Over the past few Sundays, we have heard in the first readings a focused theme – that of ‘Hearing God’s Sacred Word’. On the Third Sunday, in the reading from the book of Nehemiah, we heard the prophet Ezra proclaiming God’s Word in the assembly of the people, after their return from exile.

In today’s brief Gospel reading, we hear the word “blessed.” It refers to a state of spiritual well-being, in which true joy is experienced in the soul, but it can also be used to mean “respected” or “revered.”

Lunar New Year is a time of celebration for many across Asia and the Divine Word Missionaries in Bangkok helped Vietnamese migrant workers in Thailand to mark the occasion with prayer and fellowship.

Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD says there are tens of thousands of Vietnamese migrant workers in Thailand, but many of them return to Vietnam to celebrate Lunar New Year because it is close and easy to do so.

The Society of the Divine Word has elected a new Superior-General, Fr Budi Kleden SVD, during a General Chapter which affirmed a commitment to the Word of God, renewal, and lay partnerships.

Speaking after his election, Fr Budi, from Indonesia, identified two key priorities as the Bible and the poor.

Cardinal Charles Bo SDB, the Archbishop of Yangon in Myanmar, paid a special visit to the Divine Word Missionaries Marsfield community in Sydney recently to meet the confreres and thank the Province for establishing a new mission in his Archdiocese.

Cardinal Bo’s visit came during his tour of Australia, as a guest of Catholic Mission.

My dad used to eat papaya and one day he decided to throw the seeds on the lot near our house. Then he was surprised one day when the seed that he threw grew and soon enough it was producing fruit and my mum didn’t have to buy papaya anymore.