A group of 35 parishioners from St Mark’s Parish at Inala in Brisbane saw their faith come alive as they walked in the footsteps of Jesus during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land last month.

The group, led by Fr Stephen Pilly SVD, came from a range of different cultural backgrounds, including Vietnamese, Samoan, Filipino, African and Australian.

It is very unusual that a feast, other than a feast of Our Lord, would take the place of the Sunday liturgy. 

To borrow a joke from one of my favourite preachers Fr Bel San Luis, SVD, there was a young man who was praying to God. This was his prayer, “Lord, grant me the gift of patience … I want it NOW!!!”

Doing the will of God is the theme of this Sunday’s liturgy. Obedience tothe will of God was the mission of Jesus. He obeyed God all through his lifeand he invites us to do the same.

In just a couple of days, I will be celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the Sacrament of Priesthood.

During my holiday in the Philippines a few years ago, I visited some of the Holy Spirit Sisters at their convent in Manila.

The mandate we are given today, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, is to ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation.’

For those we love, we wish the best for them. It’s true, isn’t it!

The Gospels show Jesus teaching the people of His time about His Father using parables, stories, and metaphors that they were very familiar with.

I have just returned from a trip to South-East Asia, taking in the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar, the latter two countries of which are part of the SVD AUS Province.

Whenever I go to Thailand and visit our ministries there, I am struck by the reality of our commitment as Divine Word Missionaries to breaking down cultural and religious barriers.