Three young Divine Word Missionaries took their final vows earlier this month and were also ordained to the diaconate, marking a significant point on their vocational journey.

Yosef Meda and Adrianus Mai from Indonesia joined Clement Baffoe from Ghana in professing their vows before Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD on Saturday, March 15 at St Paschal’s Chapel, Box Hill.

They were ordained to the diaconate the following day by Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne Terence Curtin.

In his homily at the Mass for Final Vows, Fr Rass referred to the parable of the Prodigal Son, reflecting on his own time as a missionary in Ghana, a nation which has a painful history of its people being bought and sold in the slave trade. Fr Rass said the story of the Prodigal Son tells the story of all who have had to leave their home and who have become dispossessed.

“The story of humanity as told by Jesus himself is highlighted in the Parable of the Prodigal Son,” he said.

Fr Rass said that after just completing 12 years of working with Aboriginal Australians in Central Australia, he is more aware than ever that their “dispossession from land and forcible removal from their parents have caused intergenerational trauma with devastating effects”.

“I strongly believe we as church need to do more to increase our efforts in bringing home all dispossessed peoples from all corners of the globe,” he said.

“Clement, Yosef and Adrianus, as you are about to commit yourself totally to God and His mission, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in the charism of the Divine Word Missionaries, learn to be part of a community of reconciliation and bridge-building.

“Take on the face of mercy demonstrated by the merciful Father in Luke 15 and Micah 7.

“This is our prophetic call today which will transcend traditional and fragmentary barriers of creed, race and colour. It will define who you are, where you are. At the end of the day, it is ultimately God’s project and be grateful to have been invited to participate.”

In preparation for his Final Vows, Clement wrote a reflection on his vocation story – a journey which began with the presence of SVD priests in his home parish in Ghana. He entered the local minor seminary to finish high school and while there, his vocational call grew and he decided to join the SVD.

“The saintly lives of the Divine Word priests in my parish made me apply to join the Divine Word Missionaries immediately after my Minor Seminary,” he said.

Clement studied philosophy for three years in the St Victor’s Major Seminary and then did one year of novitiate at the Divine Word Novitiate in Nkwatia-Kwahu in Ghana. He came to Australia in 2016 to complete his theological studies at Yarra Theological Union and is currently doing his diaconate pastoral work in the St Martin de Porres Parish at Avondale Heights in Melbourne.

“In my vocation journey, I have come to know that God is a person and knowing God is a process,” he said. “No-one can ever claim to have known this mystery fully and this understanding makes my vocation story equally mysterious.

“It is my desire to bring God’s love to others, especially those to whom I serve. I pray to be of service always.”

Yosef, from Boawae in Flores, Indonesia, said he got to know the SVD when he was a young boy.

“In my parish, St Francis Xavier, Boawa, there was an old missionary who witnessed the love and kindness of God through both words and action,” he said.

“I often met him when he visited my grandfather. I rarely engaged in their conversation. However, he often said, ‘Here is our future missionary’. I remember that very well. I think God caught me straightaway at that moment.”

Yosef entered the minor seminary in 2006 and upon completion of his studies there in 2010 decided to join the SVD, professing his first vows on August 15, 2012. In 2016 he received an invitation to complete his studies and formation with the SVD in Australia.

“Through all these years, I realise that there are some significant points that I have found in my vocation,” he said.

“First, vocation is related to God’s will. However, God does not impose anything on me. The Lord is interested in me and cooperated with me in every step that I have made. God does not force me, but God most surely overpowers me.

“Second, my calling is an ongoing process. I develop and evolve in it throughout a lifetime. I am not involved in a vocation by chance.

“Third, it is a relational calling. I am called to build relationships with God, others and creation. In this context, I am called and invited to understand and to be myself through my relationship with God, others and creation. Above all, I realise that my vocation is meaningful when I know who I am and what I can do for others and creation.”

And Adrianus, also from Flores in Indonesia said his call to the priesthood started when he and his parents attended an ordination ceremony in his home-town.

During his final year of junior high school, the parish priest visited his class and Adrianus told him spontaneously that he wanted to be a priest and he accepted that priest’s invitation to continue his studies at the minor seminary, joining the SVD in 2010 and professing his first vows in 2012.

Adrianus joined the SVD formation community in Dorish Maru College, Melbourne in 2016 and will finish his theology studies at Yarra Theological Union this year.

“Final vows and ordination are not the final stages of my life,” he reflected.

“Rather, they are the first steps of my ongoing journey. The grace of God and the prayers of people of goodwill are needed, so that this vocation may be nourished.

“I strongly trust in Jesus. I believe that He is always with me on this journey.”

PHOTOS: Thien Nguyen SVD.