into fruition God’s loving mercy and kindness in this world."
Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent (Third Scrutiny) … Today’s readings are taken from the celebration of the Third Scrutiny. This forms part of the initiation process for catechumens who desire to be incorporated into the Catholic Church.
Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Second Scrutiny) … Today’s readings are taken from the celebration of the Second Scrutiny. This forms part of the initiation process for catechumens who desire to be incorporated into the Catholic Church.
Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (First Scrutiny) … Today’s readings are taken from the celebration of the First Scrutiny. This forms part of the initiation process for catechumens who desire to be incorporated into the Catholic Church.
Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent: "Are you resilient or are you the first to stockpile on toilet papers? ... We can bear the hardships in life for the sake of the Gospel. We can rely on the power of the God who has saved us and called us to be holy. Trust in God; hope in God; we do not need too many toilet papers!"
Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent ... "Amidst his trials and tribulations in the wilderness, Jesus held on to the truth of his relationship with the Abba, “you are my child; you are my beloved!” He need not prove anything of his worth to anyone — even to Satan himself! In the wilderness, Jesus Christ held secure to his Father who is his refuge and stronghold."
Homily for the Perpetual Day of Remembrance: "On this day, the Perpetual Day of Remembrance, may our atonement of our past sins and failures lead us to genuine care and compassion for the abused, the marginalised and the weak. May we seek and thirst for the living God; and in our seeking, desiring for the living God, may we find God’s face in the least, the last and the lost and have the courage and the generosity to ask them: 'R U Ok?'"
Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: “It is because of God’s mercy that we are able to carry the crosses of our lives. And if we just take the time to make a daily effort on seeing God’s mercy in our lives, there is no reason for us to whinge and to give up facing life’s daily challenges.”
Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Times: “Peter is the rock not because of who he is; he is Cephas, the rock because of what he said, of what he confessed about Jesus’ identity — ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!’ We are a Church not because of the building, the rock that we are in but because we make the same confession — ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!’”
Homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time: “Passion and love for God starts with a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development and then a lifetime of deepening. And when you keep searching for God that you love to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding God remarking to you: ‘You have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’”
Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "Fear may cut deeper than swords but God’s loving mercy gives us the courage to face life’s uncertainties and our own insecurities. When fear starts to creep in our lives, may we, like Pedro Arrupe and Peter in today’s Gospel, find ourselves being gripped by God’s hands and reminding us: 'Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid!'"
Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration ... "Have you ever experienced being intimate with your own mortality? Have you ever been personally too close to death? If you were told by your doctor that you have a few months to live, what would you do with the months, the days, the hours you have left?"
Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: “Are there still parts in your life where you continue to feel, sense terribly negative about that you have been wanting to take out or uproot from you? It might be best not to uproot them yet. Just learn to live with them — for our Lord is good and forgiving, full of love. Learn to love our own mistakes because it forms part of who we are. Accept them and embrace them — the Spirit would help us in our weakness. And we wait in patient endurance because our God cares for everything and for everyone. God will never abandon us warts and all.”
Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "May the people we will meet this week, even if they do not recognize your names or your faces, find in you, in us an extravagance of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-mastery and chastity. For indeed, every moments a day, everyday seems a lifetime … let us show them the way to the Joy beyond compare!"
Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time ... “Christ did not promise to take away our burdens, our toils, our labours. Christ invites us to come closer to him with our burdens, with our toils, with our labours and to rest in his presence and learn from him. Christ intends to help us find meaning and purpose for all that is happening to us — that is why we can shoulder the yoke with gentleness and a humble heart. For those who have kept the faith and carried their crosses on their shoulders, they can face life’s complexities and challenges with joy, with deep joy.”
Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time ... "We may not be gifted with a martyr’s death, like Ignacio and his companions, but may every minute, every hour of our lives be a constant, consistent reflection of the Gospel values Christ has gifted us with. May the people you live and work with recognize in you the face of Christ. May you be the right chord to enable the people of our times to sing the goodness of the Lord."
Homily for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time: "We stand on the banks of our faith holding on to our God who has always wrapped us with God’s love and mercy reminding us not to be afraid … she’ll be right … she’ll be apples."
Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter
This Sunday’s readings can be viewed from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050723.cfm
Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter
This Sunday’s readings can be viewed from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042323.cfm
Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
This Sunday’s readings and news may be viewed from the Parish bulletin.
Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent as shared for the worshipping communities of the Oratory of St Christopher in Medowie and St Joseph's Parish in Toronto
Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent as shared for the worshipping community of the Oratory of St Christopher in Medowie
Homily for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time as shared for the worshipping community of St Brigid in Raymond Terrace
Homily for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time as preached for the worshipping community of the Oratory of St Christopher in Medowie, NSW
Homily for the Sunday of the Word of God (5th Sunday in Ordinary Time) as preached for the worshipping community of the Oratory of St Christopher in Medowie, NSW
Homily for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time as preached for the worshipping community of the Oratory of St Christopher in Medowie, NSW
Homily for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time as preached for the worshipping community of the Oratory of St Christopher in Medowie, NSW
First Reading Is 8:23 – 9:3
The Lord brings light to the darkness.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 26:1. 4. 13-14. R. v.1
(R.) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Second Reading1 Cor 1:10-13, 17
Paul begs for unity.
GospelMt 4:12-23
Jesus begins his public ministry, calling the Apostles.
As preached during the Eucharistic Vigil Celebration with the Parish community of St Brigid in Raymond Terrace, NSW
First ReadingIs 49:3. 5-6
Israel, a light to the nations.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 39:2. 4. 7-10. R. vv.8. 9.
(R.) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Second Reading
1 Cor 1:1-3
Paul sends greetings to the people of Corinth.
Gospel
Jn 1:29-34
John the Baptist points to Jesus.