“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John1:14)

God became human and lived among us. What a mind-blowing reality. As I come to the end of my six-year term as Provincial, I have been reflecting in this Advent season on how the missionary must be the incarnation for the people to whom we are sent. We must embody the reality of God-with-us.

We are Divine Word Missionaries – that is missionaries of the Word made flesh. We are present in 80 countries across the world. Here in the AUS Province we are present in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar. It is our mission to draw deeply from the well of the Divine Word and to go out and be with the people, especially the poor and the marginalised.

As I look back on the last six years, I hope that this sense of ‘being with’ the people and ‘dwelling among’ them, has been a distinguishing feature of our ministry in this part of the world.

It drives our vision for parish ministry, where we often serve large multicultural communities in lower socio-economic areas; it drives our chaplaincy ministry, where we seek to be with the stranger and the newcomer; it drives our formation ministry in which we help shape and prepare new missionaries; it drives our ministry of care and love for AIDS patients and the orphaned in Thailand; it drives our new Bible ministry in Myanmar; and it drives our desire to forge stronger bonds with our Lay Partners.

The life of the missionary is one where we are called to move on at various times and let others come in and pick up our work. At the end of my term as Provincial, it is time for me to move on to a new ministry. I do so with gratitude to God for all that has been accomplished in the last six years and with great hope for the future of the Province.

I thank all those who have accompanied and supported me as Provincial, especially my Provincial Council, confreres, and staff.

Fr Asaeli Raass SVD will take up the role of Provincial from January 1, 2020, and I pray for God’s blessing upon him and his Provincial Council as they carry the Province forward in the next term.

This Christmas, may we meditate afresh on the miracle of God becoming flesh so that he could dwell among us and may we make this divine indwelling a reality in our life and in the life of those we meet and live amongst.

I wish you and your family a blessed Christmas.

Yours in the Word,

Fr Henry Adler SVD

Provincial.