Prayer for Prophets

 

Hope: A spiritual reflection

 

Spiritual Reflection selected by Deacon Steve

“… I have experienced the Cross to mean mercy and not cruelty, truth and not deception: that the news of the truth and love of Jesus is indeed the true good news, but in our time it speaks out in strange places. And perhaps it speaks out in you more than it does in me: perhaps Christ is nearer to you than He is to me: this I say without shame or guilt because I have learned to rejoice that Jesus is in the world in people who know Him not, that He is at work in them when they think themselves far from Him, and it is my joy to tell you to hope even though you think that for you all hope is impossible.

Hope not because you think you can be good, but because God loves us irrespective of our merits and whatever is good in us comes from His love, not from our own doing. Hope because Jesus is with those who are poor and outcasts and perhaps despised even by those who should seek them and care for them most lovingly because they act in God’s name. No one on earth has reason to despair of Jesus because Jesus loves all humanity, loves them in their sin and we too must love all humanity in their sin.”

“Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours”, Kathleen Deignan, Sorin Books, Notre Dame, Indiana, p. 129

Poverty of Spirit

 

Spiritual Reading selected by Deacon Steve from
Metz, Johannes B., “Poverty of Spirit”, Paulist Press, New York, 1968, p. 25-26

“God has come to us in grace. Our Lord has endowed us with God’s life, and made our life God’s. In doing this the Lord did not mitigate or eliminate our innate poverty; God actually intensified it and outdid it. God’s grace does not cause estrangement and excess as sin does. It reveals the full depths of our destiny (resulting from God’s salvific initiative in history), which we could not have imagined by ourselves.

A person with grace is a person who has been emptied, who stands impoverished before God, who has nothing of which they can boast…Grace does not erase our poverty; it transforms it totally, allowing it to share in the poverty of Jesus’ own immolated heart.

This poverty, then, is not just another virtue – one among many. It is a necessary ingredient in any authentic Christian attitude toward life. Without it there can be no Christianity and no imitation of Christ. It is no accident that “poverty of spirit” is the first of the beatitudes. What is the sorrow of those who mourn, the suffering of the persecuted, the self-forgetfulness of the merciful, or the humility of the peacemakers- what are these if not variations of spiritual poverty? This spirit is the mother of the threefold mystery of faith, hope and charity. It is the doorway through which people must pass to become authentic human beings.

Only through poverty of spirit do people draw near to God; only through it does God draw near to people. Poverty of spirit is the meeting point of heaven and earth, the mysterious place where God and humanity encounter each other, the point where infinite mystery meets concrete existence.”

Metz, Johannes B., “Poverty of Spirit”, Paulist Press, New York, 1968, p. 25-26

Conference Spiritual Reflection - September 13/21 - by Deacon Steve

Image: thevalemagazine huacachina-peru-desert-oasis-south-america

The following reflection is taken from  “The Lessons of St. Francis: How to bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life” by John Michael Talbot.

Francis (of Assisi) found his inspiration in the life of Jesus, whose love for us led him to become one of us by being born into the human race instead of remaining in heaven, aloof from us and all our problems.

Most Christians celebrate the Incarnation of Christ as human, around Christmas time and ignore it for the rest of the year. But for Francis, the Incarnation served as a minute by minute reminder to be deeply involved in the world, loving people at close range instead of from inside the strong, stony walls of a monastery.

Francis understood that the dichotomy between solitude and service is a false one, because everyone needs both. If we don’t spend time alone with God, we become spiritually weak, and our work in the world carries little of lasting value. On the other hand, if we spend all of our time with God and never venture out into the world, we may become spiritually isolated and self-contained. We may be full of wonderful wisdom and divine power, but if we don’t share it with others, who benefits? Certainly not other people, and often, not even ourselves.

Here’s how saints down through the ages have explained it: Contemplation and prayer are like an oasis in a dry desert. Through prayer we store up a huge reservoir of water. Our service is the conduit for delivering the water. But once our reservoir is depleted, we need to return to our oasis so we don’t wind up stranded in the desert without water. This is a picture of the life-giving balance between prayer and service.

Talbot, John Michael, “The Lessons of St. Francis: How to bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life”, p. 188 – 189, New York, Penguin Group, 1997.

Image credit: https://thevalemagazine.com/2019/04/13/huacachina-peru-desert-oasis-south-america/

St. Joseph was an ordinary worker

Following spiritual reflection is by Denise Bondy, Chair of the ONRC Spirituality Committee. Read the original reflection on the Spirituality Corner.

Pope Francis has declared that, from December 8, 2020 until December 8, 2021 the church will celebrate a year dedicated to St. Joseph. Vincentians do well to study St. Joseph, to attempt to live in his example and to ask his intercession as we seek to live our vocation to serve Christ in his poor.

