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
