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03-28-24 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1200 1200 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

03-28-24 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

Challenges of a Vincentian In my 40 years as a Vincentian, I have made many mistakes. From my mistakes, hopefully, I will become a better person. My hope is you will learn from my mistakes. Here is my list of My Challenges: It’s about me. I call this the Santa Claus effect. When I first…

Contemplation: Old and Ever New 1080 1080 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

Contemplation: Old and Ever New

With the rapid growth of the Society within its first two years, there arose a debate as to whether the first Conference, now grown quite large, ought to split in two. “Do you not think that our charitable society itself ought to make changes in order to survive,” asked Blessed Frédéric, noting that the change…

03-21-24 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1200 1200 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

03-21-24 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

In my mid-20s, I joined a recreational volleyball group that resulted in some lifelong friends (and even in meeting my wife). It was a group of mostly singles that played every Wednesday night, and then everyone went out for pizza and beer at the local pub. Newly arriving women were invited to the pub part…

Contemplation: A Friend of a Friend 747 747 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

Contemplation: A Friend of a Friend

Have you ever had a friend with very different interests than your own? Maybe he was a big baseball fan, and you just didn’t follow that sport, or he had a great appreciation for art, but you couldn’t stand museums. How did that affect your friendship? Often, over time, we find that our own interests…

Contemplation: To Do a Little Good 1080 1080 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

Contemplation: To Do a Little Good

In Monsieur Vincent, the 1947 movie about our patron’s life, he is asked near the end of his life if there is anything he wished he had done. His reply is simple: “More.” This captures the indefatigable commitment to new and creative works that characterized his life, but perhaps does not fully capture his belief…

03-07-25 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1200 1200 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

03-07-25 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

This is the last in a series of three Servant Leader columns before next week’s Midyear Meeting that address VisionSVdP.  Today I’d like to explain a little more about how the process will work over the next year, and talk a bit about how you can get involved. We will formally ‘kick off’ VisionSVdP at…

Contemplation: Guideposts on the Journey 791 790 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

Contemplation: Guideposts on the Journey

To boast about our accomplishments in works of charity brings to mind a routine by the comedian Chris Rock, in which he jokes about people who brag when they do what they are supposed to do. (“I graduated high school!” “You’re supposed to graduate high school!”, etc.) We are Christians — we’re supposed to feed…

02-29-24 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 8335 2555 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

02-29-24 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

Last week I announced the kickoff of VisionSVdP in an email to all Vincentians. Today, I’d like to spend a little more time discussing the reasons we’re launching this very important initiative at this time. Let’s start by looking at why VisionSVdP is so important for us from the standpoint of all the great and…

Contemplation: Not to Be Forgotten 656 656 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

Contemplation: Not to Be Forgotten

There are thousands of agencies, organizations, and individuals who offer assistance to the poor. In our Conferences we often get to know them and refer neighbors to them when it seems they may be better able to provide for the needs we’ve encountered. We live in a very wealthy nation, filled with generous people. What…

VisionSVdP: Because Every Voice Matters 8335 2555 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

VisionSVdP: Because Every Voice Matters

Dear Vincentian Family, Over the last six months you have likely heard and read about the launch of VisionSVdP, our “family conversation” that will occur over the next two years as we answer the call in our Rule to “Adapt to a Changing World.” I first spoke about this in my remarks after my Installation…

A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 02-22-24 1200 1200 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 02-22-24

God Answers Imagine a young woman, 18 years of age, alone in solitude after her husband departs for work. She places her infant daughter down to sleep. A nudging from within prompts her to go and look upon her daughter, and she is obedient. She notices her firstborn turning blue. To the touch, she is…

Contemplation: Payment for Tears of Joy 1080 1080 SVDP USA
  • Jill Pioter

Contemplation: Payment for Tears of Joy

“Help …becomes honorable,” Bl. Frédéric taught, “when it may become mutual.” [O’Meara, 177] It is this teaching that inspires our Rule’s call for Vincentians to “form relationships based on trust and friendship” with the neighbor. [Rule, Part I, 1.9] Because after all, what is friendship if it is not mutual? Asking for help can be…

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