Happy Easter to you! In this Easter season we continue to celebrate the Good News that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead – Alleluia!

As missionaries it is this good news of Jesus’ love for us and his victory over death and sin that we seek to share and it is news that is sorely needed in our wounded world.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. In today's Gospel, Jesus affirms Himself as the true Vine. The relationship between the vine and the branches is used by Jesus to describe the relationship between Himself and His disciples.

Who is Jesus Christ? This has been an age-old question that many people, particularly theologians, have tried to answer. In the gospel of John though, we read throughout the gospel that Jesus made seven declarations about who he is.

This Sunday's reading, taken from the Gospel of Luke, follows immediately after the report of Jesus' appearance to his disciples on the road to Emmaus.

“Peace be with you.” This was the greeting of Jesus to his apostles on his first appearance after he rose from the dead. After that, his disciples were first astonished at seeing him, then he greeted them again, “Peace be with you”.

Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation, ‘The Joy of the Gospel’, states, “There are Christians whose lives seems like Lent without Easter”. Are we that?

A new book on caring for our common home has been written and published for a Vietnamese audience, with a number of Divine Word Missionaries from the Australia Province and beyond contributing their knowledge and skills to it.

Entitled, ‘Caring for Our Common Home: A Christian Mission - A Human Responsibility’, the book was edited by Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD, who is a member of the Australia Province based in Bangkok.

Parishioners at the Immaculate Conception Church in the Thai village of Sangkhomphatthana will enjoy their Easter celebrations under a brand new roof – the final part of a long-running renovation project that will keep them dry in the rainy season and cooler in the heat.

Fr Truong Le SVD said the church, located near the Mekhong River bordering Laos, had been in need of a few roof and ceiling ever since he arrived in the parish four years ago, but a damaging storm during the rainy season made the project more urgent.

Cuong Quoc Dang SVD’s profession of final vows as a Divine Word Missionary in Box Hill, Melbourne, this month, followed by his ordination as a deacon, were pivotal moments in a winding, but grace-filled vocational journey.

Accompanied by his mother and parish priest, who travelled from Vietnam to share in the joy of the occasion, Cuong was also surrounded by fellow Divine Word Missionaries and other religious and lay people connected to the SVDs.

For each of us, this has been a unique experience of Lent and Holy Week, reflects Fr Asaeli Rass SVD.

When I arrived in Myanmar few days ago, much of the suburbs of Yangon were still in darkness and reports of ongoing armed conflict in northern Shan, Rakhine and Kachin are adding uncertainty about the future of this beautiful country.  I too am conscious of what’s happening in Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and science has not completely eradicated COVID-19. It is shocking to think how much the world has changed in such a brief time. Now we enter all of this, into the epic stories of the Paschal Triduum.