As this edition of In the Word reaches you, my thoughts and prayers are with the Oceania Delegation of the Laudato Si Movement whose members are attending the United Nations Oceans Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Having recently been nominated to join the new Laudato Si Oceania Regional Council, and, of course, being a Pacific Islander myself and knowing the impact of the climate on our Pacific region and the world at large, I’m praying for those gathered in Lisbon who will give voice to the ocean and its needs.

Two of the Divine Word Missionaries who will be taking part in the upcoming Second Assembly of the  Plenary Council say that while aware of the challenges, they remain filled with hope that a Spirit-led discernment will bear fruit for the Church in Australia.

The Second and final Assembly of the Plenary Council will meet in Sydney from July 3-9, where a range of motions concerning the future of the Church in Australia will be considered and voted on.

The simplicity and heart-to-heart encounter of a visit by Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Balvo to Palm Island made the event truly extraordinary for all those who were part of it, says Parish Priest Fr Manh Le SVD.

Archbishop Balvo, who is American and is a veteran of several decades in the Vatican’s diplomatic service, made the trip to Palm Island, now known by its traditional name of Bwgcolman, during his visit to the Diocese of Townsville earlier this month.

The seminarians in the Divine Word Missionaries’ Australia Province have been hitting the road recently to spend time getting to know some of the youth in SVD parishes in Queensland and sharing their vocation stories with them.

The road-trip from Melbourne’s Dorish Maru College to the parishes of St Maximilian Kolbe in Marsden and St Mark’s, Inala, is part of the mission outreach of SVD Youth, which was established in the Province earlier this year.

SVD student, Shehan Fernando, says his pastoral experience in Central Australia has been a great learning experience in his training for life as a missionary, as he encounters Christ in the people and the land.

Shehan, who is Sri Lankan, and has been undertaking studies and formation at Melbourne’s Dorish Maru College, arrived in Santa Teresa in March, and will be based there until September when he moves on to Alice Springs.

Religious are stronger when they work together in fostering their prophetic gospel voice in society, says SVD AUS Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass, who has been elected to the National Council of Catholic Religious Australia.

Fr Rass was appointed to the Council at the CRA National Assembly in November and says he has been impressed by the scope of the work being done to support Religious in this country.

More than 20 years ago, the SVD established its presence in Thailand by creating the Mother of Perpetual Help Centre to assist people with HIV-AIDS. Today, the Centre is still providing its much-needed care, along with a range of outreach services to help poor families and school students, while also educating the local community about HIV spread and prevention.

On top of that, SVD confreres are serving the poor and marginalised in rural parish ministry, supporting Vietnamese migrants in Bangkok in a series of ministries described by the Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD, on a recent visitation as “truly missionary and truly inspiring”.

Parishioners from a group of small parishes across Melbourne took part in a six week ‘Breathing in the Spirit’ Lenten retreat offered by Divine Word Missionary priest Fr Gilbert Carlo, with many saying it was a life-changing experience.

Fr Gilbert says he chose small parishes like St Timothy’s in Vermont South, St Luke’s in Blackburn South, St John the Baptist at Ferntree Gully and St Peter’s in Epping, where parish retreats had not taken place for decades.

As we prepare for the special feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, I believe it’s more important than ever for us to be alert to the movement of the Spirit in our own lives and in the Church today.

For some time now I’ve been sensing the Spirit at work in the growing move towards synodality in our Church – that movement based on deep listening, discernment and sharing of gifts.

For SVD student Antonius Kristanto ‘Krisna’ Papalesa, from Indonesia, the daily activities of life in Dorish Maru College, Melbourne, are immersing him in the local culture and preparing him for a life of mission.

Krisna was born in 1995 and spent most of his life in Jakarta with his parents, three brothers and four sisters.