Author
"Seeing" calls for "judging." But judging presupposes a lens! “Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw mud, the other stars!” This quote, variously attributed, seems to express that what one sees depends greatly upon one’s mental model and expectations. An...
From the war torn provinces of 17th century France in the brutal Wars of Religion (echoed today?) to the devastation of 21st century hurricanes, Vincent and Vincentians illustrate a rich heritage of providing war relief and disaster relief. In his correspondence...
Seeing is the necessary beginning of systemic change. Systemic change requires looking anew at something we see...but do not see. This kind of seeing is really more like reading, reading the "signs of the times." St. Vincent was a man of the concrete whose starting...
Last January J. Patrick Murphy, CM presented me with a pre-publication copy of a little book he had just completed － "Mr. Vincent" － which you can download here. He wrote "My purpose here is to show in a few pages how much Vincent accomplished and how much we can...
Although many religious congregations have decreased in membership since the Second Vatican Council, a growing number of laypeople are offering a vital presence through associate membership. The Vincentian Family, with its deep roots in the organizations of laity...
What are the verbs of Systemic Change? Father Robert Maloney, C.M., former Superior General writes: Systematize, institutionalize and evaluate the project and its procedures, describing measurable indicators and results. In this strategy, all three verbs are...
Why bother about a man who lived 400 years ago? Why are so many people all over the world on fire with passion to follow in his footsteps? As we approach another celebration of the feast of St. Vincent it seems fitting to look at these two questions raised in J....
Now here’s a thought… "Everything must be rethought in terms of migration. Without migration there is no Christianity.” Dr. Peter Phan offered this thought in a presentation "Deus Migrator/God the Migrator: Migration of Theology and the Theology of Migration"...
Systemic change, consciously or unconsciously, operates in the context of recognizable rules of systems thinking. Luis E. Romero offers a summary of Peter Senge’s 11 laws of systems thinking. Reflecting on these laws might provide us with insights in our efforts at...
“Am I ready to be mentored?” Or am I too comfortable in my present stage of growth?
