Hidden gems in "The Rule and Statutes"

The poor are our masters

1.1 Fundamental Principles

I think that one of the most spiritually under-rated of the books that belong to our Vincentian organisation is the one called, "THE RULE AND STATUTES of the SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL CANADA".

The Holy Spirit and three enemies of self-giving

This post draws on two articles reporting on the Pentecost Sunday homily of Pope Francis, one from the Jesuit publication,  America Magazine, and the other from Vatican News.

The Spirit, the living memory of the church

In his Pentecost Sunday homily, Pope Francis told Christians worldwide, “The Spirit, the living memory of the church, reminds us that we are born from a gift and that we grow by giving, not by holding on, but by giving of ourselves.”

How are we operating under COVID-19 conditions?

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in governments the world over imposing restrictions on society's social contacts with varying degrees of strictness resulting in hardship for everyone, but particularly the poor, the vulnerable, and those already isolated and alone - the very people to whom the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is called to assist.

In Easter message, Pope Francis proposes universal basic income

The following is reprinted from  the Jesuit review, "America", under the title: In Easter message, Pope Francis proposes universal basic income by Kevin Clarke. (Italics and emphases have been added by me.)

Image credit: www.americamagazine.org

In a remarkable Easter Sunday letter to members of social movements around the world, Pope Francis, noting that the widespread suffering caused by the global coronavirus pandemic does not fall evenly, suggested that the crisis warranted the establishment of a universal basic income. He described it also as an opportunity for affluent societies to “downshift” and re-evaluate patterns of consumption and exploitation.

“This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out,” Pope Francis wrote. “It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.” (In the original text, the pope used an expression, “el salario universal,” that is typically used in Spanish to refer to the universal basic income.)

The People We Serve

This coming Sunday will be Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, marking the start of Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum beginning with Holy Thursday's Mass of the Lord's Supper. At this mass the Gospel reading is NOT about how Jesus took bread and wine but rather how he washed the feet of the disciples, an act which has been instituted into our liturgy of the day with a rite called in Latin, "Mandatum" meaning command or mandate: "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet… Love one another as I have loved you."

We know, of course, that what Jesus wants is not for us merely to mimic the act of foot washing but to take on the attitude or mindset of a lowly servant.

When there are options, the particular words we choose to name groups of people reflect our mindset, our attitudes, our preferences and, often, our prejudices. In turn, as these words are used in regular conversation, this repeated use tends to confirm us in that mindset. We are all aware of the range of words that run the spectrum from loving to unloving and pejorative with regard to people who are different from us, whether in race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, creed, gender, social class, politics, or physical or mental development. I sincerely believe that Vincentians are generally loving people and would never deliberately use pejorative words.

Ambassadors for Christ

This spiritual reading is adapted from the February Monthly Reflection titled, Now is the Acceptable Time, by Denise Bondy, Chair of the ONRC Spirituality Committee, which can be found on the Ontario Regional Council website: http://ssvp.on.ca/en/thoughts.php?item=61

On Ash Wednesday we heared the following extract in the second reading from Paul's 2nd letter to the Corinthians:

Three Essential Elements of Vincentian Life

Among the essential elements to our work and life as Vincentians there are, at least, three. The most obvious of these, in the public eye, is our ministry to the poor and vulnerable. This is the one that gets measured and reported on. It is also very easy for us to see the spiritual value attached to this ministry as when we read St. Matthew's gospel, chapter 25, about the judgement between the sheep and the goats when Jesus returns in glory as King. However, there are two other essential elements which we neglect at great risk to our very mission and ministry. I compare them to gasoline and oil in a motor car.

The first of the other two elements, which I compare to gasoline for a car, is our personal spiritual life - our connection with God our Father, with Christ our Lord, and with the Holy Spirit. This is the source of our power to minister to the poor. Without a spiritual life of regular prayer, Scripture and the sacraments our tank gets empty. You can only run on fumes for a very short while before you sputter and stop. Frederic Ozanam's spiritual life included daily reading and meditating on the Bible and regularly going to mass and communion. (His wife gives us this testimony: Despite his grave illness he never put aside his time of prayer. I have never seen him go to bed at night or rise in the morning without making the sign of the cross. In the morning he reads the Bible in Greek and meditates for half an hour. During the last days of his life he attended Mass on a daily basis and found support and consolation in doing this.)

