Society of St. Vincent de Paul

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Daily Prayers June 13 – June 17
Daily Prayers June 13 – June 17 940 788 SVDP USA

Monday, June 13:

Jesus, my Lord and my salvation,
Help me turn my other cheek,
Help me walk the extra mile,
Help me proclaim the living Word
In all my actions.
Amen

Tuesday, June 14:

Give me the love, O Lord,
To serve and not to be served
To seek out those in need of mercy
Not because they are deserving
But because they are Your children
Loved by You
Amen

Wednesday, June 15:

Lord grant me the humility
To serve in silence
Unseen and unknown
Except by those served
And may they come to know you
Through this wordless witness
Amen

Thursday, June 16:

Lord help me
To grant, not just ask for forgiveness
To grant, not just ask for mercy
To do Your will
With the joy of angels
On earth as it is in heaven
Amen

Friday, June 17:

Lord, in my being, I love You.
Created by You,
Known by You,
Loved by You,
I seek Your kingdom,
While here below
I seek to do Your will.
Amen

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Contemplation: A Union of Hearts
Contemplation: A Union of Hearts 940 788 SVDP USA

Subsidiarity, Pope Pius XI taught, is a “most weighty principle, which cannot be set aside or changed, remains fixed and unshaken in social philosophy”. [Quadregesimo Anno, 79]  Indeed, more than ninety years later, it remains one of the four core principles of Catholic Social Doctrine. [CSDC, 160] Given Blessed Frédéric’’s influence on the Church’s social teachings, it should come as no surprise that subsidiarity is and has always been a core principle of the Society, also.

Our Catechism explains that subsidiarity means that “a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order” leaving most decisions to the smallest associations, beginning with the family. Subsidiarity, it further clarifies, “aims at harmonizing the relationships between individuals and societies.” [CCC, 1883-1885]

For the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, this means that most of the decisions are made by Conferences, which are “as close as possible to the area of activity” and that in this way, “the Society promotes local initiatives within its spirit.” [Rule, Part I, 3.9]

This principle has been recognized since the Society’s earliest days. When Léonce Curnier was starting a new Conference in Nîmes in 1834, he wrote to Frédéric, seeking guidelines that the Paris Conference had followed. In his reply, Frédéric cautioned his friends against tying themselves down with “rules and formulas”, and instead being guided by Providence through the circumstances around them. After all, he explained, “the end that we set ourselves in Paris is not completely the same as that you set yourselves, I think, in the province.” [Letter 82, to Curnier, 1834]

In an 1841 Circular Letter written when he was serving as our first President-General, Emmanuel Bailly reflected on the formation of Councils during the Society’s rapid growth, explaining that Councils are “rather a link than a power” because from each Conference to the Council General 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]

In our social teachings, subsidiarity affirms “priority of the family over society and over the State” as the “first natural society”. [CSDC, 209, 214] Our Society was born as a single Conference. The principle of subsidiarity reserves to each Conference great freedom to act according local circumstances, conditions, and considerations It equally imposes a responsibility to be faithful the Scripture, to our Rule, and to our worldwide network of friends in this One Society.

Contemplate

Faithful to the spirit of the founders, how can I use “creative imagination” to better serve the neighbor?

Recommended Reading

Mystic of Charity

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News Roundup June 11 – June 17
News Roundup June 11 – June 17 1200 1200 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

Help us share the good news of the good work being done in your local Conference or Council! Email us at info@svdpusa.org with the subject line Good News.

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06-16-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
06-16-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1367 1520 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

In last week’s Servant Leader Column, Renato Lima de Oliviera, our International President, shared some of his thoughts looking back on his presidency. In another year I may write a similar column, but today I want to look forward, not backward. Like Renato, I have 15 more months left in my term of office, and the process of choosing the next National Council President has begun. Succession planning is important at every level of the Society, and we have a National Council process that will provide a six-month period for me and your next president to work on a smooth transition.

Earlier this year I appointed a National Election Committee. The committee is headed by Raymond Sickinger, and its members include Sister Kieran Kneaves, Gladys Hoerner, Mike Syslo, and Tommye Grant (replacing the recently deceased Marie Wicks). CEO David Barringer and I serve on the committee as ex-officio members. I am grateful for this committee of well-respected Vincentians who have prepared the necessary documents and have the duty of overseeing the entire presidential nomination and election process.

A call for nominations of presidential candidates and the details of the process were issued at the Midyear Meeting and were sent to all National Council members. Nominations were due to be postmarked by June 13. As of this writing, four nominations had been received. The names of nominees, their biographies and their platform papers will be provided in the next few weeks, after the committee examines the nominations to verify eligibility.

