Homily given by Bishop Anthony Randazzo
Bishop of Broken Bay
Commissioning and Blessing of Pilgrims
21 August 2025
Today, we gather as one community of faith: young and old, singles and families, school children, married couples, long-time parishioners and first-time visitors.
Right across our Diocese, we recognise that in this Holy Year we are pilgrims of hope. Some of you have or will make your way to our three diocesan Shrines at East Gosford, Manly, and Chatswood. Some have travelled here to our cathedral, and some are making the journey to Rome. Whatever we do, we should remember that each one of us is invited to make a pilgrimage of the heart, a journey not just of kilometres, but of grace, of conversion, and of hope.
The readings the Church gives us today are especially suited to help us reflect on this pilgrimage we are all called to make, the pilgrimage of life, the journey of faith, and the path that leads from this world to eternal life with God.
Saint Paul, in his First Letter to Timothy, gives us a kind of pattern or roadmap for Christian living. He writes: Let prayers be offered to God for everyone. God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. In every place, let people lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or argument. (cf 1Tim 2:1-8)
This is the shape of the Christian life. This is how a follower of Jesus is called to live, with a heart that is open in prayer, hands that are lifted in peace, and a spirit that desires the salvation of all people. It is not a life of narrow concern or of private comfort. It is a life lived outward, a life for others, a life that reflects the very heart of God.
For those preparing to go on pilgrimage during the Holy Year, this passage offers something very practical. A pilgrimage is not only a physical journey. It is, above all, a spiritual journey, one in which we carry with us the prayers, the needs, the hopes and the wounds of others. When Saint Paul says, “there should be prayers offered for everyone,” he means just that.
The pilgrim carries the world in his or her heart. The mother who prays for her children. The teenager searching for purpose. The elderly man who feels alone. The friend struggling with illness or loss. The world is full of people in need of God’s grace, and the pilgrim walks on their behalf. And yet, as we know, the Christian life is not always smooth. It is not always easy to stay focused on God. There are many distractions, and many things that compete for our attention, our loyalty, and our heart.
Jesus addresses this very struggle in the Gospel today. He says plainly, and with great clarity: “You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.” (cf Luke 16:1-13)
Now this line can sound strange to modern ears. The word “slave” is strong, even jarring. But we need to understand what Jesus is really saying here. In the world in which Jesus lived, to be a slave, in Greek, a doulos (δοῦλος), meant that you belonged completely to someone else. It was not a part-time job. It was not a temporary arrangement. A doulos had no rights of their own. Their time, their will, their very life, was in the hands of their master.
When the early Christians called themselves “slaves of Christ,” they were not speaking of humiliation. They were making a bold, radical declaration: Jesus Christ owns my life. My plans, my choices, my desires, they are all His. I live to serve Jesus.
That is still a radical thing to say today, especially in modern Australian society. We live in a world that values personal freedom, independence, and self-ownership. We are constantly told that we belong to ourselves, that we are the masters of our destiny. But Jesus turns that upside down. He teaches us that true freedom is not found in doing whatever we want. True freedom is found in belonging completely to Him. We cannot serve two masters. We cannot say we belong to Jesus while chasing after money, status, power, or comfort. At some point, we must choose.
And this is where pilgrimage becomes such a powerful symbol. The pilgrim leaves behind the distractions and attachments of daily life. The pilgrim walks lightly. The pilgrim chooses to follow one path, with one purpose: to encounter God. That is what this Holy Year of Hope is inviting each of us to do, to become pilgrims of the heart, to take a step away from whatever holds us back, and to walk more closely with Jesus Christ. Whether we physically travel to a shrine, a cathedral, or the Holy Doors in Rome, or whether we simply make time each day to pray, to repent, to forgive, and to love, each of us can make a pilgrimage of hope.
My sisters and brothers, the Holy Year is a time of grace. It is a gift from the Church to help us rediscover joy, experience peace, and renew our desire for holiness. It reminds us that our true homeland is not here, but in heaven. That we are not yet at our destination, but on the way. And that we do not walk alone. We walk with one another, as fellow disciples. We walk with the community of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. And we walk with Jesus Christ, who is not only our companion on the journey, but the very Way itself.
And so, my dear people, might we take up the invitation of this Holy Year of Hope: To offer prayer for everyone. To live in peace and without bitterness. To serve Jesus alone, not the false gods of this world. To walk with hope in our hearts, as a pilgrim journeying toward eternal life. And above all, let us remember, we belong to Jesus Christ. Not part-time, not when it suits us, not when life is easy, but completely, joyfully, and forever. Amen.