As usual at this time of the year, Father Tomaž Mavrič, CM, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission addresses the Vincentian Family on the occasion of the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, celebrated on September 27. This year he invites us to deepen our knowledge of the saints, blesseds and servants of God [...]]]>

As usual at this time of the year, Father Tomaž Mavrič, CM, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission addresses the Vincentian Family on the occasion of the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, celebrated on September 27. This year he invites us to deepen our knowledge of the saints, blesseds and servants of God of the Vincentian Family, renewing our relationship with them, who are living models of the Vincentian charism.

Rome, September 3, 2018

To all the members of the Vincentian Family

My dear brothers and sisters in Saint Vincent,

May the grace and peace of Jesus be always with us!,

In this year 2018, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Vincent for the first time at the beginning of the fifth century of the Vincentian Charism. Once again, I would like to suggest as first steps on this path the following two initiatives:

1. To renew and deepen our relationship with the Saints, Blessed, and Servants of God of the Vincentian Family around the world as models of the Vincentian
2. To renew and deepen the “Culture of Vocations.”

The Vincentian Family is presently active in 156 countries throughout the world. To celebrate the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul in the communities, parishes, schools, universities, and other services and projects in which the different branches of the Vincentian Family are involved, at the beginning of the fifth century of the Vincentian Charism, I encourage you to focus this year on the first point:

Deepening our relationship with the Saints, Blessed, and Servants of God of the Vincentian Family.

To do so, I suggest that each of the above-mentioned entities of the various branches choose one of the Saints, Blessed, or Servants of God within the Vincentian Family and make a presentation on him or her within the given group. In addition, develop a specific plan to present the Saint, Blessed, or Servant of God you have chosen to those in your surroundings, village, neighborhood, or any other place you choose outside your community or group. Presenting a member of the Vincentian Family, whose life is a model of the incarnation of the charism in the place and time of history God put him or her to fulfill the mission, will be a wonderful way to share the legacy, spirituality, and charism of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Here are some further suggestions for developing this project:

• Reflect on the list of all the Saints, Blessed, and Servants of God of the Vincentian Family.
• Choose, according to your judgment, the one who, in your environment or place of service, best speaks to the persons to whom you will present him or her.
• Form a small committee to be responsible for preparing the project by

1. considering the best way to communicate to the people the life, spirituality, and charism of the one chosen;
2. developing means to present the information with PowerPoint, brochures, internet, social media, YouTube, Instagram, etc.

• Encourage, in a particular way, young people to follow in his/her footsteps, such as considering a vocation to the Consecrated Life as a Sister, Brother, or Priest (thus deepening the Culture of Vocations).
• If you are not able to prepare or launch the initiative for the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, form the committee responsible for coordinating it and announce it on the Feast, with the plan as to how, where, and when you will develop the project and make the different presentations.
• Encourage others to pray through the intercession of that Saint, Blessed, or Servant of God for various needs and to trust in his/her intervention before God, being open to graces, miracles, healing of soul and body, and conversions. To this end, compose a prayer through the intercession of the chosen Saint, Blessed, or Servant of God, indicating an address or e-mail where persons can communicate the graces received. This also will help to bring the processes of our Blessed and Servants of God to a conclusion. Many still need a miracle to be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in order to be recognized officially by the Church as Saints.
• Send us information, short articles with pictures, to famvin.org or cmglobal.org, in order to share your initiative with the entire Vincentian Family.

Saint Vincent himself expressed his thoughts on praying to the Saints when speaking to the confreres:

He told the Company that it should raise its mind and heart to God on this holy day of All Saints to ask for His grace and to pray for the needs of each one in particular and of the Company in general. “You see,” he said, “on this day Our Lord is accustomed to pour His graces in greater abundance on the faithful who ask Him for them in the way they should. He does so through the intercession of all the saints; for, since we have more intercessors before God, we must have no doubt that the graces He pours forth on the faithful on this day are more abundant than on the other special feast days of the saints. 

“So that, my dear confreres, is what we have to do, that is, to thank His Divine Majesty for all the gifts and graces He’s been pleased to grant all the saints in general who are now in heaven, and to each of them in particular, for the good use they’ve made of those same graces and for their perseverance in the practice of good works until the end. We should thank God for all that because they practiced so well the first lesson Our Lord taught them and us: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven’ (Matthew 5:3).”[1]

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

Tomaž Mavrič, C.M.
Superior General

[1] CCD XI, 382; Conference 175, Repetition of Prayer, 1 November 1657. CCD refers to the series, Vincent de Paul, Correspondence, Conferences, Documents, translated and edited by Jacqueline Kilar, DC; and Marie Poole, DC; et al; annotated by John W. Carven, CM; New City Press, Brooklyn and Hyde Park, 1985-2014.

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“Why and how can I describe Saint Vincent as a Mystic of Charity?” – Superior General, Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, C.M.  asks members of the Congregation of the Mission in his first message for the feast of St. Vincent de Paul 

Rome, 19 September 2016

“Why and how can I describe Saint Vincent as a Mystic of Charity?” – Superior General, Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, C.M.  asks members of the Congregation of the Mission in his first message for the feast of St. Vincent de Paul 

Rome, 19 September 2016

FEAST OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL

Dear Confreres,

May the grace and peace of Jesus be always with us!

