Mission Monday

Mutual Care in Troubling Times

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Written By: Katie Brick, Executive Assistant, Division of Mission & Ministry

Pope Francis at Vargihna, Brazil.
Photo by Tânia Rêgo/ABr – Agência Brasil, CC BY 3.0 br.

During the Great Recession of 2007–2009, I recall how DePaul adjunct chaplain Maureen Dolan expressed great hope that people would turn toward one another in mutual care, because they had to, given the difficulties being faced. During a scary time, she saw opportunity for people with means to simplify their lives and consumerist habits, share living spaces, and pitch in to support one another in a way that often only happens when we’re forced to do it.

I’m not sure how much has changed, but here we are again facing economic and social volatility. Amid anxiety, I sometimes hear Maureen’s voice in my head, may she rest in peace, asking: What can grow right now? What community can be developed because it has to be developed? How can you take your uncertainty and the pain that is happening in society and humbly contribute to something positive—something that may lead you and others to a much more satisfying way of being?

Maureen’s hopes and questions seem to reflect those of Saint Vincent de Paul. Speaking of loss, he wrote, “If the world takes something from us on the one hand, God will give us something on the other.” [1]

What can we gain from uncertainty, apparent loss, and sometimes forced simplicity? What divine gift might come from this?

With the recent death of Pope Francis, I have reflected on his kinship with Vincent and our university’s Vincentian forebearers in the Vincentian charism. In a 2017 address on the Feast Day of Vincent de Paul, Pope Francis said of Vincent, “He prompts us to live in fraternal communion among ourselves and to go forth courageously in mission to the world. He calls us to free ourselves from complicated language, self-absorbed rhetoric, and attachment to material forms of security. These may seem satisfactory in the short term but they do not grant God’s peace; indeed, they are frequently obstacles to mission.”

I believe that Pope Francis, who admired Vincent de Paul, shared many qualities with him. These included deep faith, great care for the poor and vulnerable, a desire for reform within the Catholic Church, a loving heart, and a simple lifestyle admired by many. Most of all, he had a vision for what the world should be like, coupled with gifts to inspire and exhort people to action. Just hours before he died, Pope Francis asked world leaders to band together, as Maureen asked people to band together, and as Vincent and Louise established communities of service to bring people together. He said, “I appeal to all those in positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development. These are the ‘weapons’ of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death!” [2]

Our mission calls us to mutual care and active concern. People you know, perhaps colleagues or your version of Maureen Dolan—and key Vincentian figures like Vincent, Louise de Marillac, and Frédéric Ozanam, or the recently departed Pope Francis—provide models and heart in a time when we need a new way of being a human community. I am inspired by them when I slow down enough to allow myself to be. As I can all too quickly return to fear and isolation, I depend on them and others to pull me out of self-focus and into having a broader perspective. In turn, I am called to do that for others. It’s an interdependence for which I am extremely grateful, and I am reminded to walk a path that can get obscured in the chaos of modern life, but which is supremely important.

Reflection Questions

  1. Who is someone you admire, who can inspire you during difficult times to make a difference and consider changes that benefit others as well as yourself?
  2. Can you think back to a difficult time and name a gift that emerged from it? How might this experience act as a touchstone for you to bear difficulties in the present?

Reflection by: Katie Brick, Executive Assistant, Division of Mission & Ministry

[1] Letter 2752, “To Monsieur Desbordes, Counselor in the Parlement,” December 21, 1658, CCD, 7:424. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/32/.

[2] Francis, “Urbi et Orbi,” April 20, 2025. Available online at: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/urbi/documents/20250420-urbi-et-orbi-pasqua.html.

Called to Serve

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Written By: Katie Sullivan, Assistant Director, Vincentian Service and Formation Office, Division of Mission and Ministry

One of DePaul’s longest-standing traditions is Vincentian Service Day (VSD), which started as part of DePaul’s Centennial celebration during the 1998–1999 school year. This event, held yearly on the first Saturday of May, is a day when students, staff, faculty, and alumni go out into the community, connecting with community partners and doing service.

I have been at DePaul since 2012 and participated in VSD during my first five years by helping with the morning program, the post-service barbecue, and doing service. In the 2017–2018 academic year, my role at DePaul changed, and overseeing all aspects of Vincentian Service Day became one of my primary job responsibilities.

I learned quickly that putting together a big event like VSD is like putting together a big jigsaw puzzle. First, I work on the edges—cultivating relationships with colleagues around the university to ensure that the event aspect of the day is prepared, interviewing and selecting students for the Service Day team, connecting with community partners to ensure we have sites for participants, etc. Then I work on the inside of the puzzle and figure out where each piece goes and how to fit them in with the other pieces of the puzzle: there’s outreach to student organizations and departments, follow-up with community partners, ordering flyers, and more. These things are gratifying, maddening, and challenging all at once. That final, most satisfying piece of the puzzle gets put into place at the end of the event, when everyone has returned from their service sites and is enjoying lunch on the Quad.

