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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...
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...
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...
An elevator goes up, goes down. People get on and off. I live in a large Vincentian community facility where at 78 I like to think I am in the mid-range age group of this community (okay maybe upper). It is no surprise that the elevator is crucial for so many of us....
During the three weeks of the 42nd General Assembly of the Congregation of the Mission the delegates will frequently employ a method called Appreciative Discernment (AD) or appreciative inquiry (AI). The material following the definition of AD/AI is adapted from a...
The headline cried "Saskatoon bishop tries out homelessness for 36 hours in charity challenge". It caught my attention. Perhaps because Father Pat Griffin eloquently reminded us recently that Vincent felt the pain for the poor... and they knew that. An undeniable...
A recent article by Peter Feuerherd in the series "The Church as Field Hospital" got me thinking about what is a pastor worth. And as I thought about it I also wondered what people ought to legitimately expect from a pastor. The article begins... The buzz went around...
At the conclusion of an excellent article, Frederick Ozanam: Systems Thinking and Systemic Change, noted Ozanam researcher Ray Sickinger, points out that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, for which Ozanam was such an inspiration, is a learning organization which has...
Let's get right to the point! Do good things happen wherever you and I go? Why is this question important? For at least two reasons! We call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ. And of him, it was said, "You know what has happened throughout the province of...
Was Laudato Si a "blip" or a "game changer"? An important question, no doubt. But a more important question for us is, does Laudato Si matter to you...and the Vincentian Family? Someone recently said of the Church “We’re collectively the largest global humanitarian...
