Guide 5

Reflection - To be a prophetic member of the Vincentian Family

Goal of the fifth session

To understand that speaking the truth turns the world upside down

Song: [optional]

Prayer for systemic change

We praise and thank you, O God, Creator of the Universe.
You have made all things good and have given us the earth to cultivate.
Grant that we may always use created things gratefully,
and share them generously with those in need.
Give us creativity in helping the poor meet their basic human needs.
Open our minds and hearts so that we might stand at their side
and assist them to change whatever unjust structures keep them poor.
Enable us to be brothers and sisters to them,
friends who walk with them
in their struggle for fundamental human rights.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN

Scripture Reading: Luke 4:16-24

Introduction:

St. Vincent loved the truth. In fact, he focused his whole life on it. He called this passion for the truth “simplicity.”
Simplicity “is the virtue I love most,” St. Vincent tells us. “I call it my gospel.”

In St. Vincent’s eyes, Jesus is utterly simple. He speaks the truth. He says things as they are. His intentions are pure, referring all things in life to God.

He is not afraid to speak out and in Luke’s Gospel starts his ministry in this way. Quoting the Old Testament, and signalling the Good News to the poor, Jesus proclaimed the pattern for his ministry. Many times in the Gospels he challenges the civil authorities and the Church authorities, inviting them to reflect on the truth. (Luke 12: 1 ff)

Today, just as in St. Vincent’s time, simplicity means genuineness, transparency. It remains very attractive to the modern men and women whom we are called to serve. It means:

• speaking the truth (a difficult discipline, especially when our own convenience is at stake or when the truth is embarrassing)
• witnessing to the truth (or the personal authenticity that makes a person’s life match his words)
• searching for the truth as a wayfarer rather than possessing it as an “owner”
• striving for purity of intention
• practicing the truth through works of justice and charity
• living modestly and sharing what we have
• using clear, transparent language, especially in teaching or preaching.

I say to all the members of our family today: have passion for truth. Be true. (Robert Maloney, “On Living the Spirituality of Vincent de Paul Today,” a talk given in Ireland in March 2000)

Prophecy means challenging people to a fresh vision. It is often uncomfortable.

Vincent turned the church upside down. He put the poor on top, with the rest of us in service and support, being evangelized by them and evangelizing them. Constant attention to seeking a just society necessitates solidarity, and solidarity is in the center of all Vincentian values. We can do very little without influencing and engaging others. We need, not only to understand Vincent and Louise in the context of their time, but also to translate their teachings to our contemporary period. (Robert Maloney, The Way of Vincent de Paul)

Individual reflection, Sharing & Listening

In what ways do we practise the truth through our service?
Is our service consistent with what we say?
How does this speak to your Vincentian heart?

Reflect together on your own service

Systemic change involves:

• Speaking the truth and witnessing to it
• Challenging a new world order

Family wisdom

“Saint Vincent too holds out an alternative world to us and he asks us to enter into it. It is a world where the poor are the masters and where we are their servants… It is a world where the last are first, and the first are last. It is a world which, in some ways is upside down. Saint Louise had a lovely way of putting it: ‘The poor person is first in the church. He is the prince and master, being a kind of incarnation of the poor Christ. We must therefore serve them with respect, no matter what his character is like, no matter what his defects. And we must love him.’” (J. Calvet, Louise de Marillac par elle même).

“God has given me such a great esteem for simplicity that I call it my Gospel. I have a particular devotion to saying things just as they are.” (Vincent)

“One of the maxims of the world is not to be sufficiently open to others. Good people, on the contrary, speak their thoughts quite simply. Their words do not contradict their sentiments. But the maxim of the world is to equivocate and sometimes to deceive others. Good people act straightforwardly without using any roundabout ways. This is how you must act!” (Vincent)

Sample strategies

==> Have a prophetic attitude: announce, denounce, and, by networking with others, engage in actions that exert pressure for bringing about change
==> Construct structural and institutional models, where communities can identify their resources and needs, make informed decisions, and exchange information and effective strategies within the community and among various communities

Share any new insight or action you feel challenged to undertake.
Are these strategies part of our ordinary way of acting?

Vincentian Family Prayer

Lord Jesus, you who willed to become poor,
give us eyes and a heart directed toward the poor;
help us to recognize you in them-
in their thirst, their hunger, their loneliness, and their misfortune.
Enkindle within our Vincentian Family
unity, simplicity, humility,
and the fire of love
that burned in St. Vincent de Paul.
Strengthen us, so that, faithful to the practice of these virtues,
we may contemplate you and serve you in the person of the poor,

and may one day be united with you and them in your Kingdom. AMEN

Song: optional