Finding the Holy Spirit in Chaos

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Recently, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity invited academician and scholar Maureen H. O’Connell to speak about her book Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness.[1] In her remarks, which drew from her own personal history as well as the history of the American Catholic Church, O’Connell examined Catholic anti-blackness and its mournful legacy of slave ownership, segregation, inequity, and exclusion. She also did something unusual and juxtaposed this history with the Synod of Bishops currently taking place in the Catholic Church.

For those unfamiliar, a Catholic synod is a body made up of selected bishops from around the world. Their purpose is to advise the Pope on myriad issues pertaining to the Church and to help the Pope grow closer in understanding and relationship with the bishops, clergy, and indeed, all members of the Catholic community. This current synod was called by Pope Francis and is scheduled to last until late 2024. Its themes revolve around communion, participation, and mission, as Pope Francis endeavors to make real his vision of a more inclusive Church—one that is open, collegial, and supportive; a Church that walks with its members with mutuality and care.

It is provocative that O’Connell chose to review one of the darkest chapters of American Catholicism through the lens of a forward thinking, hope-filled synod. For whether we are looking back at our history or taking stock of our present reality, it can be difficult to build a convincing case that humans, Catholic or otherwise, can live as Pope Francis dreams. The scourge of enslavement and racism, inequity and exclusion, the ongoing wars in Gaza, in Sudan, and Ukraine, and even the unrest on our own campus are but some examples that illustrate the long reality of discord throughout both the Church and the world.

However, O’Connell offered a radical response to the tumultuous and disordered reality of the human condition: the Holy Spirit can be found in the chaos. If we are people of faith and hope, then somewhere within us is a belief that disarray in the world may be transformed into something beautiful and good. In a letter to Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac herself proclaimed this belief when she said: “I see such disorder everywhere that I feel overwhelmed by it. Nevertheless, I continue to hope, and I wish to place my trust in Divine Providence…”[2] Likewise, Pope Francis has acknowledged the brokenness of the world and the role of the Church when he said, “We have to learn to live in a church that exists in the tension between harmony and disorder, provoked by the Holy Spirit.”[3]

Saints Vincent and Louise, Pope Francis, and Maureen O’Connell share this in common. Each holds fast to the belief that chaos can be transformed into something good; that the Holy Spirit can be found in the brokenness. From this shared belief, each has worked in their own way to realize this hope. Vincent, Louise, and their followers have done so by serving those most in need of spiritual and material support, while Pope Francis and O’Connell have used their gifts to help bring needed reform and reconciliation to the Church and the world.

At DePaul, we are the fortunate beneficiaries of the faith and wisdom that Vincent, Louise, Pope Francis, and O’Connell pass on. Like them, we can choose to believe that good will make its way through the chaos, and that the Holy Spirit, however understood, is alive in us even during our most stressful and disordered times. And, like them, we can commit to do all we can to bring these hopes to life.

Questions for Reflection:

  1. Have there been times of chaos in your life or, like Louise, times when you have felt overwhelmed? How did you get through those times? Looking back, are you able to see any good that came from the chaos?
  2. If you believe, like Vincent and Louise, that challenging and tumultuous times may be transformed into something better, what is something you can do to help that transformation occur? How can you help make a challenging circumstance better?

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

[1] Maureen O’Connell, Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness (Beacon Press, 2022), 272 pp.

[2] L.10, To Monsieur Vincent, (Between 1639 and 1647), Spiritual Writings, p. 335.

[3] Austen Ivereigh, “An Interview with Pope Francis: ‘A Time of Great Uncertainty,’” Commonweal Magazine, 12 March 2023, at: www.commonwealmagazine.org/time-great-uncertainty.

 

Finding Our Way

sverma15 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

Finding Our Way

In today’s turbulent world, how might a seventeenth-century French priest help us find our way? …read more

 

 

Mission-Related Events and Happenings This Week

 

Join Us for Baccalaureate Mass

DePaul’s commencement weekend will begin with an opportunity to gather in a spirit of prayer and thanksgiving with graduating students, their families, and DePaul faculty, staff, and administrators. Those of all faith traditions are invited and encouraged to attend as we celebrate our graduates at this special mass. Please also join us for a reception immediately following. Please RSVP here.

