Fr Joseph Reddy SVD was so moved by his pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Panama that he was inspired to capture his experience in poetry and we are proud to feature Fr Joseph's poem in this edition 'In the Word'.

Fr Joseph's pilgrim group from the Diocese of Wollongong, spent time in Peru before arriving in Panama for the World Youth Day event with Pope Francis and young people from across the world, all exploring the theme of Mary's big 'Yes' to God when she said, “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)

“Be it done to me according to your word.”

This wonderful fiat, this powerful ‘yes’ to God from the Blessed Virgin Mary was the theme explored by the young people of the world at World Youth Day in Panama in recent days and it reminds me that each of us has to continually make our own ‘yes’ if mission is to thrive in our world today.

I’m unashamed to say that I’m a “Mama’s Boy”. Whenever I needed something and I can’t get it from my dad, I always turned to my mum and without a doubt my dad would give in.

The “Visitation” story told in today’s gospel has become one of my favourite passages – thanks to two school girls.

More than 10,000 members of Australia’s Vietnamese Catholic community came together in Sydney recently for a three day festival to celebrate Mary, the Mother of God.

Fr Manh Le SVD, a Vietnamese Chaplain in Sydney, says that the NSW Vietnamese community has celebrated a festival each October, the month of the Rosary, for some years, but this was the first time that Vietnamese chaplaincy communities from right around Australia came together for the days of prayer, faith formation, music and friendship.

If only we knew more about this remarkable Holy Family!  The Scriptures tell us some things, but also so many things they don’t tell us?  However, the Scriptures do give us a hint as to why we can call Jesus’ family a Holy Family.

This year the Fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve and so I would like to reflect on two aspects of the Mystery of the Birth of Jesus – Mary’s “yes” and her fidelity, and the Word taking flesh and being born as a baby.

As Barry Manilow’s song goes… “It’s just another new year’s eve. Let’s make it the best.” And with the New Year we are blessed with three occasions for this day.

There was a story of a man who was deeply devoted to St Joseph and when he died he was at the gates of heaven and being interviewed by St Peter.

Mary Mother of the Church Parish, Macquarie Fields commemorated the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a vibrant Multicultural Festival in her honour this month, while the Marsfield community also celebrated its diverse range of cultures.

Macquarie Fields Parish Priest, Fr Linh Nguyen SVD, says the festival began with the solemn procession of the statue of Mother Mary around the parish grounds before the 10am Mass and afterwards there was shared food, fun and live entertainment provided by parishioners from various multicultural backgrounds.