It is with great joy and thankfulness to each of you, my dear confreres, who are serving “our lords and masters” all around the world, that I address this letter to you for the first time as Superior General. I would like to express my deep gratitude and admiration to all of you living and serving even in the farthest corners of the globe as witnesses to Jesus’ love! We are all servants and it is wonderful to know that in this service we are never alone. It is Jesus, our Mother Mary, Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Louise de Marillac, and all the other blessed and saints of the Vincentian Family who accompany us on the journey.

Let me take this moment to thank profoundly Father Gregory Gay, CM, our Superior General for the last twelve years, as well as Fathers Stanislav Zonták, CM, and Eli Chaves dos Santos, CM, and all the rest of the confreres, Daughters of Charity, and laity who had so tirelessly and with so much enthusiasm and dedication served in our general administration in Rome for the last six years to make possible the affective and effective proclamation of the Good News to the Poor.

I also would like to use this opportunity to thank so very much all of you who had written to me after my election as Superior General and expressed so wholeheartedly your good wishes and, in a special way, your promise of regular prayer. As it will not be possible for me to respond and thank each one of you individually, be assured that you are included personally in these words of thankfulness, as I extend to each of you my promise of daily remembrance in prayer.

We recently celebrated our 42nd General Assembly that left us with concrete goals for the next six years, which we will be addressing together in the years to come. It is a moment of “special grace” that Providence is offering us in the upcoming 400th Anniversary (1617- 2017) of our Vincentian Spirituality and Charism. Many of you already have begun intensive planning to share and encourage others to follow our Vincentian spirituality and charism on the local, national, and international levels as community, province, vice-province, or international mission together with the other branches of the Vincentian Family who are present in your specific area or territory. I encourage all of us to keep reflecting, planning, and acting together as how best to share with others this “special moment of grace.”

The motto of the whole Vincentian Family for 2017 that is going to shed light on it all is: “… I was a stranger and you welcomed me…” (Matthew 25:35). As our sight is directed toward our brothers and sisters, especially the most abandoned and those for whom no one cares, in order to be sure that our reflecting, planning, and acting go in the right direction, the path always needs to begin with us. The Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul gives us a renewed opportunity to reflect on the reasons and ways of Vincent’s reflecting, planning, and acting.

The theologian Karl Rahner, at the end of the 20th century, had pronounced these prophetic words: “The Christians of the 21st century are going to be mystics, or they will not be.” Why can we call Saint Vincent de Paul a “Mystic of Charity”?

I would like to invite and encourage each confrere to reflect, plan, and act on the following two points:

I.  Individually respond to why and how I can describe Vincent as a Mystic of Charity. 

I asked three of our confreres, who had reflected and written on this subject in the past, to share a short personal reflection. May these thoughts help us to renew and deepen our own reflections.

1. Father Hugh O’Donnell, C.M.

We all know Vincent was a man of action, so we may be surprised to hear him also referred to as a mystic. But in fact it was his mystical experience of the Trinity and in particular the Incarnation that was the font of all his actions in favor of poor people. Henri Brémond, the distinguished historian of French spirituality, was the first to bring it to our attention. He said, “…it is (Vincent’s) mysticism which gave us the greatest of the men of action.” André Dodin and José María Ibañez later called Vincent a “mystic of action” and Giuseppe Toscani, CM, united mysticism and action and came to the heart of the matter in calling him “a mystic of Charity.” Vincent lived in a century of mystics, but he stood out as the Mystic of Charity.

Being a mystic implies experience, the experience of Mystery. For Vincent it meant a deep experience of the Mystery of God’s Love. We know that the Mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation were at the heart of his life. The experience of the Trinity’s inclusive love of the world and the Incarnate Word’s unconditional embrace of every human person shaped, conditioned, and fired his love of the world and everyone in it, in particular, sisters and brothers in need. He looked upon the world with the eyes of Abba and Jesus and embraced everyone with the unconditional love, warmth and energy of the Holy Spirit.

Vincent’s mysticism was the source of his apostolic action. The Mystery of God’s love and the Mystery of the Poor were the two poles of Vincent’s dynamic love. But Vincent’s Way had a third dimension, which was how he regarded time. Time was the medium through which the Providence of God made itself known to him. He acted according to God’s time, not his own. “Do the good that presents itself to be done,” he advised. “Do not tread on the heels of Providence.”

Another aspect of time for Vincent was the presence of God here and now – “God is here!” (influence of Ruysbroek). God is here in time. God is here in persons, in events, in circumstances, in poor people. God speaks to us now in and through them. Vincent was a man of unfolding history in the deepest sense. He followed the lead of Providence step by step. He had neither an ego-agenda nor an ideology. It took him decades to arrive at such interior freedom, which is why Vincent’s journey to holiness and freedom (1600-1625) is the key to understanding the daily dynamic of the Apostle of Charity.

