July 19, 1813: First Vows of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA

On July 19, 1813, vows were pronounced for the first time by Elizabeth Ann Seton and 17 other Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s who adapted the vow formula of the French Daughters of Charity.

If Moccasins Could Speak!

Have you ever walked a mile in another’s moccasins? … in the moccasins of their sufferings?

Everyone Deserves a Home #famvin2024

In only 6 years, from 2018 to 2023, the FAMVIN Homeless Alliance (FHA) has provided over 10,000 formerly homeless people with secure housing and access to other support services.

A Vincentian View: Francis de Sales

Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac both held Saint Francis de Sales in high esteem. 

The Church of Corinth – is the Past Prologue?

In “The Tempest,” Shakespeare wrote, “What’s past is prologue!” Antonio is rationalizing the past as setting the stage for their next act, as a prologue does in a play.

Gaze that brings life and makes holy

Gaze that brings life and makes holy

God’s gaze is on the lowly. He wants to turn slaves into adopted children. But how do those favored with God’s glance prove themselves? Possessing a penetrating gaze, God bypasses someone with an impressive appearance. He takes from the pasture the youngest, the last,...

Gaze that brings life and makes holy

Family of an unusual love

God wants us, who belong to his family now, to love to the end. Interestingly, bêt’āb in Hebrew, literally “the father’s house,” is translated too as “family,” which indicates the patriarchal character of the Hebrew family. But, of course, there is in God no male...

What Can I Give?

What Can I Give?

https://youtu.be/kjRXIiZ8bs0 This is to give the greatest gift: to go out from ones self and to enter the world of the “other,” is to understand the meaning of Christmas. For this journey, there are five virtues, seen by Vincent as those characteristic of Jesus,...

Can I go to them?

Can I go to them?

Can I go to them? This is the question Pope Francis asked when he learned that three people were killed in a neighborhood of Bangui, capital of the war-torn Central African Republic. It wasn’t in the schedule so the Pope immediately asked the Nuncio: ‘can I go, can I...

Gaze that brings life and makes holy

Savior and Messiah and Lord of all

The Savior comes with a great light to save us in an unexpected way. Now appears the grace of God. Though he may dictate to the whole world, Caesar Augustus does not save, nor does governor Quirinius, an opportunist among many, not even king David, who gives renown to...