“There’s a Man Full of Mercy” is an article that appeared in the Newsletter of the Midwest Province of the Congregation of the Mission. Reflecting on the life of Vincent de Paul, the author tells of the necessity of the virtue of mercy for anyone serving the poor. Citing parallels between God’s mercy toward us and the mercy we should then pass on to those needing mercy, he speaks to Vincent’s stressing the need to be merciful in every situation, every day, throughout one’s life.
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
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” 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.
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
October 1, 2015. My family and friends were texting me. “Are you ok?”
I ignored them.
I knew what they were asking and I didn’t want to go there.
I didn’t want to return to a horrible day at Northern Illinois University — Valentines Day 2008 —when a student burst into a classroom and started shooting. Months before this heinous act on a campus that was supposed to be safe, I had begun serving as a campus pastor. Years later as news broke this past Thursday that there was another shooting on another “safe” campus I tried my best to ignore the realities that come with such a tragedy.
I didn’t want to remember the screams of disbelief from friends and family who discovered that a dear one had been wounded, or even worse, killed. I didn’t want to remember the scenes of confusion and cries of terror in the hospital emergency room. I didn’t want to remember the funerals and vigils. I didn’t want to go there.
But tonight, here at DePaul, I WILL go there.
I will stand with students, faculty and staff around the St. Vincent Circle in the heart of campus and I WILL go there. I will enter into the depths of heartache and I will stand with others as a gesture of solidarity against violence in our communities, on our campuses, in our world. I will remember all of the people in a slumbering university town not too far from Chicago who were affected by gun violence. I will reflect upon all of those in Roseburg, Oregon and throughout the country whose hearts are broken and whose lives are disrupted by another senseless killing rampage. And I will pray for peace and yearn for the same in my heart and the hearts of victims of violence.
Taking a few moments to light a candle, to offer prayer and to take a stand against violence may seem like a very small thing to do. But I know–having been with the mothers and fathers, sisters, grandparents, professors, friends, brothers and broken community members—that such a small gesture is more powerful than anyone can imagine. I know how important moments of remembering are for those who are trying to make sense out of the senseless. I know the warmth and balm that one small shining candle can bring to hearts broken.
Tonight, WE must go there! We must go and stand with our brothers and sisters near and far and pray. We must go there to remember those who have died and those who are dying inside over loss of life and so much more. We must go there to let the world know that this school, built upon the foundations of loving and serving one another, is standing solidly together to offer a bit of balm and a prayer for peace for all those whose lives are ripped apart—or ended—by violence.
Tonight, standing around St. Vincent’s Circle, our lights will burn, our prayers will be offered and we will tell our sisters and brothers in Roseburg and the world that we are resolved to be lovers of peace and caretakers of one another. Tonight we must go there!
Rev. Diane Dardon is a Protestant Chaplain at DePaul. She invites you to join the DePaul Interfaith Scholars tonight at 6:00p.m. in St. Vincent’s Circle for a Vigil to honor those slain last week at Umpqua Community College.
by Fadya Salem
The Journal for Social Justice, University Ministry, and the Center for Public Interest Law had the honor and privilege of hosting Sister Helen Prejean for a roundtable discussion with students, faculty, and alumni in April.
Sister Helen, Nobel Peace Prize Finalist and New York Times bestselling author of the academy award winning movie, Dead Man Walking, is an anti-death penalty advocate who has served as a spiritual advisor to death row inmates.
As a law student, I was eager to join the discussion with Sister Helen. After having studied wrongful convictions in an undergraduate course, I came to law school with the desire to advocate for those who have wrongfully fallen victim to the criminal justice system. I learned from Sister Helen the importance of not only fighting for the people we believe are innocent, but to advocate for the rights of those who have done something wrong, because they too should still be treated with dignity.
My religion, like some others, teaches that there are certain acts that are punishable by death. I sought to participate in this discussion in hopes to reconcile my religion’s views with my moral belief that the death penalty is wrong. I was moved by Sister Helen’s discussion on Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whom she spoke on behalf of during his trial, and her insistence that, although his actions caused three people’s death, he still has human dignity.
Sister Helen began her anti-death penalty advocacy while living in the St. Thomas housing project in inner-city New Orleans. It was there that she became aware of the harrowing connection between poverty and oppression and prison. While in St. Thomas, she became pen pals with a Louisiana death row inmate.
