Sometimes I ponder what sin I regularly commit? We commit sins “in my thought, in my word and in what I have done” as we often confess and ask for God’s forgiveness before Mass.

Fr Budi Kleden SVD Message for St Arnold Janssen feast day 2023 250One of the spiritual legacies of our Founder, St Arnold Janssen, is his prayer: "May the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people," said SVD Superior-General Fr Budi Kleden in his message for St Arnold's feast day this month.
 
The heart of Jesus is a heart rooted in his intimate relationship with the Father and his loving embrace of humanity, a heart full of humility and compassion, a heart that rejoices in the Lord and beats for the suffering humanity and the world, a heart that is united with the Lord and feels the pain of the world. If this heart lives in us, we become missionary disciples who are faithful to the Word, and one, in solidarity with the people. Saint Arnold passed on to us this prayer and is teaching us this prayer with his life.

Ukraine1 250The friends and partners in mission of the SVD Australia Province raised more than $70,000 in recent months for two special mission appeals – one to assist the people affected by the war in Ukraine and the other, to purchase a campervan for ministry to remote communities in Central Australia.

“We are very grateful for the generosity of people who donated to these special appeals,” says Mission Secretary Fr Viet Nguyen SVD.

Acculturation Course 2023 250The newest arrivals in the SVD Australia Province have taken a deep-dive into Australian life, attending the province’s Summer Acculturation Program, which they welcomed as an opportunity to know more about the place and the people and also to grow further as missionaries.
 
The workshop ran over two weeks at the SVD’s retreat centre at St Leonard’s in Victoria. It was designed for all confreres who have recently arrived in the AUS Province, both students and priests.
 

Here in Australia the idiom “turn something on its head” is used quite a lot, especially in sports. When a team is leading by a big score and then the opponent rallies and is now in the lead, you can hear commentators saying, “The game has been turned on its head”.

Santa Teresa iron crib 2022 250The Advent period has been a tuneful and generous one around the SVD Australia Province, with a number of SVD parishes holding Christmas Carol events for the first time since COVID, and others preparing food hampers for those in need this Christmas season.

In Santa Teresa, Central Australia, the community held their first ever Carols event and their famous Christmas lights display took place in the usual spectacular fashion, lighting up the desert sky. On top of that, the isolated Indigenous community was also blessed to receive a brand new giant nativity scene.

Mission Day seminar panel 2022 250The SVD Mission Day, hosted by Dorish Maru College and Yarra Theological Union/University of Divinity, made a welcome return this month, following a two-year COVID hiatus, with speakers exploring the topic, ‘For a Missionary Church in a Wounded World’.

Keynote speaker at the Mission Day event was Fr Asaeli Rass SVD, Provincial. The Respondent was Sr Anne Jordan PBVM, of Cana Communities. The formal program was followed by Mass and a shared multicultural meal.

Fr Asaeli Rass SVD profile pic 250Last month, I received a letter from Superior General, Father Budi Kleden SVD, reappointing me as AUS Provincial for another term from January 1, 2023 to – December  31, 2025.

I was lost for words and humbled to be reappointed again knowing that I don’t really deserve such a position with responsibilities that never end! My request to you is please pray for me as I pray for you.

Fr Truong Le SVD teaching English to Thai children 150As the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday this week, Divine Word Missionaries in the Australia Province have reflected on the importance of their commitment to learn the language of the people with whom they are ministering.

The very first thing that Divine Word Missionaries do when they are assigned to a country is to learn the language, because it is in being able to communicate with the people that they learn more about them and their culture and really get to know and to love them in Christ.

For those who watch the Olympics, one of the so-called “blue ribbon” or glamour events is the 100-metre dash. It is a race where most of the time it will be over in about 10 seconds.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

In the spirit of reconciliation, the Society of the Divine Word, Australia Province, acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, sky, and community.

We acknowledge their skin-groups, story-lines, traditions, religiosity and living cultures.

We pay respect to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all indigenous peoples of New Zealand, Thailand, and Myanmar.

We are committed to building with them, a brighter future together.