Divine Word Missionaries played an active role in the ‘Mission: one heart, many voices’ conference, held in Sydney this month, offering presentations and reflections as part of three days of exploring the themes of truth-telling, reconciliation and synodality.

Bishop Tim Norton SVD, who was a keynote speaker at the conference which was presented by Catholic Mission and Catholic Religious Australia, invited those present to not only seek truth-telling at a national level, or in the Church, but also to look for truth-tellers in their own lives.

Religious are uniquely placed to lead the way on Pope Francis’ path of synodality, because they are already living a synodal life within their religious communities, Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv told the SVD Provincial Chapter.

Bishop Vincent was the keynote speaker at the Chapter, and he said that despite religious life being “fundamentally at a critical point in our country” due to many ageing Congregations, there was still scope for Religious to have a prophetic voice leading into the future.

In the SVD Australian Province, attempts at being prophetic about Christ present in the people who have been pushed aside have taken various forms over the years. Prophetic indeed, when Divine Word Missionaries are trying to recognise the face of Christ in caring for asylum seekers and refugees (Melbourne & Bangkok), advocating for people living with AIDS (Thailand), ongoing support for the plight of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Central Australia) and constantly raising funds to assist the many needed projects around the world (AUS Mission Office and MissionNZ).

Many have also dared to reach out in friendship to people at CANA communities in Sydney, who are suffering from loneliness, mental illness and addictions. The Missionaries also work in faith communities in more than 60 countries, with people of all faiths and none.

The year has begun in typical fast-paced fashion for us all, and we are just about to leave summer behind in most of the AUS Province and head into Autumn.

I quite like the fact that here in the south, Lent normally takes place in Autumn – a time when we see the leaves start to fall from the trees and we ponder the fact that they will return to the earth, from where they came.

The year has begun in typical fast-paced fashion for us all, and we are just about to leave summer behind in most of the AUS Province and head into Autumn.

I quite like the fact that here in the south, Lent normally takes place in Autumn – a time when we see the leaves start to fall from the trees and we ponder the fact that they will return to the earth, from where they came.