Author: jkirby3

Wrestling with God

jkirby3 Mission and Ministry, Mission Weekly

Updates, resources, and events highlighting the integration of DePaul’s Vincentian mission into the daily life and work of the university community.

MISSION MONDAY

Wrestling with God

Pastel Faces Merged. Abstract image.
Photo by Getty Images

We can only really glimpse the divine in others when we come face-to-face with ourselves. Read more…

 

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

SAVE THE DATE

Across the DMM, we are working hard to bring even more meaningful opportunities for connection and reflection to campus. Mark your calendar for the following important events in early 2025!

  • Lunch with Vincent:  Wednesday, January 22
    Faculty and staff are invited to join us for the first “Lunch with Vincent” event of the new year at the LPC Student Center! Join us for meaningful discussions inspired by Vincentian values. Registration info to follow.
  • Foundation Day Celebration: Thursday, January 23
    Join us in commemorating the 408th anniversary of the Congregation of the Mission. Enjoy snacks, interactive activities, and the reveal of the 2025 Shared Coin while reflecting on DePaul’s Vincentian legacy​.
  • Catholic Mass & Lunch: Thursday, January 23
    All faculty and staff are invited to join us at the Loop Campus for a special Foundation Day Mass. Celebrate with a lunch following the service as we reflect on our shared values and mission.

Additional details and RSVP information will be available soon. We hope that you will join us!

Wrestling with God

jkirby3 Mission Monday

Exactly eighteen years ago, on this day, December 9th, I became the first woman in my family to chant publicly from the Torah. I still remember the opening words like a catchy song.

In Vayishlach, the Torah portion for this week, there are two brothers—twins—Jacob and Esau, who never really get along. One is smooth, one is hairy. One is scheming, one is brusque. In fact, they wrestle together in the womb. Jacob tricks his nearly blind father into giving him the blessing that belongs to Esau as the firstborn. The brothers’ relationship is a disaster from the get-go.

Jacob eventually settles in Canaan, with status, material wealth, and many offspring. Perhaps out of fear, perhaps because he truly misses his brother (the Torah often lets us infer emotional subtext), Jacob invites Esau to reconcile with him. The night before Esau’s arrival, Jacob finds himself alone, wrestling with an angel.

Hold up. Wrestling with an angel?

Was he hallucinating? Was he having a bad case of sleep paralysis?

In the Torah, it says that Jacob came panim-el-panim (Hebrew for “face-to-face”) with God.

What does it mean to come face-to-face with God? When was the last time you felt God’s presence? Was it during a moment of tranquility, connection, solitude, despair? Do you ever wrestle with God? Perhaps with the concept of God itself?

There are, of course, many interpretations, from rabbis and scholars, about what Jacob endured that night. But here’s mine: Jacob, alone in the dark, finally faces himself. He wrestles with his conscience. He admits to himself that he has, in some way, wronged his brother.

One of the Vincentian values we espouse at DePaul is humility. And not just humility when it comes to our successes or material possessions, but humility in the context of our personal and communal relationships. Saint Vincent de Paul writes, “You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy—the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good.”[1]

“Sin” and “failure” are charged words that don’t always sit well with me. But Saint Vincent had a good point. Holding onto our pride—nursing past resentments, harboring the belief that we are always right—detracts from our ability to empathize and see the humanity in those who hold different perspectives from us.

It’s a vicious cycle: when we can’t see the humanity in others, it’s hard for others to see the humanity in us.

The morning after Jacob wrestles with God, Esau approaches him in the desert, and, in an unexpected turn of events, forgives him. The brothers fall into one another’s arms, weeping. In a deep act of humility, Esau declines the many gifts Jacob offers him, but Jacob insists, telling his brother that seeing his face is like “seeing the face of God.”[2]

Panim-el-panim. Face-to-face. We can only really glimpse the divine in others when we come face-to-face with ourselves. Because we only exist in relationship. Never alone. And there are always angels.

Reflection Questions

  1. When was the last time you came face-to-face with someone who deeply disagreed with you?
  2. When was the last time you came face-to-face with yourself?

Reflection by: Kayla Schneider-Smith, Assistant Director, Religious Diversity & Pastoral Care and Jewish Life Chaplain

 

[1] “St. Vincent de Paul—You Must Ask God to Give You Power to Fight Against the Sin of Pride,” Catholic Digest Magazine, 14 October 2021, https://www.catholicdigest.com/from-the-magazine/quiet-moment/‌st vincent-depaul-you-must ask-god-to-give-you-power-to-fight-against-the-sin-of-pride/.

