Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD may be serving in the middle of the Australian desert, but that remote location hasn’t stopped him being recently appointed as Coordinator of the Biblical Apostolate for the SVD Asia-Pacific Zone.

Fr Elmer, originally from the Philippines, is the Parish Priest of Santa Teresa in Central Australia and he is also the Biblical Coordinator for the SVD AUS Province.

Three retiring members of the SVD AUS Province Finance Advisory Committee have been presented with Papal Blessings in recognition for their work in helping the Province to provide good stewardship of its resources, in the service of Christ’s mission.

Peter Dent, Brian Rigney and Lou Youssef received the framed blessing from Pope Francis during a special presentation at Marsfield last month, as well as an official thank you letter from the SVD Superior-General, Fr Budi Kleden.

There was this story of a boy who was playing on a cruise liner with his alphabet blocks. Then in a few minutes, the ship encountered a storm.

This week is the 11^th Sunday of ordinary time. We continue our journey of faith, from Sunday to Sunday, to be nourished by Christ through his Words.

For the first thousand years of Christianity, bishops, priests, and all the faithful would talk about the Christian Community as the “real” body and blood of Christ.

A new book, co-edited by Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD, is set to shine a light on some of the creative pastoral responses implemented around the world in response to COVID-19 pandemic.

‘Pastoral Creativity Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Experiences’ chronicles the pastoral responses that pastoral agents, ordained and lay, implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic from first-person narratives woven together to form a tapestry of rich and moving personal stories.

Today we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  It is a mystery that is part of our Catholic DNA, but we seldom reflect on it.  When we make the sign of the Cross, we say: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

As this edition of In the Word arrives in your inbox we are still rejoicing in the recent feast of Pentecost and the great gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our Church.

St Arnold Janssen, the founder of the Divine Word Missionaries, had a particular devotion to the Holy Spirit. He felt, that in his lifetime in the late 1800s in Europe, the Holy Spirit was the underrated personage of the Holy Trinity and that more emphasis was placed on the Father and the Son.

Mother earth, mother nature, or as we hear in Isaiah, if a mother should ever forget the child of her womb, I shall never forget you, says God. I am THE MOTHER of all that is. I have born you in my womb, and my joy is complete when you are in my arms, happy and complete. It is my joy to give you life and for you to have it to the full. Remain in my love.

The power of giving life is not only a biological reality, as precious and special as that is, but giving life also includes those who nurture, those who listen, those who care for, those who reach out to others, reflects Fr Nick de Groot SVD.

Children from low-income families in SVD parishes in Beungkan Province, Thailand are preparing for the new school year with fresh educational supplies thanks to an initiative from their Parish Priest, Fr Truong Le SVD.

Fr Truong cares for the parishes of Immaculate Conception Church and Jesus of Nazareth Church in Beungkan Province, near the Mekong River, bordering Laos. It is the newest province in Thailand and one of the poorest.