Part 2 of a response to the reflection forbidden tree and a troubling picture of God
During the Great Plague or Black Death in the 14th century,
preachers continually reminded people that the evil plague was
the result of their sins. It is estimated that at least 25,000,000
people died from that plague. Some questioned ‘is this the end of
the world?” In a similar way modern day fundamentalists have
preached that AIDS or various natural disasters are a punishment
sent from God for people’s sins.
Biblical literature records a similar explanation for people’s
suffering and the state of the world, but punishment was always followed by
blessing. There was an ongoing struggle in Israelite history for people to overcome
their own sins so as to return to God’s favour, and more particularly, when in exile,
that they would return to Jerusalem. Biblical scholar N T Wright has suggested that
this in fact could be considered as the major focus of Judaism.
The explanation for the state of the world, for a great deal of human suffering,
extinction and death, when looking at life through the lens of evolution, is entirely
different. These elements are interwoven with the
unfolding of life through billions of years. Whereas in
traditional Christianity, death has been considered a
penalty for sin, in evolution, death is a biological
necessity that leads to transformation.

The forbidden tree and a troubling picture of God
Flashes of Light…..Tony Flannery March 3rd, 2026 (edited)
The first Sunday in Lent gave us the creation story
from the Book of Genesis as our first reading at
Mass. Due to advances in knowledge, we now know
that the real story of creation is much more ancient,
complex, and continues to this day. The story we
heard is not historical. It is mythological, and,
treated as such, it can open up for us some pathways into the mystery of creation and
the creator. Taking it as a literal account of what happened, as the Church did
centuries, raises many questions. We now know hominoid life developed over billions
of years through evolution.
The story of Adam and Eve explains the presence of
evil in the world by the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate
the forbidden fruit in the centre of the Garden of Eden.
The story led to the belief that we have all inherited
the consequences of their sin.

Theological body warns of technology threat to humanity
By CathNews New Zealand………March 10th, 2026
The Vatican's International Theological Commission has sounded a warning about
risks to human identity that can be posed by artificial intelligence and other
technologies. The caution came in a document, published on March 4, titled Quo
vadis, humanitas? Thinking about Christian anthropology in light of some scenarios
for the future of humanity. The document was approved by Pope Leo XIV.
“At this juncture in the 21st century, the human
family is faced with questions so radical that
they threaten its very existence as we have
known it,” the document stated. Addressing
artificial intelligence (AI), the commission
cautioned that forms of knowledge and
calculation detached from embodied, situated
human intelligence – and from relational
knowledge passed down through generations through education – can become a
threat to the true good of humanity.
The document raised particular concerns about automated AI decision-making in
sensitive areas, questioning the use of algorithms “when deciding whether or not to
provide medical care, granting loans or mortgages, or providing insurance, or when
preparing criminal cases in court . . . or when deciding on military strikes”.

Homily for Saint Gabriel 2026:
We gather once again under this magnificent tent. We remember well
last year, when strong winds blew away half of our gazebos on the
morning of the feast of Saint Gabriel. It is a powerful reminder of how
fragile life is and how suddenly our best efforts and plans can be swept
away.
We live in turbulent and uncertain times, politically, financially, and
religiously. These times are unsettling, and we might think that Saint
Gabriel, who grew up in a wealthy family, knew nothing of these things.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
He experienced the loss of two brothers and his mother before he turned four. He
may not have been able to talk about it, but this trauma affected him deeply. From
the beginning of his life, he knew how fragile life can be. In his early years, his family
had to move frequently due to his father's assignments as governor and papal
administrator before settling in Spoleto. Settling in, making new friends, packing
your bags, and starting over were all recurring aspects of Gabriel and his family's life.
You all know what it means to move to a new country and start over: the difficulties,
the hopes, the dreams, and the farewells to family and loved ones. All these
experiences can build resilience, but they also bring wounds and challenges. There
are always choices to make. Do you withdraw into yourself or embrace the
possibilities a new place offers? Gabriel accepted the challenge with enthusiasm and
passion, making friends and enjoying the discovery of new horizons. In this, he is a
source of encouragement to us when we feel overwhelmed by constant change.

