News

When the World Shut Down, We Never Stopped Serving Neighbors in Need 1733 902 SVDP USA

When the World Shut Down, We Never Stopped Serving Neighbors in Need

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, it felt like the world shut down overnight. Churches, schools, and businesses closed their doors. No one knew when those doors would reopen — or if they would reopen at all. But for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and those we serve, shutdowns were never…

News Roundup 08-05-2021 1200 1200 SVDP USA

News Roundup 08-05-2021

With 100,000 Vincentians across the United States and nearly 800,000 around the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here: INTERNATIONAL: AUSTRALIA: The face of homelessness in Australia is changing AUSTRALIA: What can you do to end homelessness? AUSTRALIA: Local business owners…

Contemplation: The State in Which We Were Created 940 788 SVDP USA

Contemplation: The State in Which We Were Created

Our five Vincentian virtues come from St. Vincent’s five “Characteristic Virtues,” with one difference: what Vincent called mortification, we call selflessness. While the distinction between the two is not trivial, he also talked about the “spirit of mortification,” which is a good way for us to understand our call to selflessness. [CCD XII:249] The word…

08-05-2021 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1368 1387 SVDP USA

08-05-2021 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

We aren’t out of the woods quite yet, but we can at least see the clearing ahead of us. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the U.S. has seen a lot since our 1845 founding. We are blessed that with every war, every pandemic, and every Depression, recession, and other disasters both man-made…

Contemplation: At Present, We See Indistinctly 150 150 SVDP USA

Contemplation: At Present, We See Indistinctly

Have you ever been in an airport, or a grocery store, and run into an acquaintance that you only know from work, a club, or church, and it took you an extra moment even to recognize them? After all, not only are the surroundings unfamiliar, but your friend may also be dressed in “dad shorts”…

07-29-2021 News Roundup 1200 1200 SVDP USA

07-29-2021 News Roundup

With 100,000 Vincentians across the United States and nearly 800,000 around the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here: INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA: Hundreds of rough sleepers given temporary accommodation amid Delta outbreak AUSTRALIA: Teenagers trekked to city to give back to the…

A Letter from Our Servant Leaders 1367 1520 SVDP USA

A Letter from Our Servant Leaders

Fires destroying communities in the western United States, hurricanes pounding our southeastern shores, and floods and tornados taking a toll throughout our country regularly make headlines for a few days. Those newsflashes are then quickly replaced by the next tragic story. The recovery process and the suffering, however, stretch over many years. Our Society’s network…

Contemplation – The Light of the World 940 788 SVDP USA

Contemplation – The Light of the World

Have you ever noticed that in virtually every picture of St. Vincent de Paul, he is smiling? Just a small, gentle smile with a twinkle in his eye that reassures us, puts us at ease, and makes us smile, too. Wouldn’t a permanent smile like that be a great gift for all of us to…

07-22-2021 Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1368 1387 SVDP USA

07-22-2021 Letter From Our Servant Leaders

Many Vincentians are downright tenacious in their desire to serve both God and our friends in need. While this is usually a virtue, we must be careful, too. I am asked daily about how we can keep our members safe. Two otherwise incongruous subjects are at the forefront of member conversations; I share them with…

Contemplation: Our Call to Servant Leadership 940 788 SVDP USA

Contemplation: Our Call to Servant Leadership

When we think of leaders, we are acculturated to envision military commanders, heads of state, celebrity CEOs, and the like; dynamic, charismatic, larger than life. Leaders, we are taught, are “large and in charge.” It is difficult, then, for most of us to believe that we can be that person; that we are called to…

07-15-2021 News Roundup 1200 1200 SVDP USA

07-15-2021 News Roundup

With 100,000 Vincentians across the United States and nearly 800,000 around the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here: INTERNATIONAL: IRELAND: SVP says an Ireland without poverty can be a reality IRELAND: SVP To Assist People In Clare To Live Poverty…

07-15-2021 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1368 1387 SVDP USA

07-15-2021 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

There are some subjects that affect us all, even as Vincentians, and I wish we didn’t need to talk about them. This is one of them. Sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults is very real. We have read about it in relation to some of our most respected institutions; in fact, the greater the…

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