[2] Genesis 33:10, The Contemporary Torah (Jewish Publication Society, 2006), https://‌www.‌sefaria.‌org/‌Genesis.33.11?lang=bi&aliyot=0.

A Season of Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy

jkirby3 Mission and Ministry, Mission Weekly

Updates, resources, and events highlighting the integration of DePaul’s Vincentian mission into the daily life and work of the university community

Saints Vincent and Louise lived in tumultuous times but committed themselves to bringing peace, love and joy into their world.

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UPCOMING EVENT

SPACE IS STILL AVAILABLE!

DePaul faculty and staff are invited to join us for an afternoon of reflection, art, and hospitality as we consider various images, forms, meanings, and styles of dialogue. A guided tour of the Art Institute as well as meaningful conversation and a tasty meal are all included.

We hope to see you!

Please RSVP HERE

A Season of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy

jkirby3 Mission and Ministry, Mission Monday

Reflection by: Rev. Diane Dardón, Director, Pastoral Care and Religious Diversity

Several weeks ago, a crowd gathered to celebrate the holidays at DePaul’s annual tree lighting ceremony. This year the celebration continued as hundreds made their way from the tree lighting to the Lincoln Park Student Center to participate in Holidays Around the World. As part of DePaul’s commitment to honoring and supporting the spiritual and religious dimensions of our community, this event gave students an opportunity to learn about the multifaith and interconvictional traditions that so many within the university community embrace. Nearly 600 students engaged in activities or sampled the holiday foods from a multitude of faith or spiritual traditions. One of the Christian traditions that was highlighted in Holidays Around the World was Advent.

As a child, I loved Advent! I did not understand that Advent was celebrated in many Christian churches on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. I didn’t realize that this was a Christian liturgical season that marked the beginning of the Christian calendar. I had no clue that the four candles on the Advent wreath that were lit week by week each carried an Advent message of hope, peace, love, or joy. Instead, I loved Advent because I knew it meant that we needed to get ready for Christmas: trees needed to be cut down and decorated, cookies needed to be baked and iced, and lists of Christmas wishes needed to be sent off to dear Santa. I knew that when the Advent wreath magically appeared at the front of the church, we had a lot to do in preparation for Christmas.

For Christian communities that embrace Advent, it is, indeed, a time of preparing for Christmas. But the preparation is not about wrapping gifts or putting up decorations. Instead, Advent is known as a season for preparing one’s heart for the birth of Christ. And more importantly, it is a time of waiting and watching for the coming of the Kingdom of God, a time when all will know hope, peace, love, and joy.

Unfortunately, as we begin this Advent season, we are also deeply embedded in a season of tumult and strife. In these times, many may find themselves watching and waiting for the things that Advent promises but struggling because of a sense of hopelessness, a keen awareness of a world that is not engulfed in peace, and disappointment because joy in a hurting world seems impossible and love for neighbor is thwarted by differences or indifference. It is in times such as these that “God offers us the saints both for our imitation and comfort. We can imitate their spiritual strengths and take comfort in their difficulties.”[1]

For the Vincentian community, we look to Saint Vincent and Saint Louise and are reminded that they, too, lived in tumultuous times. During their lives, Paris was growing daily with masses of people flooding into the city. There was political unrest, with royalty being forced to flee their homes and responsibilities. Invasions and social unrest caused strain on the military. Religious differences caused great schisms among the people. Natural disasters, such as tremendous flooding, increased the societal issues of

poverty, homelessness, crime, and overflowing prisons. Amid this tumult, Vincent and Louise lived in hope and committed their waking moments to helping bring peace, joy, and love into their world. They worked tirelessly to be the very ones who ushered in a new Kingdom, a transformed world.

In this season of watching, waiting, and preparing for a transformed world, we are encouraged to imitate Vincent and Louise. As imitators, we do not lose heart but instead become agents of transformation, encouraging hope in ourselves and others, working toward peace in our communities and the world, and offering love and spreading joy daily.

Things to ponder:

  1. How can you transform your own world? Where do you find hope, and how can you share that hope with others?
  2. What can you do to create peace in your world or your community?
  3. How can you express love through your daily actions? Where do you find joy, and how can you share that joy?

Reflection by: Rev. Diane Dardón, Director, Pastoral Care and Religious Diversity

 

[1] Quoted from John E. Rybolt, C.M., Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St. Vincent de Paul (Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 2012), 128 pp.

