Society
Of The Divine Word

‘Celebrating Pentecost means opening ourselves to the spirit that unites us in diversity,’ emphasised Superior General Ribeiro in his sermon. “The Holy Spirit blows where it wills. Today he blows in the wind of interculturality and calls for a church that speaks all languages, hears all voices and welcomes all faces of God in the world.”

Pentecost shows that God communicates ‘through’ diversity, not ‘despite’ it. According to the Brazilian-born superior of the Steyler Missionaries, true Christian community does not require that everyone thinks, speaks or lives in the same way, but that everyone recognises in each other a brother or sister who is equally filled with God’s spirit.

Missionary church must listen

In times of globalisation and migration, reality is becoming increasingly intercultural, according to Ribeiro. This can also be seen in the SVD communities, where Latin Americans, Africans, Asians and Europeans live together. ‘This diversity is an expression of God’s presence among us!’

The interculturality that characterises the Divine Word Missionaries is about learning from one another and allowing the culture of others to change one’s own faith, emphasised the Superior General. ‘The Church will only be missionary if it is prepared to listen and learn from other peoples, languages and cultures.’ Mission does not happen with words that others do not understand, but with gestures that welcome, listen and respect one another. ‘The mission of the spirit is not to dominate, but to build bridges between peoples,’ explained Fr Ribeiro in his sermon on the feast of Pentecost.

The texts of the mass were heard in German, Spanish, Portuguese and English. This emphasised the diversity and interculturality.

With courage and perseverance

The rector of the St. Gabriel Mission House, Fr Franz Pilz SVD, was able to welcome numerous guests of honour at the festive mass: the dean of Mödling and deputy episcopal vicar, Adolf Valenta, – who conveyed the congratulations of the administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna, Josef Grünwidl, – the Secretary General of the Conference of Religious Orders, Sr Christine Rod MC, as well as the superiors of many religious communities.

In his introductory remarks, Provincial Fr Christian Stranz SVD referred to the founding history of the SVD). It was only thanks to the perseverance and courage of the priest and secondary school teacher Arnold Janssen that the Society’s first mission house was opened in an inn in the Dutch town of Steyl on 8 September 1875. From this humble beginning, a globally active missionary order with currently around 5600 members has developed.

Request for forgiveness for past mistakes

In the jubilee year, according to the Provincial, the SVD not only wanted to remember ‘successes and glorious times’ in the history of the society, but also, at the suggestion of Superior General Ribeiro, to take the jubilee as an opportunity to take responsibility for what had gone wrong in the past, e.g. where entrusted spiritual leadership or power had been abused and people’s dignity and integrity had been violated, exploited or even made ill and traumatised. In the petitions of the Act of Contrition, reference was made to omissions and misdemeanours.

“So we would like to summon up the courage here and now, as those responsible in the order, to ask for forgiveness for all these violations that have been committed by confreres against confreres or against people outside the order: We can no longer undo it. We are sorry. We are ashamed. We ask those affected and we ask God for forgiveness!” was one of the words in the penitential act.