Homily – Sunday, July 6th, 2025. Parish of Altona, Melbourne.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Before delivering this homily, I want to extend my greetings to all the parishioners of Altona Parish. I am deeply grateful to Monsignor Michael Kalka, Parish Priest of Altona, for inviting me to celebrate this evening’s Mass and for warmly welcoming me in my visit to Melbourne. My deepest gratitude also goes to Catholic Mission in Melbourne for making this visit possible.
The Divine Liturgy’s message for today’s Saturday Vigil Mass centers on the missionary aspect of the Church. Every baptized person has the mission to evangelize. In this mission, we humans are not the main protagonists. Instead, God is the protagonist of the mission. God is the source, the center, and the culmination of the Church’s mission.
The first reading we just heard from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah encourages the people of Jerusalem to be happy. God will love, embrace, and bring happiness to His people, just like a mother who knows how to make her child happy. God will fill Jerusalem with love, blessings, wealth, and protection. The central message in this first reading is one of happiness. This happiness comes from God. God loves His people, just as a mother lovingly cares for and breastfeeds her child.
In the Gospel of St. Luke, we heard two scenes. The first scene describes Jesus sending out his scouts in a significant number, which demonstrates the universality of the mission. The mission is for everyone to know and receive Christ. They are given two missions that highlight the community dimension of the mission, emphasizing mutual support, the credibility of witness, and unity in the mission. This mutual support is important because they were like lambs among wolves. They were instructed not to carry a purse, bag, or sandals. This means they were to go without relying on the comfort and security that the world provides, which can often become an obstacle to the mission. They must learn to rely on and reflect upon God’s protection.
The first mission was to bring the message of peace to the homes they entered, and the second was the message of the coming of the kingdom in the cities. These two messages range from the home to the city. The city represents the complexities of life: political, social, economic, and cultural. Jesus’ disciples enter these complexities to preach peace and that God’s kingdom is near and good. The recipient of this message is universal, starting from the family and extending to society, from the poor to the authorities, from the uneducated to the wise.
In the second scene, we see the disciples returning from their mission with great joy over their results. Jesus cautions them about their happiness and satisfaction, which were focused only on human accomplishments. Jesus corrected them by saying: “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This joy is a deeper joy than what the world gives. It is a guarantee of eternal life; it is the hope of Christian life, which means taking part in becoming a citizen of Heaven.
For this reason, St. Paul, in the second reading we just heard from his letter to the Galatians, affirms that his only reason for boasting is in Christ. In the Cross of Christ, St. Paul received a new identity and a new life filled with love and peace. He bears the mark of Christ in his life and his mission. Paul, a wandering missionary to the Gentiles, finds his happiness in Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, here are some points for reflection:
- The Universality of the Mission. The mission to preach, witness, and cast out demons is not exclusively for a select group like the apostles. Every person who has been baptized and has received the power of water and the Holy Spirit is called to go out and preach Christ. A great challenge for the mission today is that people don’t want to leave their comfort zones. They choose to stay in their own groups, fearful and reluctant to share with others. This can lead to indifference to the suffering and hardship of others. Jesus calls these people to leave their comfort and preach, give their lives and time, and share what they have with others who are in dire need of their presence and help.
- Being a Christian means being a bearer of peace and joy. Our mission in this world is to bring peace to the human family and harmony to society. In a world full of hatred, revenge, war, and violence, Jesus calls us all to bring joy, peace, and reconciliation, so that we may become bridges that connect loving relationships among all people.
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Pray for the mission. God’s field is vast, but the workers are few. We need to pray to the ‘owner of the harvest’ to call more workers. Let us pray that He warms the hearts of more Christians with missionary zeal and a missionary lifestyle, so that they give themselves for the Lord and serve their brothers and sisters who are poor, unloved, and in need of attention. Indeed, as St. John of the Cross profoundly stated: “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”