Reflection
Mr Stephen Mahoney
National Sorry Day, officially the National Day of Healing, is an event held annually in Australia on 26 May commemorating the Stolen Generations. On our pathway towards reconciliation, Sorry Day is an important moment to pause and remember the past policies of forced child removal. Here, we reflect on the sad and painful history of the Stolen Generations and recognise moments of resilience, healing and the power of saying Sorry.
This day is an opportunity to become more conscious of past harm done and the healing needed in relationships between Aboriginal and white Australians. In 1998, Australia stopped to recognise for the first time a National Sorry Day on 26 May, the eve of the commencement of National Reconciliation Week. Genuine reconciliation requires acknowledgement of the harm done by the perpetrators and beneficiaries of past policies so that healing can reach the whole community. This prayer invites us to pray together for such healing.
Prayer
On this National Sorry Day we remember Indigenous Australians with deep respect and honour their presence on this soil for thousands and thousands of years before white settlement.
God of Mercy, we acknowledge our history and we are sorry.
Speaking with one voice we own that we are the inheritors of the stories and actions of the colonisers of this land.
God of Mercy, we acknowledge our history and we are sorry.
Our ancestors stripped many of the creative ways that Indigenous Australians cared for the land, thus productivity and vitality were greatly diminished.
God of Mercy, we acknowledge our history and we are sorry.
Today we join with people all over Australia to say sorry for the actions that have robbed Indigenous Australians of their life, culture, law and language.
God of Mercy, we acknowledge our history and we are sorry.
Blessing
May God’s blessing be upon us! Amen
May God’s light lead us to reconciliation! Amen
May our lives be filled with reconciliation and compassion! Amen
St Aloysius: Pray for us
St John Baptist De La Salle: Pray for us
Live Jesus in our Hearts: Forever
Amen