Volume 24 No. 3 | Spring 2014
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Message from the Provincial Superior
Welcome to the Spring edition of Society Matters. It seems hard to believe that already we
are preparing to wave goodbye to another winter and embrace all the fresh energy, beauty
and rebirth of Spring.
And it’s not only in nature that we see this new growth and regeneration. There seems to be a
lot of fresh energy around Mission at the moment too and a renewed focus on what Mission
is and how we can all live it. Indeed, in his message for World Mission Day, to be celebrated
on October 19 this year, Pope Francis reminds us that the Church is missionary by her very
nature. She was born to go forth. “There has been a growing awareness of the identity and
mission of the lay faithful in the Church, as well as a recognition that they are called to take an
increasingly important role in the spread of the gospel,” he says.
As Divine Word Missionaries, we place a high priority on our relationships with our Mission
Partners. We are all engaged in Mission together. Each of us has our own role to play in
helping to build God’s Kingdom. This call to Christian Mission begins at our baptism, when we
are born again in Christ and it is strengthened and refined as we grow in our Christian life.
In this edition of Society Matters we read the beautiful story of the baptism of little Trishelle
Kitson from the remote Central Australian Aboriginal community of Titjikala. We welcome
her into the Body of Christ and pray that she too will become a missionary for Christ in her
own way and in her own place as she grows and flourishes in the love of her family and
her community. We also read about the outstanding work being done at the St Ignatius
Loyola school in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, where students from poor farming and fishing
backgrounds are receiving a first class education that will equip them for a life their parents
and grandparents could only dream of. We are delighted that through the generosity of our
benefactors, the SVD AUS Province was able to contribute to the recent building of a library
and administration building for the school. Finally, I’m sure you will also be inspired by Fr Phan
Quang’s story of his life as a refugee and now as a SVD missionary.
There are many wonderful faces to Mission. We hope you enjoy reading about just a few of
them in these pages.
Yours in the Word,
Fr Henry Adler SVD
Provincial Superior
Cover Story:
Students at St Ignatius Loyola school in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, share
gratitude for the improvements to their school made possible with the help
of funds raised through the SVD AUS Province.
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