St. Joseph was an ordinary worker. Even though his family line traced back to King David’s royal family, Joseph was not wealthy and he wasn’t one of the VIPs in his hometown. He was an ordinary, a just man, who worked with his hands.

Covid 19 has brought those who are ‘ordinary workers’ to our attention and has rightly named them as the heroes who serve in spite of their own danger. Our Vincentian tradition has long encouraged the ordinary work of serving those most in need without any reward and without fear.

St. Joseph was a husband and father, not a high priest or a scholar. His call to serve elevated him above all other husbands and fathers, to become husband to Mary and earthly father to Jesus.

We can look to his example as we try to grow in our vocation as lay Catholics. Maybe we won’t quite reach sainthood, but our baptism is our call to service and our Vincentian vocation is the way we try to become the best we can be – maybe even saints one day.

St. Joseph was obedient to God’s call. It took courage to face the community as he accepted the pregnant Mary, to run away to Egypt and to return and re-establish his business. Joseph did all this because he had the courage of his faith.

Many people are suffering right now because of Covid-19. Some are ill or have experienced the death of a loved one. Others are unemployed and unable to manage their debts. Not all will manage to get through the pandemic without permanent, life altering damage. As members of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, we must support everyone we can. We need to use the courage of our faith when we are dropping off groceries on a front porch, or making friendly phone calls, or paying bills, or any of the other things Vincentians do well. We must also be praying for our friends and searching for any way we can bring love, respect, justice and joy in these troubled times.

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

To you God entrusted his only Son;

in you Mary placed her trust;

with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too

show yourself a father

and guide us in the path of life.

Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,

and defend us from every evil.

Amen

(Pope Francis December 8, 2020)

We are warmed by the fire, not by the smoke

 

Conference spiritual reflection

We are warmed by fire, not by the smoke of the fire. We are carried over the sea by a ship not by the wake of a ship. So too, what we are is to be sought in the invisible depths of our own being, not in our outward reflection in our own acts. We must find our real selves not in the froth stirred up by the impact of our being upon beings around us, but in our own soul which is the principle of all our acts.

Merton, Thomas, “No Man is an Island” p 117, 1955, Harcourt Inc., New York

Blessed Rosalie Rendu - February 7, 2021

This Sunday February 7th, is the feast of Blessed Rosalie Rendu, who was a member of the Daughters of Charity, an order co-founded by St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. 

They were founded in 1633, when Louise de Marillac began systematic training of the women, particularly for the care of the sick. The sisters lived in community in order to better develop the spiritual life so as to more effectively carry out their mission of service. The Daughters of Charity differed from other religious congregations of that time in that they were not cloistered. They maintained the necessary mobility and availability, and lived among those whom they served.

It was this congregation of nuns that Jeanne Marie joined at the age of 16, and a few years later received the habit, taking on the name of Sr. Rosalie. Over the years Sr. Rosalie became known for her creative, relentless and effective work in some of the worst conditions, such as revolutions and epidemics, not to mention the horrible poverty and destitution in which the people whom they served were living.

But it was Bl. Sr. Rosalie’s guidance combined with the dedication of the students of the History Conference formed by Bl. Frederic Ozanam that led to the creation of the Conference of Charity, which eventually became the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

This guidance included her gathering the students together after their visits and discuss with her their immediate experiences, motivations and insights; always open to her advice. She would ask them to think and pray about the following questions:

How did I speak with/listen to this family? 

Did I help with an attitude of respect, without being patronising? 

How did my actions and attitudes reflect those of the Gospel? 

Where was God in this experience? For me? For the persons I visited? 

What were my reasons for becoming involved in the first place? 

What connections or otherwise reflected the life of St. Vincent de Paul?

She counselled patience, attentive listening and politeness as values which the young students should honour. 

These meetings contributed to the formation of a solid foundation for the Conferences in practice and in Faith. Rosalie welcomed these enthusiastic young men, and often would say to her Sisters: “How good these young people are. Oh, how good they are.” (Sullivan L. P. 209) 

(Taken from “Our Story, Our Mission: Blessed Frederic Ozanam and Blessed Rosalie Rendu” Prepared by Sr. Margaret Armstrong, Vincentian Leadership Program, Orientation, June 15th, 2015)

As we celebrate Bl. Sr. Rosalie Rendu’s feast, let us also reflect on these questions each time we are out on calls, or even take one question each day when we are praying to our Lord so as to draw closer to the Source, who is Love and who gives us the grace to do the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. 

 Blessed Rosalie Rendu, pray for us. 

May she say of us, “How good these young people are! Oh, how good they are.” To all you “young people”!!!!

