Society of St. Vincent de Paul

This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org “This isn’t where I thought I’d be at 40,” she sighed from the depth of her spirit, a tear running down her cheek. The home visitors welled up a little bit, too. They had listened to her story and knew how long and hard she...

St. Louise de Marillac is often presented as a woman who is very anxious and unsure, is easily upset and indecisive, and who needs constant guidance from St. Vincent de Paul. Yet Louise was a natural leader, a gift that Vincent recognized very early in their relationship.

Most Vincentians are aware that we should not use the word “client” to refer to the neighbors we assist, but this is more than a matter of preference for specific labels, or even euphemisms. The reason we don’t say “client” is not that the word itself is particularly offensive, but simply that it is the wrong word.

Money is not our only resource, nor even the most important one. Rather, “giving love, talents, and time is more important than giving money.”

In the early days of the Vincentian Family, St. Vincent instructed the priests of the Mission to regularly read The Martyrology, a listing of the names and stories of the Church’s martyrs. In this way, they would be reminded of the great cloud of witnesses before them who had truly imitated Christ, which all the faithful are called to do.

Apostolic reflection helps us grow in holiness by sharing, listening, and refracting God’s light together in community.

In home visits, over-recording steals presence: focus less on clipboards and cameras, more on listening, dignity, relationships.

To answer a call to volunteer is to do something. To answer a call to vocation is to be something. This distinction is at the heart of what it means to be a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

When our personal efforts pay off with the results we’d hoped for, we naturally feel a sense of exhilaration, and even pride in our accomplishment. We pat ourselves on the back a little bit, hang a certificate on the wall, or put a trophy on a shelf. We tend to do the same thing collectively, too, when the group we are part of tallies up the results of our work.