Conversion is a lifelong process of turning our hearts towards God through small moments of grace, often unrecognized at the time, as we both encounter God in others and act as His instruments of love, potentially becoming a moment of conversion for someone else.
You cannot be a Vincentian without other Vincentians, for we grow in holiness together.
Charity, Blessed Frédéric explained, “is a fire that dies without being fed, and good works are the food of charity.”
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org We serve, our Rule reminds us, for love alone. [Rule, Part I, 2.2] This does not mean we do it in exchange for love, but rather that our works are motivated by love, and freely given as acts of love. Our own hearts, aflame...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org In the times that our work seems difficult, and the problems of the neighbor or our Conference seems overwhelming, there is one thing that should fill our hearts and minds, bringing us to a state of peace and good cheer in...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org Serviens in spe, reads the Society’s motto, Serving in Hope. Hope can be a powerful feeling, a state of mind that keeps us going through great difficulties. It is a light at the end of the tunnel, the silver lining behind...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org One of the central tenets of Vincentian spirituality is trust in Divine Providence. We are called to trust that God will provide what is needed for things to work out for the best. In theory, this sounds quite simple,...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org Effective Conferences, our manual explains, are “reachable.” [Manual, 26] While most Conferences make every effort to ensure that their phone number, along with perhaps a website and email address, are well-publicized and...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org Our little human minds and hearts can sometimes become so bound up in worry and anxiety that we find it difficult to act, difficult even to know what actions to take. We pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and then...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org Vincentians are doers, we are people of action. We love God, as St. Vincent said, “with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brows.” [CCD XI:32] We believe, as Frédéric did, that “religion serves best not to think,...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org The church calls the laity to “fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization” which has “peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.” [CCC, 905] Our Vincentian vocation, our...
This post originally appeared on ssvpusa.org Blessed Frédéric and his friends founded the Society in 1833 in answer to a challenge posed to them by another group of students in a discussion group called the Conference of History. The other students, adherents to San...
