Community

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/.

A Flourishing Community

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

 

MISSION MONDAY

A Flourishing Community

Our Catholic and Vincentian mission inspires us to foster a human community and society in which all are included, and all can flourish.

READ MORE

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Lenten Groups

This Lent, the Division of Mission and Ministry will again facilitate remote weekly faith-sharing groups for faculty and staff. We invite you to join us alongside your peers as we seek spiritual renewal during the Lenten season.

MONDAYS MARCH 10 – APRIL 14 NOON – 1PM: RSVP HERE

THURSDAYS MARCH 6 – APRIL 10 NOON – 1PM: RSVP HERE

Zoom links will be provided upon registration. We look forward to welcoming you!

 

Faculty and Staff are Invited…

Join the Global Engagement Conversation! DePaul faculty and staff, connect with our award-winning Global Engagement team to explore how Vincentian values shape multicultural experiences on campus and abroad. Learn how they support international students and discover ways to get involved in Global DePaul. Enjoy engaging conversation, community building, and a delicious lunch!

Please RSVP HERE!

Please Join…

With the intent of nurturing our DePaul Catholic community spiritually (mass), and corporally (lunch and good community after!) we would love to have faculty and staff join us at this Catholic faculty and staff mass. 

Please RSVP HERE to let us know you will be attending. 

On the third Wednesday of each month, rotating between both campuses, DMM will now host a mass/lunch, especially for faculty and staff. 

 

A Flourishing Community

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“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/.

The Vincentian Roots of Friendship

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Written By: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

What do Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, Elizabeth Seton, and Frédéric Ozanam have in common? Some answers are obvious: they loved God deeply, they shared a mission, and they accomplished enormous good for the poor. But they shared commonalities not only in what they did but how they did it. All these dynamic Vincentian figures relied on the power of friendship. This could take a practical form, such as networking to found and support their organizations. But they also relied on it to fulfill personal needs—to mature their outlooks and nurture the incredible amount of spirit it took to accomplish their goals. Much of what we know about these figures comes from the letters they wrote, and, especially in Elizabeth’s and Frédéric’s cases, many of these were to their friends. [1] Therefore, it seems fitting that before Valentine’s Day, which many countries now celebrate as a friendship day, we consider the role of friendship in our Vincentian heritage, our DePaul community, and in our own daily lives.

Let’s put the importance of friendship within our own cultural context—both in broader American culture and in the culture that exists at DePaul. Back in 2023, the US surgeon general made headlines when he declared loneliness a public health epidemic. In early 2024, a poll from the American Psychiatric Association found that “30% of adults [said] they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week over the past year, while 10% [said] they are lonely every day. Younger people were more likely to experience these feelings, with 30% of Americans aged 18–34 saying they were lonely every day or several times a week.” [2] Considering the student population DePaul serves, these are essential statistics. A significant benefit of being a college graduate is an increased likelihood of having more friends, which provides cascading advantages over a lifetime. [3] This is a benefit we hope our students will derive from their time in our community. But forming and maintaining friendships in adulthood is so difficult that a specific branch of therapy, friendship therapy, has recently been created to address this need. Whole books are being written on how to make friendships work, and the New York Times even has a “friendship correspondent.” (That’s Anna Goldfarb, who has written an excellent book called Modern Friendship.)

Given the importance and difficulty of cultivating friendships, what can we learn from the Vincentian figures who excelled at this? They teach us that we should accept difficulty; just because their friendships were powerful doesn’t mean that they were easy to develop or maintain. When Louise first met Vincent, she felt accepting him as her spiritual director would be “repugnant.” Vincent did not want to be anyone’s director, and a curious two-year gap in an otherwise voluminous correspondence between them has led more than one scholar to believe there was a period of “coolness” in their relationship. [4] I highly recommend reading the published collections of the letters of the four Vincentian personages, which DePaul has made available online. [5] They show how affection within their relationships grew. There are two major threads running through all of them. First, these friendships were grounded not just in common interests but in a deep and common love (of God and of the poor) that was carried out in common enterprises. Second, the letters are supreme demonstrations of simplicity. Simplicity in the Vincentian sense usually means cultivating a deep sincerity, expressing a total alignment of our values, words, and behavior. But I think it could be extended to mean something else: profound openness about thoughts and feelings, in the sense of our internal states, in the sense of our affections, and in the sense of accepting the thoughts and feelings of others. Author and scholar Brené Brown has observed that the word courage “originally meant ‘to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.’” [6] This is what we see happening in the lives and letters of our Vincentian forebears. They had the courage to practice simplicity.