So many times, tasks and duties in our lives can feel daunting. I always find it important to remember that I am not alone when things feel like they’re piling up. Many people in my life are willing to listen and help me when I need to vent. If I didn’t have these people to help me, I am sure my frustrations would sometimes get the best of me. Yet, they provide a much needed lift and it’s usually right when I need it, which Saint Louise de Marillac would call “Divine Providence.”

What are some of the tools you use for yourself when you’re managing challenging projects? How do you manage when things are feeling out of control or frustrating? Whom do you turn to for support to ensure you can keep going when you are facing a challenge?

This year Vincentian Service Day is Saturday, May 3. The students on the team jumped right in to help put the puzzle together. Some of the students have helped with previous VSDs, and some are brand new to the role, learning about the many, many tasks involved in creating a successful event like on-the-job training. Our hope is that we create a day for our DePaul community to come together and connect with our mission by doing service with more than 25 community partners all over Chicago. For me, service has always been a great way to get out of my head and stop thinking about the never-ending list of things I should be doing. Maybe VSD can be that for you—a way to do something different and give yourself a break from the many things on your to-do list.

Many service sites this year are community gardens in locations around the city where fresh food is not readily available, and the gardens fill in this gap for people. As one community partner noted to students a few years ago: “This is not hobby gardening; this garden feeds the community.” [1]

I hope you will consider participating in this DePaul tradition. Our Vincentian mission calls us to see beyond ourselves, and Vincentian Service Day is one of those opportunities where we, alongside our DePaul and Chicago community members, can go out and serve the needs of others. VSD is a day of connection. As Saint Louise de Marillac said, “Encourage one another and may your mutual good example speak louder than any words can.” [2]

Registration for Vincentian Service Day 2025 closes on Monday, April 28, at 11:59 PM. For more information about participating in VSD, visit the VSD website; or email: serviceday@depaul.edu. If you don’t register by then and still want to participate, you can join us on Saturday, May 3, at 8:30 AM at Sullivan Athletic Center, and we will place you where we most need help that morning.

Reflection by: Katie Sullivan, Assistant Director, Vincentian Service and Formation Office, Division of Mission and Ministry

[1] Cordia Pugh, Hermitage Community Garden.

[2] Letter 402, “To the Sisters of Angers,” September 1654, Spiritual Writings, 450. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldm/11/.

The Unimportance of Being Innocent

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Every year DePaul University is blessed by a visit from Sr. Helen Prejean, who spends a few days on campus sharing her wisdom as a religious sister and an anti-death penalty activist. This year, on Wednesday, April 23, Sr. Helen will take part in a conversation about a justice system that can be a treacherous place for innocent people. Panelists will explore intersectional realities and their impact within a system that prioritizes rule of law over human life. “The Unimportance of Being Innocent” will take place between 6:00pm–8:00pm in Cortelyou Commons. All are welcome to attend.

Several years ago, Sr. Helen was awarded DePaul’s highest honor, the Saint Vincent de Paul Award. In honor of her upcoming visit, we’d like to share a previous Mission Monday published in the fall of 2022 that reflects upon the talk she gave at the Lunch with Louise conferral reception. Read it here: Just Say a Word Where You See It’s Needed.

To attend “The Unimportance of Being Innocent” panel discussion on Wednesday, April 23, featuring Sr. Helen Prejean, please RSVP here.

From “The Narrow Place” to Nuance

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Written By: Kayla Schneider-Smith, Assistant Director, Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care, Chaplain for Jewish and Interfaith Life

“The Passover Seder.” Courtesy of Lee F. Schwimmer.

The holiday of Passover is all about telling stories. In fact, the book that Jews read from each year during the Passover seder is called the Haggadah in Hebrew, which translates as “the telling,” or “the story.” The Haggadah not only recounts the biblical narrative of the Israelites’ exodus from over four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, but it also reminds us that “in every generation one is obligated to see oneself as one who personally went out from Egypt.” [1]

In other words, we can’t just tell the stories of our ancestors—we must also listen deeply, empathize, and reflect on our own stories of personal, communal, and spiritual liberation.

The biblical word for Egypt is Mizrayim, which means “straits,” or “narrow places.” For many Jews celebrating Passover today, these narrow places are often viewed metaphorically: where are we limited, and from what do we wish to be liberated?

When we think of metaphorical narrow places in our lives, we unfortunately won’t be hard-pressed to find them—in ourselves, in our DePaul community, in our nation, and throughout our world. I think specifically about the painful polarization that has made it nearly impossible to engage with people who hold viewpoints different from our own, no matter how many dialogue initiatives we attempt.

