eBook: St. Vincent de Paul and the Spirit of Service
eBook: St. Vincent de Paul and the Spirit of Service
Author Various Authors
Abstract If our vocation consists of following Jesus Christ then it is in our total willingness to serve the poor that we find our perfection. This service is spiritual and material. This service is also more a question of “being” rather than “doing”: the greatest Servant, Jesus Christ, from the first moment of His life, had this willingness to serve: Here I am Lord, I have come to do your will! Jesus did much more by being what He was, the servant of God, than any other activity that He might have accomplished during his public ministry. Vincent said that Jesus did more suffering than doing… Jesus did more by making Himself one with the poor, by taking on the form of a slave (Philippians 2:7). In order to be faithful to our vocation we do not have to move heaven and earth, we do not have to cross oceans or produce marvelous wonders… in fact, even when we feel that we are useless servants, we simply have to be humble servants of God’s plan with regard to those who are poor.
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Vincentian Encyclopedia
From the reflection questions included at the end of the eBook:
1] Our service involves the whole person, material and spiritual service. How do we work together with other groups in promoting the human person? How are we the voice of those who are poor? How can we help people to become aware of their own situation and thus take steps to change that situation?
2] What do you mean when you say: the poor are our lords and masters? In what sense is that true?
3] Gaudium et spes states: “A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has.” (#35). Or, what people are, is more important than what they have. How does that statement influence your ministry?”
Excerpt From: Various authors. “Vincent de Paul and the Spirit of Service.”
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