So, Vincentian wisdom shows us that the best friendships are based on shared values and what might be called applied simplicity. We at DePaul have a particularly promising chance to strengthen relationships with those around us based on this wisdom. We are a community “gathered together for the sake of a mission,” so we know it is likely that others here share at least some of our deepest values. And if we practice simplicity, if we have the courage to make first moves and to be (appropriately) persistent, if we are open about what is in our hearts, then in time we can build the same types of friendships that sustained our Vincentian exemplars.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Who are the people who seem the likeliest partners in friendships for you? Are these people you need to reach out to, or are they people you already know? Where are the existing opportunities to deepen these relationships, and what are some ways you can create more?
  2. How have your friendships with colleagues at DePaul inspired and nurtured you? Is there anything you would like to accomplish as a joint effort with your friends?

Reflection by: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

[1] Numerous articles have been written on the role of friendship in these Vincentians’ lives. In addition to those cited in other footnotes in this article, some of the best are Margaret J. Kelly, D.C., “The Relationship of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise from Her Perspective,” Vincentian Heritage 11:1 (1990): 77–114. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol11/iss1/6; Wendy M. Wright, “Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton and the Art of Embodied Presence,” Vincentian Heritage 18:2 (1997): 249–60. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol18/iss2/9; Judith Metz, S.C., “The Key Role of Friendship in the Life of Elizabeth Bayley Seton,” Vincentian Heritage 29:1 (2009): 8–23. Available at: https://‌‌via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol29/iss1/2; and Frederick J. Easterly, C.M., “Frédérick Ozanam, A Layman For Now,” Vincentian Heritage 4:2 (1983): 140–71. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol4/iss2/4. If you visit Vincentian Heritage’s website at https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/, use “friend” as a search term to get results for many more.

[2] American Psychiatric Association, “New APA Poll: One in Three Americans Feels Lonely Every Week,” January 30, 2024, https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/new-apa-poll-one-in-three-americans-feels-lonely-e.

[3] Daniel A. Cox, “The College Connection: The Education Divide in American Social and Community Life,” Survey Center on American Life, December 13, 2021, https://‌www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-college-connection-the-education-divide-in-american-social-and-community-life/.

[4] There’s some ambiguity about whether Louise mentions this repugnance specifically about Vincent as a person or just about changing directors in general. Louise de Marillac, document A.2, “Light,” n.d., Spiritual Writings, 1. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldm/; Hugh O’Donnell, C.M., “The Relationship of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise from His Perspective: A Personal and Theological Inquiry,” Vincentian Heritage 11:1 (1990): 62. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol11/iss1/5; Loretto Gettemeir, D.C., “Louise: A Life in Her Own Words,” Vincentian Heritage 12:2 (1991): 111. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol12/iss2/2/; see also O’Donnell, “Relationship of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise from His Perspective,” 69.

[5] For Vincent’s letters, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/coste_en/. For Louise’s, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldmlcd/. For Elizabeth’s, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/seton_lcd/, and for Frédéric’s, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ozanam_law/.

[6] Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are (Hazelden, 2010), 12.

How Do We Operationalize Dignity?

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

Some of you reading this may be familiar with the Chicago street named Ozanam Avenue, but how many know who this street is named after? Frédéric Ozanam was a French Catholic literary scholar, lawyer, professor, social advocate, and lay Catholic leader. Of all the Vincentian Family members, Ozanam has always had a special place in my heart. For me, he models something essential about how we can make our Vincentian mission concrete through our actions.

