Society of St. Vincent de Paul

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A Week in Prayers December 27 – December 30
A Week in Prayers December 27 – December 30 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Tuesday, December 27

Lord Jesus Christ
Son of the Father, Son of Mary,
Help me to seek you in Your poor,
To imitate Your life,
To share in Your hope,
To be emptied of self,
And filled with You.
Amen

Wednesday, December 28

I walk in Your light, Lord Jesus.
In Your light is no darkness or sin.
You are the Savior, Light of the world,
That I seek my redemption within.
Amen

Thursday, December 29

Save me, Savior of the world,
Through Your sacrifice for all.

I will bear Your cross in suffering,
I will serve the poor as You,
I will love the Father above all else,
As You command, so shall I do.

Save me, Savior of the world,
Though I am unworthy and small.
Amen

Friday, December 30

Lord, bless my father and mother,
As they have blessed me in Your name.
May they live in Your love
For all of their days,
And rest in Your peace at the end.
Help me, in my weakness,
To honor them through my faith,
As Your Son honored You,
Along with His parents on earth.
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.
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SVdP News Roundup December 24 – December 30
SVdP News Roundup December 24 – December 30 3600 3600 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 — Pray, Pray Again
Contemplation — Pray, Pray Again 1080 1080 SVDP USA

In advising a young priest who was departing to become the Superior of the Agde Seminary, Vincent offered guidance that was both deeply spiritual and profoundly practical – advice that remains pertinent to those in servant leadership in the Society today. [CCD XI:310-316]

He urges the new leader to focus on imitation of Christ, discernment of God’s will, and especially on the virtue of humility. Indeed, it is Christ’s humility that Vincent holds forth as an example to imitate. Christ, as leader of His disciples did not “lord it over them”, despite, in fact, being the Lord! He taught us that he had come not to be served, but to serve.

Vincent contrasts this very basic tenet with those who that you have to “make it clear you are Superior.” Instead, he emphasizes that the superior should live just like the others, and always seek God’s will in prayer and meditation, rather than rely on his own personal judgment. Observers should not be able to tell by watching how we live, which is the leader.

Again and again, he comes back to humility, and to imitation of Christ’s humility: The superior does not take personal satisfaction in the works or successes of the company, instead always attributing them to God. He does not offer his words of advice or make decisions without recourse to prayer and meditation to God. He asks God to tell him the needs of the others and to guide him in serving them.

No matter how dedicated we may feel that we are in our prayer lives, Vincent’s words here remind us how much more room there is for prayer and meditation – and how very practical this advice is. For those times when, even subconsciously, we think “this problem is not important enough to bring to God,” Vincent reminds us, echoing the Sermon on the Mount, that God counts even the hairs on our head. Not to bring our “little things” to Him more regularly is, in a sense, to deny the great humility of God’s incarnation in Christ; it is to elevate our own judgment in place of God’s.

As servant leaders, we should marvel each day that Providence led us to this place and to this role and pray that we are giving back to heaven all that we have been given. Perhaps this, from St. Vincent, should be one of our daily prayers:

“Lord, what have I done to have such a ministry? What works of mine correspond to the responsibility being placed on my shoulders? Ah, my God, I’ll spoil everything if You yourself don’t guide all my words and works!”

Contemplate

How often do I pray for God’s guidance in all of my decisions and all of my works?

Recommended Reading

Praying with Vincent de Paul

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SVdP News Roundup December 17 – December 23
SVdP News Roundup December 17 – December 23 3600 3600 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 December 19 – December 25
A Week in Prayers December 19 – December 25 900 900 SVDP USA

Monday, December 19

O Blessed Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
By Your power and Your grace
Light my heart on fire.
Help me to know
And to do Your will
In all things.
Amen

Tuesday, December 20

O my Jesus, my Savior and Lord,
Seated in glory,
In heaven above.

O my Jesus, my Neighbor, the Poor,
Present in suffering,
Welcomed with love.

