Vincentians

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SVdP News Roundup August 5 – August 11
SVdP News Roundup August 5 – August 11 1080 1080 SVDP USA

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

NATIONAL

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A Week in Prayers August 7 – August 11
A Week in Prayers August 7 – August 11 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Monday, August 7

Each day, Lord, and every night,
Your presence and Your love
Are the warmth within my heart.
Help me nurse into flame
This ember of faith.
Help me to spread it
Heart to heart, soul to soul,
To all Your children
Throughout the earth.
Amen

Tuesday, August 8

O Lord, make me Your instrument,
Make me the one You send;
One servant’s work divided
Among all the sheep You tend.
Yet all may know completely
Your grace from up above;
From a single loaf, a single fish,
A single act of love.
Amen

Wednesday, August 9

Heavenly Father,
I enter this day with gratitude,
In the light of the hope
Of eternal union with You.
Help me to share Your light
Through my actions
And my manner today.
Amen

Thursday, August 10

Praise to You, Lord Jesus!
My heart is filled with joy!
You are with me on the journey,
You await me at its end.
Through You, I am not weary.
With You, I am not alone.
In You, I shall live.
Amen

Friday, August 11

Each day, O Lord, I seek You,
In the neighbor, in the poor.
Each day, O Lord, I serve You,
In my actions, in my words.
Each day, O Lord, I give my life,
A little at a time,
With faith to move mountains,
With hope undiminished,
With love enough to share.
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.
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08-10-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
08-10-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

In a few weeks many Vincentians will gather for the 2023 Assembly of the National Council of the United States. Our National Assembly theme will be “Where It All Began,” because we will gather in St. Louis within sight of the Old Cathedral, where the first Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States met in 1845. It is not too late to plan to attend. Coming to a National Assembly will draw you deeper into this vocation as a member of the Society. That is what happened to me when I attended my first national meeting.

At our Assembly we gather to look backward and remember our roots, but — more importantly — we look forward, as well. We will celebrate our 178-year history here in the United States, and we will also celebrate the past six years of working with our current leadership team. More significantly, we will plan for the future as we install a new National Council President and officers.

We have prepared a well-rounded program that will strengthen your Vincentian spirituality, friendship, and service. An excellent team of presenters will provide more than 40 workshops to advance our knowledge and understanding of the Society and its mission. Our Friday Morning of Reflection will again be led by Bishop Donald Hying, who has blessed us as our National Episcopal Advisor for the past six years. Our keynote speakers and daily celebrations of the Eucharist will nourish us on our journey together toward holiness.

Meetings such as this are important gatherings for our membership. It is easy to just coast, doing the same work, with the same resources and people. In St. Louis you will be exposed new ideas, presented by some of the best speakers in our Society. Coming back with just one or two good ideas can renew you and your Conference. We will be better helpers to those we serve if we are continually improving our knowledge and growing spiritually.

My term as your National Council President ends on September 30; so this will be my last National Council Assembly as your president. We have had excellent committees and task forces working in the background for the past six years. I am grateful to all who have served on these groups and to their leadership. I look forward to the opportunities we will have at this meeting to witness the fruits of what they have done. That work will be passed on to new leaders with new ideas and energy.

It has been a pleasure working with our national leadership team for the past six years. There is much that we have been able to accomplish together. What I have valued most is the Vincentian friendship I have found everywhere I have traveled. I look forward to continuing these friendships as we pass the responsibility of servant leadership to a new team.

John Berry has been a friend for many years, and I know we are in good hands with him as our next National Council President. I ask you to join me in praying for John and his team of officers as we continue our journey as Vincentians in the United States of America.

I hope to see many of you in St. Louis.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
SVdP National President

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A Week in Prayers July 31 – August 4
A Week in Prayers July 31 – August 4 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Monday, July 31

Tend to this seed, O Jesus,
That You have planted in my heart.
Water and nourish it,
Turning always as it grows
Toward the light of Your divine love.
Fill my heart completely, Lord,
So that the seed of sanctity
May fall upon all hearts,
Inviting them into Your garden.
Amen

Tuesday, August 1

Heavenly Father,
Grant me faith to persevere
Discerning Your will
Through fog of doubt
Doing Your work
Up steepest climbs
Seeking Your Kingdom
Tirelessly
Amen

Wednesday, August 2

Father, draw me closer to Your Kingdom.
Lord, implant Your will within my heart.
O God, be still the stormy seas around me,
As I strive, for love alone, to do my part.
Amen

