January 29 is the feast day of St Joseph Freinademetz SVD.

St Joseph was the first member of the fledgling Divine Word Missionaries to be sent out on mission, when the founder of the SVD, St Arnold Janssen, assigned him to China.

Today, January 15, is the feast day of St Arnold Janssen, the founder of the Divine Word Missionaries and the Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS).

Here is a Feast Day prayer you might like to pray with us:

A full church of family, confreres, parishioners, friends and school students gathered recently to pray for the repose of the soul of Fr Gerard Mulholland SVD, who died last month of Motor Neurone Disease.

And, in a fitting tribute to Fr Gerard’s love of the people of Papua New Guinea, instead of flowers, those attending the funeral donated more than $2000, which will be assigned to a particular mission project in PNG.

About 120 young people from a host of different nationalities came together recently for a Youth Festival at St Mark’s Parish, Inala in Brisbane to celebrate Mission Day and deepen their knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.

Parish Priest, Fr Stephen Pilly SVD says the multicultural nature of the St Mark’s congregation and his own personal experience of leading a group to World Youth Day in Brazil last year prompted him to hold the Youth Festival.

It was a joyful celebration when choirs from many different parish and multicultural groups came together at Marsfield for the annual Divine Word Missionaries’ Christmas Carols by Candelight.

The joy of the occasion was not confined to those present, with funds raised throughout the evening going to disadvantaged youth in Laos. Christmas cakes on sale also raised funds for Cana Communities to assist their work with homeless people.

The Holy Spirit Sisters (SSpS) celebrated the 125th anniversary of the founding of their congregation with gratitude and rejoicing, recalling their humble beginnings and giving thanks to God for all he has done through them.

The SSpS Sisters were founded by St Arnold Janssen in Steyl, The Netherlands, in 1889, with co-foundresses, Mother Maria Helena Stollenwerk and Mother Josepha Hendrina Stenmanns.

As we enter into the final waiting and longing for our Saviour to come this Christmas, it seems that the Prince of Peace has never been needed more in our world.

For those of us in Australia, we are mourning the deaths of the victims of the Sydney siege, while in Pakistan we saw the senseless slaying of school children, and conflict and violence continues in countries across the world. In all this turbulence we await the coming of the Christ child.

Recently I caught-up with an ordination class-mate, Father Agus Watu, who is a spiritual director at the SVD seminary-high school in Kuwu, western Flores. 

We talked about the growth of the Church here in eastern Indonesia, which has been truly amazing over the past 100 years. 

The first anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated parts of the Philippines last November, has been marked with thanksgiving for all those who donated money, goods, skills and expertise to help the Divine Word Missionaries mount one of their biggest ever disaster relief efforts in the country.

A report prepared for the anniversary by the Provincial, Fr Eduardo Rocha SVD and the team, outlines how the SVD helped people to get back on their feet after their homes, livelihoods and communities were wiped out by the super typhoon.

For the first year of his mission assignment to Papua New Guinea, Fr Paul Trong Nguyen SVD faced so many challenges that he just wanted to go home.

Now, a few years down the track, Fr Paul says he is happy in PNG, and both the experiences he has had and the people he has met, have helped him to build his confidence and stay to face the challenges and joys of missionary life.