Journeys of Life

We hear so often that life is a journey. Somebody said that to me the other day, again. When people say that around me I am tempted to say: So do you know where its starts, ends and where on earth we are now?

This year and particularly this week week our TV screens have been full of death, which admittedly, is a big part of that journey. As we see the nuclear disaster in Japan and the human carnage in Libya, our hearts go out to those affected by human tragedy. On the local front we have seen the community of Warmun literally washed away, thankfully after its people were evacuated, which is only the most recent of a steady stream of natural disasters affecting our country. Just this morning I was texted a photos of water lapping at homes in Noonkanbah and Fitzroy Crossing. On a very local level, our town of Broome last night saw the end of the earthly journey for Elizabeth Puertollano, a giant of our parish.

So what does this all mean? Where does this journey start and end? We are not alone in asking these questions. Our scripture shows us that it is a necessary part of humanity, as is discovering the answer.

When Abraham journeyed with Isaac, neither knew the destination nor the reason, but they both trusted in God. They had to travel far and hard, physically, spiritually and mentally. Abraham threw in his lot with God and followed, not understanding the purpose. He was rewarded with descendants as many as the stars of the heavens.

Peter, James and John were chosen by Jesus to journey to Mount Tabor. They didn’t know the destination or the purpose. They went because they trusted Jesus to lead them to God. They journey led them up a steep and dangerous mountain.

Abraham’s eyes were opened when he saw God’s purpose. The apostles eyes were opened when they saw Jesus’ purpose. For both their trust was well placed. The journeys were neither an isolated one, nor was it pointless.  Abraham’s trust gave birth to a nation planted in faith and trust. Jesus’ journey allowed his apostles to see that Jesus was not a one man band. Even he who was the son of God followed the footsteps of Abraham, Moses and Elijah. Abraham was their father in faith, Moses received the law and Elijah the great prophet. The apostles saw that Jesus was indeed planted in solid faith.

We follow in the footsteps of Abraham, Moses, Elijah and Jesus. We are on the solid ground of faith in our journey. This journey does not end on earth, but continues through death to new life. Last night Elizabeth Puertollano began the next stage of her journey. Among the many gifts she left to her family and this parish is that of complete trust on God. She knew her God and the journey on which he called her. In her time of decline she made sure everyone, family and friends, knew the priorities of her long life: God, family, and faith.

In our journey we remember that we are people who know the end, we know our destination. We know that we travel with the wisdom and prayer of our ancestors in faith. Lent is our opportunity to focus so that we can see the big picture, so that we can appreciate the journey. On the shoulders of these giants that have gone before us in faith, we recognise Jesus as the presence of God among us, and listen to him and are able to move forward. 

Homily 21st March 2011, Third Sunday of Lent A, OLQP Broome

No Lazy Ways To Remain True

When I first came to Broome, I often used to go down to the Roey beer garden on a Friday night where Scrap Metal, the precursor to the Pigram Brothers, used to play. One of their songs used to get me into a really reflective mood, and it still does. The refrain goes:

If you find a lazy way to remain true

To everything you through so right and so good

Don’t want to know

Don’t want to share your narrow dreaming

Howling at the Moon

This song has always spoken to me of Lent, of choosing again the narrow path, recognising the reality of our lives and the fact that there are no short cuts to a life of integrity, no free ride.

Today we are presented with Jesus being tempted by the Devil. The Devil promises him everything, and promises that it will all be so easy. That is the same temptation that comes to us, that we can get something that we are not entitled to without repercussions, that there are no consequences to our actions.   Jesus is wise to that one. You don’t have to be Einstein to realise that if something looks too good to be true, it usually is!

The Temptations of Jesus remind us of our priorities in Lent. He is tempted to rely on himself rather than God.  Jesus’ answer is to turn to prayer, to every word that comes from the mouth of God. He is tempted to power and control, and he chooses not to out God to the test. We do the same when we stick close to the teaching of the Church and not to invent our own teaching, ignore or twist divine teaching to suit our own ends. The last temptation is that of who is our God, the first commandment. Jesus answers by telling the Devil to leave. We do it by examining our lives and honestly answering whether God is important in my life by the amount of my time that I devote to God and the work of God. Examining Jesus’ answers and ours can sometimes give us some unwanted answers!

Lent is our time of saying loudly and clearly that there are no easy ways, no short cuts, but that the hard slog is not done alone. In this season we nurture our spiritual lives together, as the Church. At times we can and should fast, pray and give by ourselves but Lent is our time of doing it together.  The other day I asked someone why they went to Zumba classes. They answered that they knew it was good for them and found it hard, but it was much easier in a group that encouraged each other. It is the same with us, except that we not only have each other, but the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us as well.

