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Vincentians: Change the Game

El Voluntariado

Waiting and Trusting in the Lord

“While meeting with them, he [Jesus] enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for ‘the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.” - Acts 1:4-5  

The prospect of waiting is difficult for all of us.

As another example, take St. Louise de Marillac’s “Lumiere Experience”:

“On the Feast of Pentecost, during Holy Mass or while I was praying in the church, my mind was instantly freed of all doubt. I was advised that I should remain with my husband [Antoine Le Gras] and that a time would come when I would be in a position to make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and that I would be in a small community where others would do the same. I then understood that I would be in a place where I could help my neighbor but I did not understand how this would be possible since there was to be much coming and going. I was also assured that I should remain at peace concerning my director; that God would give me once whom He seemed to show me. It was repugnant to me to accept him; nevertheless, I acquiesced.  It seemed to me that I did not yet have to make this change. My third doubt was removed by the inner assurance I felt that it was God who was teaching me these things and that, believing there is a God, I should not doubt the rest.”  p.1  Writings

 

Waiting can be almost intolerable. Louise wanted to serve the Lord, but not in the way that the Lord was envisioning for her.  Her spiritual director, Bp. Camus had enjoined upon her to wait for the Lord’s direction.

It is rare in a person’s life that he or she experiences the kind of illumination whereby she/he knows what God wants of her/him. Usually there is a succession of events that grant illumination and insight as to what God is asking.  This was certainly true of Vincent, including his experiences at Folleville, Clichy, and Châtillon. There is a convergence of the Gospel message and experiences from one’s life which radically change a person’s life orientation. In other words, it is no longer a life bent on one’s own advancement, but a life given for the sake of others. In the cases of Vincent and Louise, these were lives devoted to the poor.

Just as in the hymn, “Spirit of the Living God,” there is a certain melting, molding, and using me by God for a particular work/ministry.  

Our Vocation: A Gift of the Holy Spirit

None of our works are accomplished without the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus did not begin his ministry of evangelization until the Spirit descended upon him at his baptism.

It can never simply be a personal earnest desire to do some good thing. It must first find its inspiration from the Lord.

It Takes a Family: Care and Nurturing of Our Vincentian Vocation

Father Bruce Krause, C.M. shares this meditation on the Vincentian charism:

There is a myth as strong as the American Dream itself that each of us is self-made. Perhaps that is why the “Marlboro Man” was so popular for many years because it projected just that kind of image. Rugged, handsome, independent, and self-made.

There may be some women who fit this description as well. Perhaps, the women astronauts, or Olympic stars, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Martha Stewart (before her fall in stature).

In truth, though, we are all greatly influenced by others, including the way we grow in living out the Vincentian charism. I truly do not believe that I would be here today were it not for the influences of Irma Strother, a math teacher in grade school, John Kuykendal (college professor), my parents, Fr. James Salway, C.M., and Vie Thorgren. A quick glance at Vincent’s life reveals much the same. Monsieur de Comet, the De Gondi Family, Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle, St. Francis de Sales, St. Louise de Marillac, St. Jane de Chantal, and many others had a profound influence upon Vincent. Certainly what was true of Vincent is noticeable in the lives of other venerated members of the Vincentian Family.

Meditation: The Tower of Babel

“Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.  They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.’ The Lord came to see the city and the tower that the men had built. Then the Lord said: ‘If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says.’ Thus the Lord scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the speech of all the world.  It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.”  -Genesis 11:3-9 

This was a project with a quest for power and fame. There is an unmistakable arrogance in wanting to make a name for themselves. Think about your own vocation as a Vincentian. Sometimes when we are so many and with different aspirations, the end result is confusion.

Volunteer or Vocation?

It is no longer my life; Christ lives within me.