Bereavement Notice: Danielle Kubicz

jkirby3 Bereavement Notices, Mission and Ministry

Sadly, we have learned of the death of Danielle Kubicz, mother of Christina Kallenborn of Information Services.  Danielle passed away on November 8 at the age of 78.  She is survived by her husband of 55 years, two children, one grandchild, a sister, and many life-long friends.

Danielle and her husband, Frank, emigrated from Germany after WWII.  Danielle worked for the Chicago Library Association, Greenpeace, and for St Ann’s Parish as the parish secretary from the mid-eighties until her retirement in 2012.  She was an avid fan of rock concerts of the 60’s, a seasoned world traveler, and had a special love for animals and nature, supporting all kinds of wildlife and passing her knowledge to her young children and their friends.  Danielle also loved usual and beautiful things and art, as well as trying unique foods.

 

The family will receive visitors at Heritage Funeral Home, 3117 S. Oak Park Ave, Berwyn, IL, on Thursday, November 14 from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.  A prayer service is scheduled on Friday, November 15 at 9:00 a.m. at Heritage Funeral Home, directly followed by interment at Resurrection Cemetery, 7201 Archer Road, Justice.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, or The Gorilla Fund are appreciated.

A full obituary and online condolences may be found online.

Beyond Polarization: Seeing the God in All of Us

jkirby3 Mission and Ministry, Mission Weekly
Resources, News, Events and Happenings related to the integration of DePaul’s Vincentian mission into the ongoing life and work of the university community.

Mission Monday

Beyond Polarization: Seeing the God in All of Us

I am writing this reflection in September 2024, well before Election Day, but still in the thick of American political passion. Regardless of the election’s outcome, it’s unlikely that the result

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Upcoming Events

 

Lunch with Vincent 
with Athletics Director DeWayne Peevy

Thursday | October 10th | 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Lincoln Park Student Center | Room TBD
For DePaul Faculty and Staff

DePaul faculty and staff are invited to an engaging conversation with Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy. He will share how DePaul’s mission shapes his leadership and highlight how the Vincentian spirit continues to thrive within Athletics. Join us for meaningful conversation, abundant community, and a tasty lunch!

RSVP information will be forthcoming. For more details, please contact: tjudge@depaul.edu.

 

 

Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating Vincentian Heritage Week 2024!

We hope that all who participated enjoyed the chance to connect with the DePaul community, reflect on personal values, and embrace our shared goals. We extend special thanks to our guest speakers, volunteers, and behind-the-scenes supporters for their invaluable contributions.

As we enter the new academic year, the Division of Mission and Ministry continues its commitment to serving the campus community and the greater good with compassion, care, and inclusivity.

There’s much more to come! Follow us on social media for recaps from VHW 2024 and our ongoiong celebration of the legacy of St. Vincent de Paul. Stay tuned for upcoming events and programs throughout the year!

Bereavement Notice – Paul L. Kraus

jkirby3 Bereavement Notices

With sadness, we have learned of the death of Paul Kraus, the father of Emily Kraus of Global Engagement.  Paul passed away on July 22 at the age of 72.  He was a dedicated and loyal husband to Jane for nearly 44 years and father to Linsey (David) Smith, Emily, and Anne (Becky Biermann) Kraus. One of his favorite roles was grandfather to Mae and Noah Smith, and Millie and Morgan Kraus-Biermann.    

Paul was a high school religion teacher for over 40 years and spent most of those years at Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School, leading students in faith formation and community service.  He brought Team Activities for Special Kids (T.A.S.K.) to CBC and led summer camps for youth for over 20 years. He facilitated community service opportunities for students to St. Augustine soup kitchen, drove a food bus to those with food insecurities in East St. Louis, started the Big Brother program at CBC, and tutored students at De La Salle Middle School. Bringing his daughters with him to service sites since elementary school inspired them all to pursue careers in education and service to others. In his retirement he got involved with Kairos Retreats for the Potosi Inmates. From there he completed weekly visits to inmates in solitary confinement and came to see the saving Grace of God in all human beings. He was known to be playful, carefree, and a gentle soul.  

A Celebration of life will be held Saturday July 27, 2024 at St. Pius V Catholic Church, 3310 S. Grand, St. Louis, MO 63118. Visitation will be from 10:00 am- 12:00 pm with the funeral following at 12:00 pm. Paul will be interred at Resurrection Cemetery at a Later Date.  

