The Globalization of Charity • A Video from Fr. Tomaz Mavrič
The Globalization of Charity • A Video from Fr. Tomaz Mavrič
In a new series of three videos, Fr. Tomaz Mavrič CM invites us to continue to deepen the meaning of the Vincentian charism, of which we celebrate its 400th anniversary during this year 2017.
Let us recall that, in the first series of videos published in the month of January, Fr. Mavrič invited us to look with faith and charity three objects that belonged to Vincent de Paul: his hat, his cape and his sandals.
In this new video, Fr. Tomaz Mavrič CM invites us to reflect on the globalization of charity: A scholar of the law asked Jesus: who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29). Today, people could respond to that question in many different ways. Some might say my neighbor are those persons who are citizens of my country, that is, people whose passport has been issued by the same country. Other might say my neighbor are those who pay taxes or speak the same language as I do or profess the same religion as I profess. In the video there is a scene in which Saint Vincent is searching, but what is he searching for? He is searching for those who have the greatest need, the least members of society, those who have been abandoned and forgotten. The globalization of charity is a challenge that is extended to all Christians, urging them to expand the circle of persons who are to be provided with assistance, regardless of the cost … and that is charity.
Fr. Tomaz Mavrič CM tells us:
We are in a time of history where the word “globalization” is used for different things, meaning different areas. But, if we talk about our vocation, our mission in life, our call in life, this is our priority: to globalize charity, to make charity the message of Jesus, his central message, the central message of the gospel, alive and present in all corners of the world.
And we can do this. This is, we can say from one point of view, a dream. But, if one person dreams alone, or two or three, probably it will still remain a dream. But if we dream more an more together, more and more joining our efforts, joining our talents that were given by Jesus to each person, that dream can become a reality. And we need to think that way: it is possible, because it is not our doing, it is Jesus’ work, it is Jesus who touch Vincent so deeply that changed his life, converted him, his conversion made him the mystic of charity.
Video link in other languages:
- English: https://youtu.be/P66RmB46Uwg
- French: https://youtu.be/PfZdkLPf-dM
- Spanish: https://youtu.be/_FAw4Ym1cfA
- Portuguese: https://youtu.be/d3FbAEXCvRI
- Polish: https://youtu.be/UkyXnwbQxNA
- Italian: https://youtu.be/wEnctcomagg
- Slovak: https://youtu.be/zpnFCW87GCA
- Slovenian: https://youtu.be/jIAjn8S7VpQ
Questions for dialogue:
After watching this video together, we can discuss with these suggestions:
- What does the word “globalization” mean? How can this concept be applied to charity?
- Jesus touched Vincent when he discovered the needs of the poor, and Vincent lived a conversion. Does the same thing happen to us? Has our life changed in the encounter with the impoverished?
- Why is it important —for the different branches of the Vincentian Family— to work together and coordinated, in the area of charity?
- What practical and concrete actions can we take to improve collaboration within the Vincentian Family, at local, national and global levels?
General presentation of this video series
For us, 2017 is the anniversary year of the charism. Unlike other founders, Vincent de Paul did not have visions or receive messages from on high. At two key moments in his life the Holy Spirit surprised Vincent and made him question himself with regard to two different forms of poverty: people are dying of hunger and… people are condemned because they do not know the truths necessary for salvation. Thus, there was a hunger for the Word and a hunger for food … both of which result in a twofold death: death of the body and death of the soul. After the failures that occurred during the first decade of his priestly ministry (failures that were revealed in the letter that he wrote to his mother and spoke about an honorable retirement which would allow him to spend the rest of his life with her [cf. CCD:I:15-16]), Vincent began to discover a new meaning in his life as a result of his charitable activity on behalf of the poor. Folleville and Châtillon were the crossroads where Vincent encountered God. After those events, Vincent became involved in a mission that gave meaning and direction to his life … and, as members of the Vincentian Family, gives meaning to our lives.
At the beginning of this Holy Year, this Charismatic Year … or perhaps it is better to say at the beginning of this Jubilee Year, Father Tomaž Mavrič, CM, superior general, mindful of the suggestion of an individual confrere (namely, Father Luiggi Mezzadri), decided to continue to communicate with all the members of the Vincentian Family through short video messages that are easily accessible in the various social media. He began with some reflections on Vincent’s cape, hat and shoes which from the time of the French Revolution have been preserved in the Mission House in Turin (Italy). And he now continues with this new series of three videos, inviting us to deepen in the Vincentian charism:
- The globalization of charity
- Vocation
- Moving out toward the peripheries
Initially these messages will be available in eight languages: Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Slovenian and Slovak … we also want to make these messages available in other languages and dialects.
This work has been entrusted to Piotr Dziubak, a film-maker who has produced various important documentaries, for example, De Gasperi-mio padre; Santo subito. Alle perferie del mondo con Giovanni Paolo II; Liszt; Das Fenster zur Welt – 50 Jahre Zweites Vatikanisches Konzil.
Video courtesy of CMglobal YouTube Channel, based on an idea by Fr. Luigi Mezzadri, CM, and directed by Piotr Dziubak.
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