O my Jesus, of humble birth,
May You greet me in heaven
As I greet You on earth.
Amen

Wednesday, December 21

My heart is filled with joy
At the coming of the Lord
Lord Jesus, find me ready
In my faith.
Amen

Thursday, December 22

Lord Jesus,
Help me to follow
Your model of humility;
Born a helpless infant,
Creator becoming the created,
Exalted becoming the lowly,
Almighty becoming the servant,
United with us,
So that we may be united with You.
Amen

Friday, December 23

Holy Spirit, make me ready
For the coming of the Lord;
Humble and gentle,
Patient and kind,
Generous sharing Your love.
Amen

Saturday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)

O God in Your love,
You sent us Your Son
Born in the cold of night.
Fully human, fully divine
Child of holy light.
Child we adore
With the peace of a dove;
With hearts like a child
That knows only love.
Amen

Sunday, December 25 (Christmas Day)

Joyful, joyful, comes the Lord!
God’s light and love on earth!
Shadows fade as new light grows,
And every heart is full.
Infinite power, infinite glory,
Infant tender and mild,
We welcome you,
We praise you,
We celebrate you!
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.
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St. Vincent de Paul and DSC Bring Christmas Joy to Kentucky Tornado Survivors
St. Vincent de Paul and DSC Bring Christmas Joy to Kentucky Tornado Survivors 2000 1600 SVDP USA

The holiday season should be a happy time filled with family, and cheer. It should be a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and our love for each other.

However, the feelings of celebration are being overshadowed by uncertainty for those who are still being affected by the aftermath of devastating tornadoes that touched down in western Kentucky one year ago. For those affected, life still hasn’t returned to normal, and holiday celebrations are still in limbo.

Children look forward to presents under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. And making sure Santa shows up, can be difficult for families still working on recovering from the damage left by last year’s tornado.

This year, Santa is getting some help from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky, and SVdPUSA’s Disaster Services Corporation. Through DSC’s partnership with Good360, hundreds of toys were donated to help bring Christmas cheer this holiday season.

“I’ve been having anxiety, waking up at night, about Christmas for these kids who lost everything in the December 2021 tornado,” said Patrick Clary, Warehouse Manager for SVdP’s Western Kentucky Disaster Relief Warehouse. “To be able to provide these toys for those affected families, it means everything to them and to us. Providing these needed toys is one of the greatest joys of my career.”

One single mother expressed her gratitude after receiving gifts for her children, “I’m so grateful, this is just overwhelming. The generosity of people is truly a blessing.”

We feel so blessed that SVdP and DSC were able to be a small part of bringing a little holiday cheer to these families that have lost so much! God Bless!

 

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12-22-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
12-22-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 900 900 SVDP USA

As we prepare to celebrate the wonder of Christmas once again, we often are flooded with glowing memories of Christmases past. Impatiently waiting as a child for Santa to bring us toys. Sitting down with family and friends for a joyous meal. Going to Midnight Mass, smelling the incense and hearing the bells. Decorating the house and stringing up outside lights. Feeling the joy and beauty of the season. Realizing the nearness of God!

One of my earliest memories is waking up from a nap at the age of three, coming out into the living room and looking with absolute wonder and amazement at the Christmas tree, radiant with lights and ornaments. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my short life! Another Yule-tide memory was at my first priestly assignment, St. Anthony Parish in Menomonee Falls, a classic country church which had had a suburb grow up around it. My first Midnight Mass, both as a priest and at that parish, was packed with people standing up the side aisles. The choir offered a beautiful concert at 11:30, and then, with all the lights off, everyone held lit candles and sang “Silent Night.” We all have glowing Christmas memories that linger in our hearts as signs of God’s great love for us.

During this Advent season, I have meditated often on the power of hope. “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit … (Hope) keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1817-1818). Because of Christmas and all the spiritual gifts, which the Lord has entrusted to us in Christ, we dare to hope that we will live forever with God, know forgiveness and love, and rejoice even now in our identity as beloved children of the Father.

Hope is different from optimism. The latter is a vague, naïve expectation that things will somehow get better, we know not how. Tragedy, suffering and death crush optimism, making it seem foolish and false. Hope is made of sterner stuff. Hope can look the darkest nights of evil fully in the face and still rejoice, because it knows that God has already gained the victory, that Christ has entered the world as savior, that, if we are faithful to the Lord, we will overcome every obstacle and come into the kingdom of heaven forever, and that there is no sin or death which has the final word on us. Hope relies on the promises and power of Jesus Christ. As the saying goes, “I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.”

These past years have been difficult ones. I do not need to recite the litany of woes which afflict us; we have all lived through them. In the midst of pain and challenge, we can all lose hope, focus, perspective and even faith. We can give in to sadness and despair, and even give up on the Lord, thinking that we are abandoned and alone. How important it is for us to retell the ancient story of Christmas in order to recharge our hope and faith. Mary giving birth to Jesus in a humble stable. Angels appearing to shepherds at night, bathed in heavenly radiance. The Christmas star guiding mysterious astrologers to the Child. The Son of God stepping into the pages of human history, born on the fringes of the Roman Empire, quietly and humbly coming into His own creation, unnoticed by the important personages of the world, yet ready to redeem and save this world forever.

