“MISSIONS AREN’T JUST FOR SUPERSTARS; A MISSIONARY IS JUST LIKE YOU. ORDINARY FOLKS THROUGH WHOM GOD DOES THE EXTRAORDINARY.”

– CHUCK SWINDOLL

Anyone who has read any of Pope Francis’ documents or listened to his addresses would recognise that he often speaks of the need for a consistent approach to protect and sustain our ecosystem. This means that if we want a secure future for our generations to come, our future is not dependant on just any one thing. He is asking us to think about our response to God in terms of economic, social, and political structures that will enable us to care for those most in need that we encounter in our day-to-day work. This is the important work of our mission.

When we talk about our works, spirituality, Membership, retail, or any of the other parts of the day-to-day life of the Society, we need to take on board as many factors as possible to see how our mission fits into the wider experience of our relationship with God. And in doing this, we remember who we are as an organisation with a deep faith tradition. We need to do this so that we can locate our mission within God’s mission. After all, we are invited participants in the God’s unfolding path for us and the world.

For us as Christian people, that mission has its highest expression in Jesus through his life, his words, and his actions. Through our faith, we are being invited into God’s own life, and the more we take up that invitation, the more we are equally invited to share that same life with others. We exist to serve God’s kingdom, and we do that by our response to one another in humanity. As an organisation, we have no option but to exist in our present day. This moment in history is where God meets us and where our response is to meet the world through our witness and our actions.

As a lay Catholic organisation, our place in this world is to be sources of good news, hope, and healing. We will, from time to time, disagree on how to best achieve this; however, our task is to listen to the Holy Spirit and where the Spirit is calling us to discern. Part of this discernment is to be open and be surprised by the activity of the Spirit already at work through the St Vincent de Paul Society.

In many ways, we need to reassess many of the things that govern our thoughts and relearn or open ourselves up to where the Spirit is at work. This is part of an ecosystem of faith. God’s vision for our Society might differ from our own desires and plans. God challenges our opinions, and that’s ok.

Reawakening and reimagining are at the heart of our tradition. The more that we as Members, Volunteers, and Staff are open to the Spirit in our own lives through listening, reflection, discernment, and dialogue, the more we as an organisation can be a source of hope for the world. Reflecting God’s hope is at the heart of serving Christ in those we meet.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• What do you do to ensure you remain open to the Spirit working through you?
• How are you contributing to the ecosystems in your life?

From: Firewood for the soul, vol. 2, A Reflexion Book for the Whole Vincentian Family
St. Vincent de Paul Society, Queensland, Australia.
Text by: Samantha Hill and James Hodge.