Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Readings: Ecclesiasticus 15: 15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37
15 February 2026
Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Today, preparing for Lent, we celebrate Project Compassion Sunday. Our bishops have issued a statement entitled ‘The Cost of our Living’ in which they urge us to trust in the Spirit so that we “can help to lift the cloud of gloom which overwhelms so many of us today and replace it with hope for a stronger, compassionate, more resilient and fairer country.”[1]
LISTEN: https://soundcloud.com/frank-brennan-6/homily-15-2-26
After a week when there has been division and rancour over the visit of Israel’s President Herzog following upon the Bondi massacre, we hope and pray that during Lent we can come to a shared understanding of justice and truth. Speaking of the “alleged terrorist attack” at the Aboriginal rally in Perth on 26 January, Prime Minister Albanese has reminded us that “the forces of racism remain a real and present danger”. He has reassured Aboriginal Australians: “We see you. We stand with you.”
In today’s gospel we continue Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is very prescriptive:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.”
Jesus then proceeds to set down standards and prescriptions which are all but impossible to achieve. Try as we might, we cannot redeem ourselves, pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We cannot justify ourselves by working our way around the Lord’s decrees. Ultimately, we depend on the Lord’s mercy, not our own rationalisations.
In today’s first reading from Ecclesiasticus, we hear:
“Before you are life and death, good and evil,
whichever you choose shall be given you.
….
No one does the Lord command to act unjustly,
to none does he give licence to sin.”
The choice between life and death, good and evil is not always simple and straight forward. Nor is it just an individual choice. It is a choice which presents itself to our society. It is a choice we exercise not just in our personal relationships but also in the discharge of our social responsibilities. We are never commanded to act unjustly. Nor are we given licence to sin. These words should resonate for us individually and collectively, especially when we are wondering what is just, what is sinful, what is right and proper, and what is not.
On Friday, we marked the 18th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. I was privileged to attend the breakfast in the Great Hall in Parliament House in Canberra. There were more than 500 people in attendance, including many members of the stolen generations. Aboriginal opera singer Deborah Cheetham sang a haunting acknowledgement of country after speaking of the stolen generations in her own family. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalled his presence in the parliament 18 years ago when Kevin Rudd delivered the apology. He noted: “It was long overdue, held back for too long by those – John Howard so prominent among them – who feared that saying sorry would be calamitous for our country.” But then he went on “to acknowledge the then Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson, who recognised that bipartisanship was essential”. John Howard still thinks that “the idea of one generation apologising for the acts of another is an empty gesture”.[2] In hindsight most of us can see that the national apology was a simple and clear choice for life and for good. Some things which appear complex and divisive, and are, can be reconciled over time.
On Friday, the government presented the Closing the Gap report to Parliament. There have been some welcome developments. But then again, there now are over 20,000 Aboriginal children in out of home care when there were less than half that 30 years ago at the time of the Bringing Them Home report. “An Aboriginal child in Australia today is 11 times more likely than a non-Aboriginal child to be in out of home care”[3]. Some challenges just seem intractable. At the National Apology Breakfast, the Prime Minister said: “We continue what’s working, and we work out solutions for what doesn’t….[There] is no better path forward than listening to communities and partnering with locals. The story of the Apology began when we – as a nation – decided to listen. To open our ears and open our hearts.”[4]
I came away from the National Apology Breakfast wondering how much and how soon, if at all, things might change for the better for Aboriginal children in out of home care – no matter how much we open our ears and our hearts. How likely is it that the overwhelming cloud of gloom can be lifted? This Lent, let’s continue to pray for healing in our land; let’s continue “to hope for a stronger, compassionate, more resilient and fairer country”; and let’s do something about it.
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Instruct me, O Lord, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO, Adjunct Professor of Thomas More Law School at ACU and Adjunct Research Professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, is a former Rector of Newman College, University of Melbourne, and CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). His latest books include Pope Francis: the Disruptive Pilgrims Guide (ATF Theology, 2025), and Gerard Brennan’s Articles and Speeches: Maintaining the Law’s Skeleton of Principle (2 volumes) (Connor Court, 2025).
[1] See https://acbcwebsite.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/Articles/Media+Releases/2026/Social+Justice+Statement+-+February+2026+.pdf
[2] See https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/john-howard-has-criticised-kevin-rudds-2008-apology-to-the-stolen-generations/47t04w7ca
[3] See https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/child-protection/child-protection-australia-2023-24/contents/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-children/out-of-home-care
[4] See https://www.pm.gov.au/media/apology-stolen-generations-anniversary-breakfast-0
