Our Christian faith is all about taking Christ as the model for our lives, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has said.
Speaking to staff from agencies and organisations across the Archdiocese, Wednesday 31 July at St Mary’s Cathedral for the Annual Agencies Mass, Archbishop Costelloe was joined by concelebrants Bishop Don Sproxton and Cathedral Dean, Rev Dr Sean Fernandez.
In his homily for the occasion, Archbishop Costelloe noted there would be all kinds of reasons why each of those present made the decision to apply for a position in agencies and offices across the Archdiocese.
“Some of those reasons may have been explicitly faith-based, others may have been more to do with a desire to be involved in some kind of social-outreach activity, others again may simply have been because you were looking for a new position, you became aware of this particular job opportunity, and it just seemed to be the best option available at the time,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“But if we believe in God and believe that God cares about the world which He has created, and which He sustains, and which He loves, then we will understand instinctively that God can and does work in all kinds of ways, often perhaps hidden from us, to achieve His purposes.
“Each one of us here in the Cathedral this morning is here because God has brought us here,” he said.
This, continued Archbishop Costelloe, invites us to ask ourselves why.
“What is God wanting to do through us? Who is God wanting to reach through us? Who and what is God calling each of us to become? These are the fundamental questions of our faith.”
“They are challenging and perhaps even unsettling questions because they invite us to ask ourselves about the foundations upon which we are building our lives.
Archbishop Costelloe highlighted that the Gospel story of the day in which Jesus speaks about the kingdom of heaven makes the point that religion is not, or at least should not be, something peripheral to our lives.
“Once we understand what being a part of God’s kingdom really means, Jesus seems to be saying, nothing will be too much of an effort as we seek to become and remain part of that kingdom.
Paul sums it all up by saying to the people in Corinth, “Take me for your model as I take Christ”.
In the end, our Christian faith is all about taking Christ as the model for our lives, Archbishop Costelloe emphasised.
“By calling each of us to be a part of the life and mission of the Archdiocese of Perth, God has begun a good work in us: that work will come to its fulfilment when we can say to each other, and to those whom we serve, not just or even primarily in words but much more in deeds, ‘Take me for your model as I take Christ.’”
“This is the best gift we can offer each other, and it is the best gift we can offer all those with whom and for whom we work.
“So, may God who has begun this good work in us bring it to fulfilment,” Archbishop Costelloe concluded.