The Presentation Parish in Thailand celebrated its feast day recently with a special Mass and shared meal attended by the local bishop, parishioners and villagers, including people from other faiths.

The parish is situated on the banks of the Mekong River between the Thai-Laos borders and the villagers came together to decorate the church beautifully for the celebration and prepare special food to share together afterwards.

Members of the Divine Word Missionaries who are serving in the Good Shepherd Parish, Kirwan, in Townsville recently celebrated SVD Mission Weekend with parishioners.

The Mission Weekend also marked the postponed feast day celebrations of SVD founder, St Arnold Janssen.

Lent really crept up on us this year, didn’t it? It felt like we were no sooner waving a wistful farewell to the Christmas season when Ash Wednesday was upon us.

Now, we are well and truly in the midst of our Lenten journey – a journey that will take us all the way to Calvary and then, to the glory of Easter.

Three SVD missionaries who have recently arrived in the Archdiocese of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, have begun a year-long induction program for incoming clergy from overseas, called ‘Landing the Waka’.

Fathers Akuila Taliauli SVD, Raja Kommareddy SVD and Uili Uvea SVD joined Fr Ravi Kumar Voliganti and Fr Nicholas Phone Myint MF (Myanmar) in the program which was hosted by Church Mission staff and Vicar General Mons Gerard Burns, for a three-day retreat at the Magnificat Centre in Cross Creek, South Wairarapa.

SVD students at Dorish Maru College in Melbourne have been spending their summer academic break well, with some completing hospital pastoral placements and others enjoying time in SVD parish communities.

Formator of Scholastics, Fr Linh Nguyen SVD, said the summer placements aimed to give the students pastoral experience, as well as deepen their cultural understanding and English language skills.

The Voice to Parliament was defeated! The pain and hurt is still tangible, writes Fr Nick de Groot SVD. I feel that we, as a country, have failed to take that step towards healing and reconciliation that is still so necessary.

But true love is stronger than all the darkness and negativity. “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jn 1:4

The Australian Province of the Society of the Divine Word has celebrated the feast days of the two SVD saints, St Arnold Janssen and St Joseph Freinademetz, with special Masses and social gatherings of confreres, SSpS Sisters, parishioners, lay partners and partners in mission.

St Arnold founded the Society of the Divine Word in September 1875. He later went on to found two orders of Religious Women, the Servant Sisters of the Holy Spirit and the Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.

Two SVD members from the Australia Province have recently returned from Europe where they took part in a Renewal Course which helped them re-charge their missionary batteries and return back to their ministry refreshed and re-invigorated.

Fr Viet Nguyen SVD, who is the Mission Secretary for the SVD AUS Province, travelled to Steyl in the Netherlands and Nemi, outside of Rome for the course, along with Fr John Quang SVD, who had been serving in a New Zealand parish.

Happy New Year! In this, our first edition of In the Word for 2024, I pray that the year ahead will be filled with God’s blessings for you.

Each new year begins with such promise. Perhaps you made a raft of resolutions, but as we reach the end of January they are starting to slip away. Fear not. At times like this, I am reminded of Mother Teresa’s words: God doesn’t require us to be successful, only faithful.

The theme of our SVD's 19th General Chapter and its reflections clearly indicate how missionaries need to deepen their understanding of mission, identity, charism, and spirituality. One aspect is crystal clear: we are called to become a light in the wounded world for oneself and for others.

The Divine Word Missionaries are completing a year with our presence at Tiwi Islands. During this year, it has been a time of reflection, understanding, walking along, appreciating the culture, being with the people in sorrow, and, above all, making the Tiwi people know that we are with them.