My ministry with Vietnamese refugees in Bangkok has been one of the most meaningful parts of my missionary journey. I feel a special connection with them because I, too, was once a refugee, reflects Fr John Le SVD.

I spent three years in a refugee camp in the Philippines. That experience taught me what it means to leave home, live with uncertainty and homesickness, depend on the kindness of others, and wait anxiously for the possibility of a new future. Because I have walked that journey myself, I can listen to refugees’ stories and understand their sufferings and struggles with a deeper sense of compassion.

Three young men who took their final vows as Divine Word Missionaries earlier this year and were ordained as deacons say their diaconate is teaching them how to love and serve God’s people as they prepare for priestly ordination in November.

Deacons Gusty Siga SVD, Khanh Nguyen SVD, and Krisna Papalesa SVD have been serving in various parishes around Australia.

Integral Human Development concerns the whole person and the whole of creation as well, especially in relation to the challenges presented by the contemporary issues of ecology and digital technology, two guest speakers told the SVD AUS Province’s latest online seminar.

The seminar held on September 18, explored the topic of "Integral Human Development in a Fragmented World: Perspectives on Ecology and Digital Technology” and featured guest speakers Fr Alexander Rodlach SVD and Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD.

Migrants will always be in the heart of the Catholic Church, finding a home away from home, a parish and community that is always open to welcome them into their midst, Fr Jun Perez SVD said in a presentation to a national conference on migrants and refugees recently.

Fr Jun was among the guest speakers at the 8th ACMRO conference in Sydney, which took the theme ‘Migrant Communities in a Synodal Church’, exploring how migrant communities serve as evangelisers and missionaries of hope within the Church and the broader Australian community.

The Janssen Spirituality Centre in Boronia on Melbourne’s outskirts is inviting individuals and groups to a range of activities and opportunities for reflection to help promote both inner peace and world peace at a grassroots level.

From spiritual direction to interfaith dinners, Bible studies and retreat days, the Centre aims to be a tranquil space of peace and reflection within easy reach of the city.

As you receive this edition of In the Word, the universal Church has just celebrated the 112^th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

Taking the theme, ‘Even just one of these children’, inspired by Matthew 18:10, Pope Leo XIV’s message for the day focused on the vulnerability of minors on the move who are forced to flee due to war, poverty, violence and environmental disasters.

On behalf of the leadership team of the AUS Province, with a grateful heart I greet each one of you on this special day, as we celebrate the Foundation Day of the Society of the Divine Word.

Arnold Janssen, the founder of the SVD struggled with the idea of founding a religious congregation in a very challenging historical situation, writes Fr James Areechira SVD, in a reflection ahead of SVD Foundation Day on September 8.

Our constitutions characterise Arnold Janssen as a man of prayer, of unshakeable trust in God– a man of deep faith. He was ever open to God’s plans, offering unconditional surrender to his will. An open-minded man of great apostolic zeal, Arnold responded to the call of the Holy Spirit and the needs of people.

Fr Truong Le SVD cares for three rural parishes in different villages of the Isan region of northeastern Thailand – All Saints Church in Ban Muang, The Epiphany Church in Ban Chad, and St Lucia in Namphong.

And while each of those communities in Khon Kaen Province are small and located in an area known as being the poorest region in the country, Fr Truong says the friendship and support from locals, both Catholics and Buddhists alike, and an enduring love for the Eucharist, form the foundations of his parish ministry.

Queensland’s five Catholic bishops visited Palm Island recently, spending time with parishioners, school students, staff and religious, while prayerfully acknowledging both the troubled history of the island for Indigenous peoples as well as the hope that is alive there today.

Parish Priest Fr Manh Le SVD said the visit was an occasion for what he has termed an “Indigenous conversion” of heart for the bishops.