Thursday, August 3

Lord, You are rest when I am weary,
Comfort in distress,
Peace in times of turbulence,
And direction when I am lost.
And when I am at peace,
Unburdened by worry or distress,
Still You are my beacon,
My direction,
And my hope.
Amen

Friday, August 4

On every step, Lord Jesus,
You are near.
I am never on my own in times of sorrow.
I am never all alone in times of strife.
At every time, Lord Jesus,
You are here.
My heart is never empty,
My burden’s not too much.
You are the light that guides me.
You are my hope.
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.
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Contemplation: Justice, Charity, and Subsidiarity
Contemplation: Justice, Charity, and Subsidiarity 1080 1080 SVDP USA

One of the oldest traditions of the Society is our embrace of subsidiarity as our standard of operation. By this, we mean that Conferences and Councils have great freedom of action, empowering them to pursue local initiatives to help the poor spontaneously and effectively, without the burden of excessive bureaucracy. [Rule, Part I, 3.9] Bureaucracy, after all, is the hallmark not of Christian charity, but, as the word itself suggests, of what Bl. Frédéric referred to as “the assistance bureaus.” He explained that Conferences should instead keep in mind that each city “has different needs … and provides different resources” and not “tie [themselves] down with rules and formulas.” [Letter 82, to Curnier, 1834]

It only stands to reason, then, that it cannot be a remote Council that dictates the works of the Conferences, for it could have little basis to do so outside of “rules and formulas.” Councils instead exist not to supervise, but “to serve all the Conferences they coordinate.” [Rule, Part I, 3.6] As Emmanuel Bailly explained this relationship in an 1841 Circular Letter, Councils are “rather a link than a power” and in that link from Conferences to Councils and back, “there is neither authority nor obedience; there may be deference and advice; there is certainly, above all, charity; there is the same end, there are the same good works; there is a union of hearts in Jesus Christ, our Lord.” [Circ. Ltr. 14 Jul 1841]

Subsidiarity, then, works hand in hand with our Vincentian friendship, and our Cultural Belief in One Society. We are united by our Rule, by our Catholic faith, and by the celebration of our diversity in the many communities where we serve. We respect the Conferences’ determination of the best way to serve their communities in much the same way as Conferences are called to assume that the home visit team has “special insight into the best way to give help.” [Manual, 24]

Subsidiarity, of course, also is one of the four permanent principles of Catholic social doctrine, necessary to recognizing the dignity of the human person. It extends not only from Councils to Conferences, but to the neighbor, reminding us that it “gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community.” [CSDC, 186]

This is one reason why, rather than dictating solutions for the neighbor, “Vincentians endeavor to help the poor to help themselves whenever possible, and to be aware that they can forge and change their own destinies and that of their local community.” [Rule, Part I, 1.10]

At times, it seems easier to simply dictate to others rather than allow them to make their own decisions, but subsidiarity calls Councils to respect the judgment of Conferences, Conferences of members, and members of neighbors. Subsidiarity, being rooted in respect for the dignity of the human person, is a measure of both justice and charity.

Contemplate

Are there times I become frustrated because I believe that “I know what’s best” for others?

Recommended Reading

The Rule, Part I

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SVdP News Roundup July 29 – August 4
SVdP News Roundup July 29 – August 4 1080 1080 SVDP USA

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

NATIONAL

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Contemplation — Rejoice in God Always
Contemplation — Rejoice in God Always 1080 1080 SVDP USA

In our works of charity, we come to know many neighbors whose circumstances seem so overwhelming that they begin to overwhelm us, too. It weighs on us, and we begin to suffer from what some call “compassion fatigue,” a sort of despair that perhaps what we do is simply not enough.

Our Rule reminds us that “in the poor [we] see the suffering Christ.” [Rule, Part I, 1.8] If we stop right there, it’s no wonder we despair. Yet every week at Mass, as we ponder the crucified Christ, there above the altar, we find peace in the reassurance of His great promise. On the cross, Jesus suffered unimaginably. Our very word in the English language for unbearable pain – excruciating – comes from the Latin ex cruce meaning “from the cross.” Yet to meditate upon that image brings us not sadness but joy; not despair, but hope.

That is because the faithful see the cross with hope-tainted eyes. We know Christ’s story does not end on that cross, and because of that, neither does ours. The cross is suffering, yes, but it is also redemption, it is also glory, it is also hope.

