News

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA welcomes bipartisan efforts in Congress to extend the enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We urge members to continue good faith negotiations to ensure that health care continues to be affordable for the millions of Americans who purchase coverage through the health insurance marketplace.

As the largest lay Catholic organization in the U.S. dedicated to serving the poor, we have a unique street-level view of the health care crisis in this country and a special urgency to get this issue solved. It is simply unacceptable for anyone to forgo needed health care because they cannot afford it. Neither is it acceptable for anyone to choose between paying a health insurance premium or paying the rent. Yet, that is what is happening now, as more than 20 million subsidized enrollees in the ACA see their premium costs rise by more than 100%. The extension of these subsidies is vitally important for the many Americans who are struggling to live day-to-day.

Once an agreement is in place, we urge Congress to work to develop a permanent healthcare solution so that we don’t have to go through this again in the future.

We believe that respect for human dignity requires all people to be able to access adequate healthcare without jeopardizing their ability to provide for their basic human needs. We pray that any proposed legislation will enshrine protections for human dignity and provide opportunity for all to thrive.

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The Thread

Each of us has at times, in our own way, felt a quiet thread running through our lives. A steady pull of love that stretches from Jesus’ simple command to love one another, to the personal encounters, phone calls, and conversations we share with our neighbors in need. Every time we sit at a kitchen table, listen to someone’s story, or offer a word of hope, we are taking hold of that same thread and helping to weave it into the fabric of another person’s life.

That thread has run through all of salvation history. It stretches from the first pages of Genesis, through the Gospels, into the letters of the early Church, and out across centuries into the visits, phone calls, and pantry lines of today. That thread is both simple and demanding; love one another as God has loved you.

From the beginning God created us not as isolated individuals, but as people who belong to one another. Cain’s question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is really the question the whole Bible answers: ‘Yes, as a matter of fact, you are!’ The prophets cry out for justice for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. The psalms sing of God who “upholds the cause of the oppressed” and “gives food to the hungry.” This is the first strand of the thread: God’s love always bends toward those in need.

In the New Testament, that thread becomes more personal in Jesus. On the night before he dies, he gathers the Apostles and gives them “a new commandment”: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Not “love one another when it’s convenient,” not “love one another in theory,” but “as I have loved you” concretely, humbly, sacrificially.

The earliest Christian communities took this seriously. The Epistles are full of “one another” sayings that trace out what this love looks like in practice: “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” “Through love serve one another.” “Bear with one another in love.” “Encourage one another … to love and do good works.” The early Church was, in a real sense, a network of friends bound together by this thread of love and service.

A ‘Coat of Many Services’

In the very well-known Genesis story (they even made a Broadway musical about it!), Joseph’s “coat of many colors” is a sign that he is loved and blessed, even when his brothers resent it. That coat, woven of many colors, can be a helpful image for the Society today. The Society might be said to wear not a coat of many ‘colors but a coat of many ‘services’: personal encounters, visits, food pantries, rent and utility assistance, disaster relief, prison ministry, systemic change, advocacy, mentoring, housing, and more. Each service is a different ‘color,’ reflecting a different need, a different story, a different family.

Yet what holds the whole thing together is not the list of programs or the amount of funds spent, but the single thread that runs through them all. Whether a Vincentian is sitting in a home listening to parents fears, helping a family keep the lights on, or working on legislation that protects tenants, it is the same love that is at work: a desire to see the face of Christ in the poor and to respond as Christ responds. Take away that thread, and the coat falls apart into disconnected patches. Keep it strong, and every service, no matter how small, becomes a visible sign of God’s love and our faithful care.

In this sense, the Society’s coat of many services is not primarily about what is done, but about how it is done. Paul insists that Christian love is patient, humble, forgiving, and encouraging. When Vincentians “outdo one another in showing honor,” especially toward those who feel forgotten or ashamed, then the many services of the Society shimmer with the colors of the Kingdom of God.

One Thread, but Many Faiths

This thread of love is not unique to Judaism and Christianity. Across history and the world’s great religions there is a shared conviction that true faith must show itself in compassion, especially for the poor. In Islam the Qur’an repeatedly links devotion to God with care for those in need, praising those “who give food, in spite of love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive.” The Prophet Muhammad teaches that a community is “only given provision and support from Allah due to the weak among you.” Love for God is proven by solidarity with the vulnerable.

Buddhism speaks of loving-kindness (metta or maitri) and compassion (karuna) as essential to the path. Loving-kindness is defined as the desire to bring happiness to others; compassion is the willingness to relieve their suffering, extended not just to family or nation but to all beings. True love, in this view, is not possessive but deeply understanding. It seeks to know the suffering and hopes of others to help.

