The Divine Word Missionaries’ annual retreats are now underway, with Augustinian priest, Fr Joseph Lam, leading the SVD Marsfield community reflecting on the theme, ‘Missionaries of Hope’.
Each district of the SVD AUS Province will have a week’s retreat, given by local presenters, providing spiritual nourishment and renewal for confreres.
The Marsfield retreat was presented by Fr Joseph Lam OSA, a distinguished scholar, professor, and currently assigned as Parish Priest of Baulkham Hills Parish in Sydney.
Rector of the Marsfield Community, Fr Bill Burt SVD, said Fr Joseph provided “an excellent retreat”, held in the small community chapel, featuring talks each morning and a short talk and Mass each evening.
“Everyone was very happy with the retreat,” Fr Bill said. “Fr Joseph had done his homework and made it very relevant to us by often quoting (the SVD founder) St Arnold Janssen. It was very warmly received.”
Fr Don Grant SVD said the retreat was appreciated by all, including those living in retirement at Marsfield.
“The five-day retreat given by Fr Lam served us as both relaxing and refreshing,” he said. “The program was tailored to suit we oldies - three of us over 90.
“The content of his reflections was down to earth and practical: community living as religious; the Eucharist in our lives; the Church's Mission of hope to the world; our missionary call to bring hope to our persecuted brothers and sisters.
“Each day ended with Adoration for half an hour, followed by the celebration of the Eucharist.
“I think we participants came away from the retreat with a sense of being spiritually nourished, and a sense of being closer to the Lord. Alleluia!”
Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD, also attended the retreat and said he appreciated Fr Joseph’s drawing out of both the Jubilee Year ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ theme, as well as the SVD 150th Jubilee Year theme of ‘Witnessing to the Word: From Everywhere for Everyone’.
“What stayed with me was the gentle insistence that we must hang on to hope, and his quoting of Scripture verses to encourage us in that,” Fr Rass said.
“He said that being Pilgrims of Hope is absolutely necessary in the ongoing synodal process for the Church and he encouraged us not to give up, despite all the struggles and happenings in the world.
“The retreat consolidated my hope, founded on the ‘hope that can never deceive or disappoint us’ (Romans 5:5).”
Fr Rass said that in exploring the SVD 150th Anniversary theme, Fr Joseph encourage those present to look for the different rays of the same light that might come from unexpected places around us.
“A hopeful Church means a listening Church, taking note of the different rays of the same light that might even come from other religions or the secular environment. To me, that was a very good missionary touch, to explore that concept of the Logos and to understand that this same light may come to us from unexpected places,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Thai/Myanmar District also recently had its annual retreat in Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand.
The preacher was Father Paul, CSsR, a Redemptorist priest stationed in Bangkok, who is known by most of the SVD confreres in Thailand.
“Fr Paul has an interesting background. His family was originally from Vietnam, Paul was born in Laos, grew up in the Nong Khai area, studied in Thailand, Australia and the USA,” said District Leader Br Ron Fratzke SVD. “Paul treated us with stories about the history of the Udon Thani Diocese, and its close relationship with the Vietnamese community in particular.”
The retreats in other Districts throughout the Province will take place over coming months.
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: Fr Joseph Lam OSA, who led the Marsfield retreat. (Image: Catholic Outlook)
BOTTOM LEFT: Fr Joseph (left) leading the retreat with members of the Marsfield SVD community.