Vincentians Live the Gospel – Vincentians Praying – New Covenant – Vincentians Embrace Faith

Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast

Vincentians Live the Gospel Mark 8:34-9:1

The true discovery of the true cost of being a disciple who is called… The Lord says that whoever wishes to come after Him must, “deny ourselves and take up His cross, and follow Him.” This may or may not be a simple question of accepting suffering.  You have to pray on what it means. We don’t have to stop living. As Vincentians I believe we take up His cross and do home visits. Jesus is telling us to actively take up our crosses, to seek them out, to carry them as Jesus willingly carried His. Vincentians are called to serve Jesus in the impoverished. The cross of Jesus is to bear our burdens and lead us in our service. What Jesus did on the cross was to bear the burden of the world’s sin. He bore these burdens in love, and this is what we must do.  We are called to be actively seeking out ways to lighten other people’s loads. And then the great paradox: “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”  When we cling and whine, we lose; when we let go in radical love, we find. Close your fist on your life and it crumbles to the dust; open your hand and let it go, and it grows tenfold.

Vincentians Praying

Jesus wants us to be more childlike, more humble, and more grateful in prayer. We do not pray alone but with the knowledge that we belong to the mystical body of Christ, which is always praying. There is no such thing as isolated prayer but instead Jesus is praying in me and Jesus is praying with me. The body of Christ is always praying. Jesus said to His disciples: “You have heard that it was said: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” We are Vincentians and we are called to serve. The work we do requires a strong faith and a value between right and wrong. Vincentians are disciples and the face of Jesus is in the face we see in those we serve.

Vincentians Living the New Covenant

The new covenant is to love as Jesus loved. God is still renewing covenants today. When we sin, we turn away from God, but He’s always eager to restore the relationship. Since things can never be the same again, thanks to the damage we caused by our sins, we need a new, enhanced covenant. I absolutely love rainbows. Who doesn’t? For me it is a time to pray. I also love sunrises and sunsets over the mountains. I get inspirations to pray. One day the most beautiful rainbow came outside my window; it was spectacular. My teenage son who was in a non-believer stage was sleeping. I yelled down to him as if it was a matter of life and death. (I did not want him to miss the rainbow.) He came to me in panic. “Are you okay, mom?” I told him to come to the window. He did and after the scene took his breath away, I said, “Tell me there is no God.” He returned to his little “cave.” I prayed in thanksgiving and continued praying when my son came back to where I was and he said, “Yes there is a God”. We have since looked at rainbows and beautiful skies. God gave us this. We pray for a new beginning. Forgive me, Lord, for the times that I have been an obstacle instead of an instrument for Your divine designs. Amen.

Vincentians Embrace Faith

It takes faith to love despite our fears. What are you afraid of? There are so many things, but I would think the biggest fear is of not being loved. This is why I challenge people to smile always and to hug when you can. A smile really makes a difference in us and others. I also tell people they have a nice smile. In our relationships we may feel in love. We have been married for 52 years and it hasn’t always been happy. I remember one time we had a little misunderstanding; actually it was a screaming match where I was in the wrong. He handed me my bible and I just opened up the bible not caring of the page and I immediately ask for forgiveness. He did, we hugged and smiled. We need to have Faith in our marriage, our family and with those we serve as Vincentians. We ask for forgiveness and we pray to be better. If we are so afraid we must lift it up to our Lord simply by saying, forgive me Lord, for the times my heart has been divided and for my lack of courage to bear witness to You. Thank You for Your forgiveness that removes all my sins. Amen. If we are afraid of what might happen and it does indeed happen, God will turn it into a blessing.

Blessings,

Lynn