- Deacon Steve Pitre, Conference Spiritual Advisor

All Saints and All Souls Day

 

- by Deacon Steve

As we celebrated All Saints Day yesterday and today as we celebrate and remember All Souls Day, I pray that we will all be able to take time out of our busy days and say a prayer for our family members and loved ones who have gone before us, remembering that they too are praying for us. 

Let us also remember those Vincentians who have gone before us, those who laid the groundwork for our Society and so faithfully continued the Mission of Christ to the people who suffer poverty and marginalization in our society. We remember St. Vincent de Paul, Blessed Frederic Ozanam and Blessed Sister Rosalie Rendu, who guided Bl. Frederic and his confreres on how to minister to the poor.

Of course we remember all those who served in our own St. John Chrysostom and St. Elizabeth Seton Conference and helped to create a vibrant conference serving the Newmarket and surrounding area and inspiring us as they lived out their commitment.

Be assured of my prayers for all of you, your families and the souls of your faithful departed.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. 

Deacon Steve Pitre is Spiritual Advisor to our Coneference

Laudato Si’ Day 1 - #246 A prayer for our earth

Firstly, simply read what the pope wrote. Then read it again, finding and reflecting on a word, phrase or sentence that stands out the most to you. With a third reading, prayerfully and with a listening heart, tell the Lord how you feel about what you read and why: Frustration? Encouragement? Helplessness? Resolve? Whatever. Allow time for silence and simply being present to God’s Presence. Conclude by praying the prayer again, simply and quietly.
Don’t focus only on the prayer itself. Consider also what the Pope is saying in the introduction to the prayer.

#246. At the conclusion of this lengthy reflection which has been both joyful and troubling, I propose that we offer two prayers. The first we can share with all who believe in a God who is the all-powerful Creator, while in the other we Christians ask for inspiration to take up the commitment to creation set before us by the Gospel of Jesus.

Daily Advent Meditations with Pope Francis and Laudato Si'

These meditations were originally published in 2015 by St. Vincent de Paul Parish Community in Baltimore.

 

Sunday, Dec. 1: God's loving plan

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.

Pray before "the fixed tabernacle and mobile tabernacles"

"We will be helped by staying before the tabernacle and before the many living tabernacles who are the poor. The Eucharist and the poor, the fixed tabernacle and the mobile tabernacles: It is there that we remain in love and absorb the mentality of bread broken," that is of Jesus, who gives himself in the Eucharist.

Pope Francis spoke these words on May 23 when he opened the general assembly of Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based federation of national Catholic charities with some 450 delegates from around the world.

"... Jesus asks us to remain in him, not in our ideas; to leave behind a desire to control and run things. He asks us to trust one another and give ourselves to the other."

"... Seek in others the presence of God, who does not dwell in the greatness of the things we do, but in the smallness of the poor we encounter. If we do not look directly at them, we end up always looking at ourselves and making them instruments of our self-affirmation."

Read the full report on this event: True charity means focusing on Jesus and the poor, pope says, by Cindy Wooden in the National Catholic Reporter.

Stations of the Resurrection (Via Lucis)

Have you heard of the "Stations of the Resurrection"?

In this article posted in FAMVIN, Fr.  John Freund, CM tells us how we can use these Easter "Stations" to help us be people of Easter life, hope and joy: Being Easter People in a Good Friday/Holy Saturday World.

Jan 14, 2019 - Spiritual Reading - The Baptism of Jesus

Yesterday we had the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Here are some take-aways for us as Vincentians from a spiritual reflection by Sr. Mary M McGlone CSJ.


"What can we take away from today's celebration of the Baptism of the Lord? First, we can celebrate the reality that our baptism links us to Christ and to all who have gone before us in faith. At a time when legal papers have become so important for determining status, we can claim our baptismal certificate as our principal identity card. It tells us to whom we belong and to what we are called.

"Jesus' response to his baptism reminds us that the ceremony is but one tiny moment, the meaning of which is determined by how we live it out. Observing Jesus, we realize that baptism does not give us a status but a mission. To discern that mission, we too must pray and listen to the Scriptures.

"God will continue to send vibrant characters like John to remind us of the Spirit's fire. After those prophets wake us up, we will be called to prayer as was Jesus. Then, like Jesus, the first message we will hear is that we too are God's beloved. That love will then send us into the mission that only we can accomplish in our own day." (1)

The point is, for us as Vincentians, if we hope to be effective in bringing the love of Christ to the poor and others whom we serve, we need to have enduring confidence that God loves us. One essential way for nurturing that confidence is listening to God speak to us in daily prayer and reflecting on scripture.


(1)  The Baptism of the Lord: No script but Scriptures
Jan 12, 2019
by Mary M. McGlone
 From <https://www.ncronline.org/news/spirituality/scripture-life/baptism-lord-no-script-scriptures>