Vincent was also a genius in organizing and networking. His passion for the poor expressed itself through an empowering humility that invited others to share their gifts.
Reflections
Taking In (Nehemiah 8; I Corinthians 12; Luke 4: 18-21)
“Taking in the news.” It can refer to events both good and bad, taking in the news of a baby’s birth, for instance, or at the other end, receiving word of a loved one’s passing.
My Favorite Image of God
As I look back over my life I realize how, over time, my relationship to God has emphasized one or another person of the Trinity.
Vincent’s Praying-Acting Cycle
Vincent’s Praying-Acting Cycle Years ago I heard Fr. Robert Maloney say something about St. Vincent de Paul I never forgot. “Hardly have I ever read somebody who could come down on one side of an issue and then 50 pages later say something the exact opposite.” And...
Patience like the Patience of a Farmer
Jesus is the patience of God. God is, undoubtedly, great and does wondrous deeds. Yet he is merciful at the same time. We need patience, those of us who are in a hurry. So, little wonder we love fast food. We do not like, besides, long lines of people at the bank...
Bloom Where You Are Planted – You Are the Bounty
Bloom Where You Are Planted – You Are the Bounty – Servant’s Rules – We Are Fam-ily! Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast: Re-post from July 15, 2014 Bloom Where You are Planted This is a phrase many of us use. My grandmother used this and many phrases often to solve any...
Am I a Person of Desire?
Finally we ask, are we persons of desire, swept up and swept away by the call God gives?
Updating the Vincentian Family • A Weekly Reflection with Louise
The Procurator General "asked me if we considered ourselves regular or secular. I told him that we aspired only to the latter. He told me that such a thing was without precedent [...]. He said many good things about the Company and added that he did not disapprove of...
Unbreakable: Vincentians of Wherever
I composed this poem thinking about the ties to service and those less fortunate that my service with CVV instilled in me. There are so many things in the world that try to pull us out of our purpose of being companions on the journey and so many circumstances in the...
A Vincentian View: The Childlike
A Vincentian View: The Childlike Some time ago I read a quotation from William Makepeace Thackeray and its truth holds a firm place in my mind: “‘Mother’ is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." Whenever I am around small children—whether in...
Systemic Change Lessons We Can Learn From Ozanam
In his lifetime Frédéric Ozanam neither heard nor uttered the phrases “systemic change” or “systemic thinking.” Yet an incident in his life illustrates a compelling argument that he was committed to helping people move from poverty to a sustainable life, a key element in changing systems that entrap people in poverty.
Things Ordinary, Yet Eye-Opening
In Jesus dwells bodily the fullness of God. He is the fullest meaning of things, which he uncovers for us to see. Being on top of things and aware of what is going on, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. He turns the sower of people’s experience into a “Gospel...
