Why did you join the Society of St. Vincent de Paul? Why are you still a member? The answers to these two simple questions can lead us as individuals, as Conferences, and as a Society to growth in every dimension.

Many, if not most of us, were first drawn to the Society by its promise of participation in service to our neighbors; the physical act of meeting, listening, and helping real people in need. “Conference table ministries” are fine, but the call to the Vincentian vocation is always a call to action. St. Vincent made this clear many times. “All our reasons are fruitless,” he explained, “If they don’t go on to action.” [CCD XI:175]

Soon after joining, we are introduced more fully to our Vincentian spirituality and begin to understand the fullness of this calling. The purpose of the Society is our growth in holiness, towards union with Christ, along with the Vincentian brothers and sisters who walk this pathway with us. We serve not merely to deliver bread, or to pay bills, which would quickly become routine, or even drudgery. It is Christ whom we serve, and we become better ourselves because of it. We “become better … in order to make others happier”, as Blessed Frédéric once put it. [290, to Amélie, 1841]

We receive God’s transformative grace through our sharing with each other in these charitable works, taking joy in each other’s growth, benefiting from the wisdom of more experienced members, from the enthusiasm of newer members, and especially from the neighbors we serve, knowing that “the blessing of the poor is a blessing from God.” [1457, to the Assembly, 1834]

When our Conferences face challenges in meeting the needs before us, when our ranks thin with the departure of older members, we must neither be surprised nor discouraged, for we know, as Frédéric knew, that in Conferences there are “cold seasons and better ones; there is change as in all human things.” [141, to Ballofet, 1837] Rather than being overwhelmed with the work, we must let ourselves overflow with the blessings we receive from it – blessings not only enough to be shared but meant to be shared.

It was our faith that called us to action, and our God Who called us to this vocation. We don’t need to recruit or to persuade people to join us, we only need to share the same call that we once answered, and which has rewarded us so richly. We are surrounded by people who are eager to serve, who are longing for God, and who, though they may not yet know it, are waiting to be called as Vincentians. We have met Christ in this work. Let’s not keep Him to ourselves.

Contemplate

Why did I join the Society? Why do I stay? Why would I keep this to myself?

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