Dear Friends,

As this edition of In the Word lands in your inbox, I am preparing to represent the Divine Word Missionaries and the communities we serve at the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, which begins on Sunday.

Fr Prakash Menezes SVD, parish priest in Alice Springs, will also be attending as part of the Darwin Diocese’s delegation, due to his role as Episcopal Vicar for the Diocese’s Central Region.

Of course, none of the members of the Plenary Council have ever taken part in something like this before, as the last Australian Plenary Council was held in 1937, so there is both excitement and some trepidation at what is to come.

For me, the excitement outweighs any nervousness. I truly believe that this Plenary Council is a rare and wonderful opportunity to really listen to the Holy Spirit and discern a bold new path forward for the Catholic Church in Australia.

As a missionary, I have been gratified to see the focus on mission that has underpinned the Plenary Council thus far and I pray that we can continue to hold that focus as we proceed.

The agenda of the Plenary Council states this ambition for the process: “As children of God, disciples of Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, the Members of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia are called to develop concrete proposals to create a more missionary, Christ-centred Church in Australia at this time”.

It then goes on to quote Pope Francis, from Evangelii Gaudium 27: “I dream of a ‘missionary option’, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channelled for the evangelisation of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation”.

What a vision!

The agenda asks the members of the Plenary Council to bring that vision to reality by looking at six key areas: conversion, prayer, formation, structures, governance and institutions.

Please pray for us as we embark on this first Assembly. I will hold you all in my thoughts and prayers, and together we can open ourselves to the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church in Australia.

Yours in the Word,
Fr Asaeli Rass SVD,

Provincial.