For the past few weeks Pope Francis is hosting a Synod of Bishops devoted to the issues faced in the Amazon region, sometimes called the lungs of our earth. What Would Vincent Say?
What My Mother Taught Me About Systemic Change
My mother did not realize she was teaching me about systemic change. But she did. She taught me how to appreciate the Incarnation is the greatest systemic change in our history.
Vincentian Prayer Images: Who Is Our Strength and Wisdom?
Who do we turn to for our strength and wisdom?
The Dream Behind Mission Sunday
Mission Sunday theme – “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.” certainly has strong echos of the Vincentian call to walk in the footsteps of Christ the Evangelizer of the Poor!
Jesus vs. the UN on the Eradication of Poverty
October 17th marks the UN’s World Day for the Eradication of Poverty calling us to work toward overcoming poverty.
Vincentian Prayer Images: Walking On Holy Ground
Can we name and give thanks for the individuals who walked before us?
Eight Things – Pope Francis, the Poor, Laudato Si
Have I ever thought about the impact of climate change on those who will bear the first effects and brunt of changes?
What Can an Arcade Game Teach Us About Ministry?
Whack-a-mole has become something of a metaphor for a recurring problem that one never seems to get ahead of. How do we address recurring problems?
Vincentian Prayer Images: There is No Act of Charity…
Let the image and the quote sink in, and take root. These images might surprise you into prayer at various points in your...
Getting Lost In the Details of Imitating Christ
Vincent imitated Christ by seeking what Jesus sought… to be Good News to the poor and marginalized.
What Can the Indigenous People of the Amazon Teach Us?
The emergence of indigenous peoples in society and in the Church has been recognized by the Latin American Bishops as a new Pentecost, a Kairos, a sacred moment of encounter for all.
Vincentian Prayer Images: Poor Driven Out by War
Let the image and the quote sink in, and take root. These images might surprise you into prayer at various points in your...
Flash! Pope Francis says the Bible is a “dangerous book”
The Bible is a dangerous book when it challenges us to walk in the way of Jesus, the Evangelizer of the Poor.
Speaking the Truth to Power at Any Age
Profiles in courage from the present and the past, young and old.
Vincentian Prayer Images: Vincent – I Pray That…
For what do we pray?
Who Shaped… and is Shaping the Church Today?
Every time some idea was proposed at Vatican II which appeared new, I said to myself “Saint Vincent taught us that!” Sr. Guillemin, DC on her experience as an official “auditor” at Vatican II
Facing a Medical Emergency Alone
Have you ever had a medical emergency after hours?
Vincentian Prayer Images: Trust
After doing what we can, do we have the trust to lower our nets on the other side of the boat?
Jesus the Rude Guest
Popes Benedict and Francis call us to imitate God who reached out to us an invited all of us to sit at the table.
“Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Justice”
“Jesus himself warns us that the path he proposes goes against the flow, even making us challenge society by the way we live and, as a result, becoming a nuisance.”
New Series – Praying With Pictures at the Back of Our Minds
The images in our minds can haunt or inspire us to prayer. This new weekly series hopes to be the inspiration for brief, spontaeous moments of prayer.
New Cardinal in the Mold of St. Vincent de Paul
A new Cardinal in the mold of St. Vincent de Paul Imagine a parish that has 100,000 people in 53 distinct communities... and 3000 trained ministers! St. Michael Archangel Parish is not an imaginary parish. It has a membership of 100,000 people in 53 distinct...
Vincentian Influence on Catholic Social Teaching
Did you know how Vincentian Family members who set the stage and later advised Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 landmark statement of catholic social teaching “Rerum Novarum” (New Things)?
Compare the US Bishops of 1919 and 2019
Maybe it is true… “the more things change, the more they stay the same”! But the Gospel continues to challenge us.
Hazard! – Dangerous Thinking Ahead
Vincent and Louise, Frederick, and indeed all the great figures of our Vincentian heritage, were not afraid to ask what has become known as the Vincentian question, “What must be done?”
Take it from a German! A Faith Alive
It was an Irish celebration. But it was a profound celebration of a faith that goes far beyond just people of Irish heritage. It touched me deeply.
Missing Millennials – What We Might Be Missing
Could living Vincent’s Values be attractive to millennials?
When Vincentian and Jesuit Saints Meet
St. Vincent and St. Alberto Hurtado sitting around the table with the poor they loved and served. So different yet, with so much in common.
An Unintended Reflection on Active Shooter Training
There was an unintended by-product I never saw coming until a few days after active shooter training.
A Conductor Notices
We may sometimes feel like that piccolo player – that we don’t have much to offer, that if we stopped our ministry no one would notice anyway. Yet the Great Conductor notices, and needs us to complete his orchestral masterpiece!