In her 2009 essay and TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns about the stereotypes, assumptions, and “single stories” we hold of others. In her case, she recalls that when she first came to the United States for college, her American roommate assumed she didn’t speak English or know how to use a stove. Many people she encountered had a single, often false story of what it meant to be African. And Adichie, too, admits that she held dangerous assumptions of other populations. She writes, “The single story creates stereotypes. And the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” [2]

Take the story of Passover, for example. When Pharoah orders the murder of all first-born Hebrew sons, a reader could easily assume that all Egyptians were oppressors, and all Hebrews were oppressed. But that story is incomplete. Why? Because there were Egyptians that risked their lives to deceive Pharoah and let Hebrew babies live, like the famous midwives Shifrah and Puah, [3] or Pharoah’s daughter, who drew baby Moses from the water to save him, knowing full well that he was a Hebrew. [4]

Adichie asserts, “The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.” [5]

Just two weeks ago our DePaul Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care team led a group of twenty students on a Spring Break Interfaith Immersion Day. We visited a Baha’i temple, had lunch in DePaul’s Jewish Life Center, volunteered at Marillac St. Vincent, and toured IMAN, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network. Students and leaders on our trip shared their faith journeys in many ways that challenged stereotypes and “single stories”:

One student pointed out that though many assumed she had always been observant, she had only just started wearing a hijab.

Another student from Kyrgyzstan, a predominately Muslim country, surprised us when she explained that her dad deeply values the Jewish community and had sent her younger sisters to study at a Jewish school in their city.

Our docent at the Baha’i House of Worship shared that he considers himself both Hindu and Baha’i at the same time.

And our guide from IMAN described how he had transitioned from gang involvement to a sense of meaning and purpose in his conversion to Islam.

Adichie writes: “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.” Saint Vincent de Paul even echoed this sentiment and the words of the Torah, saying: “I have to love my neighbor as the image of God and the object of His love.” [6]

As we conclude Ramadan, gear up for Easter, and prepare for Passover this spring, may we begin to traverse from our narrow places into nuance. May we find dignity in our shared humanness and repair the dignity of others we may have judged too soon, remembering that we are all created B’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. [7] And may we find joy in the gift of that renewed perspective.

——————–

Please join us on Thursday, April 17th for our first ever DePaul Jewish Life Passover Bazaar! Featuring Judaica, macaroons, chocolate-covered matzah, 10-plagues-themed arts and crafts, and “The Prince of Egypt” movie screening in the Lincoln Park Student Center Atrium. All are welcome.

A Zissen Pesach (A Sweet Passover) to All!

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

[1] Mishnah Pesachim 10:5, interpreting Exodus 13:8.

[2] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story,” TED Talk, TED Talk Global, July 2009. 12 min, 49 sec. https://‌www.ted.com/‌talks/‌chimamanda_‌ngozi_adichie_‌the_danger_‌of_a_‌single_‌story?‌language=en. It should be noted that Adichie did face controversy in 2017 over comments she made about transgender women. Following this, she clarified her remarks and reiterated her support for trans rights.

[3] Exodus 1:15–2.

[4] Exodus 2:5–10.

[5] Adichie, “Danger of a Single Story,” 13 min., 36 sec.

[6] Conference 207, “Charity (Common Rules, Chap. 2, Art. 12),” May 30, 1659, CCD, 12:215. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/36/.

[7] Genesis 1:27.

 

From Seeds to STEM

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Written By: Gabriella Bucci, Associate Professor of Economics

Image by Marija Zaric.

Sustainability was core to the work of Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. Saint Vincent understood that charitable donations of food and clothing, while providing temporary relief, are not long-term solutions for the deprived, war-torn, and impoverished. He wanted to provide seeds for farmers and “to enable all the other poor people who have no land—men as well as women—to earn their own living by giving the men some tools for working and the girls and women spinning wheels and flax or linen for spinning.” [1] He worked with villagers and taught them to create self-sustaining food banks. He created partnerships with the wealthy to fund and sustain orphanages and hospitals. [2] All this he did during times in which the wealthy avoided contact with the poor and in which bishops felt threatened about losing power in their villages and missions. [3] We continue to face societal challenges today and are called to meet these challenges sustainably, as Saint Vincent did.

At DePaul we build sustainability into our actions, courses, and programs throughout the university. Interested students can get involved in environmentally conscious student organizations such as ECO Depaul, DePaul Urban Gardeners, the Student Sustainability Committee and Net Impact. In our classrooms, we teach best practices in sustainability in environmental science, the arts, the humanities, geography, urban development, public policy, and many other corners of the university. Students and faculty have been involved, and continue to be active, in Life Cycle Assessments of products such as sports equipment, textiles, jewelry, and toys to determine the products’ impacts on the environment through their life cycle. Students, faculty, and staff are part of the Sustainable Urban Food Systems Initiative through the Steans Center. The President’s Sustainability Committee strives to make lasting environmental changes at DePaul and in the community. Those who care about climate change and environmental activism have an array of opportunities to find meaning and involvement throughout the university.

