Labor Day, the beginning of the academic year, and the liturgical calendar (September 8) merge in drawing Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam to my mind at the beginning of September.
Griffin
A Vincentian View: The Good Shepherd
by Pat Griffin, CM | April 24, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 1 Comment
In the 23rd Psalm, the psalmist proclaims, “My shepherd is the Lord.” I imagine that when Jesus prayed these words, he found a depiction of himself.
A Vincentian View: Recognizing the Lord
by Pat Griffin, CM | April 10, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
Each year during the Easter Season, I find myself fascinated by the idea that the friends of Jesus do not recognize him in the resurrected form.
A Vincentian View: The Company of Strangers
by Pat Griffin, CM | March 27, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 1 Comment
Some years ago, I read a piece that discussed how much the modern world depends upon the work of strangers for its survival and wellbeing.
A Vincentian View: A Great Symphony of Prayer
by Pat Griffin, CM | March 13, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 1 Comment
In preparation for the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis has invited the Christian community to center 2024 around the theme of prayer.
A Vincentian View: The Spes Gregis
by Pat Griffin, CM | Aug 30, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
The “spes gregis” was one of the earliest terms that I heard applied to my classmates and me when we entered the high school seminary.
A Vincentian View: “Coming Down the Mountain”
by Pat Griffin, CM | Aug 16, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
A Scripture passage that frequently captures my Vincentian heart is that of the Transfiguration.
A Vincentian View: A Vincentian Heart
by Pat Griffin, CM | Jun 8, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
Each year, St. John’s University organizes a program around the Vincentian Chair of Social Justice (VCSJ).
A Vincentian View: All Are Welcome
by Pat Griffin, CM | May 25, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
In the middle of the Acts of the Apostles (c. 15), we find one of the first issues of exclusion in the young Christian community.
A Vincentian View: Acts of the Apostles
by Pat Griffin, CM | May 11, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
One of the great blessings of the Easter Season is the way in which the church directs our attention to the Acts of the Apostles in both the weekday and the Sunday readings.
A Vincentian View: Seeing and Believing
by Pat Griffin, CM | Apr 27, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
In the readings of the Easter Season, it sometimes seems that the two positions of “seeing” and “believing” are mutually exclusive.
A Vincentian View: Thoughts on the Cross
by Pat Griffin, CM | Apr 13, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
The cross stands at the center of our reflection in these days. Lent summoned us to follow Jesus to the Jerusalem that held the cross on which he would die. The Triduum draws us to the foot of the cross. Easter leads us away to the new life won on the cross. An empty...
A Vincentian View: Separation from the Father
by Pat Griffin, CM | Mar 30, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
A host of lessons arises within the story of the Prodigal Son. It continues to challenge and suggest as we reflect and recognize ourselves in the text.
A Vincentian View: Synodality and Listening
by Pat Griffin, CM | Mar 16, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
For me, the word most frequently invoked as one reflects upon and participates in the call to synodality in the current Church is “listening.”
A Vincentian View: Be Kind
by Pat Griffin, CM | Mar 2, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
Sometimes when I read the Scriptures, a word pops out for me in a way that it has not done before.
A Vincentian View: Blessed are the Poor
by Pat Griffin, CM | Feb 16, 2022 | Formation, Reflections
If you have ever seen Fiddler on the Roof, you may remember the prayer of Tevye.