vincentian spirituality

Moving Ahead (Jeremiah 1:17-19)

by Tom McKenna, CM | February 23, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 1 Comment

“Call,” a notion that figures prominently in the Scriptures, God summoning people to change direction. Heading nowhere in particular, someone senses an inner prod to take some new course.

One More (Luke 5:1-11)

by Tom McKenna, CM | February 9, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 4 Comments

I can imagine Peter’s consternation when Jesus challenges him to head out one more time. Likely shaking his head, Peter nonetheless gives his “ok, one more!”

Taking In (Nehemiah 8; I Corinthians 12; Luke 4: 18-21)

by Tom McKenna, CM | January 26, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments

“Taking in the news.” It can refer to events both good and bad, taking in the news of a baby’s birth, for instance, or at the other end, receiving word of a loved one’s passing.

Being The Beloved (Isaiah 40:11: Lk 3:22)

by Tom McKenna, CM | January 12, 2022 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments

A gift – something given over freely, with good will and coming not from obligation but from good will and esteem. It raises the question: of all the gifts to receive, which would be the most valuable and precious?

Stand Up and Go! (2 Kings, 5:14-17; Lk 17:11-19)

by Tom McKenna, CM | Oct 5, 2022 | Formation, Reflections

For all of us who have been through the pandemic, we know first-hand how disease and sickness have a way of separating us, how they can isolate and cut us off from the rest of life.

Acceptance — And Ingenuity (Luke 16:1-13)

by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 21, 2022 | Formation, Reflections

Scripture Scholars tell us that the meaning behind the word “parable” is curve, as in throwing a curve.

Prioritizing (Lk 14: 25-9)

by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 7, 2022 | Formation, Reflections

There are hardly any words in all the gospels more blunt than the stark ones Jesus proclaims in Luke’s 14th chapter.

Landing and Soaking In

by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 16, 2019 | Formation, Reflections

That double action of the light, landing and then sinking in, provides an underlying clue to the whole direction of Jesus’ ministry.

“Honor” The Hidden Life

by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 2, 2019 | Formation, Reflections

Those years between Jesus’ adolescence and public ministry there’s only silence, only the anonymity of what writers have termed The Hidden Life.

Light Through Darkness

by Tom McKenna, CM | Dec 19, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

The Christmas truth is that God’s light suffuses the dimness of those times and in the end beats back the encroaching darkness.

The Future Pulls The Present

by Tom McKenna, CM | Dec 5, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

Advent (Ad: toward; Vent: coming), lays out the direction of the season. It doesn’t just celebrate the future but what of that future is being poured into the present.

The Kingdom Interpretation

by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 21, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

The Kingdom Interpretation (Mk 12:44-48) To profess myself a Christian is to profess a desire – and that desire is to follow behind the Lord, Jesus Christ. Perhaps “follow behind” doesn’t quite get to the heart of it. It’s more accurately a “stepping into his...

Testifying

by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 7, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

Testifying (Luke 9:1-2) Reading Luke’s account of the disciples being sent out, I put myself in the shoes of one of those 70 individuals directed to go forth and proclaim the Good News that in Jesus, God’s forgiving compassion is drawing near. How would I feel...

On Listening

by Tom McKenna, CM | Oct 24, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

“On Listening” (Luke 11: 16, 29-31) One of the most gratifying compliments is to hear that you listen well. It conveys another’s feeling that something of his or her inner self has gotten through, that not just the words but the deeper resonances of those words have...

The Ministry of Encouragement

by Tom McKenna, CM | Oct 10, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

The Ministry of Encouragement (Hebrews 12:1) There’s a wonderfully comforting image in the Letter to the Hebrews which has special application to us in Vincent’s Family. The author sets out to build up his struggling fellow believers and does this through a...

Sent Out

by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 26, 2018 | Formation, Reflections

“Sent Out” (Isaiah 61:1-2) There was a documentary on TV about the Renaissance, that period of awakening in the history of Europe when a fresh energy flooded into the culture and triggered off a whole new view of the world. The reason for it, as the show presented,...