The SVD Mission in Myanmar took another big step forward this month, taking up the pastoral care of a brand new parish, which was officially inaugurated by Cardinal Charles Bo SDB, the Archbishop of Yangon.

“Big day for us SVDs as we celebrated the inauguration of Annunciation of the Lord Parish aka Bawle Kyun parish in Htantabin Township,” the SVD confreres in Myanmar said.

A deep interest in exploring the intersection between religion and some of the big questions facing modern society underpinned Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD’s recent participation in an international conference on mission in Rome, followed by speaking engagements at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice in South Africa.

Fr Anthony, who is a member of the SVD Australia Provincial Council, based in Bangkok, Thailand, said that both events helped contribute to his lived experience and understanding of mission in the world today.

Happy Easter to all! As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in this Easter season, I pray that the joy of the empty tomb becomes a reality in your daily life, and through you, to the life of all you meet.

Our Easter Octave was tinged with deep sadness at the death of Pope Francis, but his death also gave us the opportunity to once again focus on the joy of the resurrection which follows a life lived in the joy of the Gospel.

This Sunday, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, a day that reminds us of the incredible love and forgiveness of God.

To borrow a story from my friend, Fr Bel San Luis, there was a man who was visiting a seminary. He saw a poster with a phrase in big letters, “Christ is the answer”. Puzzled he wrote at the bottom of the poster, “What is the question?”

In this Sunday's Palm Sunday Liturgy, the people and priests process into church carrying blessed palm branches and singing blissful songs in praise of the Lord who saves us from the bondages of our sins.

With the arrival of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, our Lenten journey is almost over. The concept of Lent as a journey, rather than a time of denial, has been frequently suggested and promoted by Pope Francis.

A ministry of presence, accompaniment, dialogue, cultural exchange and mutual respect underpins parish life at St Francis Xavier Parish in the remote Daly River region of the Northern Territory.

Daly River, or Nauiyu, is situated 230km south of Darwin and 250km north-west of Katherine. The parish takes in a number of Aboriginal communities at Adelaide River, Emu Point, Nemarluk, Merrepen, and Woodyculpadiya, with visits to some of those communities being a four-hour round-trip on rough roads.

The SVD Australia Province is embarking on a period of communal discernment in the lead-up to the Provincial and Council elections for the next triennium.

The discernment process aims to infuse the Provincial Elections with Pope Francis’s vision for a synodal Church in which the Spirit-led participation of all is valued and necessary.

A recent meeting of the Aotearoa New Zealand Mixed Commission of Bishops and Religious Leaders focused on synodality, its tradition within Pacific cultures, and its possibilities as a means of listening to the voices of the marginalised and caring for our common home.

Australian Provincial Fr Asaeli Rass SVD, co-facilitated the meeting which was held from February 18-19 in Auckland, sharing some of the insights he gained from being a small group facilitator at the first assembly of the Synod on Synodality in Rome.