Dear Friends,

In the coming week, from August 2-9, the Catholic Church in Australia is celebrating National Vocations Awareness Week.

A Vocation is first and foremost a gift from God. It guides us in how we respond to God’s love and live that out in our life. For many, God leads us to marriage and family life. For others, it may be single life, while some are called to the vocation of priesthood or Religious life.

We, the members of the Society of the Divine Word, have been called to Religious life as missionaries. This means that we go out to people all over the world to share God's love, especially with those living on the margins of society.

The SVD Australia Province covers Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar.

Our pastoral priorities include working with First Nations communities, serving multicultural parishes, migrant communities, rural and remote parishes, and providing formation for young missionaries, among other ministries.

We are part of an international community of Catholic missionaries – priests and brothers - founded in 1875 by St Arnold Janssen. Today there are more than 6000 members serving in more than 80 countries. There are also two women’s religious congregations founded by St Arnold, the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters and the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters.

As you can see, there are many ways we help to share the love of Jesus through our Missionary Vocation, just as there are many different ways that each of us lives out our Vocation.

If a consecrated life of faith, mission, service, and love is calling to your heart, we warmly invite young men from within our Province area to consider learning more about us, by reaching out to our Vocations Coordinator Fr Joe Jacob SVD via this link.

And in the words of our founder, St Arnold Janssen, “May the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all”.

Yours in the Word,

Fr Boni Buahendri SVD,

Provincial.