Praying with Louise de Marillac – Introduction

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Louise de Marillac was a wife, mother, widow, teacher, nurse, director of the Confraternities and Ladies of Charity, and cofounder with Vincent de Paul of the Daughters of Charity.  Patron of Social Workers, Louise knew personal suffering, and she also knew the suffering of God’s poor people.  She was an organizer, a radical thinker who lived life intensely and whose quest was to do the will of God with a deep faith in divine providence.

Praying with Louise de Marillac is a book in the Companions for the Journey series of meditation guides on Christian spirituality.  Authored by Audrey Gibson, DC, and Kieran Kneaves, DC, it was published by Saint Mary’s Press,  Christian Brothers Publications, Winona, Minnesota, in 1995.  ISBN O-88489-329-4  Copies may be obtained directly from the publisher or on-line at www.amazon.com

 

Bearing Hate, Living With Hope

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No matter what I do right before I go to bed my brain keeps locking on things that are really disturbing, he said.    Me too!  I say. Happens to me.

Especially if I am reading people’s alarming Facebook posts or the news late into the evening.  But you can’t be stuck there, I tell him.  You can say a mantra like “God, replace my fear with faith” or just something like “Hope hope hope hope hope…”

Hope.  At the CPAC conference tonight it seems like many are brimming with hope, while that which gives them hope troubles others.  Every day headlines are so demoralizing – bomb threats and Jewish cemetery vandalism. Mass deportations planned. Rising Islamophobic acts. Troubling racism. Environmental threats.  Political scandals.  Communication breakdowns.

I recently saw someone flash the headlines from a 1968 paper and the unrest looked eerily close to what we are experiencing now.  How does one respond?  How do you sustain yourself to act for justice?  The Center for Religion, Culture and Community hosted a panel on January 24th called “Bearing Hate, Living with Hope” that looked at these kinds of questions and asked: what do religious activist and religion have to tell us about community building in a fractured world?

I invite you to watch the panel via the link at the end of this piece.  In the meantime, here are a few nuggets and questions (in my own words) I gratefully latched on to from Moderator Dr. David Wellman of DePaul’s Religious Studies and the panelists — alumna and current Associate Dean of the Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel at Howard University Rev. Waltrina Middleton, DePaul Muslim Chaplain Abdul-Malik Ryan, and Rabbi Cantor Michael Davis.

A framing question from David Wellman: What resources can religious traditions offer — such as the spiritual assumption that all human beings have equal worth regardless of identity or social status,  that people living on the margins have a tremendous amount to offer society and that inclusive communities are achievable?

Wisdom from Rabbi Davis:
Religious community can be a place outside of politics, a place to reconnect.

“We need the Other to keep us who we are.”  When you extend a hand in solidarity, a hand reaches back, sustains you. …What sustains you?

Have a spirit of inquiry!  Be curious about divisive issues – don’t jump into talking about right and wrong.  Ask “What is your story?  Why do you hold these beliefs?”  Get past the politeness of avoiding landmines in order to build community.

Money has strings!  Faculty and staff more constrained than students because money is involved!  So students – act! Act Now!

Wisdom from Rev. Middleton:
Faith leaders must challenge the status quo- introduce revolution!  Christ honored the tradition and was revolutionary.  As a clergy humanist womanist activist – I want to help all cross the freedom line!

God is showing up now – are WE?  Standing up is a risk.  We must be prophetic in speaking truth to power!  Christ showed that we must be concerned about social justice and get involved in social/political movements.

I don’t really like terms like “right” or “left” – we all share common values of love, for justice.

Waltrina told a story about her family demonstrating against the Confederate flag in South Carolina for 40 years.  It is powerful and I invite you to watch it on the video.  Year in, and year out they took action.   Her grandmother did not see the flag come down – but she had a part in it.  Waltrina said, “My work is not for me.”  I may never see the fruits of my labors – but future generations will witness to them.  If you depend on results for encouragement, this is a problem.  Do the action and give the results to God.

Whether or not it makes a difference, it makes sense for us to be in the struggle! You need something to give you hope in the struggle – what gives you hope?

Wisdom from Abdul-Malik Ryan:

No one wishes for them, but struggle and persecution can increase community support.  It can bring out positives.  It’s also lonely to struggle — and loneliness leads you to God.

Theologically in Islam, God is in control. There is wisdom in this — this is not the end. Your story will continue. You need to believe God is in this, and face reality and problems head on.  Platitudes will not do, but you can acknowledge problems in a real way and point people to hope and the greater reality that God is with us.

You should read the second inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln!  We need to claim some universal figures despite their flaws and look at what they actually said.

“Defeating the enemy” is not the end goal – reconciling with them is.  Do you have the courage to forgive after the struggle for justice?

