“It was not you who chose me,” Christ says, “but I who chose you”, reminding us of the essence of both His mission and our own. It was not we who summoned Christ, but God who chose to put on the cloak of humanity and go to the poor – to us – long before Blessed Frédéric and his friends made the same choice in the spring of 1833. Indeed, it was and is explicitly in imitation of Christ that we visit the poor.

Each time the Conference helpline rings, bringing with it a cry for help from a neighbor in need, it reminds us that the Christ whose suffering we are called to see in that neighbor is choosing us once again. We go to the neighbor for love alone, but each and every time it is not we who chose them, but they who chose us.

St. Vincent often reflected that none of the great works for which we remember him were his doing at all. The poor, sick family at Châtillon that famously inspired him to form the first Confraternity of Charity, he explained, was “clearly the work of God, for was it human beings who had made those poor people ill?” [CCD IX:193] As always, Vincent sought to discern God’s will in the people and events of his life, and if he found himself inspired by that poor farming family, it was only because God chose them to speak to his heart.

How grateful we should be that God not only called us to this vocation, but that time and time again, He chooses us to come to Him! This understanding of our own place in God’s loving plan should permeate all that we do, and all that we say. Our reports on our works are never offered for our own glory, but only to praise God, who chooses us as His humble instruments.

In his own report on the Society’s works in its first year, Frédéric asked that we “together have the firm determination never to quit the post where God has brought us together. Let us continue the work of charity without fanfare, for charity is all the more beautiful as it remains reclusive.” [1457, to the Society, 1834]

God calls us to do good not for our own reputation, but for His love alone. When we call others to serve with us, we seek to share His love. When we ask others to donate to the Society, it is not for our sake but for the poor we serve. When we seek to act as a voice for the voiceless, it is not because of our special skills, but only our special knowledge of the friends, the neighbors, the God who has called us to this vocation.

We are not a secret society, but we are called to be a humble Society, always remembering that our works are for God’s glory, God’s sake, and God’s love.

Contemplate

Am I grateful for God’s call each time He invites me to serve Him?

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