One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Vincentian spirituality is its very physical nature – we “love God with the strength of our arms.” [CCD XI:32] Understanding this helps us to understand how our Society’s primary purpose can be our growth in holiness while at the same time our primary activity is person-to-person service of the poor. Our vocation, though, is characterized not by contemplation or action, but by contemplation and action. We do not serve the poor at the expense of prayer and reflection, but as a form of prayer, and as our most central spiritual practice.

This is why Blessed Frédéric once explained that when we see the poor one before us we should “throw ourselves at his feet and say with the Apostle, Tu est Dominus et Deus meus.” [137, to Janmot, 1836] This is also why we recognize that our vocation consists of our formation, in all its dimensions. We love God, Christ commands us, with all our hearts, committed to make our service not just something we do, but something we are; with all our minds, committed to learning all that helps us to serve; with all our spirit, committed to accompanying each other in prayer and reflection; and, St. Vincent reminds us, with all our strength, committed to act, to sweat, and to work for the glory of God in service of His poor.

Vincentians don’t pray, then set prayer aside to serve. We don’t study, read, and attend training to build skills separate from our calling to serve Christ. We don’t grow by reflecting together only on words, but also on our own actions in service of the poor. Our formation, like our vocation, is for every moment of our lives, [Rule, Part I, 2.6] and for every part of our persons: heart, mind, spirit, and strength.

While often used that way, training and formation are not synonyms, because while training is always formation, formation is much more, and much deeper, than that. This is why Councils have formation teams, which are responsible not merely for training, but for training that is grounded in our spirituality, and that serves all aspects of our vocation, including the necessary prayer, reflection, and sharing that help us to live as a community of faith, growing in holiness together. It is not these teams that form us, but they lead or facilitate all aspects of our formation, helping us to keep them integrated and harmonious, and empowering us to help form each other.

A holistic spirituality requires a holistic understanding of formation, which neither begins nor ends with any one thing. We serve in order to become. We pray in order to become. We study in order to become. We love in order to become. We seek to follow Christ fully, in all parts of our lives, so that we can become like Him: perfect.

Contemplate

Do I sometimes let my works distract from my spiritual growth, rather than informing it?

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