The hope of Christmas rekindles our wonder and astonishment in a world grown old and jaded by broken promises, sinful failure and empty selfishness. Can we look at God, the Church, our families and friends, our work and responsibilities, our home and possessions, and even ourselves with new eyes and grateful hearts, renewed by the glory of God shining on the face of Christ? Hope enables us to do so!

My profound prayer for every member of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, is that this holy season of Christmas may renew us in faith, hope and love, filling our hearts with a deeper desire for God, and that the peace which flows from the Christ Child will give us strength in every difficulty and challenge. In Christ, God has promised to be with us until the end of time, and so we rejoice in hope!

“A God who became so small could only be mercy and love.” – St. Therese of Lisieux

Merry Christmas
Bishop Donald J. Hying
SVdP National Episcopal Advisor

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Contemplation — A Persevering Fidelity
Contemplation — A Persevering Fidelity 1080 1080 SVDP USA

As Vincentians, our primary purpose is our own growth in holiness. Achieving this is very closely tied to another core tenet of our spirituality, which is that our “ideal is to help relieve suffering for love alone, without thinking of any reward or advantage for [ourselves].” [Rule, Part I, 2.2] It only stands to reason that our ideal is also the greatest commandment, Christ’s express will that we love the neighbor as ourselves, for the love of God.

Saint Vincent de Paul once explained to the priests of the mission that in order to do this, we must make our intentions clear at the start. He suggested this prayer, which members of the Society might also consider offering before each home visit: “My God, I’m going to do this for love of You; for love of You I’m going to stop doing this thing in order to do something else.” [CCD XI:284]

Making this good intention, he said, is much like saying the words of the sacrament of Baptism – it isn’t the water that baptizes the child. Water is only matter; the prayer is the form. In a similar way, our charitable works, by themselves, are only matter if not expressly offered for the love of God alone.

There are many temptations that can distract us from this. Vincent described five vices that act contrary to our virtues: “(1) mere human prudence; (2) the desire for publicity; (3) always wanting everyone to give in to us and see things our way; (4) the pursuit of self-gratification in everything; (5) attaching no great importance to either God’s honor or the salvation of others.” [CCD XII:254]

So, for example, although we owe an accounting of our works to our donors, we can sometimes get too caught up in the narrative of our great successes, and even begin to see our works as achievements, forgetting “that giving love, talents and time is more important than giving money.” [Rule, Part I, 3.14]

Fr. Corpus Delgado, C.M., in a conference on St. Louise de Marillac, shared this great insight from her example: “To follow Jesus the Crucified Lord is to learn little by little that success is not one of the names of God, and that in our vocation and in our service, we are not asked for percentages of effectiveness but a persevering fidelity.” [CEME, Salamanca, 2010]

The home visit isn’t about the light bill, or the rent, or the groceries. If it were, we could leave those things at the doorstep. It’s about the love of God and the neighbor, which perhaps can’t be measured or reported but is exactly the thing that can lead to our growth in holiness, so that it is no longer we who love, but Christ who loves through us. [Rule, Part I, 2.1]

Contemplate

Do I make my intention clear to God before each work of charity?

Recommended Reading

The Manual

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SVdP News Roundup December 10 – December 16
SVdP News Roundup December 10 – December 16 3600 3600 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 December 12 – December 16
A Week in Prayers December 12 – December 16 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Monday, December 12

Lord, Creator of all,
The mighty and the lowly,
Teach me to love them
As You do
Without exception
Without condition
In Your name
And for Your sake
Amen

Tuesday, December 13

Lord, be patient with me
When I am strong in will
But weak in faith.
Help me to hear
The cry of the poor.
Help me to do Your will
By serving them in hope.
Amen

Wednesday, December 14

Your peace is upon me, Lord,
And the joy of Your kingdom
Fills my heart.
May Your justice fall
Like a gentle rain,
And Your mercy
Shine like the sun.
Amen

Thursday, December 15

Father of all mercies, maker of all things,
May Your light shine from within me
So that I can offer Your love,
Which multiplies as it is shared,
With all those the world has forgotten
Who are precious still in Your sight.
Amen

Friday, December 16

Lord Jesus, Son of man,
With all the power of heaven within You,
You chose to suffer to do the Father’s will.
Help me to follow Your example of selflessness,
Willing the good of the other before my own,
Seeking to serve and not to be served,
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.
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