A small church renovation project in Thailand’s rural Buengkan Province, has been the backdrop for a rejuvenation in parish and community life as well as an opportunity for interfaith dialogue and friendship.

Fr Truong Le SVD arrived at his new parish in Northeast Thailand, near the Mekong River at short notice and with few plans in place, but says that by listening and getting to know the people, a strong community is beginning to grow.

Mission is about more than bringing God’s love to people in far-off lands – it’s also about sharing God’s love with people closer to home, in our parishes and communities. It’s a responsibility for all Christians.

As we prepare to celebrate World Mission Sunday on October 18, and with the Plenary Council preparations and discernment underway, I believe there’s never been a more exciting time to be engaged in mission.

The SVD Lay Partners group in Marsfield has resolved to continue deepening the formation of members in Divine Word Missionary spirituality as the group moves towards being formalised as part of the SVD community.

At a meeting held by Zoom earlier this month, Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD spoke of the importance of the SVD Lay Partners in the missionary activities of the Divine Word Missionaries.

When Fr Rajaskhar Reddy SVD, found himself stranded at home in India during the COVID border closures, he saw first-hand how hard-hit the Indian people were by the impacts of the virus.

Fr Raja was in India for three months’ home-leave at the beginning of this year and was due to return to his parish in Thailand in March, but just a week before his departure, Thailand announced it was closing its borders.

It was the last year of my term in office as Dean of our Seminarians in Chicago, and it was the most difficult year I had ever suffered.

The Gospel on this 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time presents us with Jesus’ beautiful teaching on forgiveness and an encouragement for us to forgive one another, as God forgives all our wrongdoings.

Last week’s gospel gave us an occasion to celebrate God’s love for His people by pointing out that Jesus shared His divine authority with the people He loved.

The St Maximilian Kolbe Parish Youth Group in Marsden, Brisbane is famous for its annual winter sleep-out fundraiser, but when COVID-19 restrictions meant it couldn’t go ahead this year, the young people, and the whole parish, decided to put their walking shoes on for mission instead.

The youth group came up with the idea of holding a We Are the World Winter Appeal, which aimed to raise funds for people in India who are struggling to provide the necessities because of the impact of the pandemic.

The pandemic has thrown all our plans up in the air, forcing us to rely more on the providence of God.           

The title of 1864 oil-on-canvas painting by Edwin Landseer is “Man Proposes, God Disposes”. This saying is true today, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back to the last six months almost of all people in the world have had to make changes in their lives.

The Divine Word Missionaries are extending their ministry in Central Australia, especially their outreach to Aboriginal communities, at the invitation of the Bishop of Darwin, Charles Gauci.

Bishop Gauci recently spent time staying with the SVD communities in Alice Springs and Santa Teresa, listening to their needs and meeting the people.