Abdul-Malik contended that people late to a movement or the struggle are still trying to help, so why be overly critical and hard on them?  Make it easy for people to join you and do what you’d like them to do.  Waltrina pushed back. She said lots of people on the margins have their cries for solidarity ignored.  We said, “Come to Ferguson to honor a murdered son” and White women did not come.  When they ask me to march in DC for their issues I ask, “Will you also come be with me?  Share my burden?” Why did there even have to be push back on the Women’s March to increase inclusion? We need to demand to honor the narrative of all!    Make space to listen and honor the narrative – Ask where does it hurt?  Ubuntu – I am because we are (because God calls us…).

At one point, Rabbi Davis said it was a big deal to share spiritual space with fellow activists, to generate ideas and hope.  I agree with him, and was glad to be there for it.  If you’d like to view the entire program by linking here – please do!

Katie Brick, MDiv, is the Director of the Office of Religious Diversity (ORD)
at DePaul University. ORD co-sponsored the panel with the CRCC.

Publication Notice: “Les Lazaristes aux Mascareignes aux XVIIe et XIXe siecles: Ile Bourbon et Ile de France”

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LES LAZARISTES AUX MASCAREIGNES AUX XVIIIE ET XIXE SIÈCLES Ile Bourbon (La Réunion) et Ile de France (Maurice)

Marc Thieffry HISTOIRE RELIGIONS CHRISTIANISME OCÉAN INDIEN Ile Maurice Réunion

La Congrégation de la Mission a été fondée en 1625 par Saint Vincent de Paul. Ses membres s’appellent les lazaristes ou prêtres de Saint-Lazare. Pendant plus d’un siècle, plus d’une centaine de Lazaristes, prêtres et frères, ont évangélisé l’île Bourbon et l’île de France. C’est leur histoire, leur mission, que nous découvrons à travers les manuscrits, documents, lettres, notes, traités et mémoires entreposés aux Archives de la Congrégation de la Mission à Paris.

Broché ISBN : 978-2-343-10433-1 • janvier 2017 • 540 pages EAN PDF : 9782140027970

Solidarity with Muslims at DePaul

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Abdul-Malik Ryan serves as Assistant Director of the Office of Religious Diversity and DePaul’s Muslim Chaplain. In this role he serves as Advisor to UMMA and the Interfaith Scholars student groups.

Recent days have been trying for many different people in our country and around the world, among them the Muslim community which has been targeted through both inflammatory rhetoric and government policies that have caused suffering and created fear for many in American Muslim communities.  At the same time, we have also seen an outpouring of action from Muslims and from others acting in solidarity which has given us hope and determination to continue to struggle for dignity for all communities.

Many people have been asking, “What can I do?” For those looking to show solidarity with the Muslim community at DePaul, we would like to extend a special invitation to participate in Fast a Thon on February 16.

Fast a Thon is an annual program organized by DePaul’s UMMA (United Muslims Moving Ahead) student group which invites people of all faiths or none to join us in experiencing fasting, community, and service together on the same day.  We recognize that everyone is busy and has many different commitments on their time, so we have created several different ways in which people can participate in this effort.

1) People are invited to pledge to fast (as best they are able) on February 16.  Simply go to this link and enter your name and email and you will get a reminder the day before with some suggested guidelines around fasting.  This will include an invitation to wear green on that day in a display of solidarity with the Muslim community.   

2) People are also invited to attend our iftar (breaking of the fast) dinner on February 16 at 5 PM in Cortelyou Commons.  The breaking of the fast (at sunset) will be at 5:27 PM that day.  We will share a delicious meal as a community, reflect together on the experience of fasting, and be entertained by a unique comedian Jeremy McLellan. McLellan is a Christian who has caught on with Muslim and other audiences for his unique take on issues like immigration, race, religion, Islamophobia, politics and disabilities – he celebrates diversity and critiques bigotry through his comedy.  Please RSVP for the dinner here if you know you can commit. An RSVP is necessary to ensure we have space (and food) for you at the dinner.

3) Finally, Fast a Thon will raise money as a community for a great cause.  As part of this Fast a Thon, UMMA is collaborating with Zakat Foundation, an international humanitarian relief organization, to raise money to support education for Syrian refugees, the youngest and most innocent victims of the world’s greatest contemporary humanitarian crisis.  People can donate through this link, by bringing a donation on the day of the Fast a Thon, or visiting the Muslim Life Center in Lincoln Park Student Center room 329 at any time leading up to the dinner.  Please look out for Fast a Thon tabling in the Student Center and spread the word about ways to get involved.  If you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Abdul-Malik Ryan

Newsnote: 19th century French Sisters in China Oeuvre de Saint-Enfance

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The Vincentiana Collection of DePaul University’s Archives and Special Collections has recently acquired two late 19th century pious images of Daughters of Charity serving in the China missions. These were issued by the Oeuvre de Sainte Enfance a Paris-based charity (founded in 1843) supporting the foreign missions especially for the rescue and baptism of children.