I first learned of Ozanam when I was a teenager at school in the UK. Inspired by the idea of a faith that does justice and eager to engage in community service, I had joined a school-based conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Ozanam, as I soon learned, was the principal founder of the original society. He had founded the organization with a group of friends in 1833 while a university student. They named it after St. Vincent de Paul because he was considered “a national hero of social service” and admired by many in France, even those who were anti-Church. [1] The members’ goal was to help those who were poor, while at the same time developing their own faith. Keen to learn more about him, I happened upon a biography about Ozanam called Apostle in a Top Hat. Today, I might be inclined to be more discerning when choosing a biography. But at that time, the idea of interrogating a text for its authenticity was beyond me. For me, Ozanam represented a social justice icon and a man who was set on fire by a quest for faith and justice. His journey spoke deeply to my idealistic self. I devoured the book and have never forgotten the cover: a Victorian gentleman tipping an impossibly large top hat!

As I think back, our school-based St. Vincent de Paul Society was a modest entity. A motley crew of awkward, if well-meaning teenagers who, while moderately concerned about the state of the world, were primarily driven by the idea of long summer afternoons of not having to be in class. Our mission was to visit people in their homes who were seeking some kind of support, listen to them, and try to alleviate some of their needs with our adolescent vigor, then report back to the group on their well-being. We would also pray for, and sometimes with, those we visited. Our group was supported by a school chaplain, who could provide a higher level of intervention, if it was warranted.

Often, such home visits meant simply sitting with people in the humblest of homes and, in a show of true British hospitality, sharing a cup of tea, biscuits, and a listening ear, while they recounted the trials and tribulations of their days. While hardly backbreaking work or enacting any admirable social change, it was a powerful act of recognizing the dignity of another, and a way of saying, “We see you and we care.” We were grateful for the experience. We even got to feel somewhat proud of our adolescent selves, out serving in the community, no matter our real motivation for such engagement. In his time, Ozanam came to believe that face-to-face contact with poor families provided him with invaluable experiential learning, which in turn caused him to profoundly reshape his perceptions. My own experience of being a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society also challenged my preconceived (and sometimes ill-informed) notions of poverty and social deprivation and reinforced for me the essentiality of interpersonal connection.

Today, the St. Vincent de Paul Society continues to be active in 155 countries. It has 800,000 members across 48,000 conferences, along with 1.5 million volunteers and collaborators. They serve over 30 million people worldwide every day. Conferences are based in churches, schools, community centers, hospitals, etc. [2] Their mission continues to be to offer support to people in need, particularly those living in poverty. The home visit remains an integral part of the service they provide. In this way, their ministry harkens back to the time of Ozanam when members would take firewood, food, and money to the homes of those who were poor. Yet, even in the days of the original conferences, it was never about the firewood, or the provision of goods, or funds. Rather it was about the compassionate spirit with which the members approached the visits. While certainly home visits were never the most efficient way to deliver assistance, they served as an important way to honor the dignity of the other by providing a moment of true presence and care, in a world that was often too busy to take the time to invest in such relationality. It is the spirit of love, respect, justice, hope, and joy that still defines this work, through which the members strive to shape a more just and compassionate world.

Admittedly, making home visits can be personally inconvenient and can even feel a little awkward. However, this simple act of humanity can transform a transactional service delivery into a meaningful encounter of mutuality, thus inviting a bond of intimacy, which no technological operation could ever provide. As Ozanam recognized, personal visits were a point of mutual exchange where both the visitor and the visited were beneficiaries. [3] This model of the home visit further hearkens back to the legacy of Vincent de Paul and the familiar story of the white tablecloth, a metaphor that calls us to approach all we do with the utmost care for the dignity of others. [4]

So, what wisdom might the humble home visit offer to us at DePaul today? In addressing this, I find myself recalling a question that a faculty member once posed to me after she had read DePaul’s new mission statement: “Dignity is a great concept, but how do we operationalize it?” I believe that the wisdom of the home visit can help us address this complex question, since the same personalism lies at its very heart and is modeled at DePaul each and every day. For, while the provision of concrete resources to help address a need is essential, it is the gift of sincere listening and a compassionate heart that defines us and makes all the difference.

