challenges

Building a Strong Foundation

afraser5 Community, Mission Monday, Vincent de Paul, Vincentian stories, Vincentian values , , , , , ,

“I certainly hope that you will lay the foundation … of the establishment being made, so that the edifice will be built on rock and not on shifting sands.”[1]

I have been thinking about foundations—things upon which something stands or is supported—quite a bit lately, because on January 25, DePaul celebrated the 407th anniversary of the foundation of the Vincentian mission. On that date in 1617, Monsieur Vincent de Paul delivered a memorable sermon of inspiration and hope to poor villagers of the rural community he served. This occasion was so meaningful to those assembled, including Vincent, that it contributed to a great surge of faith among the villagers, and led some years later to Vincent founding an order of priests who, like himself, were willing to devote their lives to the poor. Accordingly, the foundation of the worldwide Vincentian mission we know today was laid in a modest country church in France when faith, in response to great need, took action.

In a less institutional but more personal way, I have been reflecting upon my own foundation as of late. Unexpected challenges have made me stop and ask: What have I built my life on? What really grounds and supports me? And what difference does it make?

Albert Camus, the French writer and thinker, talked about the human crisis, the time when an individual, or an entire society, comes under intense difficulty or threat, and when difficult decisions must be made.[2] At these times of crisis, Camus believed, human beings have three options: they can throw their hands up in despair and impotence; they can take refuge in empty beliefs that prove useless when the going gets tough; or they can resist. For Camus, this last option was the best option, the most noble, the most virtuous. To resist means to respond to danger and challenge with courage, selflessness, justice, and love. To resist is to use the available talents and resources towards vanquishing the threat and serving the common good. Camus did not think that such resistance was easy nor was it always successful. But it was the right, and ultimately most effective, thing to do.

It seems to me that resistance to a challenge or crisis, whether it is personal or societal, stands a better chance of success if it is based upon a strong foundation. Values that are tried and true. Wisdom that has stood the test of time. Relationships that are healthy and nurturing. A strong sense of your “inner compass” and where it is pointing you. Vincent de Paul and his community faced the crisis of poverty in seventeenth-century France and chose not to turn away, but to resist. They based their resistance on their own strong foundation: faith, which, for them meant modeling their lives on the example of Jesus Christ; community, which meant that they would live and serve together; and a shared commitment to respond to the needs that presented themselves.

As human beings, we move between challenges, even crises, as a part of life. As Camus understood, during these times the temptation to give up or turn to a false, empty solution is strong. But, if we can muster the strength and courage to meet the challenge and then do all we can to lean upon that strong foundation, ultimately, we will prevail.

At DePaul, and in our lives, we seek to meet difficult needs and critical challenges every day. Having a foundation that grounds and supports us, that accompanies and unites us, will always help us through.

Questions for Reflection:

What is your foundation built upon? What helps to ground and support you?

If DePaul’s foundation is our mission—our Vincentian and Catholic identity—what might you do to help sustain and strengthen it?

Think of a time in your personal or professional life when you have faced a great challenge or even a crisis. Did you “lean into” your foundation for support and strength? How so?

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

[1] Letter 1965, “To Jean Martin,” 26 November 1655, CCD, 5:479. See: https://‌‌‌‌via.‌library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/30/.

[2] Albert Camus, “The Human Crisis” (“La Crise de l’homme”), lecture, Columbia University, 28 March 1946. Click here to read a transcription of the lecture.

“Our good will and honest efforts”: Perseverance as Response to Overwhelming Challenges

bcicirel Islam, Mission Monday , , ,

The global Muslim community recently completed the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the sacred city of Mecca.[1] While still allowing far fewer pilgrims than in pre-pandemic times, this was the first time the Hajj was again a truly international gathering since 2019. According to the Qur’an, God commanded the prophet Abraham to be the first to “proclaim the pilgrimage to all people.”[2]

Traditional Qur’anic commentaries say that Abraham asked, “O Lord, how can I convey [this message] to the people when my voice will not reach them?” God said: “Call, and it will be for Me to ensure it reaches the people.” Abraham did the best he could, going to the top of a mountain and calling out to people to make a pilgrimage to the house he had just dedicated at Mecca. It was said that God ensured that this call not only carried throughout the earth but also reached the human family that had yet to be born. Upon reading this verse and these commentaries, Muslims cannot help but marvel that four thousand years later, millions of people respond to this call every year with the chant of “Here we are, God, at your service!”

