Today, as we gather for the Solemnity of Mary, Star of the Sea, and celebrate the fortieth anniversary of our Diocese, we cannot help but reflect on how much has changed in our world since 1986.
Forty years ago, the population of Australia was just over 16 million people. Today, that number has grown by more than ten million, with our nation now home to over 27 million inhabitants. In 1986, Saint John Paul II was Pope; Elizabeth II had been Queen for 34 years; Bob Hawke was Prime Minister; and the Diocese of Broken Bay was newly established, beginning its mission of faith and service to the people of the Northern Beaches, North Shore, and Central Coast.
In that same year, Australia celebrated the International Year of Peace; Halley's Comet made its long-awaited return to Earth's skies; the first mobile phone calls were becoming part of everyday life; Parramatta defeated Canterbury-Bankstown, four points to two, to win the rugby league premiership; and Bishop Patrick Murphy was appointed as the first bishop of Broken Bay.
Over the past four decades, much has changed in our nation, our communities, and our Church. Yet throughout these years, our clergy and people have remained committed to proclaiming the Gospel, forming disciples, serving those in need, and building communities of faith and hope for future generations. And so today, this quadragennial anniversary is first and foremost a moment of thanksgiving to Almighty God.
"This quadragennial anniversary is first and foremost a moment of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
We give thanks for the countless graces poured out upon this local Church over forty years: for bishops, priests, deacons, and religious; for parents and grandparents who handed on the faith; for teachers and catechists; for those who have prayed quietly and faithfully; for those who have served the poor, comforted the suffering, educated the young, and accompanied the lonely. We give thanks for every parish and ecclesial community, every school, every ministry, every vocation, every act of hidden holiness known only to God.
We acknowledge the past with gratitude, because the Lord has been faithful to us. Yet we also acknowledge the past with humility. For alongside moments of grace, there have also been moments when we, as individuals and as a community of believers, have fallen short of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ as we ought. There have been failures, weaknesses, missed opportunities, sins and wounds. And so, while we give thanks to God today, we also call upon God's mercy. We ask forgiveness for past digressions, and we pray for healing, purification and renewal.
This humility is not a burden; it is a grace. It keeps us close to the heart of Christ. It reminds us that the Church does not live by human strength or achievement alone. The Church lives by the life of Christ himself, poured into us through the Holy Spirit.
One of the greatest teachings of the Second Vatican Council was precisely this deeper understanding of the mystery of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. The Church is not merely an institution or organisation. The Church is alive with the very life of Christ. Her true animation comes from the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Lord.
We hear this beautifully in today's second reading from the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles are gathered in the upper room with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The Church waits in prayer. The Church waits in hope. The Church waits for the gift of the Holy Spirit. How significant it is that Mary is there.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary first received Christ into the world at the Annunciation. The Word became flesh within her by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. And now, once again, she is present with the Apostles as the Church itself comes to birth through the same Holy Spirit. Mary becomes the spiritual Mother of the Church gathered in prayer. This is why we can never separate our relationship with Mary from our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Nor can we separate either from our discipleship of Jesus Christ.
If we wish to be faithful followers of the Lord in our own generation, we too must deepen our knowledge of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must dwell at the very interior of our lives: in our families, in our prayer, in our worship, in our service, in our apostolate in the world, and in our witness to the Gospel. Without the Holy Spirit, our efforts become merely human activity. But with the Holy Spirit, ordinary lives become radiant with holiness, courage, and joy.
"Without the Holy Spirit, our efforts become merely human activity. But with the Holy Spirit, ordinary lives become radiant with holiness, courage, and joy."
My dear people, one of the great needs of our age is the recovery of the interior spiritual life. We live in a world filled with noise, distraction and constant activity. Yet the voice of God is often heard not in noise, but in silence; not in agitation, but in prayerful attentiveness. We must learn again to listen to the voice of the Spirit with the ears of our heart.
This means making space for prayer each day. It means returning to the Scriptures. It means reverent participation in the Eucharist. It means enjoying a rich sacramental life. It means learning to adore, to listen, to trust, and to surrender ourselves more completely to Jesus Christ.
Holiness is not reserved for a few extraordinary people. Holiness is the vocation of every baptised person. And from this interior life flows mission. The Church is always missionary because Christ himself sends us into the world.
We are called to announce the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we will do this in words. But always we must do it by the witness of our lives. People must be able to see in us the compassion of Christ, the mercy of God, the truth of the Gospel, and the joy of living life in the Holy Spirit.
In a society often marked by anxiety, division and loneliness, Christian disciples are called to become signs of hope. We are called to build communities where people encounter not judgement and exclusion, but the love and healing of Jesus Christ.
As we celebrate forty years of diocesan life, we do not look only backwards. We celebrate the present moment with gratitude and realism, and we look to the future with Christian hope. The same Holy Spirit who guided the Church in the upper room continues to guide the Church today. The same Lord who has sustained this Diocese for 40 years will continue to walk with us in the years ahead.
There will continue to be times of grace for the mission. There will continue to be challenges and trials. There will continue to be moments when we succeed generously in proclaiming the Gospel, and moments when we must again seek forgiveness and renewal. But in all things, we remain a pilgrim people, journeying together towards the Kingdom of God.
And we do not journey alone. Mary, Star of the Sea, walks with us. For centuries, the Christian faithful have looked to Mary to guide them safely through times of darkness and uncertainty. And so too, today, Mary guides the Church towards her Son, Jesus Christ, who is our true light and salvation.
It is right and fitting that Mary, Mother of the Church and Star of the Sea, should be our patroness and guide. She accompanies us with maternal tenderness. She teaches us how to pray. She teaches us how to trust the Holy Spirit. She teaches us how to say "yes" to God even when the road ahead is uncertain.
"May Mary, Star of the Sea, guide the Church towards her Son, Jesus Christ, our true light and salvation."
As we give thanks for these 40 years of the Diocese of Broken Bay, may we entrust our future confidently to her intercession. May she guide and protect our families, our parishes, our schools, our clergy, our religious, and all our people. May she help us become ever more deeply a Church alive in the Holy Spirit, faithful in prayer, joyful in mission, humble in repentance, and courageous in witness.
And may Mary, Star of the Sea, intercede for us always with her Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our Life. Amen.