2. Father Robert Maloney, C.M. 

When we speak of mystics, we usually think of people who have extraordinary religious experiences. Their quest for God moves from active search to passive presence. They pray, as Saint Paul says to the church in Rome (8:26), “with sighs and groans too deep for human words.” Mystics have ecstatic moments when they are completely lost in God, “whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know,” as Saint Paul recounts his experience in 2 Corinthians 12:3. At times, they have visions and receive private revelations. They attempt, with difficulty, to describe for others their moments of intense light and painful darkness. Saint Vincent knew the writings of mystics like Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. Though generally cautious about unusual spiritual phenomena, he admired Madame Acarie, one of the renowned mystics of his day, who lived in Paris during his early years there.

Vincent’s brand of mysticism was strikingly different. He found God in the people and events around him. His “visions” were deeply Christological. He saw Christ in the face of the poor. To use a phrase from the Jesuit tradition that has become popular in Vincentian documents, he was a “contemplative in action.” Christ led him to the poor and the poor led him to Christ. When he spoke of the poor and when he spoke of Christ, his words were often ecstatic. He told his priests and brothers: “If we ask Our Lord, ‘What did you come to do on earth?’ he answers, ‘To assist the poor.’ ‘Anything else?’ ‘To assist the poor.’ … So, are we not very fortunate to belong to the Mission for the same purpose that caused God to become man? And if someone were to question a Missioner, wouldn’t it be a great honor for him to be able to say with Our Lord, ‘He sent me to preach the good news to the poor’” (CCD:XI:98). When he spoke about Christ, he could be rapturous. In 1655, he cried out, “Let us ask God to give the Company this spirit, this heart, this heart that causes us to go everywhere, this heart of the Son of God, the heart of Our Lord, the heart of Our Lord, the heart of Our Lord, that disposes us to go as He went … He sends us, like the apostles, to bring fire everywhere, … to bring this divine fire, this fire of love …” (CCD:XI:264).

For Vincent, the horizontal and the vertical dimensions of spirituality were both indispensable. He saw love of Christ and love of the poor as inseparable. Again and again, he urged his followers not just to act but also to pray, and not just to pray but also to act. He heard an objection from his followers: “But there are so many things to do, so many house duties, so many ministries in town and country; there’s work everywhere; must we, then, leave all that to think only of God?” And he responded forcefully: “No, but we have to sanctify those activities by seeking God in them, and do them in order to find Him in them rather than to see that they get done. Our Lord wills that we seek above all His glory, His kingdom, and His justice, and, to do this, we make our primary concern the interior life, faith, trust, love, our spiritual exercises, meditation, shame, humiliations, our work and troubles, in the sight of God our Sovereign Lord … Once we’re grounded in seeking God’s glory in this way, we can be assured that the rest will follow” (CCD:XII:111-112).

In a ground-breaking 11-volume work written almost a century ago, Henri Brémond described Saint Vincent’s era as the time of “The Mystical Conquest.” At the conclusion of an eloquent chapter about Vincent, he stated: “It was mysticism that gave us the greatest of our men of works” (Histoire littéraire du sentiment religieux en France, III « La Conquête Mystique » (Paris, 1921), p. 257).

3.  Father Thomas McKenna, C.M. 

For this title to serve well, the word “mystic” has to be understood in its most general sense. The more popular connotation is that of a person who has more or less “direct” experience of God (visions, voices, leanings, sounds), more unmediated than not. The literature of mysticism describes experiences like ecstasies, being taken up into “a third heaven,” taken out of oneself and “sinking into” the Mystery (e.g., into the Abyss, Ocean, Ground) who is God. Its vocabulary is distinctive; e.g., progressively deeper inner mansions, active and passive contemplation, purgative/illuminative/unitive stages, passing beyond oneself, dark nights and dazzling darkness. By contrast, Vincent’s language for religious experience was quite simple and direct, and neither did he testify to these kinds of occurrences in his own life.

But the word mystic can be applied in a wider sense. That is to say, it might refer to someone who has a lived and felt contact with the sacred in life, and who responds to that encounter in service to the neighbor. Under this broader meaning, Vincent can be thought of as a mystic.

The more inclusive sense might be something like this. A mystic is one who listens to and gets caught up into God’s love for creation, and who then commits himself both to recognizing that love in the world and also bringing it there. For Vincent, this love (better, “loving”) of God revealed itself especially in people who were poor and marginalized. He came to recognize them both as privileged bearers of God’s love and as particularly deserving recipients of it. And he followed up on this by actively bringing the Good News of that love to those poor ones.

Much like the way the right lyrics can draw out the deeper beauty of a melody, the words from Isaiah that Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 4 gave a particularly resonant expression to Vincent’s experience of God. Here was Jesus announcing not only His own mission from His Father, but also His own experience of His Abba as Love for the world, especially for the downcast: “I have been sent to bring the Good News to the poor.” To paraphrase, “The fire of my Father’s love (“loving”) is burning within me, and it drives me to bring just that love to the world, most especially to the poor ones in it.” To follow the analogy, Vincent recognized these words as the lyrics to a melody that had been playing deeper and deeper within him. It was as if on hearing this text at a particular juncture in his life, Vincent said something like “Aha! That’s it! Those words catch just how I’m experiencing God’s love – and just how I want to spend my life in responding and spreading it.”

