It is not the purpose or mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to recruit more members. This may seem counterintuitive, given that without new members, as current members age and retire, the Society would slowly cease to exist. Yet instead, for nearly 200 years, our little Society has flourished.

Vincentians are not soldiers, machinists, or nurses who are recruited to fill quotas, trained, and sent to fill open assignments. This is a vocation, not a profession, and there are no vacancies to fill in the Society, only longings for God in the hearts of potential members.

Unlike organizations that depend upon members’ dues for survival, or who measure their influence or strength by their numbers, the Society has always been grounded in both individual and corporate humility, grateful for our smallness, and humble about any good we may do, knowing that it is God’s work, not our own.  As our first Rule put it, “although we may be fonder of our little association, we will always consider it as less excellent than others; we will regard it, as in fact it is, but as a work formed nobody knows by whom, nor how, born yesterday and which may die tomorrow.” [Rule, 1835]

Vincentians do not seek to be part of something big, or to accomplish great things, but to grow in virtue and in holiness, serving Christ where He told us we would find him, through works by which he told us we would be judged. There is no recruiting pitch to vocation. There is only a tug on each heart, and a motive that cannot be directed, but can be attracted by the example of the Society’s love and dedication to the least of God’s children.

The Society grows most effectively in the same way that the church grows, as Pope Benedict XVI taught, not by proselytism, but by attraction. Our primary purpose is, and always has been, to grow in holiness, to grow closer to Christ through our person-to-person service. For those of us who have felt this transformation deep within our hearts, we can hardly help but share it – not because we need more help, but because the grace we receive is meant for all God’s children, and it would be wrong to try to keep it to ourselves.

As much as each Conference is blessed by new members, those members are blessed in return by participation in the Conference. The question that we ask, then, is not “would you like to help?” but rather “would you like to meet Jesus?”

The poor we will always have with us, and through the love of Christ, the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the providence of God, we will also always have Vincentians among us. May the Society of St. Vincent de Paul be always a beacon to both.

Contemplate

Do I invite new members by sharing the joy of my own spiritual growth?

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