Students may be surprised to learn that environmental sustainability also has a home in DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business. We tend to think of climate advocacy as something that is the purview of individuals, nonprofits, and governments. However, students can also learn about the role of corporations in advancing environmental sustainability and even pursue careers that focus on corporate sustainability. In fact, in 2024, 82% of C-suite leaders say they believe the significance of environmental, social, and governance factors (ESG) in corporate performance will continue to grow. [4] Businesses impact sustainability through decisions they make about sourcing, logistics, and care for the environment.

We are preparing a new generation of business leaders who advocate for businesses to interact responsibly with the environment. Any undergraduate DePaul student can take the course Business 103: Business for Social Good where students learn about the ways businesses reduce their environmental impact and advocate for change. The new Business for Social Good student organization, B4SG, already has hundreds of student members!

And there’s more to come. In fall 2025, we are launching the Master of Science in Sustainability in Business degree. This STEM-designated degree prepares students to take on roles as corporate sustainability leaders. The program combines sustainability frameworks with data analysis and strategy for business decision-making and management. We seek to develop business leaders who carefully consider the full impacts of business practices on people and the environment.

By creating new business programs in sustainability, we recognize that business practices are a key to the future of environmental sustainability. We have more to do, more to learn, more to teach, more partnerships to build, more business relationships to foster, more service to complete. Let’s learn and work together.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Saint Vincent de Paul focused on long-term solutions over short-term aid. How can you apply this mindset to environmental sustainability on campus, at home, and in your communities?
  2. Sustainability challenges require input from many fields, including science, business, and the arts. How can we foster interdisciplinary work to develop innovative solutions for a more sustainable world?

Reflection by: Gabriella Bucci, Associate Professor of Economics

[1] Letter 2936, “TO JEAN PARRE, IN SAINT-QUENTIN,” August 9, 1659, CCD, 8:82–3. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/33/.

[2] “Vincentian Leadership Model: People,” Vincent on Leadership: The Hay Project, DePaul University, 2025, https://resources.depaul.edu/vincent-on-leadership/training/model/people/Pages/default.aspx.

[3] Bernard Koch, C.M., “St. Vincent and the Bishops,” Vincentiana 45:6 (2001). Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentiana/vol45/iss6/14.

[4] “2024 State of Corporate ESG: Navigating new frontiers of regulation and AI,” Thomson Reuters Institute, November 4, 2024, https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/esg/corporate-esg-report-2024/.

The Emerald Isle and the Little School Under the El

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Written By: Tom Judge, Chaplain and Assistant Director, Division of Mission and Ministry.
This ‘Best of Mission Monday’ post revisits a reflection on the intertwined spiritual seasons of Lent and Ramadan. 

President of Ireland, Sean T. O’Kelly, receives honorary degree from the Rev. Comerford O’Malley, CM, in 1959. Image courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, DePaul University Libraries.

In honor of the Feast of St. Patrick or what we more colloquially know as St. Patrick’s Day, I found myself wondering: What has the relationship been like between DePaul and the Irish (or, as time passed, Irish Americans)? What may be some of the highlights that have marked the special bond between the Emerald Isle and the Little School under the El? As a proud, and curious, Irish American, I decided to do a little investigating.

When our university was founded as St. Vincent’s College in 1898, the City of Chicago had over 1 million citizens, making it the third-largest metropolis on the globe. It was teeming with new arrivals from all over the country and the world, so that fully half the city’s population were either immigrants or the children of immigrants. One of the largest of these migrant communities, and the most Catholic, were the Irish. Most were drawn to Chicago because of the twin opportunities it offered. There was work (in construction, the stockyards or on the railroads and waterways that made Chicago the transportation hub of the United States). And there was also freedom (to worship or advance or express themselves in ways that were not supported in the places from which they came).

To achieve their desired upward social mobility, the new Chicagoans required access to education. To answer this need, the Archdiocese of Chicago asked Vincentian priests to found a school on the city’s North Side for male children of the Catholic immigrant and working classes, most of whom were Irish. [1] One can only imagine the comfort felt by many of these early students when they were addressed by DePaul’s first president, Rev. Peter Byrne, CM, and as they heard the familiar brogue he spoke with as a native of County Carlow in Ireland.

It was DePaul’s third president, Rev. Frances McCabe, CM, himself an Irish American, who sparked early controversy at the young university. In 1919, he presented the man destined to become Ireland’s dominant political personality of the twentieth century, Eamon de Valera, with an honorary degree. De Valera, who had been a leader of the Irish rebellion and only narrowly avoided execution by the British, was then touring the United States to acquire official recognition and money for those across the Atlantic who were battling for Irish independence. DePaul again bestowed an honorary degree upon a president of Ireland, this time Seán Thomas O’Kelly, in 1959. Similarly, the Vincentian priest conveying this honor was another first-generation Irish American, DePaul’s seventh president, Rev. Comerford O’Malley, CM.