Another angle. You might describe Vincent as a “bi-spectacled” mystic. That is to say, he was (seeing) experiencing the same God through two different lenses, both at much the same time. One lens was his own prayer; the other was the person who was poor as well as the world he or she lived in. Each angle of view influenced the other, the one deepening and sharpening the perception of its opposite. Vincent “saw” (and felt) God’s love through both these perspectives at the same time and acted vigorously to respond to what he was seeing.

To keep our reflecting, planning, and acting in the right direction as members of the Congregation of the Mission, as missionaries who follow Jesus Christ the Evangelizer of the Poor in the steps of Saint Vincent, to help us reflect on Vincent as a Mystic of Charity, we have our Constitutions and our Common Rules, which are the compendium and synthesis of all our spirituality and the base for our life as members of the Congregation of the Mission.

II. Each confrere should carry, together with the breviary and Holy Bible, in the chapel, on the road, on vacation, the Constitutions and the Common Rules. If for any reason a confrere does not have a copy of the Constitutions and our Common Rules, he should ask his provincial or superior to help him get one. 

I suggest, and wish with my whole heart, that each one of us, from the youngest to the oldest confrere, follow and respond to Saint Vincent’s call in our first Constitutions, the Common Rules, as written by him in the last paragraph, “Each one is to have his own copy … and should read them through, or hear them read, every three months” (CR 12, 14).

In this regard I suggest you take into consideration both: our present Constitutions and the Common Rules and read and pray them alternatively: the first three months, the Common Rules, followed the next three months by the Constitutions and so on and that this become a lifelong commitment. As we pray the breviary and read and pray the Bible on a daily basis, we will make sure to do the same with our Common Rules and Constitutions.

To assist us in the reflection of what it means to me to see Vincent as a Mystic of Charity, his other writings and conferences certainly will accompany us, as well as the writings and conferences of other blessed and saints of the Vincentian Family.

As we approach the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul that we will celebrate with the whole Vincentian Family, as well as with many other people, groups, and organizations whom we touch and serve, may we be deeply encouraged by this “moment of special grace” that Providence is putting in front of us.

I wish each of us a wonderful celebration, as we continue our prayers for one another!

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

Tomaž Mavrič, C.M.
Superior General

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“Greetings from Via della  Conzilliazione, the street that leads us to the St. Peter’s Square” says Fr. Gregory Gay, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission beginning his traditional Christmas message addressed to all the Vincentian Family in the world. Watch the video or read transcription of the message below.

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można obejrzeć na stronie Famvin.org

Good evening my brothers and sisters of the Vincentian Family.

And greetings from via reconziliazione, the street that leads us to the St. Peter’s Square as you can see in the background.
Greetings once again, as I was here earlier this year when we opened our Year of Collaboration.

This time I’ve been distant from St. Peter’s Square because of the high security that’s around the vatican at this time. And it’s a bit later at night. I wanna do this in an environment of the coolness of the night,
a night especially when we wanna remember the night when Jesus came among us,to bring us peace,to bring us love,to bring us harmony,to bring us all good things.

We live in a world full of contrasts in these days. And because of the terrorists activities created much fear among the people.People almost paralyzed in not wanting to know what to do. Even creating senses of hope, that world can be a better place to live. And so, we live in this contrast times, and we have the different attitude as Christians.

And attitude that’s not filled with hate, not filled with disgust. But and attitude of peace, love, justice, harmony. And we have to live with the contrasts that surround us. Just by my side, here in front of some other major buildings in the Vatican, there are people sleeping; outside, in a cold.

Later on, when we finish this video we’ll go back home. We have a warm bed to be in it, to sleep comfortably. Yet don’t be here throughout the night living even in fear, sense of insecurity for their own lives.

But, we have to live with that reality. We have to also let it touch our hearts and see what we can do together with our Lords and Masters, the Poor. To change this reality we have to be able to be a people of hope a people of love
people of happiness people of joy.

That’s the message I wanna share with all the Vincentian Family as I celebrate with you my last Christmas as Superior General. Let it be the time when we can work together always as brothers and sisters doing the best we can to make this world a better place especially together with our lords and masters, the Poor.

May God in his goodness in this holy season of Advent and Christmas bring you much joy , peace and happiness not only to your families but to your communities, to your different Associations and movements, but also together with Lords and master, the Poor.

May God give us the health and the strength we need to continue to be firm in our sharing God’s love with all.

So, have a good one, and hopefully, we’ll all meet again in peace and love.

Preparing the way for the Lord, as Father Gregory Gay, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission reminds us in his Advent Letter  that we are  getting on the path that will make us mediators who bring God’s promises to fulfillment. Continue to read his message here, download it, get it on your [...]]]>

Preparing the way for the Lord, as Father Gregory Gay, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission reminds us in his Advent Letter  that we are  getting on the path that will make us mediators who bring God’s promises to fulfillment. Continue to read his message here, download it, get it on your mobile device as eBook or read in other languages. 

 A path that will make us
effective mediators of

God’s promises

I will be your God and you will be my people! (Leviticus 26:12).
My love shall never leave you! (Isaiah 54:10).
I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted! (Job 29:12).
Behold, I am doing something new … do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43:19).
Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die! (John 11:26).
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood remain in me and I in them! (John 6:56).
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18).
Behold, I am with you always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Rome, Advent 2015

My Dear Brothers and Sisters, Members of the Vincentian Family,

Those biblical texts embody and express the covenant relationship that God established with humankind. All the promises that I have referenced above require a form of presence in order for those words to be fulfilled. Let me place before you some examples to explain what I mean.