The first reading assures us that temptation has been around since Adam was a boy, so we can be sure that temptation will come our way.

Lent is our time to nurture our spirits by being aware of whom we are, of the dignity God has given us, the integrity to which he has called us, and the gifts God wants us to share. 

There are no lazy ways to remain true.

First Sunday of Lent, Year A, 13th March 2011.

Rock of Faith or Sand of Relativism

In 1932, eighty years ago, Aldous Huxley, in the futuristic novel Brave New World, wrote that falsification would be the decisive element of modernity[i]. In other words, truth would not matter, and what was true for one could be false for another. In a democracy, this must lead to the opinion of the majority and in other systems the pronouncements of a ruling person, party or junta holding the ethical standard. Pope Benedict calls this a dictatorship of relativism. When the search for truth abates or dies, the opinion of the majority or the ruler is called upon for the most important decisions of life. Thus we in Australia find ourselves in a society where the decision to euthanase the vulnerable, the very young or old, the sick and frail, is likely to be decided by a parliamentary vote rather than being enshrined as a human right. The Holy Father, who lived through Nazism, knows only too well the dangers that this relativism courts.

Jesus calls us to build our house on firm foundations, on the rock. Pope Benedict is passionate when he talks on this strength that we have as church. As Christians our calling is to discover and live the truth. This presupposes that there is a reality called truth, and that it is worth pursuing. The truth we seek is not something that moves. It is not relative, nor is it affected by how I feel at the time; it is not my opinion. Sometimes this truth is unpalatable and uncomfortable, it may be misunderstood or misrepresented, but it exists. There is truth, divinely placed, and we are called, urged and given to perseverance to continue on the path of uncovering this truth. I our egalitarian society we run the risk, in the cause of making things simple and easy, of reverting to the opinions of relativism.

Christianity is built on the rock of the search of Israel and the Church since Christ for truth. In this quest the church has employed the best philosophy, science and art available, and still does. Mistakes have been made, but the quest has always been clear. The foundations have been solid and have formed the basis of most human rights as we know them today. If we stand on the firm foundation of faith, built on the foundations of those who have gone before us, we will be able to withstand great challenges and threats as individuals and a society.

This will be in stark contradistinction to those whose moral system can change depending on one’s opinion on the day. The relativist house is built on opinion rather that the search for truth, and as such has no foundations.  Thus the house is built on sand, and moves with the tide. This system can only end by crashing.

The search for truth is a lifetime project, and requires enormous amounts of wisdom, patience and understanding. Patience, because the search for truth is slow, requiring study and trust; Understanding, because we will disagree strongly with others on the way, and we need to remember that they too are on the same quest; Wisdom, because truth is to be found in the quiet places of our heart and world, away from the noisy demagogues.

We are offered what can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the decisions we make.  As we stand at the cusp of the season of Lent, may we commit ourselves to the long road of integrity, faith and wisdom which leads us to truth.

Homily, 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, March 6, 2011.

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[i] Benedict XVI Light of the World: A Conversation with Peter Seewald, (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2010), 50.

God and Money

I have a friend who has been successful at business, and to my knowledge, quite wealthy.  I have known him to be very generous to people in need and good causes. All of his giving was done quietly.  I caught up with him recently, and during the conversation, he mentioned where he was living. I sensed something was wrong, and I was right. He had lost most of his money through either unwise investments or unscrupulous colleagues. He wasn’t quite on the street, but close to it. The strange thing was that he was smiling was he was telling me this story.  He was unfazed about his present predicament and confident in the future. He expressed no doom and gloom and clear about what was important. He had that wonderful gift described by Isaiah, the gift of trust in God.

The God that Isaiah shows us is my friend’s God.  That God is yours and mine as well. This is the God who will never abandon us, who is always near, always accessible. This is the God who calls us, and in whom we will find rest. We prayed in response to the psalm “In God alone is my soul at rest”. As Christians our trust is in this God, and because of this trust we are able to live our lives without anxiety. It does not mean that we will not stress or be anxious, it means that we know that these things are not necessary and will not change a thing. God is in charge; we do our best and allow God to do the rest. 

I remember a cartoon once of a big man looking in a mirror saying: I am a self-made man and I worship my maker! As he did, we have to make the fundamental choice whether to trust God or trust in our own material abilities. Since we are here, we have made the first move in the right direction. We go onwards from here. My mate knew that whatever business in which he invested had to be done well, to benefit the maximum number of people, and to do it with integrity and justice. Whatever proceeds he made then needed to be used for the good of the maximum number of people, not just for his own desires. His family came first, but then the needy, and there are always plenty of these.

