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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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Remembering Kentucky One Year After the Deadly Tornado Outbreak
Remembering Kentucky One Year After the Deadly Tornado Outbreak 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Life is a whirlwind every year, but nothing compares to this past year in Kentucky. December 10, 2021 is a date that will always be remembered as one of the worst disasters to hit the state of Kentucky in modern times. This devastating tornado ripped through 11 Counties, with a 165.7 mile-long path was the longest for a tornado in U.S. history. All of the areas hit are served by the Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky. Two of the worst hit community’s were Mayfield, which saw its downtown business area demolished, and Bremen which saw every home demolished.

Immediately following the disaster, the Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky’s Board of Directors and Executive Director, while never having faced a disaster of this magnitude, quickly met to discuss their immediate role and long-term goals. It was identified that long-term recovery efforts would focus on working in partnership with SVdP-USA Disaster Services to provide the national House in a Box™ program. Additionally, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Owensboro took the lead in providing disaster case management throughout Western Kentucky. Catholic Charities also provided an initial $150K grant to provide House in a Box™. Knowing that additional significant funding was required, the Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky wrote a collaborative grant with DSC to the American Red Cross (ARC) for $1.7MM.

Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky CEO/Executive Director Richard Remp-Morris says, “This has been a humbling experience, meeting the tornado survivors and hearing their horrific stories. I’ve felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and support in serving those in need with fellow Vincentians, DSC, Catholic Charities, VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters), and Long-Term Recovery groups. After receiving our $1.7M grant, we set-up an 8000 sq. ft. disaster relief warehouse in Owensboro. The warehouse is staffed by Warehouse Manager Patrick Clary, and two support staff: Herbert Allgood and Lee Wilson. “I enjoy providing these House in a Box units to the surviving families. Seeing the relief in their eyes means that I have done my job. DSC has provided me and my staff an easy-to-follow plan for managing the warehouse. I especially appreciate all the necessary forms, and inventory lists provided,” Clary said. “To date the Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky has served more than 50 families with our ARC grant funding. We anticipate serving 350 families total, the ability to serve more families will be possible if additional funding is provided.” stated CEO/Executive Director Richard Remp-Morris

“There have been many stories that survivors have wanted and needed to share with us, each tragic in their own way” says Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky Marketing Coordinator Belinda Abell. “One story specifically stands out for me. The Oglesby family lost so much; their five-month-old baby was ripped from his mother’s arms, each of the parents were hurt physically with the mother paralyzed from the chest down. Yet when Mr. Oglesby told me about it, he had great hope that his wife would regain her ability to walk, how God has been there with them every step of the way.”

Ms. Abell continued with a different perspective, “Then we have 4-year-old Ryker who kept telling us, “this is enough stuff” as his House in a Box™ was loaded up. His Grandmother said every time it becomes cloudy he wants to know if a tornado is coming.” “We remain committed to this work and look forward to serving survivors over the next 16 months. We may not have been as prepared for a disaster as other Councils, but Western Kentucky is known for taking care of its own. I have been honored to see our Vincentians and Community Partners come together to put our faith into action,” says Nancy Harris, President, Diocesan Council of Western Kentucky.

 

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12-15-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
12-15-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 900 900 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

For Vincentians, Advent is the season of conducting toy and gift drives, assembling special food baskets, and preparing holiday meal programs. It is also the time of donor solicitation and, no doubt, some Christmas parties. Of course, the regular requests for Home Visits don’t take a break.

Most of our “special” Christmas programs require our neighbors in need to sign up, or we may send them an invitation to participate. These programs require this level of organization, but I have found that some of my most meaningful experiences have been with the person who was not on the list or who arrived just when we were about to close. I know making exceptions to program rules can create problems, but I have also found that when I listened to that person’s story, it often melted my heart.

Many of those stories are the ones I still remember. When I really listen to a person asking for me to make an exception to help them, it is a tough call. Usually, I still stick to the plan, but sometimes I am reminded of Mary and Joseph finding no room left in the inn. They had a pretty compelling story, and someone at least let them use the barn for shelter. Can I be at least that flexible?

I remember a father who came to ask if we had any toys left the day after our gift program. He was not on our list, but I learned he had nothing to give his children because a fire had destroyed their apartment that week. I realized that maybe he was conning me, but his gratitude for the gifts we did supply was real. It turned out he had been telling the truth, and we were able to help with furniture and food when the family relocated a few weeks later.

Sometimes when I listen to these stories, I experience a shared helplessness. One such instance was a Christmas Eve morning when parents with kids in their van asked if I knew of somewhere they could stay for the next week until their apartment was available on January 1st. All I could offer was a suggestion for a place where they could get a meal that evening and where there would be some gifts for the children. Sometimes, these interactions have no elements of Christmas joy — like the time I sat with a man who was crying because he was no longer welcome home for the holidays because of his addiction and past behavior. Sometimes, the only gift we can give is a listening presence to another human being.