So, as we are called to see the suffering Christ in the neighbor, we also are called to see Him with the same hope-tainted eyes with which we gaze upon the crucifix. Both the neighbor’s troubles and our own will surely pass, and there is never a time that we should not, as Blessed Frédéric’s father advised him during a time of great sadness, “Gaudete in Domino semper.” (Rejoice in God always.) [Letter 160, to Laller, 1837]

To be sure, it is important to share the tears of the neighbor, but not without also sharing the hope of Christ. We can express our sympathy in no more sincere way than to share a tear, to bear with us part of the sadness, stress, or sometimes even anger that the neighbor may be feeling. This is, as St. Vincent once explained, “an act of love.” [CCD XII:221]

But to share only the despair is not our calling. “Help honors,” Blessed Frédéric wrote, “when it may become mutual.” [O’Meara, 229]

Vincentians serve in hope. Not merely the hope of paying a bill, because there always will be another bill. We serve in the eternal hope, “the great hope that cannot be destroyed,” and we “can always continue to hope, even if … there seems to be nothing left to hope for.” [Spe salvi, 35]

In suffering there is redemption, in the neighbor there is God, and in hope there is joy enough to share.

Contemplate

Why do I find it difficult to “rejoice in God always”?

Recommended Reading

Turn Everything to Love

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SVdP News Roundup July 22 – July 28
SVdP News Roundup July 22 – July 28 1080 1080 SVDP USA

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

NATIONAL

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A Week in Prayers July 24 – July 28
A Week in Prayers July 24 – July 28 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Monday, July 24

Jesus, when the bread is broken,
When the wine is poured,
I am, just as You promised,
In the presence of my Lord.
And when the neighbor calls me,
When I visit as a friend,
There, too, just as You promised,
You are present once again.
Amen

Tuesday, July 25

O Lord, help me pour myself out
Until I am empty of ego,
Empty of worldly concerns,
Empty of myself.
O Lord, fill this empty vessel
Until it overflows,
So that I cannot help but share
The love that never fails.
Amen

Wednesday, July 26

Lord, lift me up
When my burden is heavy
And I cannot bear it alone.
Send me, then, Lord
To lift up my neighbor.
As You have done for me,
So I will also do.
As You have loved me,
So I will also love.
Amen

Thursday, July 27

I offer You, Lord, all my suffering,
And all of my worldly cares.
Enter my heart, Lord Jesus,
I have made room for You there.
Amen

Friday, July 28

Heavenly Father, I praise Your name,
Lifting my eyes and heart to You.
The beauty of Your creation
In the light of Your love
Fills me with wonder
And gratitude.
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.
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Conference Assists Survivors of Recent Tornado
Conference Assists Survivors of Recent Tornado 1568 882 SVDP USA

Written by: Mike Smith
Vice President, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Conference
Annunciation Catholic Church, Columbus, MS

The following is a heartwarming update regarding one Conference’s ongoing efforts to support those affected by the recent tornado in Amory, Mississippi.

In a recent meeting, our dedicated team, led by Conference Treasurer Rosemary Payne and myself, had the privilege of sitting down with Fr. Joseph, the Pastor of St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Amory, along with around ten other parishioners and community members. The primary objective of this meeting was twofold: to review the progress made in utilizing the funds generously provided to St. Helen’s by SVdP (Society of St. Vincent de Paul), and to discuss the future assistance that might be required.

Thanks to the unwavering support from SVdP, approximately $18,100 has been provided to St. Helen’s so far, enabling them to offer much-needed assistance to the affected individuals and families in the community. Additionally, 750 hygiene kits were sent to Life Springs Ministry, making a significant impact on the lives of those who received them.

During our meeting, we learned that around 75-100 families are still displaced, currently residing in hotel rooms located over 30 miles away from Amory. The lack of available apartments or permanent housing options in the area has posed significant challenges to their recovery. Fortunately, FEMA plans to provide temporary trailers to accommodate some of the displaced individuals, and Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse is generously donating several permanent trailers to the community. 

With the new school year just around the corner, we discussed the various needs of the affected families, including school clothes, supplies, linens, furniture, and more. We aim to provide comprehensive support to help them rebuild their lives and regain a sense of normalcy.

As we look ahead, our hearts are filled with hope and determination to continue supporting the resilient community of Amory. We are now exploring the possibility of requesting additional funding from SVdP Disaster Services to further bolster our assistance efforts. Your continued support and generosity play a crucial role in making these endeavors possible.

If you are interested in contributing or getting involved, please reach out to us. Together, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of those who have endured the devastating effects of the tornado.

Let us stand united in compassion and solidarity, showing the true spirit of community and support.

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