BISHOP’S MESSAGE We are all called to a life of discipleship

By Bishop Anthony Randazzo

Almost 60 years ago, the Catholic Bishops of the world in Council reminded us that the call to be a Christian is of its very nature a call to be an apostle (cf. Lumen gentium 15). Baptism imposes a duty of serving others. Baptism made all of us God’s children and called us to serve the Church and the world.

Before any of us can respond to the call to serve, we must first know and love and imitate Jesus Christ, who is the servant, par excellence. To know and love and imitate Jesus in faith “means walking at His side in the communion of the Church” (cf. Benedict XVI, WYD Madrid 2011). While personal conversion to the Good News of Jesus Christ is essential for salvation, we cannot follow Jesus on our own. We are baptised into his body, and that means living in communion, with God and with the People of God.

Pope Francis reminds us that “being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and, in any place,” (Francis, Evangelii gaudium 127)

The life of discipleship to which we are called is a daily configuration to Jesus Christ – always becoming aware that, like earthenware jars; we hold a treasure of inestimable value (cf. 2Cor 4:7). The more we grow in Christ, the more we will be able to make our own the words of the great Saint Paul: “it is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2Cor 4:5) .

As servants of God we, bishop, priests, deacons, and people, must always remember that the ultimate glory we seek is that of the resurrection. There is no empty tomb without the Upper Room or the Cross. In the Upper Room, Jesus prefigured his death by lowering himself as he washed the feet of his disciples (cf. John 13:5). He prophesied his death on the Cross by breaking the bread of His body and pouring out the cup of His blood (cf. Lk 22:19-20)

In these moments, we can see the true meaning of the Incarnation. The Word took flesh and lived among us (John 1:14). The Word came, not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28). The Word, like the single grain, died to yield a rich harvest (John 12:24)

During this holy season of Lent might we pray that the Holy Spirit will build upon our baptism and confirmation, strengthening us for the carrying out of the work of life, ministry, and mission.

As God works in each one of us, we will do well to keep before our eyes Christ crucified. Only then might we be able to make sense of life, with its joys and sufferings, its hopes and dreams. Likewise, our ministry to the sick, the poor, the vulnerable, and those on the edge of the Church and of society will benefit from regular prayer and worship united as one community of the faithful. It is the love of Christ crucified and risen that makes mission a vocation and not merely a job or set of tasks to be completed.

Our mission to the world is primarily one of respectful dialogue in truth and in charity. It is a commission that comes from prayer and dialogue with God, for us, for the community of believers, and for the life of the world. Prayer inserts us into the mission of Christ, and the fruit of such prayer animates us for mission.

My dear brothers and sisters, as we seek the truth and joy of the Gospel in our community of the Church of Broken Bay, might we always