Each of us shares in this challenge. We are all part of the economy of our town and country. As Christians we are called to participate in this economy with justice and integrity, not just to make money. It is not good enough for a Christian to do a job or invest in something just because it makes money. To do this is to be on the road to being a slave to money. To take a very local example, there is no moral justification for the gas plant at Price’s Point to go ahead just because it will make money. For a Christian there has to be fuller reasoning than money, and of none is found, it should not be supported.

The Christian puts everything to the integrity and justice test. To do this requires faith and trust. The benefits of this are a lack of stress and anxiety, as well as the knowledge that God is in charge, and we are doing our best to co-operate. May God give us open eyes and hearts focused on building his world on earth to prepare for the kingdom of heaven.


Homily 27th Feb 2011, 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time,  OLQP Broome 

Eye for an Eye

Some say that humanity does not change, that society makes the same mistakes, doesn’t learn and so therefore has the same faults throughout history.  The historians tell us that ancient Israel was a social mess, akin to a schoolyard brawl, with everyone upping the ante on each other as they felt aggrieved.  In listening to the more extreme of the world’s political leaders you may be excused for thinking we are still in ancient Israel!  However, Exodus settled this by decreeing that if I hit you, you only had the right to hit me in the same way and no more. This revolutionary ‘eye for an eye’ developed in many cultures at the same time. Thus in the ancient culture of our land, payback emerged.

Jesus come along and surmises that society can stand another leap forward, so he challenges us in the Sermon on the Mount. He knew the Law, and knew that his listeners did as well. His challenge to his listeners, the same challenge that is to us, is not to carry hate, hurt or grudges.  He knew that his listeners could quote the scripture and tell him that they were following the law, but he knew they were capable of something far greater.

Two weeks ago a woman was killed on Kennedy’s Hill. I knew her well, as well as the woman accused of killing her. Since then many things have been said, accusations thrown and threats made. The word payback has been used many times in my hearing. However, last week I was fortunate to be at a meeting where people steeped in their own aboriginal tradition and law urged their fellow people to forgo payback, to avoid revenge and mourn quietly and peacefully. Each person at that meeting was connected with that tragic situation as family, friend, or witness. Each person could have demanded some way to violently display anger, frustration or grief, but chose not to take this path. Not long after, I was at a similar meeting in Balgo, where grieving community members spoke not of revenge, but of knowing what happened to enable some closure.

This sort of movement is only possible with the grace of God. It is not possible without this grace, for the gap is too wide. If we believe that this possible, it can be achieved. If we are able to live this new life, anger will dissipate; hatred and vengeance will ebb away, robbed of their life blood.

When I was studying, a mate a called Greg went through a period of teasing me. His level of teasing was similar to that among brothers, so I took it in my stride, even though it irritated me. I had decided to confront him when he came up and said: ‘Diggesy, you drive me mad. I hate the way you seem to be always happy. I‘ve come up to you about ten times, hoping to start a fight so that I could deck you, but each time you make me smile and I can’t do it anymore. Ok you win.”

 I had no idea that any of this was happening, but then it all dawned. Unbeknown to me, I starved him of his hatred and anger, and in the end it was unsustainable. In another age Abraham Lincoln was criticised of softness towards his political foes. ‘Why do you try to make friends with them?’ a colleague asked. ‘You should try to destroy them.’ President answered gently, ‘Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends?’

The challenge is ours, and it remains for our lifetime. May we be given the constant grace to be bearers of peace and harmony, to be makers of friends, not enemies.

Delivered 20^th February 2011 OLQP Broome, 7^th week in Ordinary time Year A

Quotable Quotes

Many of us have collections of saying of famous people on our bookshelves. It may be a book of general quotations, or anecdotes or excerpts from speeches or books. Among those on my shelves are collections of Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul, Pascal, and others. These compilations give us a window into the life and teaching of these people. The part of the Sermon on the Mount we have just hears a similar compilation.  Through this collection of Jesus’ quotable quotes, St Matthew gives us a window into his life and teaching.

The first thing that St Matthew needs to demonstrate is that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Jewish law. He has not come to invent a religion, but rather he is its fulfilment. We are told that not one dot or stroke will disappear from the law. Connections with the Jewish law are central to this account of Jesus’s life, as they provide Jesus’ academic pedigree. A similar method can be found for those studying or expounding doctrine. The Church does not invent teaching, but can trace every doctrine back to the apostles and beyond. Every statement can be tracked through the history of the teaching of the Church. This method has a direct effect on us today, where my responsibility is not to tell you what I think, but to preach the gospel held in the church and make it relevant to us here in Broome today.