These traditions differ in many important ways, but they agree on this: a life turned inward, closed to the cry of the poor, cannot claim to be spiritually whole. When Vincentians serve, they therefore stand in solidarity not only with the Gospel, but with the best instincts of the human family.

One Society

The thread is also what makes us ‘One Society’ rather than thousands of individual Conferences, Councils, and Special Works doing good, but isolated work. The thread that Frédéric Ozanam, Rosalie Rendu, and the other founders of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul used in 1833 has been woven into a beautiful blanket of love and service that covers, and comforts, the world today.

That thread runs through every Vincentian in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people who live, believe, and serve. Each is a part of the whole. A seamless garment that has but one purpose. Not individual accomplishment, not isolated service, not self importance, but rather a heart and soul that strives to make the world a better place, and the lives others better.

The unity, the thread, of the Society is one of its great beauties and blessings. We are one single SVdP, present in different realities, cultures, and regions, yet guided by the same mission: to serve Christ in the person of the poor.

Don’t get me wrong. Unity does not mean uniformity, but communion. It is through listening, dialogue, and respect for each other and respect for the traditions and hierarchy of the Society that we strengthen the Vincentian mission here in the US, and across the globe.

Every Conference, every Council, every Special Work in SVdP USA is one small tile is a mosaic of love. Yes, each individual tile is beautiful and shiny and valuable in its own right; but until all the tiles are in place to create the mosaic, it is impossible to understand the power, the impact, and the absolute beauty of SVdP as ‘One Society’

Holding the Thread Together

These threads are not an abstract idea; they are something that must be held, day after day, in very concrete ways. The New Testament “one another” passages name the practices that keep the threads from fraying:

• “Bear with one another in love” when personalities clash or fatigue sets in.
• “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another” when misunderstandings and hurts arise.
• “Encourage one another … and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” when the work feels overwhelming or discouraging.

In the Society, this means that the thread is not only extended outward to neighbors in need; it must also be woven carefully among members themselves. A conference that prays together, listens deeply to one another, and supports each other through mistakes and growth is a conference in which the thread is strong. That inner fabric of friendship is what allows the outer “coat of many services” to be worn with joy rather than exhaustion.

Your Critical Place in the Fabric

Every Vincentian, volunteer, donor, staff member, or friend holds a part of the thread in their hands (and heart). Some hold it at a bedside, sitting with someone who is ill. Some hold it at a desk, managing paperwork or finances that keep the mission afloat. Some hold it in advocacy meetings, speaking for those whose voices are ignored. Some hold it in prayer, unseen but essential, asking God to bless and guide the Society’s work.

But the good news is that no one is asked to hold the whole fabric alone. In the Body of Christ, “we, though many, are one,” and each member has a role. When Vincentians cooperate, collaborate, and celebrate one another’s gifts, what emerges over time is something beautiful: a garment of mercy, stitched together from a thousand acts of quiet love.

I titled this “The Thread” as a reminder that God’s love is not a random collection of moments but a continuous line, running from Abraham’s hospitality to strangers to Jesus washing feet, from the epistles’ call to “love one another” to the Society’s encounters and visits today. To be Vincentian is to take that thread in hand and say, day after day, “Yes, Lord. Let your love be woven through my life into the lives of others.”

In this new year, may the God who first spun this thread of love strengthen our hands to hold it, our eyes to see it, and our hearts to trust that, in ways seen and unseen, it is drawing the entire world closer to His will.

Peace and God’s blessings,

John

Give the Gift of Your Vocation This Christmas

As Vincentians, we have always understood that the heart of our vocation is not simply the things we give, but the relationships we build. Material help matters deeply, especially for those facing hunger, homelessness, or crushing bills, but our mission is first a mission of presence, respect, and friendship. In a culture that can treat people as problems to be solved, we insist that each problem impacts a person to be loved, listened to, and accompanied.​

St. Vincent de Paul spoke of love that is “inventive to infinity,” a love always searching for new ways to respond to suffering and new paths to bring the Gospel to life. This past year, that love has been visible in creative local programs, new partnerships, fresh approaches to advocacy and driving change, and renewed efforts to reach those in need. You have shown that Vincentian charity is never static but always moving outward.​

Every Conference, Council, and special work is a unique response to local needs, yet together they form a single national embrace of charity and justice. When a volunteer in a rural community visits a neighbor in crisis, and a large city council opens a new initiative for those on the margins, both are a part of one mission under the patronage of St. Vincent and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. You may rarely see one another, but your prayers, efforts, and sacrifices converge in a powerful witness that the poor are at the very heart of our mission.​ We are ‘One Society.’

