One person collaborative effort?

It may seem like an oxymoron to speak of a one person collaborative effort. But it is not when speaking of Mark McGreevey’s approach to homelessness. He is the leader ofthe Vincentian Family Homeless Alliance that was highlighted in his presentation before the 11,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

It is not an oxymoron when applied to Vincent

“St. Vincent brought together as many people as he could, rich and poor, humble and powerful, and used every means to inspire in them a sensitivity to the poor, who are the privileged image of Christ.” (Constitutions of the Congregation of the Mission, Introduction, p.19)

It is not an oxymoron when applied to Mark McGreevey

Fr. Dennis Holtschneider’s presentation at the same Symposium further illustrates how Vincent’s genius is alive and well today working to tackle the world-wide problem of homelessness.

1.We need to work together as a Vincentian Family.

Seven years ago, Fr. Gregory Gay, our former Superior General, invited Mark McGreevy from London and others to address the General Assembly of Vincentian priests and brothers because he wanted to expose us to what he thought were particularly creative examples of the Vincentian tradition growing in our midst. I don’t know anyone else’s reaction that day, but it grabbed my imagination and I asked Mark if we could talk. That talk cost me dearly. He roped me into the project in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Mark’s good at that. He’s good at roping people the way that cowboys rope cows.

In the U.S., the Daughters of Charity are deeply involved in Depaul International’s works. Vincentian priests have been roped onto his board, and then asked to join him to train his staff worldwide in the life and spirituality of St. Vincent. Mark is successful because he’s Mark.

That’s the model we should employ all the time. The AIC (Ladies of Charity in the US) has extraordinary reach, but the Daughters have deep knowledge of social services, healthcare and education, and extraordinary connections to institutions. The Vincentian priests and brothers have a wonderful spirituality born of their work with the poor and their considerable training. They too have extraordinary resources through their universities. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has our deepest day-to-day knowledge of the poor across the world. They know the poor firsthand as well as any of us, and can mine and distribute that knowledge if they so choose for all of our benefit. Few of our members know the young exceptionally well, but the members of the Marian Youth do.

Who knows what we could do together! I only know that Depaul International would not be the institution it became if Mark hadn’t met a Daughter of Charity in London at the very outset. We need to work together as a Vincentian Family.

It should not be an oxymoron when applied to us

Reflection Questions

• What is the default model we employ in our efforts – the “Lone Ranger” model or the model of Vincent who was a genius at bringing together people from all strata of society and walks of life?
• How does Vincent genius for collaboration and empowerment challenge me?