If you’re a night owl in Melbourne, looking for some inspirational late night TV this week, why not tune in to Channel 31 or 44 at 11.30pm on Wednesday to see Fr Stephen Pilly SVD being interviewed about his missionary vocation on the Spirit of Life program?
Fr Stephen was invited to be interviewed for the Spirit of Life after meeting the program’s producer, Lucia Pace, following his celebration of a charismatic Mass earlier this year.
“We got talking about what inspired me to become a priest in this modern world, and I shared with her about my vocation to the priesthood,” he says. “Then I was invited to the studio for an interview and now it is on TV.”
The Spirit of Life is a Christian program with a longer format which allows time for in-depth telling of the stories of those interviewed.
The interview with Fr Stephen is in three parts, with the first instalment, on his vocation to the priesthood and to the Divine Word Missionaries, having aired on TV last week.
“That episode was about how God called me to priesthood from Hinduism,” he says. “God calls not qualified people, but calls everyone and qualifies them for His mission.”
The second episode will air this Wednesday, April 24. It concentrates on Fr Stephen’s personal encounters with God in his priestly life, as well as his devotion to Mary and some insights into how his life as a priest in Australia has evolved for him.
The final show airs next Wednesday, May 1.
“It is about the Divine Word Missionaries and the charism to spread the Living Word where it has not reached. We also talk about the importance of the word of God in different religions,” he says.
Fr Stephen says that being interviewed for television was an interesting experience.
“I was delighted to share the word of God, as I’m an SVD missionary,” he says. “However, when I was being interviewed, I was a bit nervous, as it was the first time in my life that I had been interviewed for a TV program.
“A few questions were a bit challenging to answer, but I think I answered them ok.”
Spirit of Life airs in Melbourne on Channel 31 or 44 at 11.30pm.