Essentially, it is the spirit of love, respect, care, and empathy, and the commitment to right relationship that must inform how we support our students—and each other—at DePaul. Personalism must never be overshadowed by a mentality of just getting the job done in the most efficient way possible if it crowds out the personhood of those standing in front of us. Indeed, personalism must continue to define any institution that calls itself Vincentian. While efficiency and effectiveness are certainly important, personalism must continue to shape who we are and inform who we are called to be, just as it did in the time of Ozanam, and certainly in the days of Vincent and Louise before him. We come from a rich tradition, and it is up to us to live out its rich legacy.

Reflection questions:

  1. When was the last time you encountered personalism at DePaul?
  2. What might it look like for efficiency and personalism to exist seamlessly at DePaul?

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

[1] Thomas McKenna, C.M. “Frédéric Ozanam’s Tactical Wisdom for Today’s Consumer Society,” Vincentian Heritage 30:1 (2010): 11. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol30/iss1/1.

[2] “Where Are We?” International Confederation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, accessed January 29, 2025, https://www.ssvpglobal.org/where-we-are/.

[3] McKenna, “Frédéric Ozanam’s Tactical Wisdom,” 16.

[4] See “The Story of the White Tablecloth,” posted August 15, 2011 by Mission and Ministry DePaul University, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CgJVAC7Na8.

What Anchors You … and Us?

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

A very influential and helpful idea on my personal spiritual journey emerged for me decades ago when I read This Blessed Mess: Finding Hope Amidst Life’s Chaos by Patricia Livingston. The simple yet profound main idea that captured my attention and that I internalized was this: just as God created life, love, and beauty out of darkness and chaos (see Genesis), so must we be agents of the ongoing creative process in our own lives, during which we often face moments of chaos. Furthermore, there is a creative energy that is present within the chaos of our lives that can ultimately become transformative and life-giving. Grasping this idea conceptually is one thing, but living it is another.

Fortunately, life inevitably provides a lot of practice by bringing us situations that feel like chaos again and again over the course of a lifetime. This might take the form of heartbreaking and tragic losses, illness and injury, or seemingly impossible situations in which the whole world seems to be against us. We may also have to deal with the painful aftermath of harmful human decisions and actions, whether our own or those of others (such as war and violence, greed, or ego-driven and self-centered behaviors). Whatever form it takes, the word “mess” is an unfortunately adequate description for what we often face in our lives. How could this “mess” possibly be “blessed”?

One piece of adult wisdom that helps us get through such moments comes in remembering simply that “this too shall pass.” I have heard it suggested that the difference between the child and the adult is that that adult knows the moment will pass. A child or adolescent is without the life experience to know that a painful life situation will eventually give way. Christian theology holds the profound understanding of the paschal mystery, modeled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, to understand that there is hope and the potential for new life and redemption on the other side of death and suffering.

In fact, each “blessed mess” offers us an opportunity to clarify and define who we are and who we will become moving forward from that difficult moment. It is an opportunity to create and re-create our lives, grounded in the values and actions we know or believe to be good, true, and beautiful, and for the betterment of humanity. Victor Frankl, the famous Holocaust survivor, is known to have said that “everything can be taken from a (person) but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” [1]  Though I may first complain and cry in the face of chaos, sometimes I can also then laugh out loud when things start piling up on me and I realize that I am more… and life is more… than what I am experiencing in that moment. I am encouraged when I consider the freedom that I have to choose how I will face it.

Moments of “chaos” lead me repeatedly to the question: What anchors and guides me now and ultimately? What values and commitments do I want my life to reflect, and do I want to choose to live into in this moment? Which are most consistent with who I know myself to be and believe I was created by God to become? And how can we answer these questions in applying them to ourselves as a community?

Institutions and communities go through similar moments. Yet, making a shared commitment or “attitude adjustment” as a collective is quite a bit more complicated than just deciding to do so for oneself. It can be work, and it can require patience, empathy, generosity, love, and courage to get all on the same wavelength. Yet, having a shared mission to draw on can help a community like ours at DePaul. As we move through difficult and uncertain moments, our periods of chaos can become opportunities for clarification, for remembering and re-committing to each other, and for carefully discerning the values and sense of vocation that anchor and guide us.