When the people cried out against their oppressors who had enslaved them in Egypt [God was present, listening to their cries], God called Moses: Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10) [God was present, initiating a solution to the situation]. After a bitter struggle Pharaoh relented and the people crossed the Red Sea to begin their journey through the wasteland [God was present, saving the people]. When the people were hungry, God provided them with manna; when they were thirsty, water flowed from the rocks [God was present accompanying the people in their time of need]. Indeed, God became present in the midst of the people’s struggles through Moses’s leadership. Centuries later, when people gathered in another deserted place to listen to the teachings of the Master, they witnessed the multiplication of the loaves and the fish and their hunger was satisfied [God was present, this time physically in the person of Jesus, as teacher and healer and comforter]. The Master, however, desired to satisfy not only their physical hunger, but also their spiritual hunger: I am the bread of life; those who come to me will never hunger and those who believe in me will never thirst (John 6:35). The following words from the letter to the Hebrews sum up what I am attempting to say: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days he spoke to us through a son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

What has any of this to do with the liturgical season of Advent? We, as Vincentians, are called to continue the mission of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the Good News to those people who are marginalized and living on the peripheries of society: Yes, Our Lord asks us to evangelize the poor; that’s what He did, and what He wants to continue to do through us⁵. As we engage in this process of evangelization, we are preparing the way for the Lord and, at the same time, we become mediators who bring to fulfillment God’s promises. Through our various ministries/services, we unite ourselves with John the Baptist’s desire: he must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30).

A Missionary Experience

Let me use one of my missionary experiences to illustrate this point. During my visit to the Province of Madagascar in 2011, at the time of its centennial celebration, our confrere, Father Anton Kerin, shared with me some of his experiences as he engaged in ministry in a very remote part of that country. He spoke about the joy that he experienced as he saw the ways in which the Good News of Jesus was becoming rooted in the people. Father also spoke about the difficulties that he encountered as he attempted to give witness to people who had never before heard the name of Jesus. I desired to see this mission for myself and so I promised Father Anton that I would visit him on a subsequent trip. It was not until April 2015 that I was able to fulfill that promise. In order to do so I had to travel for two days over some of the worst roads I have seen during my eleven years as superior general. Obviously, I was unable to travel this distance by myself since I had no familiarity with the roads. This meant, then, that others had to accompany me. In this specific instance, the Visitor, a layman, and Father Anton (who drove the last nine hours, the most difficult part of the trip) became my companions on the journey. When we finally arrived at our destination, Father Anton led us to the chapel where we were welcomed by local government and church officials. The next day I had the privilege to celebrate the Eucharist with the people of that community. It was Vocation Sunday and I preached my homily in English, which was then translated into Malagasy. I was also able to visit and celebrate the Eucharist at one of the newer missions, established some four years ago and now flourishing. Yes, I fulfilled my promise to Father Anton and, at the same time, I discovered that Father Anton and those who ministered with him were mediators in bringing to fulfillment the promises that God and our Founders had made to the people of Madagascar.

During this season of Advent, we recall the fact that God has been faithful to the promises that were made to our ancestors and that have been extended to us as the people of God living in the midst of the world during this year of 2015. As we reflect on those promises, we also realize that our cooperation is necessary for these promises to become reality. Therefore, I would like to reflect with you on my missionary experience in Madagascar and, hopefully, outline a path that will make us effective mediators of God’s promises.

Collaboration

First, I, all alone and by myself, was unable to do what I had said I would do. In order to fulfill my promise I needed the help and the collaboration of many other people, namely, guides and drivers, who were familiar with the roads and who knew where we were going. Our Founders made a promise to our lords and masters that we would proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. No one of us, alone, can fulfill that promise. From the beginning, Vincent realized that he had to involve others in his ministry in order to be effective. Therefore, after having seen proof of the virtue and ability of François de Coudray, Antoine Portail, and Jean de la Salle, Vincent invited those individuals to join him in preaching popular missions (cf., CCD:XIIIa:222). Within a short period of time the Missionaries realized that they, too, needed collaborators since it became clear that the poor suffer more from a lack of organization than from a lack of generosity (cf., CCD:XIIIb:8) and so the Confraternities of Charity came into existence. Later, during the 19^th century, when Frédéric Ozanam founded the Vincent de Paul Society, he called upon one of the Daughters of Charity to advise and accompany the members of this newly formed group of university students: Sister Rosalie [Rendu] … gave them invaluable advice, drew up for them a list of poor families to visit, furnished them with bread and meat tickets until such time as the Conference would be able to issue its own ⁶. During that same period of time, Catherine Labouré called upon Father Jean-Marie Aladel to collaborate in the establishment of a group of young men and women that today is known as the Vincentian Marian Youth Association.

