Contemplation — Just Vincentian Enough

Contemplation — Just Vincentian Enough

Contemplation — Just Vincentian Enough 1080 1080 SVDP USA

“Well,” we sometimes admonish ourselves when an idea we’re discussing doesn’t seem quite right, “that’s not very Vincentian.” The phrase is a simple reminder of who we are, and how we act. It needs no further explanation. After all, our Rule finds it sufficient to say that “Visits to the Poor are made in a Vincentian Spirit.” [Rule, Part III, St. 8] The very word Vincentian carries with it a depth of meaning that conveys so much more to Members than it does to anybody outside the Society.

It isn’t that the Rule never explains what it is to be Vincentian. Throughout it, we read things such as “Vincentians feel called to pray together,” “Vincentians strive to seek out and find those in need,” “Vincentians serve the poor cheerfully,” “Vincentians endeavor to establish relationships based on trust and friendship,” “Vincentians never forget the many blessings they receive from those they visit,” and, of course, “Vincentians serve in hope.”

It turns out that our little word, Vincentian, is a very big thing. So big that if we were to make a list of all the characteristics and actions of Vincentians from our Rule and Manual, and treat as a list of instructions, it would be overwhelming.

In a similar way, if we were to make a list of all the times Jesus says things like “go and do likewise”, “as I have done for you, you should also do,” “do this and you will live,” “love your enemies,” or “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” we would have an even longer list!

The good news is that these lists are not in conflict; Vincentian spirituality is Catholic spirituality. To be Catholic, and to be Vincentian, is not to carry these lists only in our books, but in our hearts, and in our actions. We know that to be Vincentian is always to err on the side of compassion, even though those words are not in the Rule.

Challenged by the Pharisees to pick out the greatest of the commandments, Jesus responded with an entirely new commandment, in two parts: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He was not dismissing the Ten Commandments, but was instead answering the “why” of those commandments.

Few Vincentians have the Rule memorized, and although we try to live it fully, most of us will fall short from time to time. That doesn’t make us any less Vincentian, as long as we remember the “why”. Our “ideal is to help relieve suffering for love alone,” and that is just Vincentian enough.

Contemplate

In serving, is my foremost motive always love of God and neighbor?

Recommended Reading

The Spirituality of the Home Visit

6 Comments
  • I forwarded this Contemplation to our Conference Presidents. Thank you for such a meaningful and heartwarming reminder of who we are and what we do.

  • Would you please give the option to read the article in Spanish. We use this articles or letters as reflections at our Conference meeting. Blessings

  • Deacon Jesus Blanco March 27, 2023 at 5:04 pm

    I agree with Sonia. We are an English and Spanish conference.

    • Timothy P. Williams March 27, 2023 at 6:50 pm

      Thank you, my friends, and I agree, too. I am hopeful and prayerful that one day we will have the staff and budget to be able to translate everything – and better still to also have more materials written in Spanish first!

  • You can always use Google translate to translate article into Spanish.
    “Bueno”, a veces nos advertimos a nosotros mismos cuando una idea que estamos discutiendo no parece del todo correcta, “eso no es muy vicenciano”. La frase es un simple recordatorio de quiénes somos y cómo actuamos. No necesita más explicaciones. Después de todo, nuestra Regla considera suficiente decir que “las visitas a los pobres se hacen en un espíritu vicenciano”. [Regla, Parte III, St. 8] La misma palabra vicenciano lleva consigo una profundidad de significado que transmite mucho más a los miembros que a cualquier persona fuera de la Sociedad.

    No es que la Regla nunca explique lo que es ser vicenciano. A lo largo de él, leemos cosas como “Los Vincentios se sienten llamados a orar juntos”, “Los Vincentios se esfuerzan por buscar y encontrar a los necesitados”, “Los Vincentianos sirven a los pobres alegremente”, “Los Vincentianos se esfuerzan por establecer relaciones basadas en la confianza y la amistad”, “Los Vincentianos nunca

    Resulta que nuestra pequeña palabra, Vincentian, es algo muy grande. Tan grande que si tuviéramos que hacer una lista de todas las características y acciones de los vicencianos de nuestra Regla y Manual, y tratarla como una lista de instrucciones, sería abrumador.

    De manera similar, si tuviéramos que hacer una lista de todas las veces que Jesús dice cosas como “va y haz lo mismo”, “como yo he hecho por ti, tú también deberías hacer”, “hús esto y vivirás”, “ama a tus enemigos” o “lo que sea que hiciste por uno de estos menos hermanos míos, lo hiciste por mí”, ¡tendríamos una lista

    La buena noticia es que estas listas no están en conflicto; la espiritualidad vicenciana es la espiritualidad católica. Ser católico, y ser vicenciano, no es llevar estas listas solo en nuestros libros, sino en nuestros corazones y en nuestras acciones. Sabemos que ser vicenciano siempre es errar del lado de la compasión, a pesar de que esas palabras no están en la Regla.

    Desafiado por los fariseos a elegir el más grande de los mandamientos, Jesús respondió con un mandamiento completamente nuevo, en dos partes: “Amaras al Señor, tu Dios, con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma y con toda tu mente… Amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo”. No estaba desestimando los Diez Mandamientos, sino que estaba respondiendo al “por qué” de esos mandamientos.

    Pocos vicencianos han memorizado la Regla, y aunque tratamos de vivirla plenamente, la mayoría de nosotros nos quedaremos cortos de vez en cuando. Eso no nos hace menos vicencianos, siempre y cuando recordemos el “por qué”. Nuestro “ideal es ayudar a aliviar el sufrimiento solo por amor”, y eso es lo suficientemente vicenciano.

  • La traduccion de Vincentian into Spanish is Vicentino. That’s a correction of the Google translate above.

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