What can we learn about being chang agents from imitating God’s model of bringing about a change in our ways of thinking?
Formation: Systemic change
After the Virus – A Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday Consciousness?
We face a choice. Will we think of ourselves as living in a Holy Saturday world or an Easter Sunday world?
The Pandemic and Systemic Change
The only certain thing these days is uncertainty. When will the pandemic end, how many lives will be lost, will life ever be the same?
Intersections
“Those on top, like politicians and church leaders, talk a lot about peace, but not about justice, because speaking of peace sounds good to others on top and to the naïve on the bottom, but to speak of justice sounds bad to those on top because it opens the eyes of...
Bullfights and Systemic Change
It caught my eye immediately. A statue on his desk—a bullfight scene. But not what you would expect. This one was strikingly different—here the bull was sitting on the matador holding him down! Talk about the unexpected. A paradigm shift? No, a complete reversal! We...
Systemic Change Seminar: Lucena City, Philippines
Recently, Ana Maria Escano, our SC coordinator for the Philippines, gave a 2-day seminar at Sacred Heart College in Lucena City, a Daughters of Charity Institution located 4 miles from Manila. The 58 participants of this seminar were the staff of the different Social...
Advocacy and Systemic Change
“Speaking truth to power….Making our voices heard---" Advocacy: the process of supporting a cause or proposal, pleading or arguing in favor of an idea or policy. Advocacy is active, not passive, and can take many forms. But for Vincentians it means taking the...
Habits and Systemic Change: A Reflection
A Latin proverb warns us “The power of habit is great.” We also know this from our spiritual formation. Wise spiritual directors counsel us to pray daily, to make it a habit, and our life will always have a solid foundation. Of course St. Vincent goes even further...
Systemic Change Requires Critical Thinking
If we are to take seriously St. John Paul II’s challenge to Vincentians about finding long-term solutions we need to develop critical thinking skills.
A Vincentian “Field Hospital”
An article the National Catholic Reporter describes St. Vincent’s Parish in Germantown, Philadelphia as “the social justice parish”.
Part II: Systemic Change Regional Coordination Meeting for Asia
“Systemic change is a spirituality, a mindset, a presence that listens, and an experience.” This was the line that encapsulated the first day of the SC meeting. As the second day started with the reflective “Prayer to the Different Directions,” the participants’ mood...
Systemic Change Regional Coordination Meeting for Asia
The International Commission for Systemic Change is holding a regional coordination meeting for Asia in the Daughters of Charity Provincial House in Lam Lukka, Bangkok, Thailand this weekend, November 11-12. Participating were 15 representatives coming from India,...