The Daughters were major recipients of the support of this organization.

Daughters of Charity in World War II: Sending parcels to a Prisoner of War camp

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This French press photo dated July 2, 1942 shows Daughters of Charity in Paris preparing packages to be sent to French prisoners of War in Stalag VIIa. Wikipedia has the following entry with respect to this camp:” Stalag VII-A (in full: Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager VII-A) was Germany’s largest prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, located just north of the town of Moosburg in southern Bavaria. The camp covered an area of 35 hectares (86 acres). It served also as a transit camp through which prisoners, including officers, were processed on their way to other camps. At some time during the war, prisoners from every nation fighting against Germany passed through it. At the time of its liberation on 29 April 1945, there were about 80,000 prisoners in the camp, mostly from France and the Soviet Union. Many others were billeted in Arbeitskommando working in factories, repairing railroads or on farms.”

DePaul University: St. Vincent’s Reading List

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Memoires de la Reyne Marguerite, by Marguerite de Valois and Auger de Mauléon. Brussels: F. Foppens, 1658.

Call Number: SpC. 944.031092 M331mr1658

A full-text version of this volume may be viewed here.

 

As far as we can tell, the young Vincent de Paul arrived in Paris by late 1609 or early 1610 and took up a position as one of the chaplains in the household of Queen Marguerite de Valois. The Queen was one of the daughters of King Henry II of France and Catherine de’ Medici, and sister to three French kings: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. From 1572 until 1599 she was married to the Protestant Henry of Navarre as he struggled to win the French throne. Her marriage to Henry (eventually crowned King Henry IV of France) was childless, and since the new Bourbon King desperately desired an heir their union was annulled in 1599. Henry IV quickly married Marie de’ Medici and produced an heir he needed to secure the dynasty: the future Louis XIII. Marguerite spent the last sixteen years of her life living in her Left Bank palace in Paris.

 

Marguerite de Valois

Both Louis Abelly and Pierre Coste portray Vincent de Paul’s three years of service to the queen as a key period of conversion in the life of the saint. According to their accounts, this period saw Vincent being publicly accused of theft of by a roommate, his temptation against faith, and his service to the sick-poor at the charity hospital not far from the queen’s palace. Contemporary historiography has raised serious doubts about these accounts. In 1613, Vincent de Paul left the queen’s service and entered into service to the powerful ducal family of Philippe-Emmanuel de Gondi, Duke de Retz. Marguerite of Valois died in Paris at the age of 61 on 27 March 1615.

Marguerite as a Valois princess and as the wife of Henry of Navarre was a witness to, and played a central role in, the last phases of France’s long religious wars and the struggle for succession. At times she was a pawn in the struggles (she was held under house arrest by her brother Henry III for eighteen years), while at others she was an independent actor. She was an intelligent, articulate, beautiful, stylish, and highly literate princess who was simultaneously worldly and conventionally pious. Her historic role and accomplishments have always been under-appreciated because of the double-standards of historiographic misogyny.

The present work is a 1658 edition of her famous memoirs, first published in 1628. The work traces her life up to 1582 and is filled with fascinating insider details of the royal and political struggles of the period. The volume proved very popular and quickly went through many editions in Vincent’s lifetime.

!t is More than Just the Dreamers

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In “It is More Than Just the Dreamers,” Rev. Craig Mousin, J.D., discusses the disruptive impacts that changes to the enforcement priority policies established by the Obama Administration are having in communities across the board.  Our country was founded on the promise of Equality that is a necessary component of democracy. That promise is compromised by the fractures created in our communities by the fears created among immigrant populations, whether citizen or unauthorized, that ultimately impact public health, safety, and economics.  The impact, then, is felt in more than the immigrant population.  It is evidenced in work communities, academic communities, worshiping communities, and neighborhoods. The broken immigration system in the United States leaves courts unable to provide legal redress in a timely manner and the chaos that ensues leaves a trail of broken families and broken dreams. What must be done?

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The Rev. John E. Rybolt, C.M., is the recipient of the 2016 Pierre Coste Prize, which was presented Dec. 12 by the Vincentian Studies Institute. Fr. Rybolt, who was ordained in 1967, is a Vincentian scholar-in-residence at DePaul University. He receives the honor in part for his recently published seven-volume global history of the Vincentian community that dates back to its beginning in 1625.

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