"Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him..." (Revelation 3:20) A collection of my Sunday homilies for Holy Mass as well as some occasional talks and reflections. May my words enable you to hear the voice of Christ, who asks that you open the door to Him. Please share this podcast with others if you benefit from listening to it.
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ANZAC Day is a day of patriotism as well as praying for the souls of those Australians who have died in war, whether military or civilian. We pray also for peace in our world, which is once more troubled by war and the threat of war.
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In a pastoral letter of Lent eighteen fifty six, Archbishop Bede Polling wrote, and I quote Before everything else we are Catholic, and next by name, swallowing up all distinctions of origin, we are Australians. From whatever land we or our ancestors have arrived, we are simply Australians. Although of a different flavour, but like to Australia Day, Anzac Day is a day of patriotism. Some scorn patriotism as a tool of a corrupt establishment or of an oppressive patriarchy. Some others see it as an out of date hangover from a less enlightened past. But to speak of patriotism is not to talk of a vain, exaggerated or even dangerous nationalism. The patriotism that we can legitimately show today on Anzac Day is not the fake internationalism of communism. It is not the perverted nationalism of the Nazi or fascist, who make the state their god and subject to it the natural rights of their own people and the just claims of other nations, which is similar to what we witness in Ukraine at the moment. The patriotism, which is a genuine love of one's country, is an extension of the loving reverence that we are obliged to have for our parents. This patriotism that caused many young Australians to lay aside all self interest and to defend their homeland, albeit in far distant places, is approaching or was in fact the Christian virtue enshrined in the Fourth Commandment. It is also worth noting that how quickly in our history as a modern nation that this patriotism and Australian identity came to be. Historians note that the battle at Gallipoli, with all its errors and tragedy, had a galvanizing effect in developing Australian patriotism and an Australian national identity. Also in a similar way to Australia Day, this day can be a day of gratitude to God. Each of us by our birth inherits a name and a family. We also inherit a language, a culture, and a country that we call home. In a faint echo of holy baptism, some of us by adoption receive an inheritance of history and culture and tradition into which we have not been born, but by being granted and accepting citizenship of Australia. No matter what pathway brings us here today, we rejoice in a nation that holds the values and tradition of freedom, of self determination for peoples, of justice, of the rule of law and of democracy, and as we often say it, a fair go for all. We Australians, though surrounded by oceans and having a far away down under land, are not insulated. We understand that these human rights are for all peoples of the world, and so at times in our short history we have joined in defending them for other nations and other peoples. And so we honour the members of our Australian Navy, Army, and Air Force who have left our shores in war and peacekeeping, and those that stayed behind to defend our homeland. We pray for those who have died in battle, and those whose lives were shortened and afflicted, but who eventually came home, and we honour those civilians who have assisted our defence personnel and who suffered similar fates. May God grant to each eternal rest and happiness. In conclusion, my mind travels to the shrine of our Australian patron saint, and I am reminded of the words inscribed on the side of the tomb of Saint Mary McKillop in North Sydney. The words are we are but pilgrims on this earth. Those Australian men and women, mostly young, whom we remember and pray for today, had their earthly pilgrimage cut short by the horrors and death that wars bring. However, their short lives are bearing fruit in our lives, as we honour them today, and as we commit ourselves once more not only to peace, but as we pray that their souls freed from this earthly pilgrimage may find a home in heaven with God, who is everlasting mercy and love. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