The roundtable conversation began with Sister Helen describing her first experience as a spiritual advisor for a death-row inmate. She described it as a “secret ritual” that much of the rest of the world renounces. This experience became the subject of her first book, Dead Man Walking. The book was published in 1993, a time when 80% of Americans supported the death penalty.
Despite the large number of death penalty supporters, Sister Helen knew the story needed to be told. She finds that many people who support the death penalty do not know much about the process and what it entails. She works tirelessly to resist the death penalty and educate the public as a lecturer and writer.
When asked how she chooses inmates to work with, Sister Helen said it is a decision that she can’t explain. She has been a spiritual advisor to five death-row inmates, visiting with them from throughout their time in prison and to their execution. She also counsels the families of murder victims as the founder of “Survive,” a victim’s advocacy group in New Orleans.
A powerful point in the conversation came when Sister Helen pushed the group to think about how we treat a human with dignity. With the firm belief that “everyone is better than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” she reminded attendees that, despite their actions, people in jail are still human, which is the same value that St. Vincent advocated in his work.
I recall a discussion in my criminal law course about different methods of executions, when a fellow student asked, “If they killed someone, why do we care how we treat them?” For many people, the death penalty is such an abstract phenomenon that may be difficult to conceptualize. Sister Helen adamantly believes that if people knew what happens at executions, there would not be as many supporters.
Sister Helen described the important role lawyers play in anti-death penalty work: Lawyers are critical in framing the story told about inmates and furthering the idea that they are better than their crimes. For death-row inmates, lawyers and advocates are often times the only human dignity they have left. It is the passion for human dignity that keeps Sister Helen moving forward in her fight against the death penalty.
Fadya Salem just completed her first year of law school at DePaul. A Chicago native, she is an alum of the University of Illinois and hopes someday to practice law within the public interest arena.
An earlier version of this piece was published online by the Center for Public Interest Law at DePaul University in May.
by Katie Brick
I was inspired when I read about Denise and Bill Richard, parents of an 8-year boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombing, who asked Federal prosecutors to take the death penalty off the table. I was challenged – would I do the same if my kids were killed that way? Theoretically: yes. But I would never ever want to test that theory, nor am I in an omniscient position to judge how grief impacts people or what they think will bring them solace.*
So I am one of the growing number of people who want the death penalty to be taken out of the equation in the U.S. Don’t give it as an option to prosecutors, to bereaved loved ones, to the criminal justice system.
When the time from sentencing-to-death can be decades, there is a pragmatic reason for ending the death penalty. Each new appeal and delay brings the tragedy back up in the minds and hearts of survivors. In a Boston Globe piece titled, “To End the Anguish, Drop the Death Penalty,” the Richards wrote, “The defendant murdered our eight-year-old son, maimed our seven-year-old daughter and stole part of our soul. We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives.” They continued, “As long as the defendant is in the spotlight, we have no choice but to live a story told on his terms, not ours. The minute the defendant fades from our newspapers and TV screens is the minute we begin the process of rebuilding our lives and our family.”
In my opinion, religious principles are another reason to end the death penalty. My religious denomination, among many others, opposes the death penalty on religious and spiritual grounds. Thank you Catholic Church for offering some clear reasoning about themes of the dignity of the human person and protecting life vis a vis the death penalty, which can be seen in an April statement opposing the death penalty from the Massachusetts Catholic Bishops.
With DePaul University’s mission and geography, the issue of the death penalty is particularly relevant to those of us who attend and work here. DePaul is grounded in a Catholic tradition that opposes the death penalty. Our Vincentian character calls us to attend to the dignity inherent in each human person and particularly to serve those who are on the margins of society – people who disproportionately are sentenced to death. For example, while African Americans comprise about 14% of the U.S. population, they make up 42% of people currently awaiting execution.
Students who volunteer or do academic work throughout Chicago as part of our Urban mission tenet become aware of the disproportionate incarceration rates of people of color and many students are from communities where the justice system has often proved itself to be unjust and worth questioning. Our College of Law has been a leader around justice in capital cases, and I have been to some incredibly moving DePaul educational events on the topic.
In fact, anti-death penalty activist Sr. Helen Prejean felt such a kinship between her work and the DePaul mission that she donated her archives to the University, and each spring we now have Sr. Helen Prejean Week, which she anchors. During her most recent visit, the DePaulia reports that Sr. Helen said, “It boils down to this: That no human being can ever be identified completely with the worst act of their life…Life is fluid. There’s a transcendence in us. We can change.” This is another reason I do not believe in the death penalty – I have heard incredible stories about death row inmates that involve wisdom, repentance, faith, and human connection. What human can decide to end a life? Is that not up to God?
