The Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation is a community-led initiative focused on empowering Aboriginal women and families through cultural connection, healing, and support. Founded and led by proud Aboriginal women, the group provides a safe space for women of all backgrounds to come together, share stories, and build resilience through culture and community. Their goal is to preserve and celebrate Aboriginal identity and ensure that their culture remains strong for future generations.

Australia Day, celebrated on January 26, commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and the beginning of British colonization. However, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, this date marks the start of invasion, loss of land, and cultural destruction. Rather than a unifying celebration, many view it as a day of mourning — often called Invasion Day or Survival Day. Critically, January 26 only became the nationally recognized date for Australia Day in 1992, making the tradition relatively recent. Tanya Hosch, social inclusion advocate and AFL executive, has said: 'When you know better, you do better... January 26 does not unite us.'

In this reflection on the Holy Spirit's role within the Church and individual lives, we explore how the Spirit acts as a transformative power, from the early Church narratives like the Annunciation and Pentecost to its vital presence in the sacraments today. We see the Holy Spirit as a source of inner transformation, guidance, and communal unity, echoing the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, which emphasizes the Spirit's role in liturgical renewal, prayer, and the encouragement of ecumenical unity. Through personal and communal encounters with the Holy Spirit, we are called to deepen our understanding and integration of this divine presence in our lives, urging us to live out our faith actively and to embrace the Spirit's call to be like Mary—serving as the hands, feet, and heart of Christ in the world. This reflection concludes with a prayer inviting a deeper infilling of the Holy Spirit to guide, renew, and empower us in our spiritual journey.

On the low-lying atolls of Kiribati, families like Tear Tata’s are struggling to survive as rising sea levels caused by climate change erode their land, flood homes, and contaminate water supplies. Makeshift coral sea walls offer only temporary protection, while overpopulation and limited infrastructure worsen the crisis. Despite government efforts—such as climate education, mangrove planting, vocational training for seafaring, and new economic ventures like palm sugar production—many residents fear displacement and the eventual loss of their homeland. Yet, a deep sense of cultural identity and resilience persists, as locals strive to adapt, protect their traditions, and hold onto hope in the face of an uncertain future.

Fr Richard Lennan is a priest of the diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, ordained in 1983. Aftergraduate studies at the University of Oxford and the University of Innsbruck (Austria) where hewrote his dissertation on Karl Rahner’s ecclesiology, he taught from 1992-2007 at the CatholicInstitute of Sydney. During this time, he was a member of the Australian Anglican-Catholicdialogue and served as President of the Australian Catholic Theological Association (2005-07). FrRichard moved to the United States in 2007 to teach at Weston Jesuit School of Theology inCambridge MA and is currently Professor of Systematic Theology in the School of Theology andMinistry at Boston College where he also chairs the Ecclesiastical Faculty. Fr Richard’s researchand teaching focus on ecclesiology, ministry and the theology of Karl Rahner. He has authored oredited nine books and is an editorial consultant for Theological Studies. Most recently, he was amember of the theological panel for the Plenary Council of Australia.

Michael Green delivered a comprehensive and prophetic historical reflection titled 'Whence We Have Come, and Whither Can We Go?' He charted the journey of Marist life in Australia over the last 30 years, from early collaborative efforts between Marist Brothers and lay people to the formation of a robust lay-led movement. He emphasized key milestones such as the Sharing Our Call formation program, the establishment of Marist Schools Australia, and the founding of the Marist Association in 2015. Michael highlighted the Association’s growing identity as a community of Christian disciples living out Marist spirituality, and noted its increasingly autonomous yet deeply connected relationship with the Marist Brothers. He urged ongoing leadership development, formation, and structural renewal to ensure the vitality and mission of the Association into the future.

In today’s Gospel – John 7:37-39 – we find Jesus in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Tabernacles. On this feast in autumn, the people to this day build temporary shelters to remind themselves of the time in the wilderness. One commentator writes concerning Jesus’ celebration of this feast: “For the first seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests would carry water from the Pool of Siloam in procession to the temple and pour it out as a libation—a sacrificial offering—and a symbolic prayer for rain. On the eighth day, the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus uses this liturgical use of water to talk about the spiritual life that he gives” (Francis Martin and William M Wright IV, The Gospel of John.

The Abbey is a powerful Australian documentary series that follows the transformative spiritual journey of five women from various walks of life who spend 33 days living inside a Benedictine monastery. Filmed at Jamberoo Abbey, a secluded Benedictine community in New South Wales, the series offers a rare glimpse into the rhythm, silence, and spiritual discipline of monastic life.

'Veni Sancte Spiritus,' also known as the 'Golden Sequence,' is a sequence prescribed in the Roman Liturgy for the Masses of Pentecost. It's a beautiful, ancient hymn calling on the Holy Spirit. The text is attributed to either Pope Innocent III or Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the early 13th century. Here are the traditional Latin lyrics along with an English translation.

Father Jim's homily focuses on the concept of self-indulgence, especially in relation to the celebration of Pentecost and the influence of the Holy Spirit. He begins by painting a vivid picture of opulence to highlight what we often imagine as self-indulgence. He then shifts to question whether our modern comforts, like electricity, air conditioning, and abundance of food, also classify as self-indulgence, particularly when compared to past generations and people in less affluent parts of the world.