HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF AUSTRALIA DAY
CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, DOMUS AUSTRALIA, 26 JANUARY 2026
The Australian national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, was written by Scotsman Peter Dodds McCormick under the pen name Amicus. First performed by the Highland Society on St Andrew’s Day 1878, it was instantly a hit. 23 years later it was sung by a choir of 10,000 at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia, and McCormick paid £100 for his composition which now had symbolic status as our national song, even if God Save the Queen was still the official anthem.
Following competitions, polls and political shenanigans, Advance Australia Fair was on-again-off-again as our national anthem until finally settled in 1984.[1] The new anthem was repeatedly sanitised after the mood of the day. Nascent Australian nationalism (and later multiculturalism) meant the second and third verses which worshipped “gallant Cook from Albion”, “true British courage” and “Britannia rules the wave [sic]” could not stay. The fourth verse also, which threatened that Australians would “rouse to arms like sires of yore” against any “foreign foe” that “dare[d] a foot to land”, sounded too militaristic.
So a new verse replaced the second, third and fourth ones in 1901. But “Australia’s sons let us rejoice” and “For loyal sons beyond the seas” were judged too sexist by 1984, and were replaced with “Australians all let us rejoice” and “For those who’ve come across the seas”. In 2021 “we are young and free” and “our youthful Commonwealth” were also corrected, as it was decided that Australia’s long Indigenous history made it an old country not a new one: now we sing “we are one and free” and “this Commonwealth of ours”.[2] There may well be more fiddling with the anthem in the future…
Not everyone approved of Australia breaking with the British empire’s anthem. Some thought it disloyal. Others thought Advance Australia Fair too jingoistic. Some judged it musically or lyrically weak,[3] with a National Party senator warning that “the nation risks singing itself to sleep, with boring music and words impossible to understand”.[4] Others deplored archaic constructions like “our home is girt by sea”—which is misheard by some young Australians as “dirt by sea”. Some refuse to sing or stand for the anthem.[5] But one way or another, it seems it’s here to stay.
What was it that so endeared the song to ordinary Australians and their political masters? Though we are purportedly the nation of “the fair go”, the word “fair” in the title probably referred more to the beauty of the land and sea than the popular sense of justice. The song praises “nature’s gifts of beauty rich and rare”, “golden soil and wealth for toil”, and the “radiant Southern Cross”. It also celebrates civic virtues such as pride in our past and hope for our future, hospitality to newcomers, unity and freedom, industry, fortitude and joy.[6]
But does the song still capture our spirit and honour the right things about us? The celebration of the land, for instance, may be somewhat romanticised, considering how the settlers gained it and the indigenous people lost it, how hard it was to work, how often it’s been trashed for its resources, and how much of it is desert, bushfire-prone or regularly flooded. Foreigners point out that it is surrounded by sharks and stingers, and inhabited by deadly snakes and spiders! Yet no one doubts that “our land abounds in nature’s gifts of beauty rich and rare”.
Australian “wealth for toil” may also be overstated, given how dependent we are on a single industry of mining, on particular trading partners such as China, and on the world economy, but we have withstood global shocks more robustly than most economies and most of our citizens are affluent by world standards. Respect for human rights, institutions of law and order, and high standards of education, healthcare and welfare mean that, despite the complexities of penal settlement and immigration, we have mostly been “one and free” and shared our “boundless plains”. And though our egalitarianism, good humour and relaxed social style may be overstated, the “joyful strains” of the national song do capture something of our national character.
But there are real strains amidst those joys. No one would pretend that the work of Aboriginal Reconciliation and reducing various “gaps” has been completed. Confidence in Australia’s civic life has declined, due to partisanship, opportunism, identity politics and manufactured grievance. Our economy has yielded little in terms of real wage increases to ordinary Australians for decades, and the costs of living and especially housing have left many struggling. Our culture is divided over issues such as indigenous recognition and immigration. Not everyone seems to share in national pride and hope: some would rather nurse ancient grievances.[7] Our moral-spiritual culture is also troubled, with secularisation leaving us without a unifying vision, and with deep divisions over reverence for human life and love, over race and religion and other matters. All of which contributes to ambivalence, even embarrassment, in many quarters about Australia Day.
Most recently we faced the horrific Bondi terrorist incident. It followed two years of vandalism, fire-bombings of synagogues, and routine mass protests demanding death to the Jews, highlighting enduring antisemitism in some hearts and parts of our society. Despite some immediate “pulling together” in sympathy and grief, the swift legislative response yielded more polarisation. All of which reminds us that Australia, for all its natural gifts and human virtues, is a nation ever in need of reflection and renewal.
One of the most striking absences from Advance Australia Fair is any explicit reference to God. The old anthem opened with an invocation of the divine, whereas the new one contains only an oblique allusion to the Cross—a constellation in the night skies discerned only by a Christian eye. Yet the particular values celebrated in the anthem such as unity and freedom, beauty and industry, hospitality and joy, fortitude and gratitude are inherited from Judeo-Christian civilisation and its particular take on each. They find their origins in the Law and Prophets, and especially in the teachings of Jesus Christ, such as we heard today in His beatification of the poor, meek, merciful, pure and peaceful (Mt 5:1-12). More than pious sentiments or fine-sounding words, these beatitudes are a blue-print for human flourishing and social cohesion to which Australia used to aspire.
