“Each person has a story” so said my friend A. C.

When I was asked to write a piece about the Vincentian charism in action, I was still trying to decide what to do when I went to Mass at Sacred Heart Parish, Mill Hill, London, UK.  “A” is known to me as an AIC member, and she was Eucharistic Minister for that day. I thought this is Providential, because yet again she was quietly doing something meaningful for us all with no fuss or bother. But I wondered if she would agree for me to write this piece given that she is so quiet and self-effacing.

So why did I think of her?  Sometimes, people are challenged in their lives and become victims of circumstances, embittered or dependent with copious excuses for not being happy or living positively their God-given life to the full.  “A” has experienced serious ill health and other difficulties, so has more reason than most to sit back. She instead says “I feel very fortunate to be a parishioner in a Vincentian church, touched by the simplicity, humility and openness of the Vincentians in their life and ministry to the homeless and all people in the parish.  Their spirituality and inspiration as a community reaches out to people in their unique journeys; they are very generous with their time and never turn anyone away. My first-hand experience of this generosity (even though I wasn’t homeless) makes me want to keep giving back and reaching out to the homeless, like the Vincentians do.”

“A” works in the human resources department of a large supermarket chain. Shift work, weekend work is part of her world.  Somehow, uncomplainingly, she juggles her time, so that she can volunteer in The Passage, the Vincentian Family Day Centre for the Homeless in London. Her insight into her own motivation I find deeply touching.  She says “there are three values I treasure that make me want to serve in The Passage;

1. my devotion to St Vincent de Paul, who ministered to the homeless
2. the privilege of learning profound and rich insights about life from homeless people; and
3. the chance to serve and give something back to the Vincentians and the homeless for all the blessings that their sharing brings me.

The homeless somehow remind me of Jesus. They have their own journey, which they will share with you once you get to know them. To me they are like Jesus who, born in a manger, had to then flee to Egypt, later experiences rejection in his hometown, and was in the end buried in a borrowed tomb – the son of God had nowhere to lay his head.”

I see our Vincentian charism crystallized in “A” because her “prayer IN action” is saying “prayer IS action.”  She cheerfully relieves family members of their responsibility for a disabled relative – back in Ireland.  So her devotion is taking her holiday time.  But she “offers up” this up as an opportunity to be love in action –  just like she says “When these homeless people tell me their stories, I feel honored and trusted.  I feel closer to the Lord, sharing in the unique journeys of the homeless.”

She did quietly say “Yes” to my request to write this piece, and then proceeded to blow me away with her spirituality and quest to live her life to the full in the service of others.  At this point I considered giving St Vincent the last word but find that “A”s own words of her experience of living the Vincentian charism deeply moved me;

She says “ The devotion, learning, and inspiration I receive from these two communities – the Vincentians and the homeless in their interactions – are indescribably deeper, wider and nobler than anything I can ever give. In my own little way, through my personal journey, I want to be part of this mutual ministry. As the homeless minister to me through their journey, I feel even more blessed to minister to them by giving them my time.”