Whether they seem to come from beyond our control or arise from our own ideals and vision of the future, the challenges we face can seem overwhelming. These challenges may be situations we face as individuals or families, societal problems such as gun violence and extreme polarization, or global problems like climate change, war, and extreme inequality. One can easily imagine Vincent de Paul becoming overwhelmed by seventeenth-century France’s recurrent plagues, religious conflict, and widespread material and spiritual poverty.[3] Facing those same realities, along with the extreme limitations placed on women’s roles, Louise de Marillac could have felt the same.

Certainly, we may have observed in others and in ourselves, some of the common coping strategies for being overwhelmed. These can include selfishness, cynicism, escapism, or wishing for destruction, whether of an idealistic or nihilistic nature. Yet our Vincentian legacy encourages us not to give in to these temptations. As Vincent did, as Louise did, we are invited to make our intentions sincere, to hope for a better future, and to use our “good will and honest efforts” toward securing that future.[4] He taught that our actions are all we can control and that we should leave the rest to forces beyond ourselves. As was the case with Abraham and the call to the Hajj, the work Vincent and Louise started continues today in ways they could never have imagined.

As we face the general challenges mentioned above, or the specific challenges of higher education, or the city of Chicago that we love, let us re-commit ourselves to a beautiful vision of the role DePaul University can play in the present and the future. No doubt challenges foreseen and unforeseen will still find us on our journey. That is the nature of journeys. Yet we may also find ourselves blessed with wonderful companions and miraculous and unexpected openings and transformations along the way.

Reflection: What are some ways in which you feel overwhelmed, personally or professionally? What is your vision of the ways in which DePaul can address the challenges of our time? What does it mean to you to bring your “good will and honest efforts” to your role at DePaul?

Reflection by: Abdul-Malik Ryan, Assistant Director, Religious Diversity & Pastoral Care

[1] This year’s Hajj took place from July 7 to July 12 and was marked by a large degree of logistical confusion. See Dustin Jones, “This Eid al-Adha, the New Rules for Hajj Have Left Many Frustrated,” NPR, July 9, 2022, Religion, https://www.npr.org/2022/07/09/1110580296/saudi-arabia-travel-rules-hajj-frustrated-pilgrimage.

[2] Qur’an Surah Hajj Verse 27.

[3] For additional insights on Vincent’s time and the Vincentian approach to the overwhelming challenge of poverty reduction then and now, see Edward R. Udovic, C.M., “‘Our good will and honest efforts.’ Vincentian Perspectives on Poverty Reduction Efforts,” Vincentian Heritage 28:2 (2010), at: https://‌via.‌library.‌depaul.edu‌/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1321&context=vhj.

[4] The full quote reads, “Since God is satisfied with our good will and honest efforts, let us also be satisfied with the outcome He gives to them, and our actions will never be without good results.” Letter 962, “To Etienne Blatiron, Superior, in Genoa,” June 21, 1647, CCD, 3:206. Available online at: https://‌via.‌library.‌depaul.edu‌/vincentian_ebooks/28/.

Look Up with Hope

bcicirel Hope, Mission Monday , , , ,

Over the past weeks I’ve been privy to the laments of many who are trying to remain hopeful as they or their dear ones face the fear of COVID, as they struggle in a virtual world, or as they grapple with growing angst over our country. While we are living through very trying times, we are reminded by Elizabeth Ann Seton, a woman who knew suffering and struggles well, that sometimes all we can do is “look up with hope.”1

We hang onto a hope that tomorrow will be a new day with new challenges. But, in these trying times, our hope is often that we will be able to carry on and live to see a better day. Guiding the way, we are privileged to turn to the wisdom of our Vincentian sister who reminded us that no matter how difficult things are, “hope travels on nor quits us till we die.”2

It is in this hope that we will find the courage and energy to meet the challenges before us. It is in trusting hope that we look forward to a new and better day. Look up, and hope.

1) Regina Bechtle, S.C., Judith Metz, S.C., eds., Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Collected Writings, 3 vols. (Hyde Park: New City Press, 2000-2006), 2:611.

2) Ibid., 1:7.

 

Reflection by:  Rev. Dr. Diane Dardón, Director, Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care, Division of Mission and Ministry