Finding Our Way

sverma15 Community, Dialogue, Dignity, Mission and Ministry, Mission Monday, Relationships
Vincent reflects on corruption of the former queen’s court

In today’s turbulent world of polarizing opinions, how often do we find ourselves residing in echo chambers surrounded by those who think like us? This dynamic offers little opportunity to truly listen to and dialogue with others. What would it take to build bridges to greater understanding across the many divides that separate us today? And, how might a seventeenth-century French priest help us find our way?

As Margaret John Kelly writes, “Vincent de Paul changed history because he was a creative reconciler.”[1] In fact, because he “was able to successfully harness competing interests and make them work together in concrete ways for the service of the poor,” you are reading this reflection today in a university that bears his name and continues to be infused by his spirit.[2]

While Vincent lived more than four hundred years ago, parallels between his time and ours abound. During his lifetime, Vincent witnessed much national and international strife. He lived through the Thirty Years’ War and the civil war known as the Fronde. He also weathered numerous ecclesiastical controversies. Not unlike today, at that time, territorial rights were often the cause of much bloody conflict, and peace was more of a distant dream than a reality.

Seventeenth-century France was also beset by the overwhelming problem of “resettling refugees who were fleeing economic or political oppression, insufficient healthcare for the poor, a high level of unemployment, inadequate housing, and, of course, an astounding rate of malnutrition.”[3]

Like so many others, Vincent could have chosen to ignore the challenges of his age in favor of accepting the status quo, but he refused to accept the brokenness he saw around him. Instead, he committed his life to finding solutions to what may have seemed to be intractable problems. He used his keen imagination and a spirit of inventiveness to build what his heart longed to see: a more just world.

How did he do this? In addition to asking why such complex problems existed, Vincent would call upon the goodwill and wisdom of those around him to address them. Part of Vincent’s genius was that he knew he couldn’t engage these issues alone. He valued relationships and relied upon them to help reveal manifest sides of an issue, which he would have been unable to identify alone. Such a process involved gathering with others, including those with whom he disagreed, and painstakingly listening to diverse opinions with respect and dignity. It also required Vincent’s openness to being wrong. This method allowed Vincent to become more informed and, with others, to identify or create new possibilities.

Vincent’s North Star was always his faith in a loving God who calls for us to recognize and uphold the dignity of the other. Such a belief grounded all Vincent’s actions. Others around him, like Archbishop of Cambrai François de Fénelon, chose to “berat[e] the rich from the pulpit.”[4] But Vincent always insisted on the dignity of all, including royalty and the aristocracy. Rather than “otherizing” those with whom he may have disagreed, Vincent chose to steadfastly uphold the goodness of the human person. He would appeal to that goodness to serve the needs of the most marginalized. Indeed, Vincent’s ability to build bridges with the wealthy allowed him to “capitaliz[e] on their generosity” to serve the poor.[5] Through such networking and creative reconciliation efforts, he established myriad social development ministries, many of which exist to this day.

Today, when the challenges of our time feel overwhelming and risk obscuring the humanity of the other, Vincent’s voice still rings clear, inviting us to work for just and creative reconciliation against division.

Reflection Question:

As Margaret John Kelly notes, “The challenges of our day could lead us to despair or indifference; but we remember that our religious/political/social/economic environment is not unlike the one in which Vincent lived.”[6] These similar circumstances inspired Vincent’s quest for justice and creative reconciliation.

In what ways do you find yourself experiencing this call?

Reflection by: Siobhan O’Donoghue, PhD, Director of Faculty and Staff Engagement, Division of Mission and Ministry

[1] Margaret John Kelly, D.C., “Saint Vincent de Paul: A Creative Reconciler,” Vincentian Heritage Journal 12:1 (1991): 2. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol12/iss1/6.

[2] Untitled abstract to Kelly, ibid.

[3] Kelly, 4–5.

[4] Ibid., 12.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid., 14.