Collaboration is fundamental to our being as Vincentians. No one alone can proclaim the Good News in an effective manner; no one alone can put in place the structures that will unite the world in a network of charity; no one alone and no one branch of the Vincentian Family possess the only path, or the privileged path, that enables its members to follow Jesus Christ, the evangelizer and the servant of the poor. When, however, we share our gifts and talents, when we join together in a common project, when “we” and “our” become more important than “me” and “mine,” then we, together in Christ and as Vincentians, can and do make a difference; then we, together in Christ and as Vincentians, make it possible for the promises of yesterday to be fulfilled today.

Being uncomfortable and taking risks

Second, in order to fulfill my promise to Father Anton Kerin, I had to travel along some difficult roads, which involved taking risks and allowing myself to feel uncomfortable. The same can be said about us as a Vincentian Family if we are to remain faithful to our promise to be the servants of those who are forgotten and abandoned and cast aside, the servants of our brothers and sisters who live in the midst of poverty and misery. If we are honest, I believe the majority of us would have to admit that we are not very comfortable with the reality of collaboration. A collaborative approach to ministry/service is more demanding than a lone-ranger approach. Because it is more demanding, we will naturally feel uncomfortable and might even attempt to avoid engaging in such an approach.

Let us take a minute to look at some of those demands that we might find threatening: collaborative ministry/service implies a willingness to surrender control and power, a willingness to join with others as equal partners in the decision-making process, a willingness to invite the poor to sit with us around the table where those decisions are made (decisions that affect them and their families). That style of ministry/service demands open and honest dialogue, as well as a willingness to compromise – a word that, in recent years, has taken on negative meanings, such as weakness, a betrayal of ideals, and a surrender of moral principles. All of that may make us uncomfortable because there is an implied risk, namely, at the very heart of the matter is the true and certain reality that today, you and I are being invited to change (and we will always feel uncomfortable and insecure when confronted with the need to change). You and I are being invited to change the ways in which we interact with one another, to change the ways in which we minister/serve, to change the ways in which we express our solidarity with the less fortunate members of society. The degree to which we are willing to engage in this process of conversion will determine the manner in which we, together in Christ and as Vincentians, make a difference today and tomorrow. It will determine the manner in which the promises of yesterday become a reality today.

Elements that will enhance our collaboration

Certain elements should characterize all of our joint efforts to make a difference in the world today and to bring to fulfillment the promises of yesterday. I know that if we were to make a list of those necessary elements, we would include prayer (in all its different forms), the practice of virtue, reading and reflection on the scriptures, attentive listening, etc. You know the list of elements. Here, however, I would like to refer to some other elements that do not always find a place on our lists, but elements that I believe are necessary if we are to be effective and influential mediators of God’s promises. My list, in addition to the elements mentioned above, would also include:

• Curiosity: As we engage in joint ministry/service with the other branches and members of the Vincentian Family, we necessarily become involved in a constant search for order in the midst of chaos and for meaning in the midst of turmoil and suffering. That search leads us to ask the question, “why?” and as we continue our search, we discover another question, another “why?”, and then another question and another “why?” This curiosity, however, should give us the courage to walk along new roads even if that means becoming bruised, hurting, and dirty because we have opted to journey along roads that are still under construction (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, # 49). 

• Critical analysis: Curiosity and critical analysis go hand in hand. Curiosity asks, “is this true?”, while critical analysis enables us to look behind such statements as, “this is the way we have always done things! This is the way we have always acted!” This element of critical analysis is especially noteworthy since we are called to participate in the process of the New Evangelization, a process that is new in its ardor, new in its methods, and new in its expression.

• Creative imaging: Love is inventive to infinity (CCD:XI:131). Your community [your group or your branch of the Vincentian Family] was not yesterday what it is now and there is reason to believe that it is still not what it will be when God has perfected it as he wants (cf., CCD:IX:194). Curiosity leads to creative forms of imagination, which in turn sustain us in our efforts to proclaim the Good News as a present reality that is both “good” and “news” for those who are poor.

• Earthen vessels: an awareness of which enables us to maintain our perspective and see ourselves for what we are: remember, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return (Liturgy for Ash Wednesday); I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way. I know how amazing that was! (Psalm 139:14). Listen to some of the words that Vincent used when speaking about himself: I am a farmer’s son who tended swine and cows, and … that is nothing compared to my ignorance and malice (CCD:IV:219); wretched man that I am, I preach to others but I’m so full of cursed thoughts (CCD:X:10); O Savior, forgive this wretched sinner, who spoils all Your plans (CCD:XI:247); I intend to be steadfast in the good I have begun, because that will be pleasing to God (cf., CCD:X:159). Each of us has gifts and talents and strengths; each of us has limitations and blind spots and weaknesses. We are both great and small!

• An ability to dream of a better world: As members of a large extended Family we have dreams and visions of a new day: we dream of a new heaven and a new earth in which every tear will be wiped from the eyes of all our brothers and sisters … we dream of a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more death or mourning wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away (cf. Revelation 21:1, 4); we dream of justice rolling down the mountain side like surging waters and we dream of righteousness as an ever-flowing stream (cf., Amos 5:24). Nevertheless, we minister in one small area of the world and we can be tempted to think that our ministry/service is inconsequential in the overall scheme of reality. But that is not true. We should imagine that we are all part of a large jigsaw puzzle, a puzzle that is composed of hundreds of pieces. While we are just one piece, that piece is, nevertheless, essential and has great value; that piece, our piece of the puzzle, along with all the other pieces, does in fact contribute to changing the world. Together we make a difference ⁷.

