The Society of the Divine Word, popularly known as the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD), is celebrating 150 years of service in the Lord’s Vineyard with the theme ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone’. It has grown from a humble foundation on September 8, 1875 in Steyl, the Netherlands to an international religious order of 6,000 priests, brothers serving in 79 countries.

In this context I thought of sharing some of my personal experience of being part of the SVD mission in New Zealand, with the SVD confreres with whom I worked and some of the insights I gained along the way, writes Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD.

The Australia Province’s coordinators of the SVD’s Four Characteristic Dimensions met recently in the Thailand-Myanmar District, sharing with the missionaries there an insight into the priorities and activities of each area – Mission, Bible Apostolate, Communications, and Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation.

The Thailand District Leader Br Ron Fratzke SVD said it was a happy coincidence that the District was having its retreat at the time, and the confreres were able to enjoy hearing more about the Characteristic Dimensions and sharing their own mission experience.

The Feast of Pentecost was a Spirit-filled celebration across the SVD Australia Province, with some parishes celebrating Confirmations and a number of communities gathering with the Holy Spirit Sisters to mark the feast day.

St Arnold Janssen who founded the Divine Word Missionaries, the Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters, had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity and his spirituality was deeply rooted in his devotion to the Holy Spirit, who he saw as being essential for the Church's mission and the transformation of hearts.

The Divine Word Missionaries have taken up pastoral responsibility for the parishes of Murgon and Gayndah in Queensland’s South Burnett region.

Fr Mikhael Loke SVD was installed as parish priest on June 1, and says he is looking forward to getting to know the people and the local area, which is spread across hundreds of kilometres within the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Happy Feast Day, everyone again—especially to those named Peter and Paul! We all carry certain identities. I am Peter. You may be Paul. He is Fr. Brian. But most of these names—we didn’t choose for ourselves. They were given to us. So how do we truly identify ourselves?

Among the different doctrines of our faith, nothing is more mysterious than the dogma of the Trinity. Simply put, we have one God but in three distinct persons. It doesn’t mean that we have three gods but it also doesn’t mean that we have a God who is alone.

Justin Wejak is a former student of the Society of the Divine Word, who has had a long-standing association with the SVD since birth, which has helped shaped his life, he writes in this 150th Jubilee Year reflection.

"I have been away from the SVD for a while, but the profound influence of SVD spirituality—essentially a Trinitarian spirituality—remains active in my life. It emphasises communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, instilling a lasting sense of purpose rooted in mission, prayer, and service."

It is a moment of extreme Joy as Christians that we commemorate the Pentecost after 50 days of Easter, as the fulfilment of Jesus’ Mission on earth.

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.

A personal testimony to a remarkable story of resilience, hope and community action among the impoverished people of Smokey Mountain in Manila, the Philippines, was the inspirational backdrop to the SVD Australia Province’s third Jubilee Year Online Presentation held recently.

Fr Benigno Beltran SVD was the keynote speaker, sharing his experience of being part of a movement which saw the residents of Smokey Mountain move from scavenging on the city garbage dump to living in basic housing, accessing education, learning computer skills, and starting up a farming cooperative and eco-sustainability initiatives.