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News & Events

Boni installation 150The multicultural community of St Mark’s Parish, Inala, turned out in force recently for the official installation of their new parish priest, Fr Boni Buahendri SVD.

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge celebrated the Installation Mass and more than 600 people were there to take part in the occasion.

Happy birthday 150Every year, the Society of the Divine Word celebrates its founding day on 8 September, which coincides with the Nativity of Mary. This year marks the 144th anniversary since St. Arnold Janssen formally established this missionary society, which presently has over 6,000 members serving in more than 80 countries around the world. I am writing this reflection from Thailand, where the Society has made its presence since exactly 20 years ago.

Unlike the founding day of our Society, we do not know the actual date on which the Blessed Virgin Mary was born. If I am not mistaken, despite the countless apparitions of Mary around the world over the centuries, she has never revealed this little piece of information to us. However, the Church has chosen a particular day in the liturgical calendar in order to celebrate Mary’s birthday, just as the Church has done the same with the birthdays of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

Baptised and Sent logo 150The Divine Word Missionaries will kick off the Extraordinary Month of Mission next month with the annual SVD Mission Day, to take place in Melbourne on Saturday October 5, exploring the theme, ‘A Missionary Impulse Capable of Transforming Everything’.

Guest speakers at the Mission Day Seminar to be held at Yarra Theological Union in Box Hill will be husband and wife leaders in education and mission, Therese and Jim D’Orsa. The day will also include a celebration of the Eucharist at St Paschal’s Chapel and a shared multicultural meal at the SVD’s Dorish Maru College.

Friday, 27 September 2019 09:45

When I was in prison you visited me

Prison fence by markus spiske unsplash 150Prison ministry is a core part of the mission of the Divine Word Missionaries in the Central Australian district, and while this ministry can take many forms, it is essentially about simply being present to people in prison, human to human, bringing the love of Christ.

Province Mission Secretary Fr Truc Quoc Phan SVD, was recently in Alice Springs when he was asked to officiate at a liturgy inside the local prison for a man who had recently died in his community 280km away, but whose family members in jail had not been able to attend his funeral.

Foundation Day 2019 group pic 150SVD confreres joined with Holy Spirit Sisters, lay partners and staff earlier this month to celebrate Foundation Day at the Marsfield community in Sydney.

The day, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, marked the 144th anniversary of the founding of the Divine Word Missionaries by St Arnold Janssen in Steyl, Holland, in 1875, and was celebrated at SVD communities throughout the AUS Province and around the world.

Friday, 27 September 2019 09:26

Pope Francis reminds us we are mission

Henry Headshot 2019 150 Light backgroundAs you receive this edition of In the Word in your inbox, we are preparing, with the rest of the Church, to respond to Pope Francis’ invitation to celebrate an Extraordinary Mission Month throughout October.

This coincides with the annual celebration of World Mission Sunday on October 20, but Pope Francis has called us to an even more active awareness and promotion of mission this year to commemorate the centenary of Pope Benedict XV’s Apostolic Letter Maximum Ilud, published in November 1919.

Lay Partners workshop group 2019 150The SVD Lay Partners group in Marsfield is continuing its journey of growth and formation in SVD life and spirituality, with a recent presentation on the life of founder, St Arnold Janssen.

The presentation was delivered by Fr Frank Gerry SVD, who has rich experience in SVD formation, and Fr Dom Flores SVD, who is accompanying the Lay Partners group.

Fr Mike Knight SVD on mission in PNG 150 brighterWhile at Sydney University in the late sixties, I belonged to the Catholic Bushwalking Club. Groups of us would go for day walks and weekend camping in the Blue Mountains, this being a well-known mountain range west of Sydney. There were a number of Columban Missionary priests who were also present on these different walks and camping weekends.

When I finished my studies in Geology, I applied and was accepted to work for a mining company in Queensland. However at the same time that career seemed less and less appealing. One time when I was on a Bushwalking camping trip I experienced a calling to follow Jesus as a priest.

Multicultural Sunday Marsfield 2019 150The St Arnold Janssen Chapel and the Marsfield community grounds were a kaleidoscope of colour and multicultural prayer, song, dance and food recently for the annual Multicultural Sunday celebrations.

Friends of the SVD from various ethnic chaplaincy groups, Bible groups, breakfast groups and communities who worship at the chapel in Marsfield came together in national dress under the theme of ‘Being Neighbour’.

Fr Asaeli Raass profile pic 150In the SVD Australian Province, attempts at being prophetic about Christ present in the people who have been pushed aside have taken various forms over the years. Prophetic indeed, when Divine Word Missionaries are trying to recognise the face of Christ in caring for asylum seekers and refugees (Melbourne & Bangkok), advocating for people living with AIDS (Thailand), ongoing support for the plight of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Central Australia) and constantly raising funds to assist the many needed projects around the world (AUS Mission Office and MissionNZ).

Many have also dared to reach out in friendship to people at CANA communities in Sydney, who are suffering from loneliness, mental illness and addictions. The Missionaries also work in faith communities in more than 60 countries, with people of all faiths and none.

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