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.

Brother Bernd Ruffing SVD, a registered nurse and nursing educator, loves his life as a Brother in the Divine Word Missionaries, saying he never saw himself preaching the Gospel from a pulpit, but rather, with his hands and actions.

Br Bernd, who is originally from Germany, is assigned as a missionary in Thailand, part of the AUS Province, where he works both in parish life and caring for people living with AIDS. 

As we head towards the end of the calendar year, we are entering into the season of Advent and a new liturgical year. This liturgical year will be an extra exciting one for us, as Pope Francis has declared it The Year for Consecrated Life.

All of us who are living in consecrated life welcome this recognition from the Holy Father that there is much to celebrate in the Gospel-centred life we have been called to live. It is not a life without challenges, but it is a life filled with deep joy. 

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Fr. Gerard Mulholland.

After being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease some months ago, Gerard finally succumbed to the disease at 9.45am this morning, with Mary, his sister, Arturo Barrios and myself at his bedside.