Our faith continues to remind us that Christ is especially present in those who are poor, forgotten, or excluded. The call to “place ourselves at the service of the poor” and to let our faith be manifest in the concrete acts of mercy is not an extra task; it is integral to the Gospel. Your simple, daily fidelity to this call makes visible what the Gospel proclaims.​

Many of the neighbors we serve face heavy burdens: economic uncertainty, health struggles, fractured families, isolation, and the lingering wounds of injustice. In some communities, divisions and fears can make it harder for people to trust that help will be offered with respect and without judgment. Yet again and again, Vincentians step into these difficult spaces with gentleness, humility, and zeal, offering not only help, but also hope.​​

This vocation changes us as well. Vincentians know that, over time, they find their own hearts softened and widened by encounters with those they serve. As you listen to neighbors’ stories, pray with them, and share in their struggles, you experience a deeper conversion of heart, discovering that Christ comes to you through the very people you looked to help.

As the new year approaches, let us renew both our commitment to growth in holiness and our outward mission. In your Conferences and Councils, may you continue to root every decision in prayer and the Vincentian virtues of simplicity, humility, gentleness, selflessness, and zeal. May your planning be guided by the question: “Where is Christ waiting for us in the poor of our community, and how can love be inventive here and now?”​ And may your planning be guided by the penultimate Vincentian question, “What must be done?”

The challenges ahead will require collaboration within the Vincentian family and with partners in the wider community. By sharing insights, resources, and best practices across Council, Regions, and nationally, we can respond more effectively to emerging forms of poverty and ensure that no conference is alone in its efforts. Your willingness to learn from one another, welcome new members, and mentor younger Vincentians will help this mission flourish for generations to come.​

This Christmas, as you gather to open the presents under the tree, for Mass, for family celebrations, and for moments of quiet prayer, remember that the Lord who comes in the Eucharist is the same Lord who waits in the face of every person who suffers. May the Child of Bethlehem bless you with deep peace, renewed joy, and the gentle courage to keep saying “yes” to those who call upon the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Thank you for the gift of your vocation and may the God whose love is truly “inventive to infinity” continue to bless you with grace in the year to come.​

From Debi and me, Merry Christmas to you and your family.

John

O Holy Night…

For me it is so special to be with family at Midnight Mass to start the Christmas Season.  It is so wonderful singing and hearing the entire congregation singing, “O Holy Night.”

As Vincentians, this great Christmas song touches all our hearts.  It puts into words the special time when the Word became flesh and the bright light of Christ entered the world.

I love the first verse, but the third verse is where our Vincentian charism truly comes to life: “Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we; Let all within us praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we!  His power and glory evermore proclaim!”

Our charge from Christ is to make the words of this song come to life by growing together spiritually and making our world a better place.

In putting together this article I learned that “O Holy Night” was inspired by a church’s renovation. A parish priest in Roquemaure, France asked a local poet, Placide Cappeau, to write a poem for the Christmas Midnight Mass to commemorate the recent renovation and installation of the stained-glass windows and organ.  In 1847, it was put to music by composer Adolphe Adam.

This beautiful song was banned for a time because the lyricist was an atheist/socialist, and the composer was Jewish. However, the power of the way the words described the beauty of the birth of Christ prevailed, and this became one of our most beloved Christmas songs.

Many saw this song as controversial, even though it communicated the love of God powerfully and clearly. In a similar way, we may experience challenges when others see our Vincentian work to love others as controversial.

Many people judge those who are poor and vulnerable, and by extension judge those who try to help them. But no matter the challenges we face, we are called to overcome them to bring Christ’s bright light to the world. And I personally see our Vincentians doing this all the time – 2025 was an incredible year for the Society!  Yes, we had our challenges from the economy that impacted those we serve, but we were up to the task at hand and responded.

We had an incredible year of serving our neighbors in need, seeing Christ in the millions we served.  We grew together spiritually in friendship to face any challenges that came our way.

We established our Washington, D.C. office so we could fulfill our Vincentian calling to be a Voice for the Poor.  We did not go to our nation’s capital to be changed, but instead to change the mindset of our national leaders as Christ calls us to do in this magnificent song.

Thanks to our phenomenal Vincentian Servant Board Leaders, 2026 will be another great year for our Society!

I started this article with a Christmas song we all know and love, but I am going to end with one you may have never heard of.  It’s a song released the year I was born (1966) – “If Every Day Was Like Christmas” by Elvis Presley.

I know you will embrace this lyric from the song: “For if every day could be just like Christmas, What a wonderful world this would be.”

Thank you for making this a wonderful world by your commitment and dedication to our Society.  Truly by living and breathing the Vincentian charism, you are working hard to make every day be filled with the Christmas spirit of hope for those we are so blessed to serve.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas,

Michael Acaldo