The jubilee year in a congregation is a time of restoration and opening a new story of God's love for its members and people. It is an excellent time to celebrate the wonders the Lord has already done in the history of a congregation. It is a time of forgiveness, renewal of bonds of friendship and fraternity. It is a new covenant between members of the congregation and the people of a community.
For Missionaries of the Divine Word in Mozambique, the year 2021-2022 is the silver jubilee of the second coming. The 1st batch of SVDs arrived in Mozambique in 1911 and then 1997. From this year on, the missionary work of the Congregation of the Divine Word initiated by Saint Arnold Janssen continues to be present among the people in Mozambique. The faithful are called to know and love the Incarnate Word to give glory to his name and participate in his salvation.
Mozambique now lives in times of trials and tribulations. Cyclones in the Centre in recent months have affected the everyday life of the people. There are also pandemic restrictions and the terrorist attack in the North, especially in the province of Cabo Delgado. People in this area were running away and leaving their native places and their goods and looking for shelter in other regions. In this situation, we SVDs began our jubilee year on March 25, 2021, with the motto In Communion of Life with the Incarnate Word: 25 Years at the Service of Evangelization in Mozambique. The organizing committee has prepared all the programs for the whole year's jubilee celebration. Every SVD community in MOZ had its way of inaugural ceremony because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
One of our communities, particularly in Beira, began the inaugural ceremony with the planting of plants. Observing and respecting all preventing measures of COVID-19 in MOZ, the Bible pilgrimage is conducted throughout the SVD based parishes in this year and the year 2021-2022. The year of reading and reflecting the Sacred Scriptures more memorably by all SVD confreres in the region.
We believe that this jubilee year will bring us joy, hope, and reconciliation between God and his people in MOZ. We continue to pray for peace in the entire world, in particular the province of Cabo Delgado.
Fr. Joseph Sahayaraj SVD