Christian Verheyde, in his book, "15 Days of Prayer with Blessed Frederic Ozanam," has a chapter titled, "The Problem of Collaboration" (p. 84.) In this chapter he summarizes some of the challenges that Blessed Frederic and his companions and followers faced as their "Conference of Charity", as it was called, grew and matured and multiplied. "Charity" was not always in evidence in their meetings, as Blessed Frederic himself testified in his letters to friends. In one letter he wrote…
That famous meeting at the end of December 1834, where we discussed a division, where Le Taillendier was crying, and where La Perriere and I were treating each other harshly, still, we finished by embracing others in a more friendly way than ever, and wished each other a Happy New Year for the next day.
The author, Christian Verheyde, observes that despite the crying and weeping, despite the outbursts and the sadness, we know that we should be able to be reconciled, even, and especially when we have a common goal: the defence of the defenseless. Genuine friendship allows these divergences and animosities; it especially allows even truer and more fertile recoveries.
When there are outbursts, sadness, crying and weeping, it is obvious to all that there are divergences and animosities. However, it is not uncommon for us to harbour divergences and animosities secretly within our hearts and minds, without expressing these publicly. Left unchecked, these can fester within us and adversely impact our ability to work with fellow Vincentians in our mission. We need grace to accept that genuine friendship allows these divergences. When we become aware of unspoken animosities it is fitting for us to ask God for the grace of true and fertile recovery of friendship.