mission

Vincent de Paul: A Saint Who Got His Worlds Together

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Thomas McKenna explains how Vincent de Paul “integrat[ed] the life of faith with so-called secular existence” and “examines his way of blending a spiritual vision with the hard-nosed world of finance and business.” For McKenna, this blending is the key to Vincent’s saintliness. He knew that human welfare had to include “spiritual and material aspects.” He used his business acumen, which is described in detail, to support his many ministries. These were intended to align society with the kingdom of heaven. Vincent focused on improving the lives of the poor because Christ was to be found in them, and they were to be first in the kingdom. McKenna discusses the questions that Vincent’s life raises in us, especially in our perceptions of the poor and how business should work. He also looks at the way the lives of the saints can influence modern faith. He says it is important to tell the stories of saints’ lives so that people can imagine themselves participating in the saints’ worlds. They can draw their own lessons from such an exercise.

“Vincent de Paul: A Saint Who Got His Worlds Together” is an article by Fr. Thomas McKenna, C.M., published in 1997 in the Vincentian Heritage Journal and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol18/iss1/1

Vincentian Pragmatism: Toward a Method for Systemic Change

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Scott Kelley creates the term Vincentian Pragmatism and defines it as “Vincent [de Paul]’s way of proceeding . . . [it is] an integrated and holistic way of knowing that is capable of systemic change.” He writes, “Vincentian Pragmatism must also inform the way we engage, identify, explore, interpret, and decide in response to the complex systems that exacerbate poverty. It must unite action and contemplation.” Kelley identifies questions we must ask to pursue Vincentian epistemology and explains how Vincent developed it from his own experience. The process of overcoming our biases and forming a Vincentian worldview is also examined. Vincentian Pragmatism has five components of action: “begin attentively, explore openly, interpret imaginatively, decide responsibly, and act courageously.” These are discussed in detail. Together, they are a way of truly understanding the causes and nature of poverty and strategizing for effective solutions. Different aspects of strategy are described.

“Vincentian Pragmatism: Toward a Method for Systemic Change” is an article by Scott Kelley, Ph.D., published in 2012 in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 31, Issue 2, Article 2, pp. 41-63, and it is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol31/iss2/2

Vincent the Charismatic

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“Vincent the Charismatic” is a chapter from the book, Saint Vincent de Paul: His Mind and His Manner, by Fr. Jack Melito, C.M., published in 2010 by the Vincentian Studies Institute at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.  Reflecting on the tremendous accomplishments of Vincent de Paul’s life, the author labels that body of work as “ministry with impact.”  The “fire” of love for the poor that burned so fiercely in Vincent’s heart was the impetus that drove his life’s action.  However, unlike the flashy “charismatic” one might encounter today, Vincent de Paul’s humility ruled the day and allowed him to see the true nature of his being as merely an instrument of God’s working.

Saint Vincent de Paul: His Mind and His Manner is currently out of print.

 

The Vincentian Question

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As a church historian specializing in the history of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), Fr. Edward R. Udovic, C.M. addresses the historical context for the development of the “Vincentian Question: What Must Be Done?”  In this original essay, he speaks to the conditions of early 17th Century France and the responses of those involved in the Catholic Reformation of that time and how Vincent became the most prominent guide for channeling that spiritual movement into effective, practical action.

A modern-day application and recasting of this talk by Fr. Udovic is available at: youtube.com/watch?v=MK7sMN11p6s

 

Vincent’s Values: A Spiritual Perspective

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In an original essay, Fr. Edward R. Udovic, C.M., reflects on those traditional five virtues that Vincent de Paul identified as requisite for living like Jesus, the Evangelizer of the Poor.  Notifying the need for each era to translate those virtues into meaningful terms that inspire personal conversion, he suggests re-framing them as follows:  humility is lived by being realistic; simplicity by being honest; meekness by being approachable; mortification by being self-disciplined; and zeal by being hard-working.

Reflections on Service to the Poor

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Fr. James Cormack, C.M., reflects on the Vincentian charism from his own experience. Vincentian service is a call from God’s love to return that love. It requires seeing Christ crucified in persons who are poor. It takes faith but also deepens faith. As Cormack sees them, the main qualities of the charism are compassion, courage, weakness, a commitment to smallness, and a change of heart. Weakness is necessary because we must recognize that we, too, need help and that the strength to serve comes from God. A commitment to smallness entails being satisfied with doing ordinary things; if we desire personal fulfillment too much, we risk ignoring the poor’s needs. A change of heart means not only loving but also being open to having love and service reciprocated. The charism requires people who can work without seeing the goals of their service fulfilled and who are consumed by the desire to serve.

“Reflections on Service to the Poor” is an article published in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 13, Issue 2, Article 5 (1992) and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol13/iss2/5

 

 

What about the Poor? Nineteenth-Century Paris and the Revival of Vincentian Charity

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During the Industrial Revolution, poor persons constituted up to half the population of Paris. They were considered to be criminal, and their poverty was seen as a punishment for this. The Church believed the traditional social order was divinely ordained. The rich were to be charitable and the poor were to be resigned to their status; these conditions were necessary for the salvation of both groups. In the Church’s eyes, the rich and the poor each contributed to the gap between them, and they could only be reconciled by returning to Christian values and the traditional social hierarchy. It was the Church’s responsibility to guide this reconciliation. The Congregation, the Daughters of Charity, and the Ladies of Charity, which had been dissolved during the Revolution, were refounded under Jean-Baptiste Etienne in the nineteenth century. They tried to combat poverty worldwide. As the first group of sisters to be supported by the French government after the Revolution, the Daughters of Charity served as the basis for the new Vincentian mission. The Ladies of Charity’s work, which was under the Daughters’ direction, is discussed. The article also describes Etienne’s view of the world and of the Vincentian mission in detail.

“What about the Poor? Nineteenth-Century Paris and the Revival of Vincentian Charity” is an article published in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 14, Issue 1, Article 5 (1993) and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol14/iss1/5

 

No Small Matter: Leadership for Institutional Culture in Vincentian Higher Education

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The consideration of “Vincentian leadership” exists within the larger context of the loss of religious personnel from Catholic universities across the United States. For the religious mission and identity to remain strong at these institutions, Vincentian leaders must leverage a primarily lay-led, self-sustaining culture.

“No Small Matter: Leadership for Institutional Culture in Vincentian Higher Education” is an article in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 26, Issue 1, Article 8 (2005) and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol26/iss1/8

 

About Saint Vincent de Paul and DePaul University’s Vincentian, Catholic, and Urban Identity

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In this original unpublished essay by Fr. Edward R. Udovic, C.M., we hear a bit of history of the Vincentian Community’s involvement in higher education in the United States.  There is also a reflection on Vincent de Paul and his character as values-based, honoring diversity, willing to take risks, innovative, pragmatic, and intimately involved with the people in his urban community of Paris, especially the poor.  Vincent and his followers were committed to serving the needs of their poor.  They were interested in making a difference in people’s lives.

In the context of today’s world, the efforts of DePaul University’s faculty and staff are aimed at providing an education to its traditional students from marginalized communities to help in supporting a change in the well-being of those generations to come.  Serving the multi-cultural, religiously diverse student, staff, faculty, and alumni community the University continues to foster social engagement within the urban community of Chicago and, through its alumni, the communities of the world.  From “Little college under the ‘L'” to the largest Catholic University in the country, DePaul University continues its history of values-driven service, innovative programming, pragmatic activity deeply connected to the world.