One of the more difficult sayings of Jesus is in today’s gospel: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted’ and it would obey you.” Wow.

A Synodal Church is a listening Church, and the whole point of Synodality is mission, said Archbishop Mark Coleridge in the fifth and final Jubilee Webinar hosted by the SVD Australia Province.

Archbishop Coleridge, who is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Brisbane and an accomplished Biblical scholar, spoke on the theme: ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone – from a Synodal Perspective’.

The Provincial Assembly for the SVD Australia Province is underway this week, with about 70 missionaries from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar gathering together in Melbourne, along with guest speaker Fr Antonio Pernia SVD, a former Superior-General.

The Assembly began with an opening liturgy on Monday afternoon and will continue through to Wednesday. It also brings to a close the Society of the Divine Word’s 150^th Jubilee celebrations in the Province, and it will be followed by an ecumenical mission symposium later in the week, co-hosted by the SVD and the Australian Association for Mission Studies.

Fr Boni Buahendri SVD has been appointed as the new Provincial Superior of the SVD Australia Province for the next triennium, and will take up his new role in January, 2026.

Fr Boni, who is currently parish priest of St Mark’s Parish, Inala, said that while the role of Provincial has many challenges, he accepted it with humility and hope and looked forward to working together as a team with members of the Province, the communities that they serve, lay collaborators and friends.

As you receive this edition of our ‘In the Word’ e-news, members of the SVD Australia Province are gathering together in Melbourne for a Provincial Assembly and the celebration of the closing of the 150^th Jubilee Year of the Society of the Divine Word.

This coincides with the recent announcement that Fr Boni Buahendri SVD has been appointed as the next Provincial from January next year. All of these threads coming together at the same time are powerful reminders that mission is never stagnant. It is, guided by the Holy Spirit, always on the move.

Today’s readings speak with one voice. They give us a warning, a challenge, and an invitation. And they leave us with one very powerful question: Are we really seeing the people around us?

I am delighted to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Fr. Boni Buahendri SVD, who was born in Indonesia, on his recent appointment as the 8th Provincial Superior for the AUS Province for the forthcoming triennium, which will be effective from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028.

This new position he has been entrusted with is a reflection of his dedication, his spirit of service, and the trust that his confreres and the Generalate have in his leadership. 

There was this story of an old but sick man who won a huge prize from lotto. The relatives were afraid that if they broke this news, he might have a heart attack and die.

Today our Holy Mother Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The purpose of this feast is to focus our hearts and minds on the Cross of Christ.