At the National Assembly in Baltimore, there will be an opportunity to meet the candidates at the Host City Reception. They will each speak at the Saturday business meeting. To reduce the slate to two candidates, your representatives will be asked to vote for the candidates they believe will best serve our National Council.

Following the Assembly, we will conduct a nationwide process that will allow all active members to review the two candidates’ platforms, biographies, and recorded videos, and then to vote at a Conference meeting. The results of this deliberation by members will then inform the vote of National Council Members from each diocese represented. Please look for more information in the e-Gazette about the candidates and the process.

To help us find the right person to be our next president, what I ask all of us to do is to follow the Society’s long-standing practice of praying to the Holy Spirit regularly as our process proceeds. That is what was done when our first president, Emmanuel Bailly, stepped down. Here is the prayer provided to us by the National Election Committee. To download the PDF of this prayer, click here.

The office of National Council president is not an honorific position but is rather a servant-leader role that is both extremely rewarding and quite challenging. I and every previous National Council president will attest to the fact that we did not fully understand what we were called to do when we took the position. Like the rest of our entire vocation as Vincentians, serving as national president is a journey that requires prayerful trust in the Providence of God. It is a journey I have been on with all of you for almost five years. That journey is not finished, but it is time to ask the Holy Spirit to identify who will continue it with us as the next servant leader of the National Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the United States.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
National Council President

 

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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

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Contemplation – Infinitely Loved
Contemplation – Infinitely Loved 940 788 SVDP USA

Conference Meetings, the Rule tells us, “are held in a spirit of fraternity, simplicity, and Christian joy.” [Rule, Part I, 3.4] Like so much that we read in our Rule, this is less a set of instructions about exactly what we must do than it is a description of what a Vincentian, or Vincentian Conference looks like. So, does this describe my Conference? Would an outside observer describe our meetings that way?

Is our attitude towards one another that of family members, brothers and sisters, comfortable in each other’s presence, united in purpose and love? Do we think of our fellow Vincentians as burdens, or do we instead exemplify the old Boys Town motto, “he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother?”

Our first Rule said that ours would be a “model of Christian friendship” because of our brotherly (and now also sisterly) love. What would our visitor see in our Conference meetings that might cause him to describe us in this way?

Our spirit of simplicity, following the teaching of St. Vincent de Paul, “consists in doing everything for love of God” and always “saying things simply, without duplicity or subtlety, being straightforward, with no evasion or subterfuge.” [CCD XII:246] Do we say what we mean to one another? Do we welcome our fellow Vincentians’ honesty and frankness? Is the whole dialog of our meetings one of people unafraid to share and unafraid of disagreement? Do we disagree without being disagreeable?

Finally, are our meetings not only joyful, but held in a spirit of “Christian joy”? More importantly, what does that mean? Should our meetings always be filled with laughter and singing? It hardly seems as if they could be – and after all, as Pope Francis teaches in Evangelii Gaudium,” joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty.” But Christian joy, he continues, “adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.”

Fraternity, simplicity, and Christian joy, then, are not merely actions we take, but expressions of who we are as Vincentians, joined in our commitment to each other and to the neighbor, serving in the hope that that we may share the joy of God’s infinite love.

Contemplate

Do my Conference meetings fill me with Christian joy?

Recommended Reading

Turn Everything to Love

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News Roundup June 4 – June 10
News Roundup June 4 – June 10 1200 1200 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

Help us share the good news of the good work being done in your l

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Daily Prayers June 6 – June 10
Daily Prayers June 6 – June 10 940 788 SVDP USA

Monday, June 6:

Holy Mary, Mother of the Church,
Pray for us,
That humility overcomes pride;
That selflessness overcomes ego;
That gentleness overcomes anger;
That love overcomes all.
In the name of your son Jesus Christ
Amen

Tuesday, June 7:

Holy Spirit, set my heart on fire.
Let Your light shine
Through the works I do
In the name of the Father.
Lord, let Your face shine on me
As I work with joy
Always to do Your will.
Amen

Wednesday, June 8:

Father, hear my prayer!
Be my refuge, show me the way.
In You I place my hope,
In You I place my trust,
For You I live my life.
Amen

Thursday, June 9:

Father, in silence I listen
To learn Your will for me …
Amen

Friday, June 10:

O Lord, I long to see Your face
In the lonely and forgotten,
I will seek You.
O Lord, I long to see Your face.
In the hungry and the poor,
I will serve You.
O Lord, I long to see Your face.
In those who weep and mourn,
I will comfort You.
O Lord, I long to see Your face.
In the least of these,
You await me.
Amen
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Disaster Services Update
Disaster Services Update 940 788 SVDP USA

DSC SVDP-USA is elected to top leadership positions with the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

 The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD), is an association of organizations that mitigate and alleviate the impact of disasters, provides a forum promoting cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration; and fosters more effective delivery of services to communities affected by disaster across the United States and American Territories. The NVOAD movement has been making an impact across the country for over 50 years. DSC is also a founding member of National VOAD.

