The Voice to Parliament was defeated! The pain and hurt is still tangible, writes Fr Nick de Groot SVD. I feel that we, as a country, have failed to take that step towards healing and reconciliation that is still so necessary.

But true love is stronger than all the darkness and negativity. “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jn 1:4

The Janssen Spirituality Centre in Boronia, Victoria, is looking forward to sunny days ahead, for both visitors and residents, following the installation of solar panels on its roof.

The installation of the panels means that now all three of the larger SVD houses – at the Provincial Centre in Marsfield, Dorish Maru College in Melbourne and now the Janssen Centre – are largely producing their own electricity and requiring less fossil-fuel generated power.

I have to admit that for quite some time I have not read many SVD publications. I feel I don’t find anything new. The familiar messages of multi/intercultural, international, dialogue(s), mission, ‘world is our parish’, ‘unity in diversity’… all sound too familiar from the novitiate days and almost slogan-like. It’s the same message, just under different packaging. Social justice and climate change! Oh yeah, great! Who would not stand up for such lofty ideas in this age of the globalisation, unless one is a bigot.

Like doubting Thomas, instead of taking ideas for granted, we must keep asking questions and re-examine what is passed on to us. Renew and revive!

COVID lockdowns and restrictions have not stopped the Spanish chaplaincy community in Auckland from getting together for spiritual support and fellowship, but rather challenged them to find new ways of gathering.

Chaplain to the Spanish community, Fr Alejandro de la Sotta says the pandemic restrictions in New Zealand have resulted in the birth of a new YouTube ministry for the community.

Recently I was reading the book “Seeking Spirituality” by Ronald Rolheiser, reflects Fr James Aricheera SVD. I found this book to be a good guide for those who are seeking spirituality. According to him, three main things hinder one from interiority and spiritual experiences. They are “Narcissism, pragmatism and unbridled restlessness”.

To get a general understanding of them he writes, “Defined simply, narcissism means excessive self-preoccupation; pragmatism means excessive focus on work, achievement, and the practical concerns for life; and restlessness means an excessive greed for experience, an over-eating, not in terms of food but in terms trying to drink in too much of life”. When I reflected further on this, I realised that many of us have those things in us, but we are not aware of it.

I have recently finished editing a Vietnamese volume entitled “Pastoral Directions Post Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons from the Signs of the Times.” When I made an announcement about this publication on my social media page, some people raised the question of whether we were in a position to speak about the post-pandemic context. After all, despite many vaccination efforts around the world, with the Delta variant of the coronavirus, and other recently discovered ones that might wreak great havoc, many countries have been experiencing new waves of the pandemic with high rates of infection. 

Needless to say, the “post-pandemic” reality which the authors in the book discussed is yet to be seen, and in some cases, seems far off in the future. Many of the authors highlighted this uncertainty in their articles. However, as the world continues to deal with the pandemic and wrestles with the virus, I think it might be important for us to reflect on the word “post-pandemic”. In reality, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is not a new virus, but part of a large family of viruses that causes various health problems, including the common cold. The consequences brought about by sars-cov-2, however, have been much more severe, and for millions of people around the world, have proven to be deadly.

We just celebrated Easter last month.  Each Easter season presents a deep meaning of salvation.  As we celebrate each season of Easter, it moves us toward a deep meaning of the mystery of death and resurrection of Christ, writes Fr Phuong Vu SVD. 

The death of Christ on the cross is reflected in many salvation aspects of Christian life.  The cross becomes an icon for salvation, and it has no end, and it represents this for all nations on earth.  It becomes a personal attachment as well.  It empowers us into life. 

As we move toward the Australia Province Chapter in 2021, we reflect more deeply on our mission and spirituality. 

The Australia Province is set in many regions and its ministries have many characteristics, but there is one spirit of mission and at its heart is the Trinity.

The SVD Lay Partners group in Marsfield has resolved to continue deepening the formation of members in Divine Word Missionary spirituality as the group moves towards being formalised as part of the SVD community.

At a meeting held by Zoom earlier this month, Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD spoke of the importance of the SVD Lay Partners in the missionary activities of the Divine Word Missionaries.

"May the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all." This statement speaks about St Arnold Janssen’s vocation and it could be a mantra prayer for Arnold throughout his religious life, writes Fr Phuong Vu SVD. 

I believe this statement prayer has been embedded in all the SVD confreres’ hearts. It is comfortable to all of us, it also motivates our mission ministries, and it nurtures our spiritual life.