Father Raass

Father,
You gave us The Dreaming
You have always spoken to us through our belief
You then made your love clear to us in the message of Jesus
We thank you for your care
You own us, you are our hope
Make us strong as we face the problem of change
We ask you to help the people of Australia
To listen to us and respect our belief
We can only know you and ourselves in our culture
Make the knowledge of you grow strong in all people
So that you can find a home in use
And we can make a home for everyone in our land

- Ngkarte Mikwekenhe Community, Alice Springs –

listen to prayer (116k.wma audio file)
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In November 1986, Pope John Paul 11 visited Australia. One stop in his itinerary was a meeting with Aboriginal people at Alice Springs. This prayer was written for the occasion by members of the Aboriginal Catholic community in Alice Springs. They consulted with groups represented on the national Aboriginal and Islander advisory committee for the pope’s visit.

(left) Youth Group at Ngkarte Mikwekenhe
(middle) Youth celebrating their first communion day
(right) Taking the stories to remote areas, Father Rass visits Bonya community.

Chaplain to the Eastern and Central Arrernte Catholics:
Father Asaeli Raass SVD
6 Hartley St, Alice Springs, NT, 0870
PO Box 9, Alice Springs, NT, 0871
Tel: 08 8952 1049 Fax: 08 8952 9823
olsh_parish_asp@bigpond.com
http://www.darwin.catholic.org.au/

Nuns at Irrerklantye