There’s this story about the US Civil War when President Abraham Lincoln was being briefed by his generals on the state of the war.

As a Divine Word Missionary, it is my profound privilege to share the Good News of God wherever I am called, writes Fr Niran Veigas SVD. For nine years, I was blessed to proclaim the Gospel in Russia, answering the Lord’s invitation to be His instrument of love and hope. Following this, I embraced another calling—to serve the Aboriginal community in Australia.

For the past two years, I have had the honour of ministering to a remote Aboriginal community in the northernmost part of Australia. It has been a journey of grace and growth, where I feel truly blessed to bring the Good News of Christ to those who long for His presence. Witnessing their faith, resilience, and openness to the Gospel has deepened my own commitment to this sacred mission.

“Blessed are you who are poor…blessed are you who are hungry…blessed are you who are weeping…blessed are you when people hate you…Familiar words that we might have heard several times already.

The first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, speaks about a vision that Isaiah had of the incredible presence and power of God. He felt totally incapable of expressing this reality of God.

The first words of God in the book of Genesis were [Then God said:] Let there be LIGHT, and there was light. For me as I reflect on the theme of our 150^th founding anniversary, as the biblical apostolate coordinator of the province, the Light is very powerful, writes Fr Elmer Ibarra. 

While we believe that the task of becoming a missionary is a call for everyone, I believe that as Divine Word Missionaries priests and brothers, we are specially called to testify to the light in the best way we know how by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Most of us would want to imagine what our child would be when he or she grows up. For some of us, we may imagine that our child would become a doctor one day, or a teacher, or that they could become a footy player.

When you hear the words “Good News”, what first comes to your mind? Maybe for some, good news is winning the lotto. Maybe for others good news is your girlfriend accepting your proposal to get married.

I’m unashamed to say that I’m a “Mama’s Boy”. Whenever I needed something and I couldn’t get it from my dad, I always turned to my mum and without a doubt my dad would give in.

The Baptism of the Lord is not only about Jesus’ baptism, it is also about our baptism and the need for baptism in general and about Jesus being truly human even though He is truly God.

At a Christmas Mass for children one year, I passed the statue of the baby Jesus among the children asking them to touch and feel it, then tell me their feeling about the newly born baby Jesus.