A Canadian View: Homelessness, Part One
I could not let Father Freund’s article of December 30, 2017 regarding homelessness pass without adding my perspective. I agree with Father Freund about how many of us have likely stopped to drop some change in the hand of a homeless person on the street. I have done...
Ozanam Scholar Serves in Ghana
Recently I had the amazing opportunity to go to Accra, Ghana for two weeks with Ozanam Scholars Program at St. John’s University. The program focus is for students to seek systemic solutions on social justice issues that are within the five pillars of homelessness,...
A Vincentian View: The Power of Gentleness
Vincentian View: “The Power of Gentleness” Do you remember Aesop’s fable about the contest between the sun and the wind? They were arguing about who was stronger. They saw a man walking along the road and agreed that whoever could get the coat off his back was...
The Foundation Story for Vincentian Systemic Change
The story of the sermon at Châtillon is not only the foundation story of the Ladies of Charity, it is the foundation for what we call today systemic change.
The Power of Story: A Classic Technology
Storytelling — relating a good story — is the first Facebook, the first Twitter, the first Instagram, the first Snapchat. Story has power to inform, to persuade, to enchant and to inspire. Ella Saltmarshe, in Using Story to Change Systems” in the...
Believe in the Crucified Jesus, by Loving as He Does
Jesus crucified reveals the love to the end that God has for us. To believe in him, then, is to reveal the same unfathomable love. Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the desert. By looking at it, those whom the serpent had bitten recovered. In...
Candlemas Celebrated at The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Emmitsburg, MD — A variety of candles were organized in abundance on a table, and attendees knew at once that something special was about to take place. One of the Shrine’s chaplains, Father Ted Trinko, IVE, began to speak, and so Candlemas at the Seton Shrine began....
First 2018 meeting of JUCOVI
From February 1 to 4, JUCOVI (the Vincentian Coordinating Board of Colombia) met at the “Casa de Encuentros Santa Luisa de Marillac” (Chapinero, Bogotá) for their first meeting in 2018. The heads of all the branches were present, except those from SSVP and...
The Simplicity of a Dove
Some of the meaning behind St. Vincent’s saying “Jesus, the Lord, expects us to have the simplicity of a dove.”
Love and Compassion
I recently read a quote that struck me, “Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of there [imperfections]. ” My time at Epiphany has been both challenging and rewarding; each day I am reminded of the power and beauty of love and compassion. The...