Christianity, which is the continuation of the Jewish law acknowledging Jesus as Messiah, teaches that following the letter of the law is not enough. Christianity is about relationship, not legalism. Enduring relationships have definite rules and boundaries, and these rules are followed with the heart as well as the head. That is why he has a shot at the Pharisees and Scribes, who were very careful to follow the law as written. That is why the comments follow about killing, anger, adultery and oaths. If we desire Christian authenticity, we must seek the relationship to which Jesus leads us in the Sermon on the Mount. 

Our first reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus guides us: If you wish, you can keep the commandments, To behave faithfully is in your power; and later: We have death and life before us. Whatever we like better will be given to us. At the start of this year we have the choice to commit to a year filled with new life, new opportunities and new relationships. This is particularly true for those of us here tonight who hold positions of educational responsibility within our Parish School. It will be ensured if we seek the wisdom of Ecclesiasticus, making our preference known through our actions and our heart.

Matthew finishes this teaching by putting the boot into those who like many words. If your answer is no say just say no and if it is yes, say yes!  

May God help us to say yes to life and goodness this year!


Homily preached by Fr Matt Digges in Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral, Broome, WA, on 
February 12, 2011 at the vigil Mass for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 

Standing My Ground

I received a book in the post yesterday as a gift for the 20^th anniversary of my ordination. It is called Standing My Ground, the autobiography of Matthew Hayden. The card with it simply thanked me for standing my ground for twenty years in the priesthood. He starts the book in this way:

I was born and raised and live my life as a Catholic. It’s a very important party of who I am. But there is already one Saint Matthew in the Church, and I am dead certain there won’t be another one coming from the ranks of recently retired Australian cricketers.

Hayden goes on to describe how his favourite saint is St Peter, the one who did his best,  let the side down a bit, but finally triumphed. Hayden’s Catholicism has been very public, and I have heard him called a hypocrite, along with as many who model faith. However, Hayden is very conscious of his weaknesses and sees in Peter someone who recognises the source of his strength.

This apparent contradiction, expressed so well by Hayden, holds a lot of us back. Our own weakness, very apparent to us and those that know us well, often stymies us from letting our light shine. As followers of Jesus, we are called to publicly witness to the truth we experience. This requires great honesty on our part, the same honesty Hayden displays in his introduction. At the beginning of Mass we admitted our sinfulness. The rest of the mass does not make sense without the penitential rite. It is our chance of saying how much we need the grace of God in our lives and the difference it makes. It is this process that allows you and I to stand before others honestly and proclaim that we are not perfect, but we are at least trying; we are not saints, but we know the right direction to move; we do not have all the answers, but we are not waling in the dark, because we know that the best place to find the answers to the great questions of life is within the family of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.

We need to be clear. One of the great gifts of Pope Benedict is his clarity. In the build-up to his visit to Britain last year you may remember some of the outrageous anti-Catholic publicity that was circulation, topped off by the defamatory claims by the celebrity QC Geoffrey Robertson. The Holy Father said nothing, and on arrival to Britain, with some sections of the popular press predicting mass anti-Catholic demonstrations, he wooed people with honesty and clarity. A gentle, honest shepherd confronted a few bigoted atheists who had whipped up a storm of opposition. Honesty and gentleness won out, accompanied by clear teaching. Pope Benedict did not alter one word of his teaching to placate those who insisted that divine revelation was somehow faulty or not suited to the 21^st Century. He stood firm and won. In the words of our Gospel, he put his light on a stand where it could been seen by all in the room. At no stage did he insist others follow, but he proposed truth as the way forward, as we are urged by the gospel to do today.

The truth will set us free, and it will set free those around us. We are able to add salt to the diet of our conversation and lives so that we will be seen for who we are, people who know the truth and try to follow it in our own imperfect way, always learning, always growing. In his book Hayden tells the story of the 2003 cricket tour to Zimbabwe. It was a mistake, he says, to go and not to boycott the tour to publicize a stand for human rights.  In the end, he says, he got it all wrong. That, however, was not a reason tot retreat or drop the ball. No, it is an opportunity to acknowledge learning, growing and the getting of wisdom……sometimes we just don’t get it at the right time.

Today we are called to stand for who we are, to let our wonderful light of faith and life shine for ourselves, our families, friends and world. It is part of who we are, and I pray that we can all say and live, in Hayden’s words, standing my ground. 


Homily 6th February 2011, 5th Sunday of  the year, OLQP Cathedral