In a talk at DePaul, I heard Sr. Helen say that she believes most people who are in favor of the death penalty are simply undereducated. They don’t understand the lack of justice with much of the process around who gets sentenced to death, they mistakenly believe it will bring healing and resolution to victims’ loved ones and communities, and they are not aware of other just alternatives that will protect communities and hold people accountable for their actions.
It seems as if Massachusetts, whose last state execution was in 1947, may have gotten the education Sr. Helen is talking about. A recent Boston Globe poll showed that just 19 percent of Massachusetts residents wanted the Boston Marathon bomber to get the death penalty. So whose needs are being met with achieving the verdict of death? Why does killing someone to punish them for being a killer seem righteous to a majority of Americans – albeit a shrinking one as attitudes continue to change? What is the meaning in sentencing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death when those who might have opposed such a sentencing were excluded from the jury pool and the Federal government had to spend so much time and money not to prove him guilty – that was never in doubt – but to convince a jury to sentence him to death?
As a person of faith, I hope this high profile case continues to raise these sorts of questions. I hope it causes more of us – including me – to continue our education around capital punishment and what must be done. I hope for more healing now that the trial is over (is it over?) and will keep all those impacted by the Marathon bombing in my thoughts and prayers, for that is one thing I can do here and now.
*I suggest reading the novel “The Sweet Hereafter” by Russell Banks for some perspective on how the legal system can delay the healing of individuals and rip communities apart. This book still haunts me when I scan the news or hear about families like the Richards, and indeed, sometimes art or literature moves me more than religious dictates around ethical issues.
Katie Brick is the Director of the Office of Religious Diversity at DePaul University.
by Tom Judge
At the end of December, as I contemplated the calendar and the flip from 2014 to 2015, I imagined myself, of all things, an Acapulco cliff diver, balancing at the edge, preparing to take the plunge. Once the calendar turned, I jumped (and I had to jump) there was no way to hit the pause button, no way to turn back. The laws of gravity took over and my task since then has been simply to make the most of the journey.
Contemplating the New Year left me bit anxious, a little excited, somewhat resigned. I can’t stop time from passing, I know. But, I can have some influence over the way it passes.
I think of myself as a unique and dazzling being – special just for being me. But, just as importantly, a part of the greater whole. A community expanding outward to encompass many individuals and communities – all just as valuable and essential as myself.
I thought now – the middle of February – would be a good time to check in on the New Year with people. What did you commit to at the start of 2015? Are you still committed? What stars have you been steering by…touchstones to ground and center you during the coming year of change and challenge? In case you’ve struggled to find these touchstones, I offer three possibilities here:
Hope – in the future, in what lies ahead. Hope that we will all learn a little this year and that we will not simply make the same old mistakes time after time. (NEW mistakes are ok!) Hope that is born of faith in something Transcendent. A hope that the same Transcendence that placed a star over a manger and moved three wise men to follow it will be present in our lives, too. Guiding and caring for us as we make our own journeys towards unknown epiphanies.
Compassion – for both others AND ourselves. That we may be gentle and understanding when disappointments arise. For, the reality is that while hope must never be extinguished, we know our aspirations and efforts do not always unfold as we envision. So, however straight or crooked, bumpy or smooth our path is this year, let us try and remember to have compassion. To find the good in life, learn from and accept it and then move on.
Care – if we hold this value dear in 2015, it will manifest in our actions. The stranger, the person on the margins, the homeless, oppressed and disadvantaged. They are never too far from our thoughts; we move in and out of their world and they ours. We grow in understanding and acceptance of the reality that “I am my sister’s keeper. I am my brother’s keeper.” Not only will I serve them, I will purse justice. I will do so in communion with others. This purpose will be visible in my behavior throughout the year.
As January has moved into February and I have adjusted to the new number on the calendar, I have envisioned myself an ancient sojourner. Cloak to protect me from the wind, sturdy shoes and a walking stick for company. But, I am not alone. Being in relationships of love, guided by hope, compassion and care, my heart is brighter, my steps a little lighter as I continue to move forward through 2015.
Tom Judge is a Chaplain at the DePaul Loop Campus. Feel free to share a comment below about how you’re stepping a little lighter in 2015.
“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.