Evangelizing:“assumptions” about Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, and social justice
Catholics often struggle to explain doctrines to their friends (Catholic by birth and/or non-Catholic). We often think "everyone knows." We have assumptions. John Kane, in his Denver Post commentary "Holy day highlights Catholic “assumptions” about Virgin Mary, mother...
Expecting and Seeing
Expecting and Seeing (Matthew 13:13) Some time ago I went to see a touring art exhibit featuring Monet’s water lilies. Laid out in three big murals that were hung together, it wrapped around the room to give the visitor a sense of being right there at the pond’s edge....
Does charity choke justice? On the Limits of Charity (part 2)
David Hilfiker, a veteran of decades of direct service with the poor, raised questions 15 years ago in a 2001 article from The Other Side magazine exploring the tension between charity and justice. This is the second of a two-part reflection on his writings. Symptoms...
Caring for Those in the Outskirts
To see Jesus is to see the merciful God who is caring towards those in the outskirts who cry out to him. Jesus is a Jew. It seems he is even portrayed as siding with those who show their contempt for the Gentiles by calling them dogs or swine. This closed and...
Mary Gentle or Tough – Jesus the Person
Mary, Gentle or Tough - Do you ever think of Mary as being tough? I always think gentle, full of grace. Mary is gentle and pious, but at the same time is one tough woman. Not with roughness, but a tough love. Mary is portrayed as meek in pictures and statues and in...
Mary, the Intercessor of the Weak and Vulnerable
Listen as Fr. Robert Stone, C.M. explains “Mary, the Intercessor of the Weak and Vulnerable”.
Partners in Transformation: Nonviolence
There are Vincentians of Wherever who share our goals, and who encourage us to adopt further goals. Like Nonviolence. Here is something from the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative for us to consider. From Ched Myers, who is working with one of the follow up committees...
Lessons from the Leadership Learning Community
The Leadership Learning Community is a resource with which Vincentians should be familar. Here's a great piece by contributor Deborah Meehan called "Three Experiments and Lessons on the Network Path." I'm posting it in full to invite you to explore this fine resource....
Marian spirituality and the Vincentian Charism
In a major study of Marian spirituality and the Vincentian charism noted researcher Fr. Corpus Delgado offers many insights. Some of them might be quite surprising.
Mary, “a Sign of Hope and Comfort for Your People”
On August 15th, the Catholic Church celebrates a great Marian Feast: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this occasion, we of the Company of the Daughters of Charity would like to offer you a meditation, suitable for communal or personal use, on this dogma...