Recent updates:
Systemic change
What Is Truth?
by John Freund, CM | January 15, 2021 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change | 1 Comment
Pilate’s somewhat cynical question is among the most famous questions of history. In a somewhat prophetic message for World Communications Day 2020 Pope Francis offered what amounts to a “mindwalk” on truth.
Making Sense Of What Just Happened
by John Freund, CM | January 13, 2021 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change | 1 Comment
“Are you the only one in the world who has not heard what is going on in (Washington?)” (Luke 24:18) People from around the world are trying to make sense of recent events. I offer some resources for reflection.
Is Your Glass Half Empty… Or Half Full?
by John Freund, CM | January 6, 2021 | Systemic change | 1 Comment
True optimism is the ability to see the emptiness of half the glass while choosing to focus on the fullness of the other half of the glass.
What Size is Your Dream?
by John Freund, CM | December 30, 2020 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change | 1 Comment
Let us not settle only for what is necessary. The Lord does not want us to narrow our horizons or to remain parked on the roadside of life. He wants us to race boldly and joyfully towards lofty goals.
A Challenge is in the Air
by John Freund, CM | Apr 28, 2021 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
Think about the hot button issues of the day: Police reform, Climate change, Poverty, Homelessness, Election reform, Systemic racism, #metoo… Tou name it. People are calling for more than just quick but temporary fixes. People are calling for systemic reform.
Systemic Change Calls For Paying Attention
by John Freund, CM | Apr 21, 2021 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
There are things we see but don’t pay attention to.
Systemic Change – What My Mother Taught Me
by John Freund, CM | Apr 14, 2021 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change, Vincentian Family
When will we really buy into the systemic change of thinking Jesus came to show us?
“Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Justice”
by John Freund, CM | Sep 11, 2019 | Formation, Justice and Peace, Reflections, Systemic change
“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.”
Vincentian Influence on Catholic Social Teaching
by John Freund, CM | Sep 4, 2019 | Formation, Justice and Peace, Reflections, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Systemic change
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)?
Hazard! – Dangerous Thinking Ahead
by John Freund, CM | Aug 28, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
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?”
When Vincentian and Jesuit Saints Meet
by John Freund, CM | Aug 21, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
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.
A Conductor Notices
by John Freund, CM | Aug 14, 2019 | Formation, Systemic change
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!
A Question That Built a City!
by John Freund, CM | Aug 7, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
The question that built a city! “Do you love your children?” When he received an affirmative response, he said: “Let’s work together, give them a future.”
Should Loans Carry Warnings?
by John Freund, CM | Jul 31, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Ireland has called for all licensed moneylenders to carry a tobacco-style warning on their advertising and literature.
Sometimes We Forget the Obvious
by John Freund, CM | Jul 17, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
If we are asked we would all recognize the importance of prayer in everything we do… especially in our efforts toward systemic change.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same?
by Jim Claffey | Jul 10, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change
The following reflection was written by Jim Claffey during the last election cycle in the US. Just change the candidates’ names for today.