podcast

Louise de Marillac : A Wife, a Mother, A Foundress

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In this reading, Sr. Carol Schumer, D.C., unfolds the life and legacy of Saint Louise de Marillac.  Hear a history of Louise’s life, her education, her spiritual development, her trials and doubts, her spiritual friendship with Vincent de Paul and her ministry with the poor and eventual foundation with Vincent of the Daughters of Charity.

“Louise de Marillac: A Wife, A Mother, A Foundress” was developed by Srs. Frances Vista, D.C., and Carol Schumer, D.C. as part of a Vincentian Integration Experience in 2010.  The text was published in FAMVIN and is available at: https://vinformation.org/en/vincentian-formation-resources/presentations-media-games/mosaic-life-of-st-louise/

 

Our good will and honest efforts. Vincentian Perspectives on Poverty Reduction Efforts

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Vincent de Paul believed it was God’s will to serve poor persons as Christ would serve them. Edward Udovic translates the traditional five Vincentian virtues that are necessary to perform this service into modern terms. He discusses the discernment that must be done when considering actions to reduce poverty. Following Vincent’s example, poverty reduction efforts must provide triage services to alleviate the poor’s most urgent problems. Such efforts must be planned carefully so they can respond to continuous need. They should also be conducted with an understanding of the new forms and causes of poverty to bring about long-term, effective change. These efforts are not aimed at creating a utopia. They are instead “grace-assisted . . . reasonable attempts to live in the kingdom of God that exists here and now within the ultimate mystery of the ‘already but not yet.’”

“‘Our good will and honest efforts.’ Vincentian Perspectives on Poverty Reduction Efforts” is an article that appeared in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 28, Issue 2, Article 5 (2010) and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol28/iss2/5/

 

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In this original unpublished essay by Fr.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.

St. Vincent de Paul and Money

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The economic structures of seventeenth-century France, Vincent de Paul’s financial management, and his theory behind it are explained. His financial responsibilities and the sources of income for the Confraternities of Charity, the Congregation, and the Daughters of Charity are enumerated. In general, Vincent viewed money as a resource to be husbanded for the benefit of persons who were poor.

“Saint Vincent de Paul and Money” is an article published in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 26, Issue 1, Article 7 and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol26/iss1/7

 

 

St. Vincent’s Mirror Imagery of Christ’s Ministry

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The Rev. Jack Melito, C.M., presents a reflection on some of the direct parallels between Jesus’ ministry and that of Saint Vincent de Paul’s.  He points out such themes as their efforts for develop a sense of mission among their followers, the great global scope of their missions, and the emphasis on their mission to the poor.

“Saint Vincent’s Mirror Imagery of Christ’s Ministry” is a chapter in 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, IL.  Unfortunately, this book is currently out of print.

Saint Vincent and Saint Louise, Catholic to the Core

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DePaul University’s Vincent and Louise House community is a “residential faith formation program” in which students “engage more fully in the Christian faith, community service, social justice, and stewardship.” Following the examples of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, members of the house learn about and take part in the spiritual practices necessary for putting faith into action. The article details the community service they perform, how their commitments to social justice and stewardship are carried out, and what effect these activities have on the students. The program’s goal is to transform students, their worldview, and their perspective on their vocation within the tradition of Vincent and Louise. Students’ own words on the value of their experience in the house are included.

“Saint Vincent and Saint Louise, Catholic to the Core: Spiritual Praxis as the Foundation for Social Change” is an article published in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 28, Issue 2, Article 24 (2008) available at: https://www.via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol28/iss2/24

 

 

Jean-Baptiste Étienne, C.M. and the Restoration of the Daughters of Charity

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The nineteenth-century superior general Jean-Baptiste Etienne has often been given the title of “Second Founder” of the Congregation and the Daughters of Charity. Edward Udovic argues that this title is deserved, not because of any similarity to Vincent de Paul, but because of Etienne’s faithfulness to the communities’ primitive spirit. Etienne made that the guiding principle of the communities’ re-establishment. Etienne’s background, experience, agenda for restoration and reform, and worldview are all examined. According to Udovic, Etienne and his leadership are best described as “Vincentian-centric, Romantic, Gallican, and authoritarian.” A French nationalist and imperialist, he was particularly concerned with remaining true to what he saw as the French character of the Vincentian communities. This contributed to his insistence on absolute conformity to the original Rules and customs of the Daughters and complete uniformity in each sister’s life, without any regard for individuality. Just as the papacy had the authority of Christ over the Church, Etienne believed he as superior general had Vincent’s authority over the Daughters. Some of his counsel to them is included.

“Jean-Baptiste Etienne, C.M. and the Restoration of the Daughters of Charity” is an article published in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 31, Issue 2, Article 5 (2012) and is available at: https://via.libary.depaul.edu/vhj/vol31/iss2/5

 

Conversion and Discernment According to Vincent de Paul

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Edward Udovic writes, “For Vincent de Paul the life-long conversion required by a vocation to Christian discipleship begins with the prayerful discernment of God’s will in one’s day-to-day life, the free decision to accept that will in faith and love, and then, to the best of one’s ability, living that faith in action and love relying always on God’s grace.” To follow God’s will was to be as obedient to it as Christ was. For Vincent, doing God’s will meant evangelizing the poor as Christ did, accepting God’s grace to follow Providence, and recognizing that only God can know what the results of Providence will be. Further discernment was required to discover the best ways of doing this. Before such discernment was possible, it was necessary to cultivate indifference, or detachment from one’s own will and to hold oneself in complete “unrestricted readiness” for whatever God might require. Vincent’s advice on how to do this as part of conversion is described, as are the obstacles to such conversion. Grace was needed during this process as well. Questions of discernment for the modern Vincentian Family are included.

“Conversion and Discernment According to Vincent de Paul” is an article that was published in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 32, Issue 1, Article 1 (2015) available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol32/iss1/1

 

The Workaday Ministry of Vincent de Paul

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“The Workaday Ministry of Vincent de Paul” focuses on the many activities of Vincent de Paul that are not among the many for which he is well known: e.g., Founder of Communities, Manager of Saint-Lazare, Educator of the Clergy, and Developer of a myriad of works of Charity for the Poor.  Rather, here we see Vincent in his lesser-known daily activities as the personnel director reviewing new applicants to his communities, as director of those various communities, as spiritual director for priests, brothers and Bishops, as mentor and leader, as teacher, as listener, as model, and as the ultimate servant of the poor.

“The Workaday Ministry of Vincent de Paul” is a chapter in the book, Saint Vincent de Paul: His Mind and His Manner, by Rev. Jack Melito, C.M., published in 2010 by the Vincentian Studies Institute at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.  Unfortunately, the book is currently out of print.

To the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Emulating Vincent

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Fr. Jack Melito, C.M., offers a reflection on the appropriate choice by Blessed Frederic Ozanam of Vincent de Paul as the patron of his fledgling society in the 19th Century.  For Frederic, Vincent served as a model who established a contact with the life and works of Jesus first of all.  Secondly, Vincent’s life and works provided an example that must be carried on by continuing those same works.  Finally, Vincent’s heart, that burned so vigorously in the service of the poor, was a heart that would enkindle the hearts and zeal of those who would carry on that work in Frederic’s day.

“To the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Emulating Vincent” is a chapter in the book Saint Vincent de Paul: His Mind and His Manner, published in 2010 by the Vincentian Studies Institute at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.  Unfortunately, the book is currently out of print.