A final story I will share involved a man who was so angry at his family on December 23rd that he took all his wrapped gifts and dumped them into one of our thrift store drop boxes. The next day, he regretted it. I was locking up on the afternoon of Christmas Eve when he came and begged me to go with him and retrieve those presents. Listening to the conversion experience he had the night before made me wonder what ghosts of Christmas past, present and future had visited him. How could I not try to help? Sure enough, the gifts were all still there in the drop box. After getting a big hug, we loaded two large bags of wrapped gifts into the trunk of his car. It was a story worthy of a Hallmark Channel movie.

We have experiences all year long of special interactions with the people we serve. Somehow, these stories seem a little more magical at this time of the year. Let’s not forget that people deserve to have us listen to them and respond to them with the same care all year long.

This can be a time of year when our many tasks can seem overwhelming, but I think most of us do look forward to all of our special efforts. I hope your Conference has shared the responsibility for your programs, so that no one person gets burned out. I also hope you make sure your own family does not feel ignored or left out. Even our Rule reminds us that “Vincentians are available for work in the Conferences after fulfilling their family and professional duties.”

Finally, I hope each of you experiences the beauty of this Christmas season and is blessed with knowing that God is with us. Let us rejoice and be glad.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
National Council President

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Contemplation — Close Enough
Contemplation — Close Enough 1080 1080 SVDP USA

There’s an old joke, when a task is incomplete or incorrect, that “it’s close enough for government work!” There is no comparable joke for charitable works, because we have the highest standard possible: we are called to do God’s will as best we can discern it. How can we best help this family? What is the best decision for the Conference? Through prayer and discussion, we come to a consensus that we hope reflects God’s will.

It is true that to begin works of charity, offered for love alone, requires very little discernment because Jesus very specifically told us His will that we should love the neighbor, and serve the least among us! Yet we know that in the course of these works, as we walk our Vincentian pathway, we encounter more questions along the way. We are never really done with seeking God’s will.

Our prayers, individually and together, draw us closer to Him. We offer praise and thanks, and place our needs before Him, but, as Jesus prayed, “not as I will, but as you will.” We seek His will in the answers to our prayers. In our Vincentian friendship, we seek to be of one mind and one heart, “following the example of the blessed Trinity.” [SWLM, 771] We seek to do His will by imitation.

The Society’s primary purpose is our own growth in holiness, towards “perfect union with Christ”. [Rule, Part I, 2.2] That isn’t limited to the works of the Conference, because ours is a “vocation for every moment of our lives”. [Rule, Part I, 2.6]. Both as Vincentians and as Catholics, we are called to discern God’s will for the spiritual journey through our lives.

In between all our talking and doing, we must also stop to listen, to try to hear that tiny whisper in the storm. We must look back upon the events and people in our lives and “re-read” those moments that changed us. We may accept a loss or misfortune as God’s will, but that is only one step. Placing ourselves silently in God’s presence, we also look back to see where that misfortune led us – something we could only know by looking back.

Little by little we move closer to knowing and doing His will and doing it fully. It isn’t the gist of God, it’s the will of God. If that seems very specific, that’s only because it is. God’s will is for each of us, very specifically, because He loves each of us very individually.

To seek and to do His will is nothing more than to love Him back, and when we truly love Him, we are close enough for charitable work.

Contemplate

Consider a moment of conversion in your life. How did it change your heart, and your path?

Recommended Reading

A Heart on Fire – Apostolic Reflection with Rosalie Rendu

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SVdP News Roundup December 3 – December 9
SVdP News Roundup December 3 – December 9 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 5 – December 9
A Week in Prayers December 5 – December 9 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Monday, December 5

Lord, show me Your will.
Help me to see it
In the people
And experiences in my life.
Seeking You in all things,
May I come to know You.
Amen

Tuesday, December 6

Lord, be my shepherd
Lord, hear me pray
Lord, find Your sheep
When I wander astray

Lord, guard the pasture,
Watch over the field,
And all of Your strays,
Once broken, now healed.
Amen

Wednesday, December 7

I love You, God, with all my heart,
With all my soul, and all my strength.
No burden is too heavy,
No day too long to work,
No mission too demanding,
For I’ve found my rest in You
Amen

Thursday, December 8

Sweet Virgin Mary,
Mother of Jesus,
Chosen by God
From your birth.
Humble, obedient,
Holy, and pure,
You brought forth
Our Savior on earth.
Pray for me, Mary,
That I may be
An offering to God
Of great worth.
Amen

Friday, December 9

Jesus, Lord and Savior,
Present in bread and wine,
Just as You were present
For Your disciples.
Because Your love
Is infinitely creative,
I may dine with You,
Proclaiming Your glory,
Until You come again.
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.
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12-8-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
12-8-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 900 900 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentians,

This time of the year, when we give thanks for all our blessings, I always reflect over my seventeen years in disaster relief work for the Society and recall so many Vincentian heroes. The work we do at Disaster Services is difficult as we witness so much destruction and heartache, but we also get to see lives healed and systemic change in action. I would like to share with you some of my very special memories of Vincentian Servant Leaders and their gifts.