Perhaps it was in recognition of this early, and inimitable, connection of the Irish with DePaul that led the Illinois Chapter of the American-Irish Historical Society to move their library to the university in 1927 in hopes of reaching a larger audience. [2] Their choice turned out to be prescient. DePaul’s special collection of Irish literature, begun by the donation from the American-Irish Society, has broadened and deepened over the years. It includes works by W. B. Yeats, Samuel Becket, and Seamus Heaney, all Irish Nobel Prize winners, as well as other authors who represent the best of Irish literature from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a time that has come to be known as the Irish Renaissance.

As is the case when we engage with any diverse culture and community, DePaul has been made better by our relationship with the Irish and Irish Americans. To this very day, our university’s touchpoints with the Land of Saints and Scholars remain vital, unique, a little playful, and too numerous to list here. Classes continue to be offered through the university’s Irish Studies Program, and students continue to trek downtown to enjoy the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the dyeing of the Chicago River green.

But there is one more contemporary connection between DePaul and Ireland that deserves to be highlighted. In just a few days, a study abroad class centered around Irish Literature will leave Chicago for Dublin. As part of their curriculum, the class instructors have arranged for their students to spend time engaging in community service with local Daughters of Charity—the order of religious women founded by Sts. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac—in the Irish city of Cork. This coming together in Ireland, of peoples from near and far, in the Vincentian spirit of relationship and service calls to mind the long-ago days of the 1640s, when Vincent de Paul first sent a small group of missionaries from France to serve on the distant shores of Ireland. Vincent de Paul could have been speaking for many of us, Irish or not, who look with fondness towards this small island across the sea, when he wrote to the Bishop of Limerick upon their departure, “Would to God that I were worthy to be one of their numbers. God knows how willingly I would go.” [3]

Reflection Questions:

  • Whether it be wearing green, ordering a serving of corned beef and cabbage, or attending a social gathering to mark the occasion, do you have any special St. Patrick’s Day memories or rituals that you celebrate?
  • What might be a cultural heritage that you treasure? How do you celebrate or observe this heritage?
  • Consider the new arrivals coming to Chicago in 2025. Do we as a university or larger community welcome their presence and affirm their dignity, as our Vincentian mission urges us to do?

Reflection by: Tom Judge, Chaplain and Assistant Director, Division of Mission and Ministry

[1] From its earliest days, DePaul was unique among higher education institutions in admitting students from many faith traditions, not just Catholic, without quotas being attached. Unfortunately, at the beginning we were less inclusive when it came to women, not admitting our first female students until 1911.

[2] “The Enduring Legacy of Rare Gifts: Irish Collection,” Department of Special Collections and Archives, DePaul University Library, March 12, 2025, https://‌‌dpuspecialcollections.omeka.net/exhibits/show/enduring/irish.

[3] Sean T. O’Kelly, “St. Vincent and the Irish,” DePaul Magazine, Spring 1959, p. 10, https://cdm16106.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/depaulmag/id/3184/rec/1. To read the letter itself see, Letter 876, To Edmund Dwyer, Bishop of Limerick, 15 October 1646, CCD, 3:90.

Accepting Our Limitations When Striving for Excellence

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Written By: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

Photo by Chaewul Kim

When you are always striving for something, it’s easy to think that what you are doing is not enough and to internalize things that reinforce that view. Although I am not Catholic, I attended 8 years of Catholic school, which required me to take several theology classes and reflect on the Bible. One of the verses that stuck with me was Matthew 5:48, which is one that perfectionists of all faiths or beliefs may find affecting or even disturbing. It reads, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [1] As Vincent de Paul himself very relatably said, “That’s aiming high; who can reach it? To be perfect as the Eternal Father is perfect!” [2] This seems like an impossible standard, and it has troubled me for a long time. So, I began to research the verse.

It turns out that this is one of the most mistranslated and misinterpreted verses of the Bible. The Greek word that has been translated as “perfect” is teleios, which means “complete” or “mature.” Scholar Bonnie Bowman Thurston notes that the verse, which occurs within the context of loving one’s enemies, indicates a “perfection in love” that “contemplates all persons alike from the standpoint of God.” It is a call for “observable dedication to certain qualities of conduct. Perfection . . . does ‘not imply complete sinlessness and full virtue as matters of fact.’” [3] She adds that “perfection is not a completed state of being; it is not an abstraction. It is the person of Jesus whom we grow toward and follow after in order to complete or mature ourselves. Our perfection is, in modern parlance, ‘in process.’” [4]

Vincent had a similar insight. He observed, “Whom can we call perfect? No one on this earth. . . . Anyone who strives to know himself well will see many weaknesses and failings in himself, and will even acknowledge that he can’t help having them.” [5] He defined perfection as growing in holiness, which meant aligning a person’s will to God’s and imitating Christ’s behavior as much as possible. [6] Under this definition, we are always supposed to be striving, but we gain righteousness through God’s love, not through our own effort. In earthly life, the striving, the effort itself, is perfection because it’s as close as we can get to being like God.

