Faith Formation and Mission

As we approach Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week, we reflect on the call of First Nations Australia People to be given a Voice in Parliament. This significant event in Australian history invites each of us to discern what this means for us as individuals and as a nation. The staff of Chevalier College will be involved in exploring the proposed Voice in Parliament as a way to gain greater personal understanding and to contextualise this within the Chevalier MSC Catholic community.

Miriam Rose Ungunmerr Baumann:

"My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature’s quietness. My people today recognise and experience, in this quietness, the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to experience God’s presence. When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush, among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times when I can simply be in God’s presence. My people have been so aware of Nature. It is natural that we will feel close to the Creator. Our Aboriginal culture has taught us to be still and to wait. We do not try to hurry things up. We let them follow their natural course – like the seasons. We watch the moon in each of its phases. We wait for the rain to fill our rivers and water the thirsty earth… When twilight comes, we prepare for the night. At dawn we rise with the sun.

We watch the bush foods and wait for them to ripen before we gather them. 

We wait for our young people as they grow, stage by stage, through their initiation ceremonies. 

When a relation dies, we wait a long time with the sorrow. We own our grief and allow it to heal slowly. We wait for the right time for our ceremonies and our meetings. The right people must be present. Everything must be done in the proper way. Careful preparations must be made. We don’t mind waiting, because we want things to be done with care. We don’t like to hurry. There is nothing more important than what we are attending to. There is nothing more urgent that we must hurry away for. 

We wait on God, too. His time is the right time. We wait for him to make his Word clear to us. 

We don’t worry. We know that in time and in the spirit of dadirri (that deep listening and quiet stillness) his way will be clear.

We are River people. We cannot hurry the river. We have to move with its current and understand its ways.

We hope that the people of Australia will wait. Not so much waiting for us – to catch up – but waiting with us, as we find our pace in this world. ...... If you stay closely united, you are like a tree, standing in the middle of a bushfire sweeping through the timber. The leaves are scorched and the tough bark is scarred and burnt; but inside the tree the sap is still flowing, and under the ground the roots are still strong. Like that tree, you have endured the flames, and you still have the power to be reborn. Our culture is different. We are asking our fellow Australians to take time to know us; to be still and to listen to us…" 

Miriam Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, 2021 Senior Australian of the Year, is a renowned Aboriginal Artist and Educator who is dedicated to creating bright and fulfilling futures for Aboriginal children and youth. She was the first fully qualified Aboriginal teacher in the Northern Territory and is the founder of the Miriam Rose Foundation. Miriam Rose speaks five local languages along with English and is responsible for establishing the highly successful Merrepen Arts centre in Nauiyu.

              Statement Voice of the Heart (from MSC Province Chapter 2023)

We, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of the Australian Province, gathered in Chapter, have reflected on our privileged journey with First Nations people for more than a century. We continue to be challenged by Pope John Paul II’s words, addressing First Nations people in Alice Springs in 1986: ‘And the Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others.’

These words are especially relevant as we prepare for the coming Constitutional Referendum. TheUluru Statement from the Heart is the basis of the present referendum with its call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution: ‘We seek Constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a right place in our own country. When we have power over destiny, our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.’

We Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus welcome the opportunity to support theUluru Statement from the Heart, and the desire of First Nations Peoples to have a Voice that will be acknowledged and listen to, enshrined in the Australian Constitution.

Reconciliation Prayer

God of all creation,

We thank you for this beautiful land, for the First Peoples you entrusted to care for it, for its wealth and many Second Peoples who have made it their home. We ask now for this land that we will all be healed. For our ancestors made gains at the expense of the Aboriginal custodians. Lands were taken and families destroyed by the removal of children. For the pain and loss of identity and culture we ask for healing.     

May we be a nation that cares for the least of these.

May the God who created a world of diversity and vibrancy 

Go with us as we embrace life in all its fullness.

May the Son who teaches us to care for strangers and foreigners

Go with us as we try to be good neighbours in our communities.

May the Spirit who breaks down our barriers and celebrates community

Go with us as we find the courage to create a place of welcome for all.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved. Forever.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Pray for us.