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul - who are we?

New Corporate video of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, from the International General Council. The video is focused on the people who make up the society, their faith and their commitment to others.

Third World Day of the Poor - Vatican Announcement

Pope's message:  they are not parasites of society

Feast day of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam

September 9 is the feast day of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam.

A man convinced of the inestimable worth of each human being, Frédéric served the poor of Paris well and drew others into serving the poor of the world. Through the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, which he founded, his work continues to the present day.

“Frédéric Ozanam believed in love, the love of God for every individual. He felt himself called to love, giving the example of a great love for God and others. He went to all those who needed to be loved more than others, those to whom the love of God could not be revealed effectively except through the love of another person. There Ozanam discovered his vocation, the path to which Christ called him. He found his road to sanctity. And he followed it with determination.” 
- Pope John Paul II

Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II, in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, on August 22, 1997.

Spiritual Reflection, Summer 2019 - Attitude

When a person first learns to fly airplanes, this pilot-to-be is trained to fly under what is called VFR. This is an acronym for Visual Flight Rules where the pilot relies on being able to see the horizon in front and on the sides. Only later do they learn IFR, Instrument Flight Rules, whereby flying is purely with reference to flight deck instruments and navigation under direction from Air Traffic Control.

Visual Flight Rules provides a good analogy for many life circumstances, but a particularly beautiful one for Christians and, in particular, for Vincentians and people in ministry to others. This is because VFR is all about two basic words: attitude and power.

Spiritual reflection for June from National

Referring to the spiritual reflection for June from National Conference, Louisa Steele, our local conference president, writes: This Spiritual Reflection received from National contains important insight into how God is present while we perform our services to the poor as well as help one another to grow in the knowledge and love of God.

Here is the link where you can read the SSVP National Conference SPIRITUAL REFLECTION - JUNE 2019.

Feast of the Ascension

Feast of the Ascension

How about we try this? Let's read this reflection on the Feast of the Ascension by Sr. Mary McGlone and then, between now and up to the Feast of Pentecost next week, we pray daily for our Vincentian Conference - as a community and for each and every individual - that the Holy Spirit fall afresh on us with new power, wisdom and courage.

As an aid, you might like to pray this prayer to the Holy Spirit of St. Pope John XXIII which he prayed upon opening the Second Vatican Council:


We stand before you, Holy Spirit,
conscious of our sinfulness,
but aware that we
gather in your name.

Come to us, remain with us,
and enlighten our hearts.
Give us light and strength
to know your will,
to make it our own, and to
live it in our lives.

Guide us by your wisdom,
support us by your power,
for you are God, sharing the
glory of Father and Son.

You desire justice for all:
enable us to uphold the rights of others;
do not allow us to be misled by ignorance
or corrupted by fear or favour.
Unite us to yourself in the bond of love
and keep us faithful to all that is true.

As we gather in your name
may we temper justice with love,
so that all our decisions may be pleasing
to you, and earn the reward promised to
good and faithful servants.

You live and reign with the Father
and the Son, One God, forever and ever.
Amen.

May 9, Feast of St. Louise de Marillac

On May 9, we celebrate St. Louise de Marillac. Louise was born in Paris on August 12, 1591. She met Vincent de Paul in 1625. Over the next 45 years, they were an effective team and supported each other in their service to the poor and the sick and they founded the Daughters of Charity. She died on March 15, 1660. Beatified in 1920, canonized in 1934, Louise was proclaimed patron saint of social workers in 1960.

​Volunteers or Servants in Ministry?

​

by Timothy Schmaltz

A couple of weeks ago I attended an evening for those in liturgical ministry in St. Elizabeth Seton Parish. Fr. Roy gave a presentation where, among the many things he shared, he stressed that we need to see ourselves and each other as ministers serving the Body of Christ. We do this because we have been called by the Lord who has given us the necessary gifts and talents needed to perform this work of service. St. Paul has a lot to say about this in 1 Corinthians 12 and also in Romans 12. To us, our gifts and talents may not seem like much more than a few loaves and fishes, but the Lord can and will multiply them as needed.

A corollary to understanding ourselves as servants who have been called to ministry by God is that we need to cease considering ourselves as volunteers. This is true, regardless of the ministry, whether social, educational, liturgical or care and compassion.