You don’t have to be Christian or even believe in God to take comfort in the advice that Vincent gave his followers about pursuing perfection. He said, “True, solid holiness consists in this: doing well what you do.” [7] In a later conference he qualified it, adding the phrase “as far as our human weakness . . . allows.” [8] That is liberating for perfectionists. It is enough that we try our best while recognizing and accepting that we have limitations.

Reflection Questions:

What does it mean to “do well what you do” within the context of your work at DePaul?

How does your work contribute to your overall efforts to pursue goodness? If you’re a perfectionist, what are some ways in which taking stock of these efforts allows you to be gentler to yourself in self-assessments?

Reflection by: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

[1] New Revised Standard Version.

[2] Conference 195, “Purpose of the Congregation of the Mission (Common Rules, Chap. 1, Art. 1),” December 6, 1658, CCD, 12:68–69. Available online at: https://‌‌via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/36/.

[3] Bonnie Bowman Thurston, “Matthew 5:43-48: ‘You, Therefore, Must Be Perfect,’” Interpretation 41:2 (April 1987): 171, Atla Religion Database.

[4] Ibid., 172.

[5] Conference 207, “Charity (Common Rules, Chap. 2, Art. 12)” May 30, 1659, CCD, 12:219.

[6] For more on these ideas, see conference 180, “Observance of the Rules,” May 17, 1658, ibid., 12:2n5; conference 143, “Repetition of Prayer,” October 17, 1655, ibid., 11:286. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/37/; and conference 196, “Members of the Congregation and their Ministries (Common Rules, Chap. 1, Art. 2 and 3),” December 13, 1658, ibid., 12:93.

[7] Conference 116, “Uniformity (Common Rules, Art. 17),” November 15, 1657, ibid., 10:284. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/35/.

[8] Conference 195, “Purpose of the Congregation of the Mission (Common Rules, Chap. 1, Art. 1),” December 6, 1658, ibid., 12:69. Available online at: https://‌via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/36/.

Our Habits Make Us Who We Are

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This week the worldwide Christian community celebrates Ash Wednesday, the traditional beginning of the Lenten season. The annual season of Lent is an individual and communal religious practice inviting Christians to a period of focused attention on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It lasts over 40 days, the amount of time Jesus faced temptation in the desert before his public ministry began, as recorded in three of the four Christian gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

Religious holy days, holy weeks, holy months, or holy seasons, such as Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, are commonplace in many religious traditions. The global Muslim community recently initiated the annual religious practice of Ramadan. Jewish people will soon celebrate Passover in April. Other major and minor religious holidays occur throughout the year among these three Abrahamic faiths, as well as in many other religious, spiritual, and cultural communities.

Human beings are often aided by ritual practice. Aristotle said that we are what we do repeatedly. Mindfulness practitioners speak of the importance of the consistency of its practice, and psychologists tell us that habits practiced regularly over time can lead to the changes we seek. Through the pervasiveness of religious holidays, and, as Christians initiate the season of Lent, we are reminded that what we practice regularly shapes who we are and who we become.

Conveniently falling a few months after New Year’s resolutions were pronounced, perhaps these next 40 days of Lent can offer a booster shot or a restart to the vision you may have identified for yourself at the time. Repeating encouragement from a past pre-Lenten reflection, perhaps we might also use this season of Lent for organizational purposes, as an institution founded in the Catholic tradition, to reflect together on how we can refresh our work with renewed positivity, hope, creativity, and commitment. To quote an often-used Scripture text [1] during Ash Wednesday services: “Behold, now is a very acceptable time” to get started on habits that will aid us in becoming more fully who we are called or inspired to be.

Reflection Questions:

  • What is the vision you had for the year 2025 when it began three months ago, and what is still possible for you to renew or begin (again)?
  • What is one individual or communal practice that you could strive to make a regular habit over the next 40 days?
  • Is there a team or group of people with whom you might initiate a shared practice?

The season of Lent runs from Ash Wednesday on March 5th through Easter on Sunday, April 20th. Learn more about DePaul University’s Ash Wednesday services here.

Reflection by: Mark Laboe, Interim VP for Mission and Ministry

[1] 2 Cor. 5:20–6:2.

A Flourishing Community

mlaboe Mission and Ministry, Mission Monday , , , , ,

“It feels like we are standing on shifting sands. What can we hold onto when there seems to be an attack on the principles DePaul was founded on and why I do my work?”