I have worked or overseen relief efforts for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, Gustav, Alex, Mathew, Florence, Harvey, Irma, Maria, Michael, Ida, and now Ian, in addition to numerous tornados in IL, KY, MO, OK, TN, and TX, and floods in the Midwest, IL, KY, NE, and WV, Wildfires in the West, to include CA, NM, OR, and WA, and other disasters like the COVID-19 Pandemic and West Texas Fertilizer Explosion. No matter the disaster, we have always had Vincentian Servant Leaders that have come forward to deploy to help other Councils or were willing to go in and help a neighboring Catholic community where we had no Conference. From these experiences, we have also indirectly helped with the extension of the Society.

During Hurricane Katrina, Dick Reimbold and his wife Irene were two such leaders and they came to Dallas to help me run a 70,000 square foot warehouse for our Katrina House in a Box™ Program. The hours were long and there were so many stories of loss and death, but they stayed for weeks and through it all kept me going, as I was so stressed out from the thousands of families that needed assistance. To this day, Dick still volunteers and is now serving as our Mideast Disaster Chair. Then there is the amazing Vincentian, Jim Butler, who has deployed to numerous disasters over the years. During Hurricane Ike, Jim went with me and a local Catholic priest to visit an area called Oak Island, TX. Oak Island was a Vietnamese community, and the survivors were camped out on the ground near their destroyed properties. They were afraid to go to shelters as they thought people would loot the very little they had left on their land. Jim said, “well if we cannot get them to shelter, why don’t we take them shelter.” We worked with the Council of Beaumont to raise money for tents, and I called the Red Cross who donated blankets and bug spray. Jim and I, along with local Vincentians carried in all these items to the disaster zone on Oak Island, so that the immigrant families could stay on their land.

When West Virginia had a series of very heavy and fatal floods in 2016, Jim Butler, Diane Clark and Tom Link all deployed with me to help set up a SVDP Recovery Center in a former Kmart building. Many of our local Vincentians could not travel the distances between the flood impacted counties and this dynamic team of three came to assist. The state of WV and WV Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (WV VOAD) had very little supplies and Diane, Jim and Tom sat on old plastic paint containers and did intake and casework for hundreds of families. When I walked in the building and saw them sitting on those old plastic containers, it brought a tear to my eye, but they never complained.

One of our superstar Vincentians over the years was Gail Bertrand, who is now guiding us from above. Gail was always willing to go the extra mile to help disaster survivors. Gail had gone through many hurricanes and had her own property heavily damaged. She understood what it was like to come home to a mold invested dwelling with all your family pictures and family bible under water. Gail had a big heart and always found a way to help disaster survivors. One special memory of Gail , of which there are many, was when we deployed to help our Vincentians in the Carolinas, after Hurricane Florence. We had set up a Disaster Relief Center and an elderly woman came to the center. The woman had lost her documents in the Hurricane and was so embarrassed that she did not know how to retrieve any of her documents. She just cried and cried. Gail held her and told her not to worry. The woman was also very hungry, and Gail fixed a plate of food for her from the food we had bought for the volunteers. After Gail got her registered with FEMA, she worked to find her temporary housing in a nearby hotel and to find a local community agency that could provide eldercare. When the woman left, I told Gail how impressed I was with her empathy, and she said “Liz I get to see the face of Christ in what we do. It is not empathy or sympathy, but my faith that drives me.” Gail modeled Vincentian Charism. For her it was a way of life.

So, as I was driving into Dallas, to be with my family over the Thanksgiving Holidays, I realized that I have been so very blessed to be in a leadership role with Disaster Services Society of St Vincent de Paul USA.  The hours are long, and I am often gone from home for up to six months. However, it is has been so very spiritually fulfilling to watch the growth of our Parish Recovery Assistance Centers, where we provide one on one disaster relief services,  to our Disaster Case Management Programs, where we provide a road map to recovery for the most vulnerable survivors and create systemic change in their lives, to our nationally known House in a Box ™ Program where we have helped so many families in complex and life changing situations. I want to thank each of you for your support of our mission and we could not do what we do without our Vincentian family.

Gratefully,
Elizabeth Disco-Shearer
CEO, Disaster Services Corp SVDP-USA

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