By Caroline Smith
Members of the Aboriginal Catholic community and friends last week came together at Holy Trinity Embleton Parish to celebrate Mass as part of National Reconciliation Week.
The symbolic and enriching event, organised by the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, was held on Sunday, 29 May and celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton.
Parish Priest, Father Joseph Rathnaraj; North Beach Assistant Parish Priest, Fr Patrick Toohey; and retired priest, Fr Peter Toohey, were also present for the occasion.
During the Mass, Bishop Sproxton also baptised four people, in addition to another 14 people who received the Sacrament of Communion and nine, the Sacrament of Confirmation.
In his homily for the occasion, Bishop Sproxton recalled the witness of a lady he met from Stradbroke Island, Queensland, who had spoken to him of the importance of Jesus in the lives of Aboriginal people.
“She said, ‘Even if we didn’t know who Jesus was, we understood the love that God has for us through the way that He provided for our people for 40 to 60 thousand years’,” Bishop Sproxton recalled.
“That idea of a spirit that provided for the peoples of this land over all those thousands and thousands of years, providing from the earth things that people needed to live on.”
Bishop Sproxton went on to explain that reconciliation is an important celebration for the Catholic community, to acknowledge both the positive and negative aspects of Australia’s history, and to work towards a more positive future.
“She said, ‘We’re indebted to people who’ve come here in recent centuries and brought to us this knowledge of Jesus’,” Bishop Sproxton said.
“Many things that the later arrivals on this land brought to this country have been very damaging for the Aboriginal people – we all recognise that and understand that.
“There is a need for Reconciliation between the peoples of this land, because of that history.”
Ultimately, the teachings of Jesus left a legacy that all Australians could share, Bishop Sproxton said.
“He’s left us a Gospel, He’s left us an understanding of how to live our lives in a way that is positive, that builds us up as individuals,” he said.
“And He has left us, through the work of the Church, holy Sacraments. And these are ways that Jesus continues to be present with us, right down to today.”
Following the Mass, attendees gathered for a shared lunch and a chat at the parish centre.