The hard work of NVOAD’s members and volunteers, is reflected in the impact that was made last year:

  1. 9,907,071 – Volunteers
  2. 48,129,263 – Volunteer Hours
  3. $1.3 BILLION – Value of Volunteer Hours

These appointments not only allow DSC to have a pivotal role in recovery nationwide but illustrates the trust and faith other partner organizations in NVOAD have in Disaster Services Corporation’s team and its work.

This year DSC core management members are so honored to be elected to the following top leadership positions with NVOAD:

Kevin Peach- Chair of the Advocacy Committee- group advocates to Congress to change unjust systems that impact survivors. Networks with local, state, and federal policy makers.

Anthony Pluchino- Chair of the Disaster Case Management Committee– sets policy standards for the nation and points on consensus on the best practices for Disaster Case Management Programs across the country. In addition, Mr. Pluchino will network with FEMA and Emergency Management across the nation.

Elizabeth Disco-Shearer- Chairperson of the Board for NVOAD– first time a Catholic is in this role in its 50+ year history and only the second time a woman has been in this role. The Chair oversees a diverse Board of Directors representing all the major disaster nonprofits in the nation and state and territory representatives. FEMA and the White House Office of Faith Based Initiatives leadership also serve as ex-officio members of this Board.

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06-09-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
06-09-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1600 900 SVDP USA

Six years ago, the election for international presidency took place.

As President General of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, I lived countless experiences, which I tried to share intensely with the Vincentian community through articles published in the media of the General Council International.

I also sought, through audio messages, lectures and photographs, to share the incredible moments that I have experienced during the missionary and institutional trips that I made around the world, taking a message of unity, charity and service to all corners of our Confederation.

In these almost six years as President General, I keep in my memory countless events and wonderful anecdotes, many of them still unknown to most of the brothers and the sisters. One of them, for example, was the strong emotion I had when I took to Rome the documents of the possible second miracle attributed to Blessed Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam. I traveled in the middle of the pandemic, still without the existence of vaccines, walking through an entirely deserted St. Peter’s Square.

Another unforgettable moment was when I made a home visit to a poor lady in New York (USA), who after the prayers, thanked the presence of the Conference in her life and began to cry because for more than 10 years, according to her, she had not talked to God. In Africa I was able to witness that it is possible to do charity without money by seeking the right partnerships and the most appropriate social projects to lift communities out of poverty. I received special protection from the United Nations as if I were a head of state when I visited an African country in the midst of a civil war. My four meetings with Pope Francis, though brief, were also exciting.

I cannot fail to mention the hand of God at work at the time of the purchase of the new international headquarters, which occurred only six months before the advent of the health crisis, which during the pandemic, would probably not have occurred. Despite everything, we added 3,000 new Conferences in that same period. Another remarkable episode was my visit to China, a nation whose communist political regime limits the existence of entities such as ours. Thanks to the Good Lord, we were able to fulfill an extensive agenda of activities amidst protests for democracy in Hong Kong.

In these six years in office many asked me: how was it possible to visit more than 40 countries? I am a Brazilian civil servant and my time dedicated to international travels was very restricted, occurring only during weekends, major vacations, official holidays or leave from work. This is also something extraordinary that God allowed in my life.

The further I went, the more I was welcomed (St. Luke 4, 21-30). They sang Brazilian songs to me. They tried to speak in Portuguese with me in every country I visited.

I received awards, commendations and medals in honor and glory of the humanitarian work that SSVP develops around the world. They made posters with my picture and wrote beautiful words of welcome that I will never forget. I was received by political leaders in several nations. I don’t deserve any of this, surely not (St. Luke 17, 7-10).

There would be many more stories to tell, but I want to tell a last one that I never reported: on the day of my election in 2016, I received a very beautiful bouquet of flowers, giving it to my dear wife who was accompanying me at that time in Rome. Soon after, we went to a chapel and deposited the bouquet at the feet of Our Lady, and dedicated my mandate to Our Lady of Grace, asking her to take care of me, covering me with her protective mantle, freeing me from the traps of evil, shadows and envy of the world, making me a true instrument of God to lead the SSVP in the best possible way.

For all these stories reported above, I consider myself immensely privileged and blessed by God. The Lord Jesus has accompanied me at all times of my life, both in joyful situations and in difficulties. The Good Lord protects me daily, polishes my imperfections, corrects my mistakes, calms my heart, reduces my anxiety, takes care of my family and makes our life projects prosper. Therefore, please pray for me, so that I can move forward in this noble mission as President General of all of you.

Brother Renato Lima de Oliveira
16th International President General

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