I have often heard two related African proverbs quoted that emphasize the communal nature of the human person. They serve as important reminders about how we may best move through communal moments of chaos. One states that “no one goes to heaven alone,” and another is, “If you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together.” In a society and world that is so often individualistic or that struggles to bridge divides, such a communal mindset is countercultural. However, at DePaul, we often point to an understanding that we are a “community gathered together for the sake of the mission.” This is a modern take on the initials C.M. for Congregation of the Mission, the apostolic community we may better know as the Vincentians, established by Vincent de Paul. Our mission, therefore, offers us the encouragement and the charge to be countercultural in working and caring for the good of the whole, rather than simply defending our own individual positions or being satisfied simply with “going it alone.”

To move through moments of chaos in our lives, then, we benefit from seeing them as opportunities to anchor ourselves more deeply in what is most important and most true to who we are, and to do so together with others. The moment will pass, and we will endure. The question that remains throughout it all is who we will become in the process. Such moments reveal the ultimate gift and test of our human freedom, our identity, and our mission.

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

[1 ]Dave Roos, “Viktor Frankl’s ‘Search for Meaning’ in 5 Enduring Quotes,” June 7, 2024, howstuffworks.com, at: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/viktor-frankl.htm.

Love Shows Up in Community

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Reflection by: Erin Herrmann, Associate Director, Writing Center

Photo by Mike Labrum, Unsplash.com

“I believe that you work with one another to grow in perfection in keeping with the divine plan. All the actions of our lives can serve this purpose even those which might appear destined to withdraw you from that intimate union with God which you so ardently desire. Very often this union is established in us through no action of our own in a manner known only to God and not as we would wish to imagine it.” — Louise de Marillac[1]

When I began my role at DePaul in the summer of 2017, I was excited but also nervous. As an associate director, I felt responsible to represent the Writing Center well. As I started attending meetings with people from departments across campus, I felt intimidated; everyone knew so much and knew one another quite well. What could I contribute to this tight-knit community as someone so new, practically still an outsider?

Fast forward to autumn quarter 2024, which was perhaps my busiest quarter to date in my time at DePaul. Now in my eighth academic year, I found this quarter offered numerous ways in which I could readily contribute as part of the vibrant DePaul community: teaching two courses on top of my full-time staff role, serving as chair of the Communication Committee for Staff Council, and completing training as a staff professional for FY@broad with Study Abroad. While these commitments meant significant time and seemingly innumerable meetings and tasks added to my calendar, they also shared something else in common. These opportunities, alongside my daily work in the Writing Center collaborating with colleagues and supporting our student employees, were purposefully busy.

I define purposefully busy as those tasks that are more than productivity; rather, they are people-centered activities that enable me to serve others through the work. All the while, I, too, am being fed through my interactions with students, faculty, and staff who offer care and collaboration. As Saint Louise de Marillac says in the quote above, we must work with one another to fulfill our purposes.

In my life outside of work, I was experiencing emotional difficulty during autumn quarter. I walked through the final denouement of a long-term relationship in which I’d long held hope for a shared future. The fullness of my days attending to the numerous purposes I engaged in at DePaul offered a meaningful focus, but the grief of loss lingered in the background, at times coming full force in my mind.

Then, grief showed up in perhaps its most recognizable form: on November 5, my Uncle Roger died. It was the day of the presidential election, a fraught, precipitous day for each of us, and all I could think was “My uncle died today.” While he had been in ill health for quite some time, it was one of those times where things moved quickly, in a matter of days, from hospice care to his passing. My uncle and his immediate family live in northeast Ohio; my closest family members live in the suburbs of Chicago. So, on a weekday, it wasn’t feasible to be together. I didn’t have anyone in the immediate vicinity or in the schedule of my day to hug me. I was deeply sad and felt rather alone.

But when grief shows up, so, too, does love.

