This short essay is inspired by the theme for the 2024 Annual National Formation (ANF) of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Canada, “Serving in Hope.”
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Engaged Minds, Busy Hands at “Backpack League” Summer Camp
Creating tie-dye shirts. Math problems incorporating exercise. Interactive storytelling. Robotics. Arts and dance.
Contemplation: From Darkness Into Light
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org It is from St. John of the Cross that we get the phrase “dark night of...
Contemplation: To You Alone – SSVP USA, a Weekly Reflection
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org To offer the benefit of the doubt is to assume the best of somebody even when you are uncertain of the truth. Is this not what we are called to do in our encounters with the neighbor? Thomas, we are told in John’s gospel,...
Can SSVP Thrift Stores Respond to the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor?
In a modern-day clash between opulence and poverty, a dialogue is needed to truly understand how the charity retail sector, the SSVP Thrift Store in particular, can ameliorate the fast fashion business model.
Contemplation: Happy Travelers – SSVP USA, a Weekly Reflection
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org Our Vincentian formation, we are taught, is a lifelong process of becoming. Like all of God’s people, our lives are not simply a series of events, but a journey – a spiritual journey towards perfection in union with our...
Update on Haiti
We have been receiving calls seeking some guidance on the situation in Haiti. Vincentians want to know if they can send funds to help.
Ozanam Inn Men’s Emergency Shelter Celebrates 40 Years
For the last 40 years, Ozanam Inn has been a place where you can get yourself together. It’s a place of second, third, and fourth chances. In fact, we don’t count.
Contemplation: Seeking His Will Together – SSVP USA, a Weekly Reflection
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org “Life,” the old saying goes, “is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” There is a deeper truth captured in this witticism, one that St. Vincent often repeated. It is not that we should make no plans and...
Contemplation: Old and Ever New – SSVP USA, a Weekly Reflection
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org With the rapid growth of the Society within its first two years, there arose a debate as to whether the first Conference, now grown quite large, ought to split in two. “Do you not think that our charitable society itself...
Contemplation: A Friend of a Friend – SSVP USA, a Weekly Reflection
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org Have you ever had a friend with very different interests than your own? Maybe he was a big baseball fan, and you just didn’t follow that sport, or he had a great appreciation for art, but you couldn’t stand museums. How did...
Contemplation: To Do a Little Good – SSVP USA, a Weekly Reflection
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org In Monsieur Vincent, the 1947 movie about our patron’s life, he is asked near the end of his life if there is anything he wished he had done. His reply is simple: “More.” This captures the indefatigable commitment to new...
