Fr Prakash Menezes SVD says his return to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Alice Springs feels like “coming home”, as it was the first parish he was assigned to as a Divine Word Missionary more than five years ago.

Back then, Fr Prakash was in Alice Springs as assistant priest, but last month, he returned to be installed as Parish Priest.

The SVD AUS Province has welcomed two new postulants, who have answered Jesus’ call to “come and see”.

Aaron Ong from Brunei and Shehan Fernando from Sri Lanka have taken the step to join the Divine Word Missionaries and test their vocation to religious missionary life.

The SVD is establishing a new mission in the Rockhampton Diocese, based in the regional town of Emerald in Queensland’s central highlands.

The Divine Word Missionaries were invited to take up the appointment by the Bishop of Rockhampton Michael McCarthy.

 The Gospel reading of today speaks of the transfiguration of the Lord. Jesus’ appearance changed on the high mountain: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white.

SVD missionary students spread out from Dorish Maru College in Melbourne over the summer months to take up pastoral placements in different Divine Word Missionary communities around Australia.

Some enjoyed the experience of suburban parish life, while others immersed themselves in Indigenous culture in Central Australia, or joined in ministry at the Janssen Spirituality Centre in Victoria.

The SVD AUS Province’s newest mission in Myanmar is continuing to unfold, as the missionaries get to the know the people, the language and the place.

The Divine Word Missionaries have been on the ground in Myanmar for almost two years now, following an invitation from Cardinal Charles Bo SDB to establish a Bible ministry in his Archdiocese of Yangon.

Luis Robles from Ecuador has been engaged in mission work since he was 15 years old, and now, as a Divine Word Missionary student, he is spending time in the SVD AUS Province, opening himself up to a different culture and experience.

Luis, aged 26, is in Australia as part of the SVD’s Overseas Training Program (OTP) and says he is enjoying everything he does and “trying to make memories”.

Divine Word Missionaries in leadership positions throughout the AUS Province came together recently for a workshop to explore the role of leadership in a mission context and to share their experiences.

The workshop was held at the SVD provincial offices in Marsfield, Sydney, and included confreres from right across the province – Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar.

As you receive this edition of In the Word, we have just entered into the season of Lent, a time which calls us especially to look at how we can become closer to God and to our neighbour.

This is an important time of reflection and action for all Christians – a time of taking spiritual stock – and for us, as Divine Word Missionaries, it is a time to dig deep and consider afresh how we are meeting the needs of those we are called to accompany and serve.

Divine Word Missionary students and newly arrived missionaries in the AUS Province have spent part of their summer taking part in an Acculturation Program to help them adjust to life and ministry in Australia.

Entitled ‘Living and Working in the Multicultural Society of Australia’, the program was held at St Leonards in Victoria and included young students from a diverse cultural background, including Vietnam, Ghana, Ecuador, Mexico, China and Thailand.