Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam (the four countries that make up our Province) have all been formed and shaped by the tragedy of war. They have also been blessed by those willing to defend freedom with bravery, fidelity, resourcefulness, comradeship and endurance, even if it cost some their lives.

At Anzac Cove these words of Kemal Ataturk written about the Anzac soldiers are remembered on a plaque. Ataturk commanded the Turkish Division at Gallipoli, and was the First President of Turkey:

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives. You are now living in the soil of a friendly country therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmet’s to us, where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

Having spent several hours in hospital Emergency last Friday, I could not help but reflect on the difference between accompanying a brother or friend, as I have done before, visiting a patient as a priest as I have done many times, or wating for medical attention as I did many years ago having arrived with a broken leg and dressed in a Rugby jumper! I was reflecting on that last Friday. A few days later I recognised another kind of Emergency arrival, as he Bondi Junction shooting unfolded. And people told of women arriving, already covered in blood.

Our own experiences are valid, but often they pale in comparison to more critical or tragic experiences happening just around the corner. In a similar way, our personal experiences can attract our focus so much that we can forget or overlook the similar struggles of people not just around the corner, but next door!

Harvey Cox
Harvey Cox was ordained an American Baptist minister in 1957. He will reach 96 years of age next month. By 1965 he has been awarded a Doctor of Divinity and a Doctor of Philosophy in the history and philosophy of Religion from Harvard University. He became widely known for his book ‘The Secular City’ which sold over a million copies. He had wanted the book to be titled, “God and the Secular City’. He was influenced by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, among other thinkers as he developed a thesis that the church is primarily a people of faith and action, rather than an institution. He argued that "God is just as present in the secular as the religious realms of life". It has taken a long time to convince many religious people of this!

The struggle of so many peoples – Cuba!
The Trauma of the Returnee (Nuria Lopez Torres)
Cuba is in the middle of its largest exodus in sixty-five years amid a collapse in its economy. In 2022, U.S. border authorities intercepted 313,499 Cubans by land and sea. Despite expanding humanitarian parole in 2023, the United States still cannot accommodate the high demand, and Cubans continue to look for new ways to leave their country and for other places to go.
While some Cubans succeed in beginning new lives elsewhere, others are forced to return—a process that is often psychologically, physically, and financially traumatic. The vast majority of Cubans sell their houses, cars, furniture, and appliances to raise enough money to emigrate. In the most extreme cases, returnees without money or prospects have taken their own lives. “In this country,” explains one would-be migrant, “there is no future for young people. Really, there is no future for anyone.” In the absence of material opportunities, people in many Cuban communities rely on networks of family and friends to support one another. And many who failed to escape the country the first time they tried, are still hoping to try again. 

Passionists in Vietnam
Vietnam became part of Holy Spirit Province in 2015. The first two Passionist canddiates had joined ten years earlier. There are now 15 Vietnamese Passionist priests, 4 deacons and 18 professed students.

These men are aware that they have joined an international Congregation. They belong to a Province that includes Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, and a Configuration that includes Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Vietnam and Australia

At the present time there are 3 Vietnamese priests, 4 deacons and 4 students living and working in Australia. They are making a great contribution to the Province and acquiring knowledge and skills that they will be able to take back to the Church in Vietnam or elsewhere.

Above is Phi proclaiming the gospel for the first time as a deacon.

In his homily on Friday night, the ordaining bishop, Tony Ireland, referred to Phi several times as ‘Deacon Phi CP’. The bishop highlighted that Phi will exercise his ministry through the lens of his Passionist vocation and our charism is the antidote to an attitude like that of the ambition of James and John who were seeking high places in Jesus’ kingdom. James and John saw Jesus’s popularity and wanted the places of honour – so Jesus responded, “You do not know what you are asking”.

By day Gaza is news and images in the media. Perhaps we avoid them. Perhaps we read about the latest deaths and diplomacy, look at the photos, glance at the opinion pieces that justify or criticise Israel and Hamas, or that set the war in the larger geopolitical interests of the various actors, including Australia. But some delicacy, some despair, some supressed feeling may hold us back from dwelling on it. We concentrate on the business of our daily lives.
But sometimes at night Gaza returns. It becomes personal. For some of us it comes linked to biblical texts such as that of the prophet Jeremiah speaking of the destruction of the Northern kingdom, ‘In Ramah  a voice was heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not’.

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of his accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of it's own imperfection, and miserable that it was only able to accomplish half of what it had been made to do.



Fr Warakaranguruyemuribibihevyoroshe received so many complaints last week about some misplaced images in the newsletter that for some reason he referred them all to Erick who made it abundantly clear he didn’t want to know about it. Seriously, a big thank you to Erick for continuing the newsletters.

It is good to be back after a very beneficial series of meetings in Singapore, Manila Saigon. Denis Travers and I travelled together and our first stop was Singapore where we met with our three Vietnamese formators in a retreat house that enabled everyone to be away from everyday commitments and distractions. There are many challenges trying to provide a suitable formation programme for personal accompaniment.

The annual celebration of St Gabriel (whose feast day is as mentioned above, February 27th) was held at Holy Cross last Sunday by the ‘San Gabriele’ Community. Bruno and his team were at the centre cleaning, setting up all week leading to the festival.

On a warm but windy morning, Chris Monaghan led us through the Rosary at 10am and a Eucharistic celebration at 10.30am, all in Italian. In his thank you speech, Bruno said to Chris “your Italian is getting better and better each year, you will have to continue doing this for us for it to continue getting even more better.”