Homily given by Bishop Anthony Randazzo
Bishop of Broken Bay
End of Year Mass for Diocesan Clergy & Staff
4 December 2025
My brothers and sisters in Christ, dear friends in the Lord, grace and peace to you as we gather in this Holy Year of Hope. Today we stand together as one Church, one community, one Body of Christ. We come near to the end of the year with hearts that have known challenge, joy, labour, uncertainty, and blessing. Yet through it all, the light that has guided us is the same light that guided the People of God through every age: the steadfast hope that comes from the Lord.
Our first reading from the prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the everlasting rock.” This is the heart of Christian hope, not optimism, not wishful thinking, but trust. A deep and abiding trust that the Lord is faithful, that the Lord remains our rock when everything else shifts, and that the Lord never ceases to pour out grace into our lives.
As we draw to the conclusion of this Holy Year of Hope, I would like to invite each of you, clergy, educators, pastoral workers, administrators, carers, and leaders, to pause and look back across the months that have passed. Where were the moments of hope-filled grace? Where did God surprise you? Where did the Holy Spirit gently strengthen, guide, or encourage you? In your ministries, in your relationships, in your workplaces, in your homes, where did the Holy Spirit reveal God’s presence?
Some of these moments may have been bold and unmistakable. Others may have been quiet, almost hidden. But if we look with the eyes of faith, we will see that hope has accompanied us all year. It has been the thread woven through the fabric of our shared mission. This is especially important as we now enter once again into the season of Advent. Advent is the Church’s great season of hope: hope waiting, hope watching, hope trusting, hope that leans forward into the promise of God.
We prepare to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord, that blessed moment when hope became visible, tangible, and knowable in the person of the Christ Child. In Jesus, hope took on a human face. In Jesus, humanity discovered again that God draws near to us, not in judgement, but in mercy and tenderness.
Hope is not only something we receive; it is something we must also share. And we share it best when we remain united. Our unity is never merely organisational or institutional. It is not based on our roles, our responsibilities, or the areas in which we serve. Our unity is first and foremost a unity of discipleship. We belong to one another because we all belong to Christ. He is the cornerstone. He is the rock on which we stand.
In the Gospel today, Jesus teaches that only those who do the will of the Father enter the kingdom of heaven. He reminds us that hearing the word is not enough; our lives must be built upon it.
This is the foundation of true unity: listening to the Holy Spirit, loving as Jesus loves, and doing the Father’s will. As members of the Body of Christ, we share a mission that is far bigger than any one of us. We strive to do the Father’s will so that, like Jesus Christ our Saviour, we may be a blessing for the world.
Indeed, “blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord.” When we serve others in His name, when we act with compassion, justice, kindness, and love, we bring the blessing of Christ into places that desperately need hope. And this hope is not reserved for the few. It is a gift for every person, regardless of race, culture, or creed.
Collaborators in our mission, whether or not they share our faith, are drawn to lives shaped by faith, hope, and love, because these virtues lead to fullness of life. They reveal what it means to be truly human, and they open hearts to God.
Today, I want to express my deep gratitude. Thank you for your cooperation and collaboration throughout this year. Thank you for the ways you have carried Christ into classrooms, offices, parishes, nursing homes, homes for those in need, and into the wider community. Thank you for the witness you have offered, quietly, humbly, faithfully.
And as we give thanks, we also pray. We call on the holy name of Jesus to bless each of you and all those entrusted to your pastoral care: the poor, the marginalised, the lost, the persecuted, the lonely, and every person who seeks truth, desires love, and hopes for eternal life.
May the Lord deepen our hope. May He strengthen our unity. May He guide our mission. And may He fill our hearts with the joy that comes from knowing that God-is-with-us, Emmanuel.
As we journey through Advent and draw near to Christmas, may we recognise again the Child who is our hope, our peace, and our salvation. Amen.