Vincent – balancing basics
After 50 years of priesthood I still struggle with the issues of balancing basics. Having been ordained in 1965 I was quickly exposed to a spirit of activism. I remember being very caught up with the concept of “leaving God for God.” After all, Vincent expressed that...
Who Do We Represent?
It is no secret that we tend to label people very quickly. No doubt there is some utility to labels even if today they are used like arrows of insult. Labels try to identify who we represent. To my mind labels lead a question for followers of Vincent and Louise. "Who...
Be as Cunning as Serpents #AnecdotesVF
Could not this uncompromising wording "dependence on the Archbishop" be harmful to us in the future by the liberty it gives to draw us away from the direction of the Superior General of the Mission" [Letter 898, Archives of the Daughters of Charity, original autograph...
July 6: Memorial of Marguerite Naseau’s Baptism
July 6 marks the day when we celebrate the memorial of Marguerite Naseau’s baptism. She is considered as the first Daughter of Charity. She lived and died in the service of the sick poor, and she was the model Saint Vincent held up before the Company of the Daughters...
For the poor, it is always “Night”
"Elie Wiesel was brought up in a closely knit Jewish community in Sighet, Transylvania (Romania). When he was fifteen years old, his family was herded aboard a train and deported by Nazis to the Auschwitz death camp. Wiesel’s mother and younger sister died at...
Vincent and Sustainability
Scott Kelley engages St. Vincent de Paul in a "colloquy" on Sustainabilty. Sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes. The organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development, which includes the four interconnected domains: ecology,...
You Are Somebody
“You Are Somebody…” (John 15) (Homily at the Farewell Mass for the departing members of the 2015/16 Vincentian Mission Corps, St. Louis) Jesus confides in His disciples today, “I have told you this, that your joy may be complete.” Or to put it another way: “I...
What must be done – Framing the questions
Seeds of future systemic changes....Father Gregory Gay, during his twelve years as Superior General, consistently invited us to think beyond what we were accustomed to, especially in terms of collaboration for systemic change. Here are the questions that he presented...
Fullness par excellence and unequaled
In Jesus dwells all the fullness; those who treat the helpless with mercy are surely partakers of his fullness. “And who is my neighbor?” asks a scholar of the law who wants to justify himself. He is also one of those experts who like to test Jesus. They think they...
Be a Sign – Everyday Formation
Be a Sign - Everyday Formation – Vincentian Prayer - Vincentian’s Clean Heart Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast – Tuesday, July 5, 2016 Be a Sign - We, as Vincentians are a sign to others. We do not have to preach, but we must be the sign. Called as Vincentians we...
