Father Dave’s address at the ‘Echoes of Peace’ vigil for Palestine, given on September 27th, 2025 in Parramatta. The text below the video is of the speech as originally written. Not having a lectern on the night, the speech delivered was somewhat truncated.

Echoes of Peace – A Vigil for Palestine
September 27th, 6.30 pm @119 Macquarie St, Parramatta

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”— 2 Corinthians 12:9

This is Paul talking about how he copes with stress. He’s talking specifically about what he calls his “thorn in the flesh,” – a pain that he always carried with him and that he was never able to resolve. We don’t know exactly what Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ was, but we know what ours is. It is Palestine!

We carry the pain of Palestine in our hearts, and it is a pain that does not go away. We sense a connection to our dear sisters and brothers across Gaza and the West Bank and, to quote Saint Paul again: “when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.” (Corinthians 12:26). However remotely, we are connected to their pain.

We are wounded by their suffering, yet we must remain strong because we must fight on, so we draw on that other great spiritual resource that God provides – hope.

“Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”, says the same Saint Paul (Romans 5:3–5), and sometimes indeed suffering will produce hope in and of itself. Even so, let me tell you what gives me hope: it’s seeing the world slowly pivoting towards Palestine!

Let me name just a few signs of strength in the face of despair:

I feel hope when I listen to the volunteer doctors of Gaza

I watched a video this week of two young Australian nurses who have been working in the only hospital left in Gaza. Their stories were horrific, and they had been working in unimaginable conditions—without electricity, without medicine, and without sleep. They operate by flashlight, they treat children with bare hands, and they mourn those they lose while they save others. Their resilience is not just heroic—it’s holy. They remind us that compassion is more powerful than cruelty.

I feel hope when I see that the flotilla is still sailing!

Ordinary citizens from around the world have risked their lives to break the Gaza blockade, sailing in solidarity and defiance! These boats carry more than aid—they carry courage. They say to the world: We have not forgotten Gaza. And even when they are intercepted and harassed and targeted, they continue!

I feel hope when I look back on the Sydney Harbour Bridge march!

Just weeks ago, hundreds of thousands of us marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, waving Palestinian flags, chanting for justice, in the pouring rain! It was a cry of solidarity that reached the Heavens! It was a moment of unity for Christians, Muslims, Jews, and secular Australians, walking side by side. Can any of us even look at the Harbour Bridge any more without thinking ‘there all of Australia stood in solidarity with Palestine!’

I feel hope when I look around the globe and see the world shifting in compassion towards Palestine

From London to Jakarta, from Cape Town to São Paulo, people are rising up. Students are staging walkouts. Artists are painting murals. Faith leaders are speaking out. In Ireland, in South Africa, in Indonesian, where they are promising peace-keeping troops, and even in this country where the Australian government is finally going to recognise Palestine. In big ways and in small, there is no denying that the world is waking up!

“The arc of history is long,” said Martin Luther King, “but it bends towards justice.”

And we can see where that arc is leading us. We can see that arc of history bending towards Palestine.

The world is changing.

• It is changing in the United Nations, where more countries are voting in favour of Palestinian rights than ever before.

• It is changing in Chile, in Colombia, and in Bolivia as they cut diplomatic ties over the atrocities.
• It is changing in the hearts of ordinary people, something is shifting. The veil is lifting. The propaganda is cracking. And the truth is shining through.

So yes, we feel weak, we feel overwhelmed, and we feel broken-hearted, and yet we remember Saint Paul’s words:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Our weakness is not a flaw—it is a doorway. It is the place where grace enters. It is the place where solidarity is born.

We are not strong because we are unshakable. We are strong because we keep showing up.
We are strong because we cry and still speak.
We are strong because we mourn and still march.
We are strong because we believe—in justice, in dignity, in peace.

And we believe that Palestine will rise.
Not just out of the rubble, but into freedom.
Not just above their grief, but into joy.
Not just from despair, but into hope.

So let us carry that hope.
Let us echo that peace.
Let us be strong in the face of the pain.

Amen.