Service

Seeds of the Mission: Ruben Parra

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Because we are Catholic…All are welcome!  

At DePaul, we understand Catholicism to be an invitation to foster a universal human family. It is because of our Catholicism, not despite it, that we value interfaith dialogue and spiritual exploration. Throughout DePaul’s history, our Catholic, Vincentian identity also led us to admit immigrant populations, women, and students of color before many other universities across the country.  

From the very beginning, Vincent made it clear that love for the “most abandoned” was the central focus of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity. In a conference in January 1657 Vincent preached on the importance of the love for poor:  

God loves the poor, consequently, He loves those who love the poor; for when we truly love someone, we have an affection for his friends and for his servants. Now, the Little Company of the Mission strives to devote itself ardently to serve persons who are poor, the well-beloved of God; in this way, we have good reason to hope that, for love of them, God will love us. Come then, my dear confreres, let’s devote ourselves with renewed love to serve persons who are poor, and even to seek out those who are the poorest and most abandoned.¹

Our Vincentian tradition places unheard stories at the center of the narrative. It calls us to hear the needs of those who have been made poor and marginalized and to respond with compassion, solidarity, and justice. Daughters of Charity today speak about “need not creed” guiding their response. The ministries of the Daughters of Charity around the world serve the most vulnerable without judgement or exclusion. The Vincentian tradition highlights communities’ assets and strengths so that those who are poor may be agents of their own transformation.  

Vincentians not only welcome but also seek out those who are invisible and forgotten. Because we are Vincentian, because we are Catholic, all are welcome. 

  1. 64. Love for the Poor, January 1657, CCD 11:349

 

Discovering a Resilient Joy

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“My heart is still overflowing with joy on account of the understanding which, I believe, our good God has given me of the words, “God is my God” … Therefore, I cannot help communicating with you this evening to ask you to assist me to profit from this excess of joy…”1

The ups and downs of the election season and the continued uncertainty that lingers regarding the state of our nation and a public health crisis make evident to us that unless we want to ride an emotional rollercoaster, we need to find a deeper, steadier, and more sustainable source of joy.

As quoted above from a letter to Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac found a source for such resilient joy in the ongoing presence of her God. From her Christian imagination and faith, she spoke with confidence of a belief that even in moments of loss and hardship, there is always the possibility of new life and resurrected hope. This way of making meaning offered her the possibility of a resilient joy that sustained her generative life of service and charity.2

What about you? Where do you seek and find a joy that is not dependent on the daily fluctuations of your external environment, such as the post-election results or COVID numbers, or the inevitably temperamental nature of human emotions and thoughts?

As I have aged, I’ve come to realize that much of the quality of my life is about learning how to live with loss. Whether the loss of a loved one to death, the loss of an idealistic dream or well-designed plan, the loss of a favorite sports team, or even the loss of my hair, losses can sting and leave us flustered, sad, angry, and off-balance. Furthermore, there is often a tendency to turn that hurt or sadness inward on ourselves in the form of self-critique or self-loathing, or outward onto others with blame and judgment. Handling loss like this does not lead to the kind of meaningful joy that Louise speaks of and we desire. Such joy will only come with a willingness to accept what we cannot change or control, to accept reality as it is, even if we would rather it be different.

Staring reality in the face, might we find joy simply in knowing that we can begin again from where we now are? Life offers us an infinite number of opportunities to begin again and ultimately reach our goals. There is joy to be found in re-discovering our freedom and creativity, in finding new ways to shine a light amidst darkness, and in being generative despite uncertainty or difficulty.

I suspect that this is what Louise de Marillac discovered, that with God’s help, the human spirit is resilient and will always rise again.

1) L. 369, To Monsieur Vincent, August 24 (Before 1650), Spiritual Writings of Louise de Marillac, 341. Online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldm/11/

2) For more on the overflowing joy and generativity of Louise’s life, see: Vie Thorgren, “‘God is My God’: The Generative Integrity of Louise de Marillac,” Vincentian Heritage 12:2 (1991), 201-18. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol12/iss2/7

 

Reflection by: Mark Laboe, Associate VP, Division of Mission and Ministry

 

Join us this coming Wednesday!

Gratitude Workshop

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Noon to 1 pm

The DePaul community is invited to join the College of Communication and the Division of Mission & Ministry for a lunchtime workshop devoted to gratitude practices. Research indicates that cultivating a sense of gratitude in our lives protects us from stress and depression and increases resiliency. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this is the perfect time to come learn some new approaches to feeling and expressing gratitude. Click here to register for Gratitude Workshop.

 

Seeds of the Mission: Matt Schultz

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Service Beyond DePaul & Intentional Community

The Catholic tradition is rooted in the practice of sacramentality, the understanding that the gifts and graces we receive throughout life are meant to be shared. As a Vincentian university, DePaul strives to inspire students to use their gift of education to live a life of service to others, regardless of the academic field or career choice. Post-graduate volunteer programs are one way that DePaul graduates live this call to service. Rooted in intentional community, faith, service, and social justice post-graduate volunteer programs bring to life the Vincentian way for young adults today.

Living in intentional community is deeply rooted in our Vincentian tradition. When Louise de Marillac founded the Daughters of Charity she formed a community out of the poorest of the poor, creating home for them. She actually invited young peasant women into her personal space. She saw their potential, taught them to read and write, and equipped them to make change in their communities. This kind of hospitality for a noble woman was unprecedented during her time, breaking social class barriers and opening new opportunities for women.

