Vincentian Spirituality

God leads us into the midst of the world and God waits for us among the poor. Christ invites us to participate in the mission and He sits with us in prayer.  Christ enables us to be charitable.  The theme is as a reflection to me and is rooted in the Vincentian experience of Jesus. The Vincentian charism and Vincentian spirituality are centered on an encounter with the poor Christ present among those men and women who are poor. There were two key questions that Saint Vincent had to answer: Who is Jesus? How do I follow Jesus? During the process of his conversion Vincent gradually began to understand the meaning of those two questions. His conversion was a process of coming to know Jesus and thus, walking the path of the disciples, the path of the Kingdom. We too can reach this horizon of knowing the Son of God.  We know we are called and maybe sometimes we take it for granted.  He calls us to see Him in the poor.  He calls us to be servant.  He says we are to tend to His lambs and feed His sheep.  This is what we say yes to. Blessed are those companions who transform discouragement into hope, those wounds and hurts will lead to the creation of a better world.  These are what we cannot forget.  We are not volunteers we are disciples led by Christ as we serve Him in the poor, the homeless, the addicted, the battered, the imprisoned and all who need us.  We serve as Christ would!

I believe…

…we don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change. I believe… no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you once in a while and you must forgive them….true friendship and love continues to grow, even over the longest distance. You can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life. It has taking me a long time to become the person I want to be and I am still learning and growing. You should always leave loved ones with loving words.  It may be the last time you see them.  I believe…you can keep going long after you think you can’t. We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. Either you control your attitude or it controls you. Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones to help you get back up. I believe…that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, not the right to be cruel. I believe…maturity has more to do with the experiences and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated. I believe…it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others.  We must learn to forgive ourselves letting God heal us, no matter how badly your heart is broken, and the world doesn’t stop for your grief.  Two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.  I believe… our lives can be changed in a matter of minutes by unknown people. Even when you think you have no more to give; when a friend cries out to you, the strength to help will be there through a silent prayer. Know all credentials on the wall and awards do not make you a decent human being. The people you care about in life are taken from you too soon. The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything.

Blessings, Lynn