Online condolences may be posted at https://kutisfuneralhomes.com/kraus-paul-l/ 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are appreciated at: 

Life Events: Notice of Birth and Bereavement 

jkirby3 Bereavement Notices

With a mix of profound joy and sadness, we share news of the birth of twins to Tyneka Harris Coronado, associate director in Information Services, and her husband, David, on May 2, three months before their due date, followed by the eventual loss of their son, Daniel, eight days later.  

Daniel Juan Ricardo Coronado was born on May 2, 2024, one minute after his twin sister, Daniella Vira Aliean Coronado. Daniel then passed peacefully in the arms of his loving parents due to a lung infection on May 10, 2024, at the Renée Schine Crown Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago.  

Daniel’s life was a profound gift to his parents, family, and loved ones and it has changed them forever. He leaves to cherish his memory Tyneka and David and seven siblings, Sonia, Sophia, Zoe, Zyana, Mateo, Micah and Daniel’s twin sister, Daniella, as well as his grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a host of other relatives. 

Daniella is doing well in the NICU after overcoming challenges during the first month following the premature birth. She is now 4lbs 9oz and continues to progress. 

Tyneka and family are deeply grateful and feel blessed by the outpouring of love, thoughts and prayers towards their family. They appreciate your sympathy and concern as they navigate this difficult time. Even with all they have endured, they remain thankful to God for Daniel’s life and grateful that his sister, Daniella, is doing well.  

In lieu of flowers, the family strongly encourages you to donate to either of the following organizations. Both have provided invaluable resources during their time in the NICU. If you are not able to donate to either of these foundations, please know that your thoughts and prayers are most important and deeply appreciated. 

Ronald McDonald House Charities – www.rmhccni.org/nm-prentice/  

Located on the same floor as the Prentice NICU, Tyneka and David have been able to stay for a few nights at a time in one of their 5 rooms designated for families with children in the NICU, free of charge! This enabled them to spend more time at Daniel’s bedside throughout the day, night, and early morning. There is also a kid-friendly community lounge stocked with food and other amenities where lunch is served daily at no cost to the parents and families of NICU patients. The Coronado family use the lounge daily, especially on the weekends when we bring the kids up to visit Daniella. It makes it easier to manage meals and accommodate visitors.  

To make a donation, visit this link: https://rmhc.org/donate. You will have the option to dedicate your donation. If you choose to, please dedicate your donation in Memory of Daniel Coronado, with recipient email: dcoronad3@hotmail.com.  

Jackson Chance Foundation – https://www.jacksonchance.org/ 

With help from this foundation, the Coronado family has been able to park near the NICU, free of charge! This is a tremendous help, because they are at the hospital every day. This support has easily saved them hundreds of dollars over the last few weeks, especially considering the need to go in and out multiple times during the day.  

To make a donation, visit this link: https://www.jacksonchance.org/donate/.  You will have the option to ‘Donate in memory of”. If you choose to donate here, please include the following:  Tribute Recipient: Daniel Coronado. Tribute Notification Name: David Coronado. Address Label for Tribute Notification: David & Tyneka Coronado. Tribute Notification Email: dcoronad3@hotmail.com.   

Doubt, Certainty, and Louise’s Lumière

jkirby3 Louise de Marillac, Mission and Ministry, Mission Monday , , ,

On June 4, 1623, Pentecost Sunday, Louise de Marillac experienced a transformation in her life. She would later write, “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)  Louise’s doubt disappeared in a powerful mystical experience that she would call her lumière, or light. She had a vision of her future, in which she lived the life she had always wanted, serving the poor as a member of a religious community. Her current hardships would not last forever, and her newfound certainty would give her the strength to persevere.  

When I read stories of saints and holy people, I envy the turning points that are often part of this genre. Imagine: All at once, you know what you are meant to do with your life! You are gripped with conviction, freed from insecurity and uncertainty, and fortified by a singular, powerful purpose. Vincent de Paul experienced such a moment when he realized his calling to serve the French peasants. Oscar Romero did too, when the assassination of his friend Rutilio Grande called him to criticize the oppressive Salvadoran government. Perhaps most famously, Saint Paul experienced such a moment on the road to Damascus, when a light from the heavens knocked him to the ground. In the Christian tradition, these can be called moments of conversion.  

Maybe you’ve experienced a sudden certainty or conviction that changed your life. Personally, I haven’t. Unlike Louise, I’ve never seen my future in a flash of light. My life changes gradually, more like a cycle of sunrises and sunsets. The sun doesn’t just appear at its high-noon zenith. First, the sky fades from black to gray, and then the sun peeks over the horizon. It climbs slowly, serenely, and the day unfolds. If I’m lucky, each day illuminates some small truth for me, helping me understand myself and the world just a bit better. And then the sun sets.  

