What Is the Right Order?
What came first: The chicken or the egg? I think we all know that the answer is… (Well… let me get back to that later.) Can we just do the works first, and then we grow in holiness, or do we need to grow in holiness first in order to do the works? Or do we need to feed our minds with knowledge first? Or…
I have heard stories of brothers and sisters being raised in faithful Catholic families, that later in life joined the Society, finding the perfect match to their vocation. In other cases, parents that were already Vincentians, had kids exposed to the Society, and these kids became Vincentian leaders early in their lives.
In my case, I was naturally drawn to help others, but not because of my convictions of the love that God asks from us, but rather because it just felt good; I would say, just unconscious selfish satisfaction. I joined the Society, willing to use the skills I acquired by my own merits. It did not take too long to discover that God wanted me to wake up from my dormant spirituality, and realized the many blessings I had received my entire life, day by day. That all I was and I have acquired, has been by His mercy and infinite love and generosity. The Society changed my life. From that point, I had the desire to know God better, building a closer relationship with Him. (I am still trying.) Through strong mentorship and Formation, I was able to start growing in different areas that I couldn’t even identify earlier: Intellectual, Human, Ministerial, and of course, Spiritual. (See Vincentian Formation – A Foundation Document Section I A.)
We know that in order to grow spiritually, we could do it through our works in the Society, especially through the Home Visits. However, I often heard about cases of Conferences that died or are dying, even while doing good work. Why is that? One case was a Conference that was ready to “close its doors.” Instead, they stopped doing the works, and started a process of Formation and prayer period, and eventually they found their lost vocation again, becoming an even more vibrant Conference with renewed zeal, courage, and hope.
We talk about many areas in our Society: Fundraising, Membership, Leadership, Governance, Advocacy, etc. I strongly believe that all starts with Spirituality. That is why now we have a dedicated new Spirituality Formation Committee. If we have a stronger relationship with God, we would excel in all the areas. We would cherish the Rule, the Manual, and the Standards of Excellence, and we would live a culture of welcome and value accountability; we would love even more our neighbors in need and our fellow Vincentians (recognizing that Jesus is in all of them), we would find more and better ways to serve, etc., and very importantly, with thirst for more Formation.
Brothers and sisters, God has a master plan that challenges each of us in positions and opportunities in our Society. I believe in the existing Formation tools and programs offered by the National Council, because it worked for me, and I see how it has worked around our nation. We also know that some have created their own Formation tools and programs, which have worked for them; we believe in subsidiarity as well. However, we know that Formation does not reach many locations. That is why we have a new Formation Renewal and Delivery Committee. (See Vincentian Spiritual Growth and Enrichment Committee Charges.) We want to offer assistance in order to reach every Vincentian. We want to learn from success stories across the country. My dream is to have the communality of the Vincentian principles and traditions, to be able to create a big Formation Network in our nation, where we can help each other, and truly be One Society. We are better if we are united.
There is no unique “right order.” We are all at different stages, and in different circumstances. Through Spiritual Reflections, we can discern what we need. Maybe feeding our intellect first, or maybe starting on how we can serve better in our ministry through Apostolic Reflections, or we may need to begin by strengthening our personal relationship with God. Most likely, it would be a combination of efforts, but we need to identify the areas that need attention.
We already have the linear Vincentian Pathway booklet. I am pleased to let you know that very soon we will have the Digital Pathway, which will be accessible from the home page of our Members Website, that will give the options to choose the paths that will fulfill your particular needs. You can always reach Tim Williams, and Sister Consuelo Tovar, at the national office, or your servant, Aldo Barletta for any question, comment, or need.
Ah, yeah! About the chicken and the egg — my answer is, “It is irrelevant.” First was God, Who always existed, and created everything, including us, in His image, to love us. He only asks that we hear Him closely, for us to enjoy praising Him and serving Him.
May the Holy Spirit give us the humility to listen carefully, acknowledge that we have more to learn, and that we need to get closer to God. May we receive the strength to give ourselves in sacrifice to love Him, by loving all our brothers and sisters in Christ, for the Glory of God.
St Vincent de Paul, pray for us!
Many blessings,
Aldo
Aldo Barletta
National Vice President of Vincentian Spiritual Growth and Enrichment