In the days following my uncle’s passing, I shared with colleagues about the loss; I received more than one hug. I even shared with one of my classes, and a room full of students offered looks and words of compassion and comfort. On November 13, I attended the Gathering of Remembrance hosted by the Division of Mission and Ministry. While I feel like a well-connected DePaul community member at this point, this was the first time I had attended. I’d considered going in past years but hadn’t been able to fit it into my schedule. This year also required some schedule adjustment to make it work, but now that I was experiencing loss, this special event came just when I needed it most.

At the event, I saw many faces I know and many I have come to cherish. Most were people from various parts of my “extra-curricular” life at DePaul, that is, not part of my official job description in the Writing Center but connected to me through engagement in our community. The staff members from Mission and Ministry hosted the event with such reverence, grace, and hospitality. The love in the room, even amid our tears, was palpable and comforting. At that point, I hadn’t yet seen anyone in my family since my uncle’s passing, but there I was surrounded by my Vincentian family nonetheless.

My purposefully busy autumn quarter ended with great fulfillment for me. My students were largely successful in their courses, and grades have been submitted. The Communications Committee of Staff Council has collaboratively published three newsletters to date. The training for FY@broad is complete, and I am ready to begin winter quarter with preparing an intrepid group of students for our trip to Ireland over spring break. I continued therapy and reflection, and my heart has started to recover. I said yes to the beautiful invitation for community when faced with loss.

The people within my Vincentian family and the DePaul community are the throughline—the accompaniment we offer to one another is beyond what I ever could have imagined when I first came here. It must be, as Saint Louise believed, that our unions to God and to one another are “… established in us through no action of our own in a manner known only to God.” God knew what he was doing in bringing me to DePaul and in bringing the DePaul community to flourish in my life.

Considerations for Reflection:

  • How is being purposefully busy different from just being busy? Do you see yourself engaging in being purposefully busy?
  • How have you experienced love in times of grief?

Reflection by: Erin Herrmann, Associate Director, Writing Center

[1] L.531B, “To Sister Carcireux,” July 18 (1656), Spiritual Writings of Louise de Marillac, 514. Available at:  https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldm/.

A Season of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Things to ponder:

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

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

 

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

The Dignity of Help

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Written by: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

Photograph by Akhil Nath.

Our mission here at DePaul focuses on helping others, especially those who have been historically underserved—the poor and the marginalized. It’s a wonderful mission, a noble mission. But I wonder how many of us also need help, and if we do, whether we are able to ask for it. Our own situations may not be as serious as those our mission calls us to aid, and we may not need advocacy or material support. But it’s likely that we need other things—assistance with work projects, perhaps, or, in our personal lives, help with caregiving, or managing burnout, depression, or grief. “Let me know how I can help,” we say when others are in trouble. But when we’re on the receiving end of such offers, we often don’t take people up on them.

In her book The Gifts of Imperfection, professor and social worker Brené Brown writes, “One of the greatest barriers to connection is the cultural importance we place on ‘going it alone.’ Somehow we’ve come to equate success with not needing anyone.” She continues, “Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attach judgment to giving help.” Brown argues that it’s a mistake to “deriv[e] self-worth from never needing help and always offering it.” [1]

In reading Brown’s words, I was struck by how well they connect with the philosophy of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Its founder, Frédéric Ozanam, once said that help “humiliates when there is no reciprocity” and “becomes honorable because it may become mutual.” [2] Ozanam and Brown argue that help has a spiritual value beyond what is provided by immediate assistance. It allows people to connect with each other (and, Ozanam would say, with God) in a profound and meaningful way. Because of this, there is as much dignity in asking for help as there is in receiving it. It’s a lesson that runs counter to our cultural expectations, but it’s an important one to remember and internalize. The next time we may be feeling overwhelmed or alone, we should consider how we might challenge ourselves to more readily ask for help.

Reflection Questions:

Is there anything that you need help with? Whom could you ask for help, and how do you think they might respond?

Can you think of situations in the past where someone has asked you for help? How did you feel about the request? Did it make you feel more connected to that person?

Reflection by: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

[1] Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are (Hazelden, 2010), 20.

[2] Quoted in Raymond L. Sickinger, “Frédéric Ozanam: Systemic Thinking, and Systemic Change,” Vincentian Heritage 32:1 (2014): n.p. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol32/iss1/4/.