“Speak little, do much,” said Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack, and that is all you need to know. The Alamanack included many of Franklin’s witty sayings, each of which was meant to stand on its own. So clever were they that they are still quoted more than two hundred fifty years later!

By contrast, the quotes we read online from our founders and saints, the Rule, and even Holy Scripture, are always best understood within the context of the full passage from which they are excerpted. Reading and repeating only short clippings not only leads us astray from their wisdom but can also tempt us to seek quotes to support what we already have decided, rather than seeking understanding that can help us to better discern.

“You’d be lucky to get him to work for you!” may sound like a solid reference, for example – unless you understand by context that it was meant to describe a person who doesn’t do much work at all. Similarly, Frédéric Ozanam’s statement that “Charity must never look behind it, but always before” may sound like a warning about changing times but was instead a comment on lost records from the Conference’s first year. Frédéric said that should remind us to be fully dedicated to the poor in front of us, instead of compiling resumés of past works. It is a call to humility and true charity – love – which, he concluded, is like “a tender mother who keeps her eyes fixed on the infant she carries at her breast, who no longer thinks of herself, and who forgets her beauty for her love.” [90, to Curnier, 1835]

Seeking context, rather than catchy phrases, leads to better understanding of the words and works on which the Society was founded, and by which it continues to be inspired. We can only build upon tradition if we first understand it.

In a similar way, on our visits with the neighbor, we must never reduce their needs to a spreadsheet, lament their poor decisions, or generalize about “those people,” so that we can move on to solutions we decided on before we even visited. Rather, as St. Vincent once said (in a similar context!) we must “turn the medal” [CCD XI:26] to remind ourselves that this is Christ. We seek to know each neighbor as an individual, through “relationships based on trust and friendship.” [Rule, Part I, 1.9] Beyond that, as the Society’s friend, Dr. Donna Beegle teaches, we also must never “ignore poverty realities” which also are part of the context of the neighbor’s struggles.

The context of every article of the Rule is the entirety of the Rule. The context of every Bible quote is the entirety of Scripture. The context of every need we seek to alleviate is the entire person we are serving. Imagine how much we can learn by taking the time to understand each of these better.

Contemplate

Do I seek knowledge, or understanding?

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