Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday

This year, 2025, we come together under the theme: “Sent Forth in Strength and Hope.”

Peace be with you, and welcome to this year’s celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday — a sacred moment for our Church to gather as one in the love of Christ.

It is Christ who sends us — to walk together in faith, grounded in the deep spirituality and culture of First Nations Peoples, strengthened by the Gospel, and filled with hope for the future God is leading us into. Our Catholic Church is a tapestry woven from many cultures. From the enduring wisdom of the world’s oldest continuing cultures — the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples — to those who have journeyed from distant lands, we are one Body in Christ.

In our diversity, we discover richness. In our unity, we find strength. And in every heart, we see the Spirit of God at work. Saint John Paul II once reminded us: “The Church herself is enriched by the development of different forms of culture… she takes them up in her evangelising mission and adopts them.”

Today, we honour that truth. We celebrate the living story of faith and culture walking hand in hand — of ancient traditions alive in Christ, and of a Church made more whole when all are welcomed, seen, and heard.

First Nation Catholics are the youngest and fastest growing group in the Australian Catholic Church. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) invites us to enter into today’s Liturgy with open hearts. May it deepen our appreciation of First Nations spirituality, draw us closer in Christ, and renew our shared calling toward reconciliation, justice, and love.

The Reconciliation Garden and the Acknowledgement Stones on the northern side of the OLR Church were designed “to help the ongoing journey of recognition and reconciliation that are an important part of our nation’s still emerging identity” Fr Kevin Smith (a previous PP) wrote at the time of the dedication and blessing. “I hope that the garden will stir hearts and faith to move all of us to both prayer and action in the ongoing journey of learning about the depth and breadth of indigenous culture.”

Opportunities for this learning will be available at a Reconciliation Networking Workshop hopefully in August and at the new First Nation Hope Dreaming Information Centre that is on the site of the old Information Centre on Caloundra Road opposite the Duck Holes.

May the Holy Spirit move among us and send us forth — in the strength of Christ and in the unshakable hope of the Gospel.

May God bless us all on this journey together.
The Service and Outreach Team