SVD Jubilee book launch Jan 2025 250The Society of the Divine Word has this month celebrated the feast days of its two SVD saints, St Arnold Janssen and St Joseph Freinademetz, with the occasions taking on special significance during the SVD’s 150th Jubilee Year.

The Australian Province of the Society of the Divine Word celebrated the feast days with special Masses and social gatherings of confreres, SSpS Sisters, parishioners, lay partners and partners in mission, while in Rome the day was marked by the release of a new book, entitled ‘Treasures of the Past and Experiences of the Present’.

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.

Fr Asaeli Rass SVD profile pic 250Happy New Year to all and welcome to the first edition of ‘In the Word’ for 2025.

We are embarking on a big year, with the 150th anniversary in September of the SVD’s Foundation by St Arnold Janssen, under the theme of Witnessing to the Light, and the Jubilee of Hope being celebrated across the Universal Church.

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.

The birthday of our Mother Mary, 8th September, also marked the Foundation Day of the Society of the Divine Word.

In 2024 it also marked the opening of the SVD Sesquicentenary Jubilee (the year of celebrations leading up to their 150th anniversary in 2025), with the theme “Witnessing to the Light: from Everywhere for Everyone”, writes Fr Peter Bang SVD.

Qld District Gathering 2023 Marian grotto 250The SVD Australia Province has appointed Fr Nick de Groot SVD to take up the role of Province Ministry and Performance Appraiser in a move aimed at providing ongoing formation and “stirring the embers” of missionary service among the members of the Province.

Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD said the appointment fulfills a recommendation of the 2017 Royal Commission “that each religious institute implement mandatory national standards and undergo regular performance appraisals.”.

Fr Olivier Noclam SVD at ST Peters Basilica 250Missionary life in Central Australia is a world away from the cobblestones and church domes of Rome, but Fr Oliver Noclam SVD is about to make that transition as he takes up a new appointment for the Society of the Divine Word.

Fr Ollie, who is currently Parish Priest at Santa Teresa - Ltyentye Apurte, an Aboriginal community about 80km from Alice Springs, has been appointed as Assistant English Secretary at the SVD’s Generalate.

Fr Asaeli Rass SVD profile pic 250This Christmas will not only open a Jubilee Year for the Universal Church, declared by Pope Francis, but also comes as the Society of the Divine Word celebrates its 150th Jubilee Year.

The theme of the SVD Jubilee is ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone’ and that theme makes a great Christmas meditation, because it was on that first Christmas, more than 2000 years ago, that the Light of Christ came into our world. And we, as followers of Christ and missionaries, are witnesses to that Light.

Dear brothers and sisters, in the second and the third Sunday of Advent, the gospel talks about John the Baptist two times in row, calling us to prepare our heart, to make a straight way for the Lord.

Fr Jun Perez SVD vertical 250If we want to achieve Peace, Justice must be served. If we want to live harmoniously with nature, we have to protect our environment, writes Fr Jun Perez SVD.

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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.