Serviens in spe, the Society’s motto declares, “serving in hope.” In our contemporary society, and in our human nature, we tend to take the short view of things. We hope for good weather for the weekend, a raise or promotion at work, or a positive result from a medical exam; in short, we hope our plans work out for the best. But these hopes, even when they involve more serious things, are really just wishes for good fortune; they pass quickly, and are soon forgotten, whether they come to fruition or not.

The hope in which we are called to serve as Vincentians is the same hope in which our faith calls us to live as Christians. It is not a passing feeling, or simply a positive outlook, it is one of the three Cardinal Virtues given to us by Saint Paul, who also teaches us that love (charity) is the greatest among them. Indeed, our Rule reminds us to serve the neighbor for love alone. Love is the motive for our actions. Yet, while serving for love, we serve in hope.

Just as the love for which we serve is not a romantic or brotherly love, but a divine and self-giving love, the hope in which we serve is not a temporal or worldly hope. This can be difficult to remember during struggles in our own lives, and it can be far more difficult to remember when we are faced with the struggles of our neighbors, who often face much more serious challenges than our own. What is the hope that we offer to a family facing eviction, or a homeless man whose car just died, especially when our Conference may not even have the money to address these needs?

It’s easy to see that our hopes for weekend weather are not so important; it is much harder to dismiss a hope for food and shelter as merely wishful thinking, yet this is exactly what Christ calls upon us to see when He says “do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear.” Indeed, it is hope, not money or worldly comfort, that gives us the strength to run and not grow weary, to soar on eagle’s wings, to walk and not grow faint.

Neither our hope nor the neighbor’s hope lie in the things of this earth, for if that were the limit of our hope it would lead only to despair. This does not mean we do not work to ease material needs. On the contrary, it is the small relief – and sometimes large relief – that we offer which opens the door to the true hope that is offered to all.

To serve in hope does not mean to ignore the worldly, but to keep our eyes upon, and share, the true hope. As Blessed Frédéric put it, “this detachment from the world must not be turned into discouragement about our duties. In that consists the whole secret and the whole difficulty of the Christian life. We must think as if we were to quit the earth tomorrow, and we must work as if we were never to leave it.” [Baunard, 423]

Contemplate

Do I sometimes begin to despair when we cannot resolve every need for the neighbor?

By Timothy Williams,
Senior Director of Formation & Leadership Development
Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA.