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, and it’s a responsibility for all Christians.

Fr Asaeli Rass SVD is the Provincial of the Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province, which covers Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar, and he says there’s never been a more exciting time to be engaged in mission.

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.

Dear young people, I would like to reflect with you on the mission that we have received from Christ. In speaking to you, I also address all Christians who live out in the Church the adventure of their life as children of God. What leads me to speak to everyone through this conversation with you is the certainty that the Christian faith remains ever young when it is open to the mission that Christ entrusts to us. “Mission revitalizes faith” (Redemptoris Missio, 2), in the words of Saint John Paul II, a Pope who showed such great love and concern for young people.

The Synod to be held in Rome this coming October, the month of the missions, offers us an opportunity to understand more fully, in the light of faith, what the Lord Jesus wants to say to you young people, and, through you, to all Christian communities.

The month of October is always a big one for the SVD community as we take part in the worldwide celebration of World Mission Sunday and all the surrounding events.

This year, Pope Francis addressed his message for World Mission Day to young people, saying he would like to reflect with them “on the mission that we have received from Christ”.

Brother John Alting SVD has been a missionary in Papua New Guinea, Angola, Central Australia and Timor Leste and says while his experiences have been different in each place, there has been one common thread – the joy of being with the people.

Born and raised in Sydney, Br John says he was attracted to  the life of a religious from when he was a young man.

The SVD AUS Province is gearing up to celebrate World Mission Sunday this weekend, on October 21, and invites everyone to join in the celebrations.The SVD AUS Province is gearing up to celebrate World Mission Sunday this weekend, on October 21, and invites everyone to join in the celebrations.

Mission Secretary, Fr Truc Quoc Phan SVD, has prepared a special liturgy outline for parishes or church groups to use to mark this special day on the Church’s international calendar and it is downloadable from the Province’s website.

As we approach the end of Mission Month for 2017, having celebrated World Mission Sunday on October 22, it’s a good time to reflect on what impact, if any, this worldwide focus on Mission has had on us.

The SVD AUS Province celebrated Mission Sunday with gusto in parishes and communities, with a joyful multicultural focus, which is so much at the heart of who we are as Divine Word Missionaries.

It is wonderful to be back with you, refreshed and rejuvenated after my recent home leave to Germany and Poland, and equally wonderful to arrive back just in time to celebrate World Mission Day.

Pope Francis reminds us in his Message for World Mission Day that this year is the 90th anniversary of this special day in the Church’s calendar which aims to celebrate the Church’s missionary nature, reinforce the call to Mission for all the baptised, and to raise awareness of and funds for missionary activity around the world.

For those who watch the Olympics, one of the so-called “blue ribbon” or glamour events is the 100-metre dash.

The SVD AUS Province is gearing up to celebrate World Mission Sunday on October 16 by sharing resources and planning activities across the Province to mark this special day in the Church’s calendar.

Mission Secretary, Fr Truc Quoc Phan SVD says that on World Mission Sunday, Catholics all over the world are called to reflect on and recommit to the Church’s missionary activity, through prayer, sacrifice and personal involvement.