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Sometimes I ponder what sin I regularly commit? We commit sins “in my thought, in my word and in what I have done” as we often confess and ask for God’s forgiveness before Mass.

Francois in Madagascar 250A beautiful surprise awaited Fr Francois d’Assise Andrianihantana SVD when he finally returned to his home in Madagascar to celebrate his post-ordination Thanksgiving Mass – nine months after he was ordained a priest in Melbourne and three years since he last saw his family.

The COVID pandemic had prevented Fr Francois from returning home earlier, but when he arrived back in his home village, those difficulties melted away as he was met by all the children of his village, singing a special song, composed by his mother.

Clement Baffoe SVD Thanksgiving Mass Ghana 250Almost two years after his priestly ordination in Melbourne, Fr Clement Baffoe SVD was finally able to return to his home village in Ghana to celebrate his Thanksgiving Mass with family, friends and parish community members.

Fr Clement, who was assigned to the SVD Australia Province, and is currently serving in the Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd in Townsville, Queensland, says the trip back home, after the long pandemic separation, was a graced opportunity to give thanks to God.

Today we celebrate a feast that is central to our faith. We celebrate the real presence of Christ in the bread and the wine that we consume during Mass. We believe that after the priest says the words of consecration during Mass, the bread ceases to become bread and it becomes the body of Christ.

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.

St Arnold Janssen 150Divine Word Missionary communities throughout the AUS Province and the world have had much to celebrate in January, with the commemoration of two SVD saints – St Arnold Janssen and St Joseph Freinademetz.

St Arnold’s feast day was on January 15, the date of his death in 1909 in Steyl, Holland. He was the founder of the Divine Word Missionaries, as well as two orders of Religious Women, the Servant Sisters of the Holy Spirit and the Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.

Mass returns at Santa Teresa 150It was an emotional moment for Fr Prakash Menezes SVD when, after weeks of celebrating Mass in front of a phone camera at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church in Alice Springs, he was finally able to look out and see his parishioners again.

The Northern Territory government relaxed its COVID-19 restrictions on Friday, May 15, and that very same day Fr Prakash celebrated Mass for the people.

SVD Logo Low Web Quality 150Due to government regulations concerning the coronavirus, there will be no public Masses or other gatherings at St Arnold Janssen Chapel in Marsfield until further notice. Our office is also closed to visitors.

Our priests are continuing to say Mass privately and will be praying for you and your intentions. Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular updates and information.

Santa Teresa races 150The Santa Teresa community in Central Australia celebrated its feast day – the feast of St Therese of Lisieux - recently in true Aussie fashion, by hosting a race meeting which attracted people from right around the local outback area.

The Santa Teresa Races are a fixture on the outback racing calendar and they are part of a weekend of celebrations for the feast day of the community’s patron saint.

Robert and Bernadette Kobus 150Every morning at 5.30am, while most of us are still dreaming, Robert and Bernadette Kobus arrive at the St Arnold Janssen Chapel in Marsfield to open up, prepare things for Mass and spend time in quiet prayer.

They are part of a valued network of lay people who support the Divine Word Missionaries in a wide variety of different ways, and they say they too value the friendship deeply.

 

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Upcoming Events

29 Mar
Stations of the Cross
Date 29.03.24 10:00am - 11:00am
29 Mar
The Passion of our Lord
29.03.24 3:00pm - 4:00pm
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30.03.24 6:30pm - 7:30pm
31 Mar
Easter Sunday Mass
31.03.24 9:00am - 10:00am

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

In the spirit of reconciliation, the Society of the Divine Word, Australia Province, acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, sky, and community.

We acknowledge their skin-groups, story-lines, traditions, religiosity and living cultures.

We pay respect to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all indigenous peoples of New Zealand, Thailand, and Myanmar.

We are committed to building with them, a brighter future together.