NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING AND REFLECTION

16 January 2005

Today our prayers go out to many people of many cultures in many places. That one earthquake could spread so much devastation and take so many lives is still difficult to comprehend.

From Phuket in Thailand to Galle in Sri Lanka, from Sumatra to Somalia the lives, hopes and futures of millions of people have been shattered and left in ruins. Those who have lost loved ones, be they family members or friends, must also deal with extreme sorrow and pain – pain that will never leave, but which over time we pray will ease.

Communities throughout Australia have gathered today, as have we, to help transcend the turmoil. And in that transcendence we have witnessed over recent weeks the remarkable response from millions of people who want to help. The outpouring of compassion has manifested itself in massive donations, as the peoples of the world have united in a spirit of unprecedented generosity.

Australia’s contribution has been swift, incredibly generous and extremely well co-ordinated.

Today Australians mourn together.

Tomorrow we continue to rebuild.

We cannot replace those who have been taken, but we will honour their memory through our commitment to do all we can to help rebuild communities and restore a future for millions of people. I am sure those whom we now miss so dearly will remain with us in a special, spiritual way; indeed helping with our healing.

As we reflect on the tsunami catastrophe, let us also remember those affected by the awful bushfires in our own country – donors one day, victims the next. What a terrible irony nature can deliver – the images of huge tsunami waves still vivid in their minds, people ran into the sea to escape a frightening bushfire.

As we yearn for some sense of normality, we must go on living, dealing as we must with the unexpected.

Those whom we remember today have given us a special gift – a bonding of people and nations. They have given us the opportunity and the motivation to make our world a better place. God bless them all.

Now it is up to us. May we be given the strength and determination to finish the job.

Thank you

(Michael Jeffery)