The March formation presentation from the AIC for use by members of the Ladies of Charity seems especially apt as we begin Lent… and not only for the Ladies of Charity but all followers of Vincent and Louise.

REFLECTION FOR MARCH:

Vincentian Charism: An Encounter with Christ in those living in Poverty

Text: Selina Suarez Fermín — Translation: Father Charlie Plock

Introduction:

Vincent preached and ministered on behalf of those living in poverty and he was convinced that the Lord was present in those poor men and women whom he was called to serve.  Thus Vincent ministered on behalf of those men and women in order to reveal his love for the Lord, his love for the abandoned and suffering Christ who was present in the men and women who were suffering in the world.  Vincent also said that among those living in poverty one finds true religion and that Christ is present in each one of those persons.  Let us reflect on our actions as we encounter Jesus Christ.

 Development of the Theme:

• Seeing Christ in those living in poverty

Vincent de Paul “discovered” the poor and their misery and in his writing we can see the realism and the seriousness of Vincent’s gaze.  Vincent saw those living in poverty as they were and he committed himself to serve them.  Thus he walked in their midst.  Only after he “found” and “saw” them did he experience himself being questioned by Jesus Christ.  In those living in poverty, Vincent discovered a poor and humiliated Jesus Christ.  As a result of this encounter with them, Vincent deepened his understanding of “the mystery of the poor”. Vincent realized that those persons who are poor and despised by the world are in fact the representatives of Jesus Christ:

“I must not judge a poor peasant man or woman by their appearance or their apparent intelligence, especially since very often they scarcely have the expression or the mind of rational persons, so crude and vulgar they are. But turn the medal, and you will see by the light of faith that the Son of God, who willed to be poor, is represented to us by these poor people; that he scarcely had a human face in his Passion, and passed for a madman in the mind of the Gentiles and a stumbling block in the mind of the Jews. With all that. He describes himself as the Evangelizer of the poor: Evangelizare pauperibus misit me. O God! How beautiful it is to see poor people if we consider them in God and with the esteem in which Jesus Christ held them! If, however, we look on them according to the sentiments of the flesh and a worldly spirit, they will seem contemptible” (CCD:XI:26).

Vincent came to the conclusion that in serving those living in poverty one serves Jesus Christ.  He also realized that living in their midst one will encounter God.

As Vincent was “gazing” on the poor of his time he interpreted the parable of the Final Judgment (Matthew 25) and came to the conclusion that Jesus Christ, poor and humiliated, is represented by those living in poverty and therefore to serve them is to serve Jesus.  Leaving a spiritual retreat and even leaving Mass in order to serve them is “leaving God for God”.

“Remember that when you leave meditation and Holy Mass to serve poor persons, you lose nothing, because to serve those who are poor is to go to God, and you should see God in them” (CCD:IX:5).

Evangelizing those living in poverty

The type of evangelization that missionaries should engage in implies an imitation of Jesus who did not limit himself to teaching people but was also charitable toward these same people:  “We can say that coming to evangelize the poor does not simply mean to teach them the mysteries necessary for their salvation, but also to do what was foretold and prefigured by the prophets to make the Gospel effective” (CCD:XII:75). This then means that we are willing to act in accordance with our model, Jesus Christ, and it also means that we are willing to commit ourselves to provide for the spiritual and the material needs of those who are living in poverty.  In order to eliminate every doubt from his listeners, Vincent, near the end of his life, stated:  “So then, if there are any among us who think they are in the Mission to evangelize poor people but not to alleviate their sufferings, to take care of their spiritual needs but not their temporal ones, I reply that we have to help them and have them assisted in every way, by us and by others…to do that is to preach the Gospel by words and by works, and that  is the most perfect way; it is also what Our Lord did” (CCD:XII:77-78).  Evangelization means that we attend to all these needs and to the many others that have appeared in our own time.

As Vincent nurtured his spiritual life with the Word of God he was strengthened to reach out to those living in poverty, to assist them, to visit the infirm and to organize the Confraternities of Charity that in turn would provide for the material and spiritual needs of those who were suffering.

Personal and Community Reflection:

Let us reflect on the following words of Saint Vincent: “Turn the medal, and you will see by the light of faith that the Son of God, who willed to be poor, is represented to us by these poor people”.

The evangelist Saint John tells us: “We too, then, ought to give our lives for others!” (1 John 3:16).

 Activities and Questions:

• Make some type of a collage to represent how you, as a group, see the presence of Jesus Christ in those persons whom you serve (the elderly, infirm and children).
• How can we work together as a team in order to change and transform the reality of those who are poor? What should the contribution and the role of women be in this process of changing the reality of our sisters and brothers who are living in poverty?

Prayer:

Gracious God, today we present to you the cries of so many poor and marginalized and vulnerable brothers and sisters.  In them we see your suffering face.  In them we discover your will.  You are truly present in them and therefore we ask that through our faith and our commitment, we might also be able to recognize your presence in these brothers and sisters.  We ask that we might recognize the fact that you are still hungry and thirsty and naked and abandoned and alone and infirm.  Lord Jesus, may we have that clarity that enables us to discover you, the generosity to serve you and the courage never to pass you by when we find you lying on the roadsides in the places where we live.  We pray in the name of the Jesus the Lord. Amen

Hymn

Suggested Hymn: When I Needed a Neighbor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrJ190HIk1w)

 Natalie Monteza | AIC aisbl | Secretary General

AIC International Secretariat – Rampe des Ardennais 23 – 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

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AIC, an international network that fights against poverty, which works primarily