Viva San Gabriele
Although his Feast falls on Feb 27th
, St Gabriel’s Feast
Day was celebrated last Sunday as planned by the San
Gabriele’s Committee. Despite the consistent light rain,
the festival went on with people coming and going
throughout the day. Chris celebrated the 10.30am Mass
outside in Italian, assisted by JD and Tri, while Erick
celebrated the indoor 10am Mass in English. Many
people commented on Chris’ homily, saying how touching it was. Erick heard a lady,
while driving past Chris, saying out loud, “Thank you Fr Chris, we love you. Your
homily was amazing; it restored my faith in Catholicism!”
Chris, along with other CPs, made an appearance at the festival following the Mass to
join in the fun. Erick had African visitors from Shepperton who were warmly
welcomed by everyone. Here you can see Chris with them, wearing an Italian hat
with feathers. One of the Italian gentlemen, was impressed that Chris wore the hat
and told Chris that he had also worn it decades ago while serving in the military in
northern Italy. Chris then explained how he made it a mixed Italian and Australian
hat.

Solemn Commemoration of the Passion 2026
Below is the format for our community prayer last Friday to celebrate this feast
specially appointed to the Passionists
St Paul of the Cross suggested that
Father Candido Donato, a novice, might
begin work on an Office for the
Solemn Commemoration of the Passion.
It would be presented to the Holy See
for approval at the same time the Rules
were solemnly approved. Father
Candido did not judge himself able to
undertake this task, so Paul turned it
over to Father Thomas Struzzieri.
On Jan 10 1773 Paul of the Cross wrote to Pope Clement XIV
“Furthermore, so that the sons of the Passion may grow more in holy devotion, we
would like to ask for the concession by indult to be able to recite: The Office of the
Blessed Sacrament with a commemoration of the Passion:”
The Office was approved in 1776. Today it is observed by Passionists on the Friday
preceding Ash Wednesday.

The Church is not a ‘she’
(Flashes of Light’, Stephen Bevans SVD) 3rd February, 2026
https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/papal-commission-votes-against-ordaining-
women-deacons
One of the most dangerous things in theology, I believe, is
to make the images by which we attempt to understand
the mysteries of Christianity into ideas that are literally
true. As the U.S. theologian Reinhold Niebuhr famously
said, we need to take symbols seriously, but we cannot
take them literally. For example
- Christ does not literally sit at the right hand of the Father.
- God does not have a body, and even though Jesus spoke of God as “Father”.
- God’s fatherhood cannot be the same as human fatherhood, for God is not male.
- We speak of the fire of Hell and Purgatory, but I can’t imagine any theologian today
who would understand it as a fire that we know as human beings.
- We speak of the Eucharist as the Body of Christ, but the doctrine of “real presence” is
not a physical presence but the presence of the risen, glorified body of Christ—a
sacramental presence much more “real” than we can ever imagine.

Feb 11th
..World Day of the Sick
The ‘World Day of the Sick’ was established by John Paul II in
1992. Each year there is a theme and this year Pope Leo has
chosen “The compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing
another's pain”. He noted that this image "is always relevant
and essential for rediscovering the beauty of charity and the
social dimension of compassion" and helps further "direct our
attention towards the needy and all those who suffer,
especially the sick."
Pope Leo said that we hear in Luke’s gospel how Jesus responded to a scholar of the
law, who asked him to identify the neighbour he must love. He responded with a
story! A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by robbers and left
for dead. While a priest and a Levite passed him by, a Samaritan had compassion for
him. He bandaged the man’s wounds, took him to an inn and provided financially
for his care.

Brazilian priest’s hug (NCR Online)
Fr Carlos Henrique Fernandes of the Diocese of
Tubarão, in Santa Catarina state, was celebraKng Mass
on January 18 when, moments before giving
Communion, he saw an elderly man coming to him. A
long-Kme extraordinary minister of Holy Communion
at the Church of St Francis of Assisi, the man, named
Marcos, was a]ending Mass that day, along with his
wife, but was not scheduled to help distribute
Communion. During the celebraKon, he was called by a
relaKve and went out for a few minutes. When he came back into the church, he was
visibly distressed.
“I was concluding the EucharisKc prayer when I saw him coming. I didn’t know what
was happening, but he was visibly shaken. I even feared he might be having a heart
a]ack,” Fr Fernandes told OSV News. The priest immediately interrupted the
celebraKon and embraced Marcos for a long Kme, while the man conKnued to weep.

Last Friday morning, Tri and JD
were cleaning cobwebs around
the downstairs kitchen. When I
went outside, Erick asked, “What
actually is a cobweb?” I could
only answer, that is a good
ques@on. We agreed that we
normally spoke about spiderwebs, but what actually is a cob? Our learned ‘A’
Team, even with the help of Doctor Google could not provide much help, but they
did suggest that a spider web has a spider living in the web, wheras a dusty
abandoned web, is a cobweb. That was confirmed in the evening table discussion.