Conclusion

We live in a world where people make promises of one kind or another every day and then forget that such promises were ever made. People, however, expect us to act differently; they expect us to be courageous and to keep our promises, to keep God’s promises and the promises of our Founders. In 19^th-century France, people were discouraged and disheartened. Promises had been made to them and yet the majority of people continued to live in poverty. Frédéric Ozanam understood that situation and challenged the members of the Vincent de Paul Society with words that continue to challenge us in the 21^st century. I would like to conclude this reflection with Frédéric’s words: The earth has become a chilly place. It is up to us Catholics [as Vincentians] to rekindle the flame of human warmth which is going out. It is up to us to recommence the great work of regeneration even if it means another era of martyrs. Can we remain passive in the midst of a world which is suffering and groaning? And as for us … are we going to make no attempt to be like those saints whom we love? If we do not know how to love God, for it seems that we need to see in order to love and we can only see God with the eyes of faith, and our faith is so weak! But … we do see them [the poor] with our eyes of flesh! They are there before us and we can place our finger and hand in their wounds and the marks of the crown of thorns are visible on their foreheads. Thus there is no possible room for unbelief and we should fall at their feet and say to them with the Apostle: “My Lord and my God! You are our master and we will be your servants. You are for us the sacred image of the God we cannot see. Since we know not how to love him otherwise, we will love him in your persons. ⁸.”

May God bless us all as we celebrate this season of Advent, a time in which God fulfills the promises that were made to our ancestors and that are renewed in this present era; a time in which God fulfills those promises by using us as humble instruments and zealous ministers.

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
Superior General

(Unfortunately, there are some [...]]]> In this Circular Letter to members of the Vincentian Family worldwide Fr. Gregory Gay, C.M., Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, gives details and some resources to be used in preparing celebration of the Year of Vincentian Collaboration 2015-2016 announced in the Letter of January 30, 2016.

(Unfortunately, there are some versions in circulation with errors. To the best of our knowledge, this version is correction and the links are correct both below and in the PDF version. CLICK HERE  for corrected versions in other languages.)

Rome, March 16, 2015, Feast of St. Louise de Marillac

Dear Members of the International Vincentian Family

The following letter repeats many segments of my last correspondence regarding the “Year Collaboration” sent on January 30th but with more details as to how to implement the annual plan.

Our theme is “Together in Christ we Vincentians make a Difference.”

We all know how collaboration is rooted in our charism as a Vincentian Family, especially in the example of the lives of our Founders. We also know that we will most effectively serve those who live in poverty only as we collaborate with them and one another in this ministry.

The Year of Collaboration will begin on the Feast of Pentecost, May 24, 2015, and end on the Feast of Pentecost, May 15, 2016.

During the course of this year, we ask that the local, regional, and international levels of the Vincentian Family explore ways in which they may celebrate, connect and learn, and serve with one another. Our efforts will be coordinated by the Vincentian Family Collaboration Commission (VFCC). This letter contains recommendations from the VFCC for the coming year.

There are three components to the events for this year:

1. Celebrate
2. Connect and Learn
3. Serve

What follows below are resources to help the Vincentian Family commemorate the Year of Collaboration.

I. CELEBRATE

We would like to highlight three special days to celebrate during the year: May 24, 2015 (Pentecost); September 27, 2015; and May15, 2016 (Pentecost). Here are suggestions for each of these days of celebration.

1. Thanksgiving: May 24, 2015: Gather with members of the Vincentian Family to give thanks to God and to celebrate together. Below are three readings from St. Vincent that you may include with your prayer service or Mass of Thanksgiving. You may want to include time for testimony or a celebration of what has been done by the local Vincentian Family.

St. Vincent reading options:

A. 204.- TO JEAN DE FONTENEIL August 29, 1635; (CCD:I, 291) I am also overwhelmed by the charity you have extended and keep on extending to my poor brother.’ Because you have done all this for the love of God, and because gratitude for so many kindnesses is beyond our power, I beg Our Lord, Monsieur, to be Himself both your thanks and your reward.

B. 189. – TO JEAN DE FONTENEIL December 7, 1634; (CCD:I , 268) Now, for all that, Monsieur, I thank you most humbly and beg Our Lord Himself to be your thanks and reward and to shed upon you more and more abundantly His graces and blessings. O Monsieur, how my heart is filled with consolation every time the above-mentioned M. de la Salle writes to me about your zeal for the salvation of souls, your diligence in winning them over, the blessing Our Lord is bestowing on you, and the solid virtue you possess! I assure you, Monsieur, all that gives me a joy I cannot express to you and a very special fidelity in asking God to be pleased to continue for you and to increase the same graces within you.

