A contractor needed one more man to chop down trees for export. One day, two men appeared willing to do the job but only one could be employed so what the contractor did was to put the two men to a test, they were to chop down as many trees as they could in an eight-hour shift and the man who chopped down more trees got the job.

An atheist friend once said, “The Bible message is nice to read, but it is too beautiful to be true”. Of course, it is beautiful, who would say otherwise?

As this edition of In the Word reaches you, my thoughts and prayers are with the Oceania Delegation of the Laudato Si Movement whose members are attending the United Nations Oceans Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Having recently been nominated to join the new Laudato Si Oceania Regional Council, and, of course, being a Pacific Islander myself and knowing the impact of the climate on our Pacific region and the world at large, I’m praying for those gathered in Lisbon who will give voice to the ocean and its needs.

The seminarians in the Divine Word Missionaries’ Australia Province have been hitting the road recently to spend time getting to know some of the youth in SVD parishes in Queensland and sharing their vocation stories with them.

The road-trip from Melbourne’s Dorish Maru College to the parishes of St Maximilian Kolbe in Marsden and St Mark’s, Inala, is part of the mission outreach of SVD Youth, which was established in the Province earlier this year.

This Sunday, we celebrate the feast of The Most Holy Trinity, one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. This is a celebration not as a theological discourse to be understood completely, but rather good news to be celebrated and enriched by.

With the arrival of Pentecost Sunday, our Easter journey is almost over. The concept of Pentecost as a culmination of the spiritual journey from Resurrection to the gathering in the upper room, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the reluctant disciples, rather than simply an awe-inspiring theophany, is intimated in John’s Gospel as the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to the disciples, that The Advocate will come and remain with the fledgling Church for all time.

Religious are stronger when they work together in fostering their prophetic gospel voice in society, says SVD AUS Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass, who has been elected to the National Council of Catholic Religious Australia.

Fr Rass was appointed to the Council at the CRA National Assembly in November and says he has been impressed by the scope of the work being done to support Religious in this country.

As we prepare for the special feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, I believe it’s more important than ever for us to be alert to the movement of the Spirit in our own lives and in the Church today.

For some time now I’ve been sensing the Spirit at work in the growing move towards synodality in our Church – that movement based on deep listening, discernment and sharing of gifts.

One summer I spent a few days in Darwin as part of my summer break. While I was walking on the streets of Darwin, I happen to pass by the Cathedral of the Diocese of Darwin. Outside the Cathedral, there was a statue of the crucifix mounted on the wall.

Since the celebration of Easter, the Church has invited us to reflect on the origins of the Christian community.