While I long for Louise’s certainty, she also put up with a lot of unhappiness along the way. Her lumière vision told her that she needed to stay put for the time being. Despite the “spiritual anguish” she felt over her husband’s deteriorating health and difficulties with her son, she continued to accept her spiritual director’s calming advice, and bore with her marriage even though she longed for something more and suffered through depression.(ii) Her lumière showed her the way, but it didn’t eliminate the sorrows, the headaches, the day-to-day drudgery that we all experience. When I think about her lumière that way, it becomes a lot more relatable. She had a vision, but her life still had to unfold, and that took time. 

The Feast of Pentecost is commemorated fifty days after Easter. According to scripture, the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus’s apostles and Mary, his mother. We often see them depicted with tongues of fire floating above their heads, representing the spirit within them. You have to remember that this community was heartbroken; just fifty days earlier, their beloved friend and community-member had been tortured and killed on the cross. This traumatic event surely took a toll on their bodies and spirits. It was in the midst of this mourning that God appeared to them in another form, coming down upon them in flame. This fire fueled them to continue Jesus’s mission, to spread his teachings, and to keep building their community.  

This is the story that Louise would’ve been reflecting on when she had her vision. Her lumière was a Pentecost moment, a moment of God’s sudden, surprising presence in a time of sorrow. Like the apostles, she found the strength to continue. And like the apostles, she still had to deal with pain and suffering as she worked to realize her vision. Her transformation was both sudden and slow.  

As we remember Louise’s lumière over 400 years later, let us open ourselves to the presence of a higher power within and among us—in all of God’s many forms. Let us experience the slowness of daybreak and a fire that emerges from within each one of us. Let us be patient with ourselves—and let us be agents of our own transformation.

Reflection Questions: 

  • Have you ever experienced a sudden turning point like Louise’s lumière? 
  • How have you experienced God’s presence in the ordinary moments of your life?  

Reflection by: Abigail Rampone, Ministry Coordinator for Vincentian Service and Immersions 

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i A.2 “Light,” The Spiritual Writings of Louise de Marillac, ed. and trans. Louise Sullivan, D.C. (New York: New City Press, 1991), 1. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldm/11/.  

ii See Kieran Kneaves, D.C., “A Woman Named Louise: 1591–1633,” Vincentian Heritage 12:2 (1991): 126. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol12/iss2/3/.  

Bereavement Notice – Dr. Wade R. Ragas

jkirby3 Bereavement Notices, Mission and Ministry

We have learned of the death of Dr. Wade R. Ragas, the father of Matt Ragas of the College of Communication.  

Wade R. Ragas, Ph.D., MAI, SRA, died peacefully at Inspired Living of Kenner, LA at the age of 76 on April 25, 2024. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Yvette Manthey Ragas, his children, Matthew Wade Ragas (Traci) and Joshua Paul Ragas, and his sister, Susan Ragas Price (Andy).  

Wade was a Jefferson Parish native with Louisiana roots that went back over 200 years. He enjoyed Louisiana cuisine, travel, taking the family on trips to Europe from the time his sons were in diapers. He was a student of history and loved to keep up with politics and world affairs.  

Wade was a teacher at heart. For 30 years, he was a professor of finance at the University of New Orleans and created the Real Estate Market Data Center, which he directed from 1978 to 2005. After earning his doctorate in Real Estate and Urban Analysis from The Ohio State University, Wade returned to Metairie and joined the faculty at what was then called LSUNO. While at UNO, he directed a wide range of applied real estate projects through the Center. Over this time, he authored 35 volumes of the 100-page semi-annual “New Orleans Real Estate Market Analysis.” As a research and full professor at UNO, he taught thousands of students and some 30,000 real estate professionals over his career. He authored over 30 articles and a textbook.   

As the president of Real Property Associates, Wade specialized in commercial appraisals, litigation services involving real estate, marketing feasibility studies and other complex commercial asset analyses, primarily in the Southeast Louisiana market. His practice contributed to over $2 billion of residential and commercial real estate valuation and feasibility studies since Hurricane Katrina.  

Services were held on May 3, 2024 in Metairie, Louisiana.  Online condolences may be posted at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/new-orleans-la/wade-ragas-11787574   

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made online to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA.org) or mailed to: LBDA, 912 Killian Hill Rd. SW, Lilburn, GA 30047.