This question was posed to me recently by a team member. The current realities in our society and in the field of higher education certainly present us with many such questions and fears. In navigating these challenges together, our Catholic and Vincentian mission can continue to serve as an anchor and an ongoing source of strength, inspiration, direction, and shared sense of purpose.

I believe it is helpful for us to remember, especially now, that our mission statement has deep historical roots in a religious heritage. Our Catholic and Vincentian heritage provides an ethical and moral framework that was and remains inspired by a theological understanding of who God is, who the human person is, and thus who we are called to be. As a faith-based institution, our heritage calls us in an ongoing way to the work of cultivating a healthy and vibrant diversity, an inclusive community that fosters a sense of belonging, and a more just and equitable society. In this time of shifting sands, it is important to firmly articulate some principles in which DePaul can anchor itself as a faith-based, Catholic, and Vincentian institution.

I would like to propose five foundational theological and educational principles that make more explicit the connection between DePaul’s Catholic and Vincentian religious heritage and our shared mission to build a human and university community in which all are afforded a sense of belonging and care, and are given what they need to flourish.

In offering these for our mutual discernment and dialogue, I recognize that these principles are not necessarily unique to Catholicism or Vincentianism. At the same time, I attest that they are deeply Catholic and Vincentian. In my 20 years at DePaul, I have found that people with a wide variety of religious and secular worldviews can embrace or fruitfully engage DePaul’s Catholic and Vincentian heritage without sacrificing their own convictions. In fact, inter-convictional dialogue and learning is an essential part of what makes DePaul such a rich learning and work environment.

For each of the following, the ongoing discernment and work is to consider how these principles can be realized in our daily life and work as a university community.

Affirming the inherent dignity of the human person

In the Catholic and Vincentian traditions, there is a strong emphasis placed on the dignity of the human person as “imago dei,” that is, as made in the image and likeness of God. Pope Francis recently called the dignity of the person “infinite and transcendent.”[1] The recognition of the intrinsic dignity of each human person is foundational to all Catholic social teaching, including the commitment to work for social justice. It is also the cornerstone of the Vincentian charism.

Caring for the marginalized

Catholic social teaching and the faith and life example of Vincent de Paul call us to make a conscious and intentional effort to recognize, specifically, the inherent dignity of those who suffer or are marginalized by any human system. For example, Catholic social teaching speaks of a “preferential option for the poor.” A driving impetus behind the work of Vincent de Paul came with the recognition of the sacred dignity of those who were otherwise abandoned, mistreated, dishonored, or pushed aside in the society of his time. This concern moved him to attend to the needs of those on the peripheries of society, and this work became the center of his mission. Therefore, our mission challenges us to continually ask and answer the question “Who is left out?” We must ensure that these persons are recognized and fully included in our vision of community and society, rather than forgotten or ignored.

Building a sense of belonging and community

An important counterpart to affirming the sacred dignity of all is the recognition that human beings are fundamentally and irrevocably social beings. The social nature of the human person means that we are necessarily interconnected in a web of relationships from the time of our birth until our death. Interdependence is the existential ground of being human. We thrive only in relationship with others, in community. Direct encounter and attention to human relationships are constituent elements of a Vincentian social justice. Thus, affirming and supporting the dignity of all means also to do all we can to foster a sense of belonging for all in our communities and classrooms.

Working for the common good

From the perspective of DePaul’s Catholic and Vincentian mission, our shared human vocation is to live and work on behalf of the common good. Social justice in the Catholic tradition is about establishing the conditions in society that help to make human flourishing possible. Regardless of our unique talents and career choices, each of us is challenged to consider how we can contribute our skills, time, energy, and resources to the betterment of the larger world. We are invited and challenged in an ongoing way to transcend personal self-interest to discern and act for the greater good of society. Personal good cannot be separated from communal and societal good. The creative and challenging tension is that in light of our Catholic and Vincentian heritage, these must always be in dialogue as a both/and, not an either/or.

Participating in community and society as a right and a responsibility of all

From the perspective of Catholic social teaching, participation is both a right and responsibility. Not only are we called to participate constructively in society and the human communities of which we are part, but it is our responsibility to work to ensure the opportunity for others’ participation. Participation is essential to the integral human development of people, both in the context of learning and the workplace. The shape and form of our participation, therefore, must be rooted in care and respect for the rights of others to also participate. This principle lies at the heart of Pope Francis’ call to a spirit of synodality, which involves genuine encounter, listening, courage, and dialogue. When we hold ourselves back from meaningful participation or deny or prevent the participation of others through our actions or inactions, human society and communities cannot flourish.

Conclusion

Vincent de Paul often spoke of the importance of virtues, which are developed when our deepest values are put into practice consistently through our words and actions. The five foundational principles or values I propose, rooted deeply in our Catholic and Vincentian mission, are offered not as an exhaustive list but as a starting point for discernment and dialogue. They point to the fact that we can draw from the deep reserves of our religious heritage to ground our institutional commitments to the work of building a thriving and inclusive human community and university. Hopefully, they offer not only some support and inspiration for who we are and why we do what we do, but also serve as an ongoing challenge to move us toward who we are called to become.

