Volume 24 No. 1 | Autumn 2014
2
Message from the Provincial Superior
I am a man who likes cold weather. Having been brought up in Poland and Germany, I
became very used to freezing winters and mild summers. Since joining the Divine Word
Missionaries though, I have found myself living almost exclusively in warm, even tropical
climates, including in Papua New Guinea and now Australia. At first I was well and truly out of
my weather comfort zone, but now I have come to be quite at home in the heat. It’s amazing
how we can stretch and adapt.
I have been reminded of the missionary’s need to stretch and adapt recently as I have taken
on the new role of Provincial in the AUS Province. I realise my background as a missionary has
given me important skills which I can utilise as I embark on this new ministry of leadership.
They include the skills of listening and learning, taking initiative where needed, collaboration,
patience and a good dose of humour. But even with those learned skills and the gifts God has
given me, I find myself still doing a great deal of stretching and adapting in these past weeks.
The wonderful thing is, I know I’m not alone. With a strong Provincial Council and great
support from confreres, lay collaborators and friends, I am surrounded by help and goodwill.
But mostly, I know that I am not alone, because God is with me. And we know our God is a
living God who calls us ever forward. It is in the stretching and adapting to new circumstances
that God helps us to grow. In this edition of Society Matters Fr Hiagi Motofaga Tavo SVD
shares with us an insight into his ministry with young people in Moldova, the poorest country
in Europe. Not afraid to talk of the challenges that are stretching him, Fr Hiagi speaks too of
the joy he experiences in meeting Christ in the young people he serves and in being Christ’s
presence for them. Our feature story on the Karunalaya Leprosy Care Centre in India reminds
us of the legacy of love that can be built by one committed person and embraced by a whole
community. And we catch up with the relief effort in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon
Haiyan (Yolanda), as whole villages of people work to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.
God calls us ever onward. I thank you, our readers and friends for your ongoing support of our
SVD ministry. I ask you to pray for me as I embark on my term as Provincial, as I shall pray with
gratitude for you.
Yours in the Word,
Fr Henry Adler SVD
Provincial Superior
Cover Story:
The late Fr Marian Zelazek SVD kneels to speak tenderly with a woman at the
Karunalaya Leprosy Care Centre in Puri, India. See pages 4-6 for our story.
Appeal Office:
199 Epping Road, Marsfield NSW
Locked Bag 3, Epping NSW 1710 Australia
Telephone: +61 2 9868 2666 Fax: +61 2 9868 1010
Victoria:
100 Albion Road, Box Hill, Vic 3128 Tel: +61 3 9890 0065
Queensland:
26 Jackson Street, Hamilton QLD 4007 Tel: +61 7 3268 7237
New Zealand:
6 Stanley Street, Wainuiomata 5014 Tel: +64 4 970 8405
Published by Divine Word Missionaries Incorporated, ABN 51 885 667 646
