In his speech at Ozanam House, Melbourne, Mark Raper, SJ mused on the qualities of the St. Vincent de Paul Society service of the poor. He reflected on a variety of qualities grouped around the letters SVDP. For example, Salt of the earth, solidarity, seek the face of the Lord, service. Vincent, Victoria, vision, volunteer; Dignity, debt, defend. Policy, peace, preferential option for the poor, proclaim.
Each letter suggests resonances with the Gospel. Vinnies work is public, and reminds us of Jesus’ call to be the salt of the earth, and the spirituality of the Vinnies which is to find Christ in the face of the poor. It constantly refers back to the story of St. Vincent de Paul, and his familiarity with the poor whom he served. It reminds us of the dignity of human beings, and Jesus’ recognition of the dignity of each human being. It also reminds us of the preferential option for the poor – the concern to see the impact of what we do and how we organise ourselves on the weakest in society.
The letters also suggest a characteristic Vincentian way of working. It is based in service: waiting on those who are marginalised, whether by addiction, age, isolation, mental illness, poverty or illness. To serve is to find creative ways of helping people live full lives.
The Vincentian way is also based on volunteers. At its heart is the personal meeting between people – volunteers drawn by love to be with and to serve other people. This is the building block of community. The organisation always needs to be renewed by the personal conversation that comes through accompanying the poor. As St. John of the Cross said, “At the end of our lives we will be judged by love.”
The Vincentian way is also about defending the rights and the dignity of the poor. This recognises that peoples’ lives are affected by the social, economic and political context within which they live. Whether Australia respects the weakest members of society will be decided by the quality of public policy and legislation. The Vincent de Paul Society has experience of the way in which social changes affect human beings, and must bring the experience of the poor to public discussion of economic and industrial policy.
Finally, the Vincentian way is to proclaim the message of Christmas, that Jesus is to be found among the poor. Proclamation is not simply about words. It is about lives that provide their own words. In Vincentian proclamation, words, accompaniment, expertise, advocacy, discernment of needs and capacity to meet them, run together. St. John Chrysostom, the eloquent preacher and moral reformer in early Antioch, sums up the call to integrity that is implied in proclamation.
Would you honour the body of Christ? Do not despise his nakedness; do not honour him here in church clothed in silk vestments and then pass him by unclothed and frozen outside. Remember that he who said, ‘This is my body’, and made good his words, also said, ‘You saw me hungry and gave me no food’, and, ‘in so far as you did it not to one of these, you did it not to me’. In the first sense the body of Christ does not need clothing but worship from a pure heart. In the second sense it does need clothing and all the care we can give it… Learn to be discerning Christians and to honour Christ in the way he wants to be honoured. It is only right that honour given to anyone should take the form most acceptable to the recipient not to the giver… So give God the honour he asks for…
Thanks to Time Williams CM for pointing to this article.
