Homily given by Bishop Anthony Randazzo
Bishop of Broken Bay
Mass for Feast of The Presentation of the Lord & Jubilee for Consecrated Life 2025
2 February 2025
We gather today, to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, a day rich in meaning, for it marks the moment when the Child Jesus is brought to the Temple by Mary and Joseph, fulfilling the law of the Lord. It is also a day of profound significance as we commemorate the Jubilee for Consecrated Life in this Holy Year 2025. On this day, we are invited to reflect on the beauty and challenge of the consecrated vocation and to give thanks for the witness of all those who have given their lives in service to God and His Church.
In today’s Gospel (Lk 2:22-40), we encounter the elderly Simeon and the prophetess Anna, two figures whose lives have been shaped by prayer, hope, and surrender to God’s plan. Simeon, looking forward to “Israel’s comforting,” is filled with the Holy Spirit and recognizes in the infant Jesus the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Likewise, Anna, living a life of fasting and prayer, witnesses to the world the reality of God’s salvation, proclaiming it to all who were looking for redemption. These two figures are witnesses to the radical hope and trust in God’s plan. It is this same hope and trust that marks the vocation of those called to the consecrated life.
As the Church commemorates the Jubilee for Consecrated Life, might we take a moment to reflect on the deeper meaning of consecration, and especially the witness of those who live this vocation.
Consecrated women and men - whether in religious communities, secular institutes, or other forms of consecrated life - respond to God’s call with surrender. They give up earthly attachments, choosing instead to live in poverty, chastity, and obedience. It is in this radical surrender that they find their greatest freedom, for they are united with the very heart of Christ, the One who surrendered His life for the salvation of the world.
The words of the Second Vatican Council in Perfectae Caritatis (25) remind us that the vocation to consecrated life is not merely about renunciation but about embracing a life of love for God and neighbour, a love rooted in the cross and the hope of future glory.
In a world that often promotes individualism and self-interest, consecrated persons witness to the world that true joy and fulfillment come not from self-centred living, but from lives poured out in service to others. Their love is not abstract; it is grounded in daily prayer, sacrifice, and the deep communion they share with one another in their communities.
This surrender is not without its challenges. Saint John Paul II, in Vita Consecrata (26), writes that “the demands of the apostolate today are increasingly urgent, since involvement in temporal affairs risks becoming ever more absorbing.”
In our world, it is all too easy to become distracted by the noise and demands of daily life. Yet consecrated men and women, through their commitment to prayer and sacrifice, become signs of a new future - one enlightened by faith, hope, and love. They point to a world that is yet to come, a world where God’s kingdom reigns, and where all things are made new. They live as witnesses of the Beatitudes, where love, drawing strength from prayer, becomes the pattern of their life and the source of their joy (cf. Vita Consecrata, 51).
In their prayer and sacrifice, consecrated women and men find not only strength for their own lives, but they also become a source of hope and encouragement for the whole Church.
Again, in the words of Saint John Paul II, “Such communities are places of hope and the discovery of the Beatitudes” (Vita Consecrata, 51). Their lives of prayer and communal living become an image of the Kingdom of God, a place where love is lived and shared with those who are in need. Their witness speaks to the world, reminding us that there is more to life than the passing comforts of this world - there is eternal joy, eternal peace, and the eternal love of God.
Through their consecration, they show us what it means to live with hope and expectation. They give us a living witness that there is a plan - God’s plan - for our lives. And it is a plan filled with promise and peace.
In a world that so often seems chaotic, the lives of those consecrated to God speak loudly to us: there is a future, and that future is in God’s hands. We are called to trust in that plan, just as Simeon trusted when he held the Christ child in his arms, knowing that God’s promise had been fulfilled.
This Feast and the Jubilee we celebrate today also invite us to look beyond the confines of our own lives and witness the Gospel in action. The consecrated life is “a prophetic witness to the world” (Vita Consecrata, 74).
Consecrated men and women are called to live not only for their own sanctification but for the transformation of the world. Their lives are a sign of hope to those in need, and a reminder that God’s Reign is already breaking into our world. Their sacrifices and prayers become a light shining in the darkness, pointing all of us toward a future where love, peace, and justice reign.
In this Holy Year, we are called to reflect on how each of us, in whatever state of life we find ourselves, is called to live out the Gospel with greater intensity. The consecrated life, in its radical surrender, invites us all to a deeper commitment to God’s plan for our lives, and to embrace the challenge of loving others with a heart full of prayer, sacrifice, and joy.
To those who may feel called to consecrated life, do not be afraid to say “yes” to God’s call. It is a call to live with hope, to be a witness to the Gospel, and to offer your life as a gift to others. The community of the Church is here to support you in your discernment, and we trust that God’s grace will guide you as you seek to follow His will.
And to all consecrated women and men, especially those of you here in the Cathedral today, thank you. Your witness is a gift to the Church and to the world. Your lives of prayer, sacrifice, and love continue to bear fruit, and we are grateful for your faithful witness.
This year is a “Holy Year” not because it is marked by solemn rituals alone, but because it is a time to promote holiness in our lives (cf. The Dicastery for Consecrated Life, 29 June 2023). The pilgrimage of Hope that marks this year will call us to action - through paths, choices, and initiatives - that will speak to everyone, not only consecrated persons, and will offer a prophetic witness to the world.
My sisters and brothers, we are all invited to participate in this journey toward holiness, and in doing so, we walk together, united by prayer, hope, and love.
May this Feast of the Presentation and this Jubilee for Consecrated Life renew in each of us a deep sense of hope, a commitment to prayer and sacrifice, and a resolve to witness the Gospel with joy, so that all may come to know the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.