The Superior-General of the Society of the Divine Word, Fr Anselmo Ribeiro SVD, made a visit to Thailand and Myanmar in the SVD Australia Province this month, expressing his delight in the commitment of the missionaries and the variety of ministries being undertaken in both countries.

Over the course of five days, Fr Anselmo was given a first-hand experience of ministries ranging from parishes to AIDs ministry, teaching, formation, migrant ministry and more, all within an interfaith cultural context.

As we begin the season of Advent we enter into a time of prayer, reflection, waiting and preparing for the arrival of Jesus at Christmas.

At the same time, people in the United States have celebrated Thanksgiving this week. In our part of the world, Thanksgiving is not such a prevalent holiday, but it can prompt us to realise that we have much for which to give thanks, especially in the month of November when we remember in prayer those who have gone before us.

The Divine Word Missionaries Australia Province has celebrated the culmination of the Jubilee Year marking the 150^th anniversary of the founding of the Society of the Divine Word with a Thanksgiving Mass earlier this month.

It brings to completion a year of celebrations to mark the SVD Jubilee across the Province, in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar, under the theme: ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere, for Everyone’.

As you receive this edition of our ‘In the Word’ e-news, members of the SVD Australia Province are gathering together in Melbourne for a Provincial Assembly and the celebration of the closing of the 150^th Jubilee Year of the Society of the Divine Word.

This coincides with the recent announcement that Fr Boni Buahendri SVD has been appointed as the next Provincial from January next year. All of these threads coming together at the same time are powerful reminders that mission is never stagnant. It is, guided by the Holy Spirit, always on the move.

As Spring arrives, so too does the official celebration of the 150^th Anniversary of the founding by St Arnold Janssen of the Society of the Divine Word.

St Arnold founded his missionary society on September 8, 1875. Driven by prayer and a desire that all people should have the opportunity to know the Good News of Jesus Christ, he overcame much opposition to begin fulfilling his dream. From those humble beginnings, the SVD has flourished and grown to be the sixth biggest male religious order in the world, with nearly 6000 missionaries, from 76 nationalities, serving in 79 countries.

The Divine Word Missionaries’ annual retreats are now underway, with Augustinian priest, Fr Joseph Lam, leading the SVD Marsfield community in reflections on the theme, ‘Missionaries of Hope’.

Each district of the SVD AUS Province will have a week’s retreat, given by local presenters, providing spiritual nourishment and renewal for confreres.

The Society of the Divine Word, popularly known as the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD), is celebrating 150 years of service in the Lord’s Vineyard with the theme ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone’. It has grown from a humble foundation on September 8, 1875 in Steyl, the Netherlands to an international religious order of 6,000 priests, brothers serving in 79 countries.

In this context I thought of sharing some of my personal experience of being part of the SVD mission in New Zealand, with the SVD confreres with whom I worked and some of the insights I gained along the way, writes Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD.

The Feast of Pentecost was a Spirit-filled celebration across the SVD Australia Province, with some parishes celebrating Confirmations and a number of communities gathering with the Holy Spirit Sisters to mark the feast day.

St Arnold Janssen who founded the Divine Word Missionaries, the Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters, had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity and his spirituality was deeply rooted in his devotion to the Holy Spirit, who he saw as being essential for the Church's mission and the transformation of hearts.

The Divine Word Missionaries and Holy Spirit Sisters were well-represented at the Mission One Heart Many Voices conference in Sydney this month, with participants exploring the theme: Choosing Hope. Trust yourself to its leading.

Among the presenters at the conference was Bishop Tim Norton SVD, who led a workshop exploring the idea of being ‘Pilgrims of Hope in communities of diversity’, as well as being chief celebrant at the conference Mass and a panellist for a discussion forum.

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.