Lean Into Your Strengths

sverma15 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

Lean Into Your Strengths

Remaining grounded in who we are and what we do well is perhaps the best we can contribute for our own good and for the good of the whole…read more

 

Mission-Related Events and Happenings This Week

 

Join Us for Baccalaureate Mass

DePaul’s commencement weekend will begin with an opportunity to gather in a spirit of prayer and thanksgiving with graduating students, their families, and DePaul faculty, staff, and administrators. Those of all faith traditions are invited and encouraged to attend as we celebrate our graduates at this special mass. Please also join us for a reception immediately following. Please RSVP here.

Lean Into Your Strengths

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“May God be pleased to strengthen you in these hardships, enlighten you in your doubts, and bring you safely to the place where Providence intends to lead your little bark. Trust firmly in God’s guidance and encourage your people to have this trust in the present disturbances; the storm will abate, and the calm will be greater and more pleasing than ever.”[1] — Vincent de Paul

Over the past several days, I have found myself repeatedly searching for words that might support my colleagues in Mission and Ministry—and to encourage us to be a support to others—as we move through the many challenges of our current moment as a DePaul community. What surfaced for me in my own prayerful reflection was to share a rather simple message of encouragement to “lean into your strengths.”

Compassion. Kindness. Generosity. Listening. Making space that brings people together as a community. Care. Invitation to relationship. Bridge-building. Hope. Mindful and heart-full reflection and prayer. Love.

There is so much that is beyond us and our ability to control, in our personal lives and in these current times. Remaining grounded in who we are and what we do well is perhaps the best we can contribute for our own good and the good of the whole. This can serve to keep us grounded, authentic, and present to the moment. Each has unique gifts to share for the benefit of the larger whole.

I invite you to join us in Mission and Ministry by considering what strengths you offer that might contribute to the well-being of others in our community right now.

How can you mindfully and intentionally lean into those strengths and offer them generously as gifts for our DePaul community in need of care, healing, and hope?

I would welcome—and I am certain our whole team in Mission and Ministry would welcome—walking with you in any way possible to encourage and support you in bringing those gifts to light.

May we all walk together in the way of wisdom, which Vincent de Paul reminds us, “consists in following Providence step by step.”[2]

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

[1] Letter 1942, “To Charles Ozenne, Superior, in Krakow,” October 15, 1655, CCD, 5:454.

[2] Letter 720, “To Bernard Codoing, Superior, in Rome,” August 6, 1644, CCD, 2:521.

Leading by Listening

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Carter Webb: I pride myself on being this great listener, but whenever I meet somebody new, I find I’m doing all the talking.

Sarah Hardwicke: Maybe you’re not a great listener.

Carter Webb: Hmm?

Sarah Hardwicke: Maybe you’re not such a great listener.

Carter Webb: No that’s not it, I’m a great listener.

 

“In the Land of Women” script by Jon Kasdan

 

In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. famously and compellingly makes the case for nonviolent direct action against injustice to an audience that claims to be sympathetic to the goals of his movement but worried about the discomfort and tension his methods may create. King argues that the purpose of nonviolent direct action is to force attention to an issue that a community seeks to ignore. King further argues that “constructive nonviolent tension” is not something to be feared but is actually “necessary for growth.”1

I have been struck recently in sessions learning from Grace School of Applied Diplomacy Practitioner in Residence Rafael Tyszblat by the emphasis placed on deep listening. This includes paying attention to emotions. Tyszblat is insistent that conflict will necessarily involve emotions and that attempting to suppress or ignore those emotions is not helpful. Listening to those expressions of emotion by others and paying close attention to our own emotions is essential to constructive engagement amid conflict. Those emotions, while they may contribute to tension, if fully engaged rather than suppressed or ignored can teach us a great deal. Tyszblat argues that we are afraid of emotions because of fears they can lead to violence or other great harms, but in fact most often that escalation proceeds from suppressing or ignoring emotions, not from acknowledging and engaging them. Listening is not always easy but may be most important at times when it is most difficult.

A commitment to listening to and hearing others is central to the Vincentian worldview to which we are committed at DePaul. Vincent included meekness or gentleness as one of the primary virtues necessary to those who lived out the Mission.  Vincent’s understanding suggests that honoring the dignity of all leads as much to listening to others as preaching to them, to serving others as much as directing them. We have seen attempts to live out this commitment in recent times through processes of listening and gaining wisdom such as the crafting of the revised Mission statement,2 the Synodal process in the Catholic Church,3 and Designing DePaul.4

Many people feel that they are not truly seen or heard. Our initial response to a reminder about the importance of listening may be “Yes, people should definitely do a better job of listening to me.” People who have been marginalized or ignored in the past may hear calls for them to listen as calls to continue that marginalization. The primary responsibility for fostering a culture of listening must be on those who have power and privilege in any space.