Reflection questions:

  1. How can these principled commitments and the ethical and moral framework that they provide continue to be made real through our life and work together?
  2. How do these principles show up in our life and work at DePaul? In the education we provide, and/or in the way we function together as a university community?

Reflection by: Mark Laboe, Interim Vice President for Mission and Ministry

[1] Pope Francis, “Letter of the Holy Father to the Bishops of the United States of America,” February 10, 2025, https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2025/documents/20250210-lettera-vescovi-usa.html

The Good Life

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Written By: Tom Judge, Chaplain, Faculty and Staff Engagement, Division of Mission and Ministry

This winter I’ve been doing some travelling, spending a lot of time behind the wheel. Usually when I find myself with long stretches in the car, I like to listen to a little music. My choices, not surprisingly, are most often songs from an artist or group I like or that have a fun memory associated with them, basically, tunes that make me feel good. But every once in a while, instead of listening to music, I feel the urge to try and improve my character. I had one of those aspirational moments on a recent Saturday while I was driving through the hills of western Pennsylvania. And, so, instead of cranking up The Greatest Hits of the ’80s, I googled a list of the most popular TED Talks ever, scanned the titles, and picked one that sounded as if it could be edifying.

The talk is called “What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness.” [1] It’s about a research study from Harvard University that examines adult human development and has been taking place continuously over a span of more than eighty-five years. The study began in the late 1930s and followed 724 teenage males from the university and various, mostly lower socioeconomic, Boston neighborhoods. Every few years, researchers contacted their subjects, asked detailed questions about their lives, accessed their medical records, and even took DNA samples to amass a wealth of data on human health, success, and satisfaction. From all of this varied and complex information, one very clear finding stands out: good relationships are the largest single contributor to a happy and fulfilling life. As much as money, status, talent, or accomplishments may enhance our lives, give us pleasure, or help us meet our needs, according to the study, they do not impact our basic sense of joy and contentment as much as the quality of our connections with other human beings.

As I reflect on this TED Talk, with its simple, profound message, I sense a deep resonance between the results of the Harvard study and the lessons of our Vincentian heritage. Strong and loving relationships have always been at the heart of the mission Vincent and Louise began four centuries ago. From the forming of early communities to the carrying out of ministries to the poor, a premium was always placed on relating to the other as a true friend—with respect, gentleness, and charity—whether the other is a person one lives and works with, or a person one is in a position to serve. [2] The life-shaping importance of good relationships is wisdom made real for us from two distinct sources: a highly regarded study out of our nation’s oldest university, and the time-honored mission that guides our nation’s largest Catholic university. Different as these origins are, the essence of their lesson is the same: good relationships—true human connections—are the foundation of a happy and satisfying life.

What does that lesson mean for us today and how might we use this wisdom going forward? It seems to me that in 2025, DePaul is an energetic, life-giving, and ambitious university, albeit with plenty of challenges, existing in a world that has many reasons for hope amid distressing possibilities. Given these realities, there appears to be an acute need for us as individuals, as well as a community, to prioritize the fostering of good relationships in our lives and within our university. Zealously continuing to nurture DePaul as a place where true friendships and feelings of connectedness thrive will not only help us live out the spirit of our Vincentian mission, it will also provide the essential element of a happy life to all those who call DePaul home.

Reflection Questions:

  1. How would you describe the state of the relationships in your life? Would you like to develop new, meaningful relationships or renew older, more established ones? If so, what can you do to set this in motion? It is never too late!
  2. What can you, your department, or the university as a whole do to cultivate meaningful connections and life-giving relationships at DePaul? If you have an idea you would like to share, consider reaching out to someone on the Faculty and Staff Engagement team from the Division of Mission and Ministry. You may also contact Staff Council or Faculty Council.

Reflection by: Tom Judge, Chaplain, Faculty and Staff Engagement, Division of Mission and Ministry

[1] Robert Waldinger, “What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness,” TED Talk, November 2015, 12 min., 31 sec. https://www.ted.com/talks/‌robert_waldinger_‌what_makes_‌a_good_life_‌lessons_‌from_the_longest_study_on_happiness/transcript?referrer=playlist-the_most_‌popular_ted_‌talks_‌of_all_time&autoplay=true. See also Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2023).

[2] For a recent Mission Monday reflection on the importance of friendship to our early Vincentian forebears, see Miranda Lukatch, “The Vincentian Roots of Friendship,” The Way of Wisdom (blog), February 10, 2025, https://‌blogs.‌depaul.edu/dmm/2025/02/07/the-vincentian-roots-of-friendship/.