A priest was once asked to explain to a group of school children what purgatory is all about. He said: Just imagine that you went out to play rugby at the play ground which was all wet and muddy. After an hour of playing rugby, your mum said that grandma will pay you a visit in about an hour.
St Anne’s Parish, Palm Island is a small but mission-focused faith community built on outreach, presence, and accompaniment for the island’s mostly First Nations residents
Parish Administrator, Fr Manh Le SVD, says his ministry is largely one of personal encounter, taking the time to share in conversation with the people of the island as they go about their lives.
Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD has been remembered as a dedicated missionary priest whose life and ministry touched the hearts of many, especially through his years of committed service in Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Fr Ennio returned peacefully to the Lord on October 18 in Sydney, Australia and his Requiem Mass took place on Tuesday, October 28 at the St Arnold Janssen Chapel in Marsfield.
The Divine Word Missionaries Australia Province has celebrated the culmination of the Jubilee Year marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Society of the Divine Word with a Thanksgiving Mass earlier this month.
It brings to completion a year of celebrations to mark the SVD Jubilee across the Province, in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar, under the theme: ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere, for Everyone’.
Last week, if you came to Church, you would have heard Jesus telling us to “pray continually and never lose heart.” He reminded us persevering in prayer, because prayer is not just for hard times, it is not just when we need God we start to pray — it’s a way of living for our life. Keep trusting. Keep knocking the door. Keep speaking to God who loves us.
For those who watch the Olympics, one of the so-called “blue ribbon” or glamour events is the 100-metre dash. It is a race where most of the time it will be over in about 10 seconds.
Today, the first reading, from the Second Book of Kings, speaks about Naaman the Syrian. This is a beautiful reading that all of us need to remember because it is a wonderful teaching about our relationship with God.
One of the highlights of the Mission Symposium 'Missio Dei: An Ecumenical Conversation' which took place in Melbourne this month was the launch of 'SVD Mission in Contexts: Creative Responses in a Wounded World'.One of the more difficult sayings of Jesus is in today’s gospel: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted’ and it would obey you.” Wow.
A Synodal Church is a listening Church, and the whole point of Synodality is mission, said Archbishop Mark Coleridge in the fifth and final Jubilee Webinar hosted by the SVD Australia Province.
Archbishop Coleridge, who is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Brisbane and an accomplished Biblical scholar, spoke on the theme: ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone – from a Synodal Perspective’.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
In the spirit of reconciliation, the Society of the Divine Word, Australia Province, acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, sky, and community.
We acknowledge their skin-groups, story-lines, traditions, religiosity and living cultures.
We pay respect to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all indigenous peoples of New Zealand, Thailand, and Myanmar.
We are committed to building with them, a brighter future together.