Dear Friends,

Happy Easter! Christ is risen, he is risen indeed. Alleluia.

After our last two Easters where the communal celebration of this pinnacle of our faith life was severely limited due to COVID-19, what a joy it was to gather in numbers again to welcome the Risen Lord.

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  (John 20:30-31) 

To borrow a story from my friend, Fr Bel San Luis, there was a man who was visiting a seminary. He saw a poster with a phrase in big letters, “Christ is the answer”. Puzzled he wrote at the bottom of the poster, “What is the question?”

With the arrival of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, our Lenten journey is almost over. The concept of Lent as a journey, rather than a time of denial, has been frequently suggested and promoted by Pope Francis.

Every age has its own rhythms. These rhythms are influenced by the social, scientific, economic, and technological developments that take place in human life. Since ancient times, the discovery of fire changed the way our human ancestors consumed food and spent their time in the evening after the sun went down. Before writing was invented and literacy became widespread, storytelling around a common fire was likely one of the most popular evening activities, especially among preliterate and nonliterate societies, reflects Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD.

Once the printing press was invented in the 1400s, reading was incorporated into the lives of many people who were literate and could get access to books and printed materials. This one single invention was as revolutionary to the human mind as the discovery of the fire was life changing to the human physiology. And both had tremendous impact on human culture. The rhythms of human life have continued to change and evolve over the ages with each new discovery, invention, and insight into the way the world works.

Brisbane’s vibrant and rapidly growing Vietnamese Catholic community is rejoicing as building begins on a new church and community centre that will be the heart of their worship and cultural activities, reports The Catholic Leader.

“It is wonderful – we’ve been waiting for so long, we are going to have our own place we can call home,” chair of the community’s pastoral committee Ken Huynh said.

SVD student Tin Trinh professed his final vows as a Divine Word Missionary this month and was ordained to the Diaconate, as three of his confreres renewed their temporary vows.

With the nation’s borders open once more, Tin’s parents were able to join him for the special occasion, travelling from Vietnam to be part of the occasion.

What does it mean to be a missionary? I’ve been contemplating that this past month, as our Australia Province has celebrated a series of first vows, temporary vow renewals and final vows.

While these celebrations of vows have been wonderful affirmations of God alive and at work in our young people, to be missionary is not just the task of the ordained or the religiously vowed.

The rural atmosphere and a warm welcome from the local community has ensured that Fr Francois Andrianihantana SVD is feeling right at home in his first missionary assignment in Emerald, Queensland.

Fr Francois, who was born and raised in Madagascar, was ordained to the priesthood in Melbourne on November 27 and arrived in Emerald Parish in January this year.

The Syro-Malabar community in Alice Springs is set to receive a new chaplain, in Divine Word Missionary priest, Fr Joe Jacob SVD.

Fr Joe, who is from Kerala in India, was ordained in 2020 and his first missionary assignment is to the Australia Province of the SVD.