Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit Prayer for the SVdP National Presidential Election

Holy Spirit Prayer for the SVdP National Presidential Election 549 626 SVDP USA

L: In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

All: Amen.

L: Come, Holy Spirit, live within our lives.

All: And strengthen us by Your Love.

L: Send forth your spirit and new life will be created.

All: And the whole face of the earth will be renewed.

L: Holy Spirit, we ask you to guide us in our discernment for the selection of a new National President for the society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States. In your grace, lead us to choose the one who will be a servant leader in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul and Blessed Frederic Ozanam.

And so we pray: (Alternate sides)

Come, Holy Spirit,
Open our eyes to see your will,
Open our ears to hear the cries of the poor,
Open our hearts to listen to each other.

Spirit of creativity and understanding,
Bless us with insight and knowledge,
so that listening and deliberating together,
we may determine our future in wisdom.

Spirit of light and truth,
Replace the stress within us with a holy peace.
Replace the fear within us with a quiet assurance.
Replace the uncertainty within us with a gentle clarity.

Spirit of clarity and authenticity,
Give us the insight to ask perceptive questions,
so that praying and searching together,
we may discern the best person as our National President.

Come Holy Spirit, Come. Amen

05-20-2021 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

05-20-2021 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 600 685 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has always had a special devotion to the Holy Spirit. We begin many of our meetings with this familiar prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit, live within our lives, and strengthen us by your love. Send forth your Spirit, and new life will be created. And the whole face of the earth shall be renewed.”

Emmanuel Bailly led our founders in a similar prayer at their first meeting in his newspaper office in 1833. The main difference was that they prayed it in Latin.

Since our founding, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has relied upon the Holy Spirit to guide our journey. For the past 188 years we have been asking the Holy Spirit to live within us and strengthen us. We need this loving grace every time we go on our home visits and whenever we work to lift someone out of poverty. Those of us in Servant Leadership positions must ask for such grace regularly. We pray for the new life the Spirit creates, and we await the renewal of the world that this new life brings.

Change is never easy. So why do we pray for it almost every time we meet? Do we really want the whole face of the earth to be renewed? Most of us are pretty comfortable with how things are now. Sure, we are committed to creating a more just society, ending racism and eliminating poverty, but couldn’t we do that without the disrupting the whole face of the earth?

This past year has illustrated that many of the problems with which we have struggled during the pandemic are systemic. Disparities in healthcare, lack of affordable childcare, challenges of workplace safety, difficulty in accessing education – to name just some systemically rooted problems – have all caused extra hardship in the past year. Added to these difficulties, we have had to face the issue of how racism multiplies suffering in many communities.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been talking about the need for systemic change for several years. That desire to renew this world is what inspired our founder Blessed Frederic Ozanam to envision the establishment of a network of charity and social justice encircling the world. We are heirs to that vision.

I appreciate all the resources that have been provided virtually during the past year by our Voice of the Poor Committee and by our Multicultural and Diversity Committee. Each group has helped us focus on these systemic issues. As we come out of this period of isolation, we need to commit to actions that will transform systems that enshrine injustice or promote disparity.

I don’t think it is possible to significantly reform these systems without the Holy Spirit renewing the whole face of the earth. I also believe that change starts with us as individuals. I will need to discover the changes I need to make to participate in a community that is loving and just. As our Rule states, we are journeying together toward holiness. So, this Pentecost, let’s keep praying, “Holy Spirit, live within our lives, and strengthen us by your love.”

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
SVdP National President

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