We may see a call directed towards leaders, and think, “Yes, they really need to do better.” That is likely valid, yet everyone in the University community has some kind of privilege, certainly compared to the population of the world. Of course, some enjoy much more than others. The Prophet Muhammad in a famous tradition taught that “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for their flock.”5 We all have spaces where we are in charge, where we are responsible, as a teacher in the classroom or perhaps supervising a student worker. Let us continue to search for ways that we can lead by listening in those spaces, by doing our best to truly hear the experiences, the concerns, and the wisdom of others.

Questions for Reflection:

  • What are essential tools or techniques to being a better listener? What can get in the way of listening to others or make it difficult for us?
  • In our political life, many people express a feeling that their concerns and wishes are not listened to, yet many people also rarely participate in opportunities like public meetings or voting. Sometimes at DePaul there can also be a lot of processes meant to foster listening, but people do not always find participating in them possible or worthwhile. Why do you think that is? What are barriers to meaningful participation? Are there times when lack of participation reflects satisfaction, comfort, or trust in decision makers? Are there creative ways to “listen” to people outside of formal processes in which they may be reluctant to engage?

Reflection by: Abdul-Malik Ryan

———————————————————————————————————————–

1 https://www.csuchico.edu/iege/_assets/documents/susi-letter-from-birmingham-jail.pdf

2 https://resources.depaul.edu/newsline/sections/campus-and-community/Pages/Mission-Statement-review-process-moves-forward.aspx

3 https://resources.depaul.edu/newsline/sections/campus-and-community/Pages/Synodal-gatherings.aspx

4 https://www.designing.depaul.edu/

5 https://www.abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2011/07/03/shepherd-flock/

 

Leading by Listening

afraser5 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

Leading by Listening

We often associate leadership with action. Pragmatic Vincentian leadership is characterized by action, but listening should be seen as a vital and important action itself, one that is important even when it can be difficult…read more

 

Mission-Related Events and Happenings This Week

Unity in Action: Celebrating St. Vincent at the Vinny Games

Take a well-deserved break from your day for some sustenance, social connections, and laughter. As always, all faculty/staff are welcome, and you can participate as an individual and/or as a team.

Register Here

 

Doubt, Certainty, and Louise’s Lumière

afraser5 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

Doubt, Certainty, and Louise’s Lumière

Louise de Marillac had a vision that freed her from all doubt. In times of uncertainty, how can we relate?

…read more

 

Mission-Related Events and Happenings This Week

Louise Week 2024

In honor of Saint Louise de Marillac’s Feast Day on May 9th, the Division of Mission and Ministry invites the DePaul community to celebrate Louise Week from May 4-10. For more information about the week’s events, check out the Louise Week event lineup here: 

Louise Week 2024 Events

 

 

 

 

   Lunch with Louise

DePaul faculty and staff, please join us for our annual Lunch with Louise honoring the life and legacy of St. Vincent de Paul’s great friend and collaborator, St. Louise de Marillac. This year, we are delighted to have as our featured guests Deans Lucia Dettori, Lexa Murphy and Tatum Thomas from the Colleges of Computing and Digital Media, Communications and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

Register Here

 

Louise Feast Day Mass & Lunch

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate St Louise de Marillac’s Feast Day by attending mass and/or a celebratory lunch right after.  Everyone is welcome!

Louise Week 2024 Events

 

Unity in Action: Celebrating St. Vincent at the Vinny Games

Take a well-deserved break from your day for some sustenance, social connections, and laughter. As always, all faculty/staff are welcome, and you can participate as an individual and/or as a team.

Register Here

 

 

Bereavement Notices

Remembering Dr. Wade R. Ragas

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).

DePaul University Bereavement Notices will now be found here.

Doubt, Certainty, and Louise’s Lumière

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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 

———————————————————————————————————————–

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.