Homily given by Bishop Anthony Randazzo
Bishop of Broken Bay
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Mass
Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral
Saturday 26 February 2022
Last week at this time, I had the immense pleasure of celebrating Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The Basilica is built over the tomb of Peter, the Rock upon which Christ promised to build his Church. Jesus was not referring to the grand renaissance building whose dome dominates the Roman skyline. He meant the living members of his own body under the pastoral care and leadership of Peter and the Apostles.
It is an encouraging thought that from the very beginning, Jesus knew the value of human relationships and that these relationships were pathways to faith and hope, which ultimately lead to communion with the God who is love. Of course, we should not be surprised about the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus. His entire life is one of intimate relationship with God the Father in the communion of the Holy Spirit. This truth is at the heart of the mystery of faith, and every baptised disciple of Jesus Christ has the right and duty to practice and profess the faith.
In recent times, the question of Religious Freedom has once more entered into public debate. There are some who wish to marginalise people of faith by silencing them from public dialogue and by alienating them from issues of everyday life. In several instances, some members of a few faith communities have acted in ways that do not reflect their own beliefs.
Unfortunately, Christians are not exempt from this behaviour. It is most unfortunate, because religious faith should always be expressed in love – and none more so than the Christian faith, which is born from the ultimate act of love – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross – who died for the life of all people and for the salvation of the world.
In the reading from the Letter of Saint James that we have listened to today, (James 5:13-20) the apostle reminds us that brothers and sisters in the faith can sometimes stray away from the truth that is contained in that faith.
In our modern era, it is not difficult to confound the truth amidst the myriad challenges thrown up by the contemporary world. To name this challenge is not to fall in with those prophets of doom, to quote Pope Saint John XXIII, who with misplaced zeal have tried to convince that the modern world is lost in a “chaos of avoidance and ruin.” To name it is to engage the space provided for dialogue with the world.
The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council enabled us to engage in this mission underlining that “respect and love ought to be extended also to those who think, or act differently than we do in social, political and even religious matters.” In fact, they said, “the more deeply we come to understand their ways of thinking through such courtesy and love, the more easily will we be able to enter into dialogue with them” (Gaudium et spes 28).
The essential work of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine does precisely that. CCD is far more than teaching the catechism. That is not to undervalue the marvellous work that is done throughout the community, especially with our Catholic children in public schools and in formation for the sacraments. It is, rather, to shed light upon the pastoral mission of the Church community as well as to promote and support the mandate, given to all the baptised, to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Like Jesus in today’s Gospel, (Mark 10:13-16) the little children will come to be taught and instructed, loved and cherished by you, our most dedicated catechists. However, we must never forget their families, friends, and numerous members of the community who in turn will be evangelised and engaged in the dialogue of life and faith as a result of your ministry and work.
My dear sisters and brothers, the work of evangelising and catechising cannot be realised apart from sincere and prudent dialogue. Nevertheless, the Council Fathers remind us that “fraternal dialogue among peoples does not reach its perfection on the level of technical progress, but on the deeper level of interpersonal relationships” (Gaudium et spes 23).
This brings us full circle back to Jesus who knew the value of human relationships as pathways to faith, hope, and love in communion with the Blessed Trinity.
In thanksgiving to God, and with a deep sense of trust in the Lord, together as one People of God, both pastors and Christ’s lay faithful, we pray that we might engage in dialogue with ever abounding fruitfulness.
With an abiding confidence, we remember that the bonds which unite us in the faith are mightier than anything that divides us. My dear people let us pray that there be unity in what is necessary; freedom in what is unsettled, and charity in all we think and say and do. Amen.