The annual SVD Mission Day hosted by Dorish Maru College in Melbourne has been hailed an inspiration, with guest speakers calling on the faithful to live out their baptismal calling in a prophetic way in the spirit of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
Almost 300 people attended the day which was comprised of a seminar, the celebration of the Eucharist and a shared multicultural meal.
Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD and Dr Cecilia Francisco-Tan at the SVD Mission Day in Melbourne. PHOTO: Divine Word Missionaries.
The theme of the seminar was, ‘Witnessing to the Light: From Everywhere for Everyone’, and the keynote speaker was the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of St Joseph, Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ with theologian and experienced pastoral associate Dr Cecilia Francisco-Tan responding.
SVD Vice-Provincial and one of the organisers, Fr Albano Da Costa SVD, said the day was a big success.
“Mission Day 2024 went beyond my expectations, and I am deeply grateful to God and everyone who came along, for all that we were able to achieve - and a renewed sense of missionary awareness - which is the primary motive behind the annual mission day celebrations,” he said.
“Participants went home inspired and spiritually nourished and since the event I have been receiving such positive feedback on the quality and depth of those reflections.”
Sr Monica told the audience that Witnessing to the Light is central to our call to being missionary disciples.
“It is about igniting the gift of our Baptism by becoming the hands and feet of Christ amid the ordinariness of daily life and beyond,” she said.
“We come from many places, many nationalities and many cultures, each one called to let our light shine in this time and within our current reality.”
She said Scripture shows us that when we are called to be Witnesses, it is God who is the instigator.
“It is God who does the calling, drawing God’s people near and then they are to go and declare this God – a God of tenderness, compassion and mercy – whom they have come to know and trust among the nations, discovering there the God who calls each one into the fullness of life. It is from this encounter with the living God who calls us, invites us into relationship and transforms us, that we bear witness to the light.
“The role of the witness is simply to share all that one has seen, heard, and experienced and to allow God to be the source of changing hearts and minds.”
Sr Monica reflected on a number of people who she considered to be Witnesses to the Light, including Pope Francis, catechists who take the faith to children in state schools, a homeless man she encountered regularly, and Susan Selo, a participant in the Synod on Synodality from Fiji.
She also spoke about the founder of her religious congregation and Australia’s first canonised saint, St Mary MacKillop.
“Mary saw the Josephite mission as bringing hope, relief, encouragement and God’s love to all whom she encountered,” Sr Monica said.
“She took her Religious vows in response to what she perceived as a clear call from God to carry out a mission of love to the poor and isolated in the emerging Australian colonies.
“Going to places for which no other religious were available, Mary and her Sisters lived among the people responding to the God of life whatever the circumstances might be.”
She concluded by urging those gathered to consider how they might give witness to the light from everywhere for everyone.
“Let’s begin in the small everyday situations in which we find ourselves, for the mysticism of encounter happens everywhere. It begins with a simple smile, an encouraging word of hope, a listening heart, a compassionate presence, for it is often the small, unknown acts of kindness and love that will transform our world. It is the quality of our presence individually and in our communities, that matters above all, so that people can see the light of Christ shining in you.”
In response, Cecilia said that Sr Monica’s presentation brought to mind the word ‘prophet’.
“Prophets provoke, agitate, stir and speak truth to power,” she said.
“They agitate hearts and minds only if hearts and minds are open to being shaken. Prophets do not dither or dawdle, lying in wait for things to happen. They do not dwell in the world of abstractions, romanticism, fantasy, ideology, and ideas for their own sake. They speak concretely to those on the fringes, inviting, challenging, cajoling, encouraging and many times insisting their listeners take their rightful, God-given place.
“In so doing, these othered ones, through their own lives and witness are given space to join in the prophetic chorus of hope.
“Prophets remind us of the dynamic spirit of God burning within – the fire we each carry, to achieve not our agendas, but to yield to God’s dream for us. The invitation to find God in all things, in all people is the prophet’s clarion call. Dare we go forth in courage, trust and hope remembering, claiming, and acting on our prophetic roles to point to the true Light we collectively name The Christ? That is the main question I offer in response to Monica’s presentation.”
A group photo following the multicultural Mass at the SVD Mission Day. PHOTO: Divine Word Missionaries.
SVD Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD, who chaired the seminar, said he found Sr Monica’s presentation “very practical, pastoral and spiritual”.
“People loved it because she was really talking to us, to our hearts, and I think people recognised a lovely courageous spirit in her heart which is part of the story of St Mary MacKillop and the Josephite charism,” he said.
“And Cecilia’s response was also courageous and very challenging, in a good way. She responded very well by calling us forward prophetically and urging us not to be afraid to be a witness to the light.”
Fr Rass was also primary celebrant at the Mass which followed the seminar and said it was wonderful to see the multicultural sharing of the Eucharist.
“A day like the Mission Day reminds us that it is good not just to do mission but to celebrate it with others and this is something we’ve always done by highlighting mission in the month of October,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fr Albano said he was now looking forward to October 2025 where there are plans underway for a combined SVD AUS Assembly in Box Hill, Melbourne, and two days of mission symposium focusing on the 60th anniversary of 'missio Dei'.
This article was published in the Divine Word Missionaries’ e-news publication, In the Word.