So, when we sing of our willingness to share our “boundless plains”, we echo the Gospel’s call to be a blessing for the poor, meek and hungry, such that “they will inherit the earth”. When we “all rejoice… in joyful strains”, we are conscious of those who mourn like the victims of Bondi, and with Christ we are determined that they be “comforted”. When we prize our being “one and free”, we honour those who thirst for justice and peace, determined to root out prejudice and violence. In proclaiming our aspiration to be “Australia fair”—both beautiful and just—we commit to prioritising the common good.
St Paul in our epistle imagines what this might look like in practice: a people whose preference is for good over evil, who respect one another as siblings, who work together persevering in hope, who share in each other’s fortunes, and who demonstrate a sincere love or neighbourliness (Rom 12:9-13). All of this, he thought, requires a more-than-human grace and so we must remain “faithful in prayer”. Only with such civic, cultural and spiritual virtues can Isaiah’s dream be realised, of a land where justice abides, where righteousness sprouts, with peace and security (Isa 32:15-18). So when awarded today the honour of Companion of the Order of Australia, Cathy Freeman explained that it was prayer books that as a little girl “fed her brain” with values like “unity, harmony and peace” and she called on Australia to demonstrate those virtues to our world.[8]
Dear friends, this Australia Day we give thanks for the many gifts we have inherited, whilst facing the challenges of nation-building head on. We pray from that corner of a foreign field right here in the Holy City of Rome that is forever Australia, that we will always be people of genuine community and hospitality, courage and compassion, justice and peace, until our nation is that “peaceful habitation” for which every heart hungers, “a home secure, undisturbed and restful” beneath our radiant Southern Cross!
[1] Following a competition and a national poll, Advance Australia Fair was adopted in 1974 as the national anthem by the Whitlam Government. In 1976 God Save the Queen was reinstated by the Fraser government and Waltzing Matilda used at the Montreal Olympics. There was another poll and in 1984 the Hawke Government settled Advance Australia Fair as the anthem. God Save the Queen survived as the royal anthem, or, from 2022, God Save the King.
[2] “The Australian National Anthem”, DFAT http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/nat_anthem.html
[3] E.g. Sir Harry Budd, President of the NSW Legislative Council, said the lyrics were “foolish and banal and their sentiments ridiculous”: “Australia’s new chosen anthem goes unsung,” Los Angeles Times 5 May 1974.
[4] “Call to scrap Australia’s ‘dull’ anthem,” The Daily Telegraph 9 July 2023 quoting Senator Sandy Macdonald
[5] “Anthony Mundine won’t stand for anthem,” SBS News 23 October 2018; Warwick McFadyen, “Advance Australia Fair is racist at so many levels,” Sydney Morning herald 14 September 2013; Christian Nicolussi, “Cody Walker to remain silent during Advance Australia Fair,” Sydney Morning Herald 25 July 2025; Mal Meninga, “Australia needs referendum on national anthem,” National Rugy League 16 February 2019.
[6] Civic virtues celebrated in Advance Australia Fair: pride in our past and hope for our future (“in history’s page, let every stage advance”), hospitality to newcomers (“we’ve boundless plains to share”), unity (“Australians all… we are one and free…let us all combine”), freedom (“we are one and free”), industry (“there’s…wealth for toil… we’ll toil with hearts and hands”), fortitude (“with courage let us all”) and joy (“Australians all let us rejoice… in joyful strains then let us sing”).
[7] Tony Abbott, “It’s time for some home truths this Australia Day,” The Australian 26 January 2026; Andrew Bolt, “Australia deserves a day of rich celebration,” Daily Telegraph 26 January 2026; Nick Cater, “A new wave of patriotism is on the rise among Australia’s youngest generation,” The Australian 26 January 2026.
[8] Roy Masters, “‘We have to put out a message of unity’: Freeman’s road to AC honour,” Sydney Morning Herald 26 January 2026.
INTRODUCTION TO MASS FOR AUSTRALIA DAY
CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, DOMUS AUSTRALIA, 26 JANUARY 2026
Welcome to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary and St Peter Chanel here at Domus Australia for our 2026 celebration of Australia Day. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Federation of Australia and this event brings together many of the Aussies here in the antipodes. We are grateful to our non-Australian friends who join us today.
Concelebrating with me today are several priests teaching, studying or working here in Rome, including Canon Marcus Holden, Rector of the Pontifical Beda College. Assisting us are several seminarians. I greet leaders of religious congregations, and other clergy, religious, seminarians and lay faithful working or studying here in Rome.
I salute the Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See, Hon. Keith Pitt; the Ambassador of the United Kingdom Chris Trott; the Ambassador of the United States Brain Burch; other diplomatic and consular officials; and other distinguished guests.
I thank the Rector of Domus Australia, Very Rev Dr Joseph Hamilton, General Manager Signor Fabrizio Petrocchi, and their team, for the wonderful hospitality as always.
In a recent statement the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council observed that this day means different things to different Australians and their friends. “For some, it is a time of celebration and national pride,” they said, “for others, a time of reflection, grief or unresolved questions about our shared history.” Either way it challenges us to seek that genuine reconciliation and renewal that is more than rhetoric and programmes, but especially about reverence for others, transformation of attitudes and relationships, truthfulness about the past and present, and healing and hope for our future.
Whatever meanings this day has for each of us, we come together today to commend Australia to God’s love and mercy, as we celebrate the Sacrament that makes community into communion. And so we say: I confess…