Society of the Divine Word

[ChristIsTheWay]

This missionary order has sent me several letters the past few months. I emailed their vocation director today for more information. Is anyone familiar with them? Are their priests generally orthodox and faithful to the Church’s teachings? Thanks.

divineword.org/

 

[the_phoenix]

I am distantly related to one of the SDW missionary priests who is now retired and lives at Techny but who served in Africa for around 50 years. In fact, this past weekend I drove from Ohio to New York State to see him at a family picnic.

While this particular priest is soft-spoken and tends not to discuss politics, here’s what I know about him:

1. Devoted to the Rosary and the Bible.
2. Prepares for Holy Mass for hours beforehand. When I stayed at my relative’s house while Father was there on one of his summer visits, I noticed that he woke up between 5 and 6:00 a.m. so that he could do the following in order to prepare himself for 8:00 a.m. Mass: A) Read the Bible at the kitchen table. B) Take a walk outdoors to meditate on a sermon, while praying / listening to a tape of either psalms or the Rosary. This along with spending his evenings reading about a particular saint whose life he’d recently been studying. Now usually I’m not in a position to observe how a priest spends his time before Mass, but I was simply amazed at the amount of care, meditation, and reverence before and during this Mass.
3. Is faithful to saying the Divine Office and daily devotional prayers without making a big deal about it but quietly going for a walk in nature (or simply a suburban sidewalk if that’s all there is). If you happen to be around and notice, and he’s saying the Rosary, you’re welcome to join him on his walk, but with the unspoken understanding that this is a time of prayer and not socializing.
4. Father is the first one to pitch in and help with the humblest chores like clearing the table, washing dishes, carrying what needs to be carried … No matter that he is supposed to be the honored guest, and that he is surrounded by younger and more able-bodied people.

Hope this helps,

~~ the phoenix