C. 1017. – TO ETIENNE BLATIRON February 14, 1648; (CCD:III, 274-275) The graces God is showering on your labors are the result of His pure mercy and not of our wretched prayers. We are poor people, more liable to turn aside His blessings than to draw them down. I thank His Divine Goodness for the zeal and fidelity He gives your heart and those who are with you. In fact, Monsieur, I am so touched by the use you make of these virtues and of many others that, when the opportunity arises to animate the Saint-Lazare community to its own perfection, I relate to it the examples that yours gives us of this. I tell them of your long labors, despite the weaknesses of some of your men, your patience in difficulties, your charity and support for one another, the gracious welcome, courtesy, and consideration outsiders find in each of you. So you see, Monsieur, that honey from your hive flows even into this house and serves as food for its children. O Dieu! what a source of consolation for the whole Company, but also what a motive for our little family to humble itself before God and to do ever better and better, since He is pleased to extend and multiply in this way the good it is doing even in places where it is not present!

1. Reflection: Sept. 27, 2015: These “24 Hours of Vincentian Prayer” is a time to reflect. Please include the Vincentian Family Prayer in your time of prayer. We suggest that you set time aside personally as well as with other members (branches) of the Vincentian Family to reflect on the present reality of the local Vincentian Family, being mindful of the emerging needs of those living in poverty in your region.
2. Action: May 15, 2016: Ask the Holy Spirit to bless us and move us into action locally as the Vincentian Family.We request that you use this quote of St. Vincent in your celebration, “May God be pleased to strengthen you and to establish great union among you; for you will be even stronger if you are all closely united.” (VII:473) Take time to reflect on the scripture readings of the day and these quotes from the AIC publication, “To Be a Prophetic Member of the Vincentian Family” and Sister Julma Neo, DC’s article “Remembering Vincent and Louise Two Great Prophets of Charity:”

a. “In this world which is going awry, full of contradictions, the prophets are all those men and women who have dedicated their lives to proclaiming the Kingdom, proclaiming the truths of our faith, proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is near and is promised to the poor, speaking out against all injustices which prevent God’s plans being fulfilled” (http://bit.ly/YVC2015-aicpdf5)

b. “… If Vincent and Louise were in our midst today, how would they read today’s situation in the light of the Christ they wanted to follow? What word would they speak to us? How would they respond to the new situations that confront us today? What choices would they make?” 350th Anniversary Monthly Reflection – Reflection #01 –by Sr. Julma C. Neo, DC (http://bit.ly/YVC2015eng-annref1)

c. “Ours is a world radically different in many ways from that of Vincent and Louise. New questions force themselves upon us. In a world that has generated new forms of poverty, new faces of the poor, what and who should be our priorities? Vincent and Louise were constantly attentive to events as “locus” for encountering the Spirit. In a world obsessed with the “instant” and the “super fast”, how do we continue to be truly attentive and discerning?…” 350th Anniversary Monthly Reflection – Reflection #01 –by Sr. Julma C. Neo, DC (http://bit.ly/YVC2015eng-annref1)

d. Forging Ahead… Together: We are heirs of a great legacy… sons and daughters of two great prophets of charity. In this common heritage, we take pride. Our bonds are strengthened. With a vast membership in all the continents, we as Vincentian Family have a great potential for making a difference in our time as Vincent and Louise did in theirs… We have the “genes” of Vincent and Louise. We have their heart and their spirit. Fidelity to their legacy urges us to forge ahead together… to be prophets of charity in today’s world… to be prophetic and to generate hope…” (http://bit.ly/YVC2015eng-aicpdf1)

Please post photos and/or videos of your celebrations to the Vincentian Collaboration Facebook page and send them to famvin.org  to http://bit.ly/YVC2015-send-file.

There will be no international gatherings, apart from the meeting of the international leaders of the Vincentian Family in Rome (January 2016). These celebrations will take place on the local and regional levels.

II. CONNECT AND LEARN

It is very inspiring to discover more about our Vincentian Family, especially those branches that are not well known internationally. Learning more about each other will create a better environment for collaboration.

Follow the Vincentian Family on the Vincentian Collaboration Facebook page and on famvin.org (as cited above).

During each of the 52 weeks of the Year of Collaboration, we will highlight a branch of the Vincentian Family and thus get to learn more about each other.

Once a month, we will publish stories of collaboration, highlighting how the Vincentian Family is working together. Through the same Facebook community and famvin.org, you are also invited to post your own experience of efficient collaboration in the service of the impoverished, within or beyond the Vincentian Family.

There is so much happening and we could do so much more together!

III. SERVE

The previously mentioned VFCC oversaw the development of a formation experience on collaboration. The Vincentian Family Collaborative Action Program (or VFCAP) was held in Paris in 2013 and 2014 (cf. http://tinyurl.com/VFCAP). Over 70 members of the Vincentian Family participated. We are asking them to post three-minute videos about what they learned during their time in Paris and how it has helped with their own efforts to promote collaboration in their respective regions or countries. We are also inviting participants from the 2015 and 2016 regional VFCAP experiences to do the same.

These videos will appear on the Vincentian Collaboration Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/Vincentian.Collaboration) and on famvin.org over the coming months.

Please visit and comment on what is there. We have a lot to learn from each other.

As you can see, we have a wealth of activities planned to mark this special year for the Vincentian Family. Thank you, in advance, for all you do in collaboration with the Vincentian Family as well as with and for those living in poverty. And thank you, most especially, for the ways in which you model this virtue, which gives our charism its special nature and impact.

Your brother in St. Vincent,

G. Gregory Gay, C.M. Superior General