Homily given by Bishop Anthony Randazzo
Bishop of Broken Bay
Catholic Schools Broken Bay All Staff Mass
4 July 2025
My sisters and brothers in Christ, as we gather around this altar today, educators, leaders, companions on the journey, I greet you not only with gratitude, but with a deep sense of reverence for your vocation, and for the marvellous things that God is doing in and through you. You are not merely teachers. You are apostles. You are evangelists. You are, in a very real way, living stones in the foundation of the Church’s mission in the world.
Today’s Gospel tells us of a defining moment: Jesus passes by a man named Matthew, a tax collector, and says to him two simple, powerful words: “Follow me.” It is not just an invitation. It is a command. It is a call to discipleship that changes the direction of a life. And Matthew, we are told, "got up and followed Jesus."
My friends, that same call echoes through time and reaches each of us. It has reached us particularly in our shared mission, the Apostolate of Catholic education in the Diocese of Broken Bay. Whether we are baptized into Christ or whether we stand with those of other faiths who work alongside us, the Lord’s call resounds: Follow me. Teach with me. Walk with me. Form hearts and minds with me.
We stand today at a significant point in our collective journey. Over the past five years, under the vision of Towards 2025, we have sought not just to change the structures of Catholic Schools Broken Bay, but to renew its soul, to reimagine what it means to form young people in faith, in virtue, in knowledge, and in wisdom. This is no small task. But it is holy ground.
The Second Vatican Council, in its Declaration on Christian Education, Gravissimum Educationis, speaks with clarity and urgency: “Beautiful indeed and of great importance is the vocation of all those who aid parents in fulfilling their duties… This vocation demands special qualities of mind and heart, very careful preparation, and continuing readiness to renew and to adapt.”
Is not that exactly what we have been doing? Reform. Renewal. Reimagination. Not as mere strategies or school programs, but as spiritual practices, as works of mercy, and mission.
Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice.” Can we never forget this. Our students do not only need knowledge, they also need mercy. Compassion. Accompaniment. A vision of the Church and the world that is not transactional, but transformational.
A stagnant school is a failing school. And likewise, a stagnant Church is a Church that forgets Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit is not a quiet breeze; the Spirit is a rushing wind that brings life and boldness to God’s people. This same Spirit is at the heart of our Apostolate, urging us forward, out of comfort, into courage.
We are called not to maintain, but to mission.
Catholic schools, as the Council teaches, have a unique and irreplaceable role. Not only do they pursue academic excellence, and we should do this without apology, but they create an atmosphere “animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity.” This is a profound statement. It means our classrooms are not just places of learning, but of liberation. Of love. Of witness. In this, we are not alone.
Catholic education is a shared endeavour: among teachers, families, students, the wider Church, and society. It is also a space where people of different backgrounds and beliefs come together in the sacred task of forming the next generation, not just for jobs or exams, but for life, for virtue, for eternity.
To teach is to touch the future. To teach in a Catholic school is to do so in the name of Jesus Christ.
My brothers and sisters, we cannot grow weary. Reform is not a project with an end date. Renewal is not a phase. And reimagination must be part of the Church’s DNA, for our God is always doing something new. So, as we reflect today, as educators, as ministers, as disciples, may we hear once more the voice of Christ who says to each of us: Follow me.
May we respond with courage and trust, as Matthew did, rising from the desk, from the familiar, from the expected, and stepping into the unfolding mission of Jesus Christ.
And may our Catholic Schools Broken Bay, your schools, continue to be places where mercy is taught, where faith is lived, and where the Kingdom of God is not only spoken of, but God is seen to reign in every lesson, every act of care, and every courageous conversation about the world we long to see. Amen.