Louise had the deep intuition from the start that living together in community was the way forward to sustaining a life of service to others. Even in her last will and spiritual testament she  reminds the Daughters of Charity to “live together in great union and cordiality.” She tells her sisters often to “encourage one another.” The word encourage comes from the Old French encoragier—“make strong, hearten.” It means “to inspire with courage, spirit, hope.” Louise knew what she was asking her community to do was not easy and that they would need each other and courage in their hearts. Time and time again you see in her letters to the Daughters of Charity Louise helping them navigate the joys and struggles of living in community with others.

When young adults have the opportunity to serve and live in intentional community, they experience this rich tradition and learn a countercultural way to exist in our society.  It invites them to see beyond individualism and begin to realize our interconnectedness. They also grow in concrete skills of conflict resolution and dialogue as they navigate the realities of living with other humans! This transformative formation gives them tools to continue living another way beyond their year of service.

DePaul hosts an annual Post-Graduate Volunteer Fair for students interested in exploring this opportunity after graduation. In partnership with the Catholic Volunteer Network (CVN), this year’s fair will take place virtually on Monday, November 9 from 4:30-7:30pm and Tuesday, November 10 from 11:30am-2:30pm. Students can RSVP on DeHub here and sign onto the fair here.  For more information about post-graduate volunteer opportunities, visit the CVN website.

The Soul of Good Leadership

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“When I said that you must be unwavering as to the end and gentle as to the means, I am describing to you the soul of good leadership.”  Vincent de Paul (CCD, 2:403)

Checklists, systems, and metrics can serve important purposes in ensuring the consistency and effectiveness of our performance. However, if we consider the “soul” of good leadership, we recognize that these things can only get us part of the way there. There is more to good or soul-full leadership than simply following a prescriptive recipe. The soul of good leadership includes an ability to intuitively discern the signs of the times, the flexibility to adapt to circumstances beyond our control, the courage to take risks while remaining committed to guiding principles, and the grace to relate to others as human beings in a way that exhibits compassion and concern. How do you engage with the “soul” of good leadership in your life’s work, and how do you help others to do the same?

Practicing Charity on the Way to Justice

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“Charity is the cement that binds communities to God and persons to one another.” Vincent de Paul (CCD, 2:413)

For some, charity is construed negatively because it is equated to paternalism or perhaps a band-aid – – an approach that fails to address the root causes of systemic injustice. When viewed this way, Vincent de Paul’s notion of charity can strike us as inadequate and even problematic if applied uncritically to today’s world. Yet, to understand Vincent effectively we must re-contextualize his teaching and practice of charity in a meaningful way for our time, such as understanding it as the affective and relational dimension of social justice. Charity, or its Latin root “caritas,” translates closely to our present-day notion of love. Re-contextualizing Vincent’s charity, then, presents us with a challenge rather than a concept easily dismissed. Is justice truly possible in the absence of charity? How can we channel our generosity and compassion for others into actions that communicate love and move us towards justice?

Reflecting Our Values to the World

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…we are as it were a mirror for the world on which it pauses to look and easily does what we do. St. Vincent de Paul The world of Vincent de Paul seems a distant mirror to us today. Yet these words he shared with his community in 1654 are worth pondering even now. Occasionally, it is good to reflect on the way in which we live our lives. What comes to mind if you imagine yourself as a mirror to the world? How do your actions reveal the values that are important to you? What are your favorite Vincentian values? Does your work at DePaul mirror those that mean the most to you?

 

 

On Scandal. Conference of October 9, 1654, Conferences of Vincent de Paul to the Daughters of Charity

Love is Inventive to Infinity

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“Love is inventive to infinity” – Vincent de Paul

In the year 1617, in Châtillon, France, the new pastor Vincent de Paul preached about a sick and impoverished family who were in need of assistance. Vincent’s appeal proved so persuasive that it led many more people to respond to the family’s needs than was necessary. In witnessing such an overwhelming response, Vincent became convinced that if good works are to be effective they need to be well organized. This incident was the catalyst that led Vincent to found conferences of charity to care for the poor and marginalized in parishes throughout France, and eventually all over the world.

Vincent’s experience in Châtillon helped him see the need to make substantial changes to the way charity was administered. In the good work being done at DePaul, how do you see ways that might help us fulfill our mission in a more sustainable or effective way?

Frédéric Ozanam’s Tactical Wisdom For Today’s Consumer Society

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From Thomas McKenna’s perspective, consumerism reduces everything, including religious tradition and altruism, to commodities that are removed from their original contexts and lacking in meaning. Elements of consumerism are identified; their combined effect leads individuals to only value short-term engagements with what appeals to them, makes them feel noble, or makes a statement about their identity. McKenna examines how Frederic Ozanam’s life and work can be used to counteract this. According to Ozanam, Christians should mediate between the rich and the poor to alleviate class conflict and ensure justice for poor persons. His mandate for direct service means that neither suffering nor altruism can be reduced to commodities, and that personal contact is the basis for practical solutions to social problems. It was Ozanam’s insight that service should be done in community and be directly tied to religion, or what would today be termed theological reflection. This strengthens those who serve, encourages further action, and, in McKenna’s view, preserves religion’s imperative force, meaning, and context.

“Frederic Ozanam’s Tactical Wisdom For Today’s Consumer Society” is an article published in 2010 in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 30, Issue 1, Article 1 available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol30/iss1/1

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

 

 

Social Justice Beats

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by Katie Brick

“Hammer and a Nail” by the Indigo Girls came through my car radio this weekend. I was whisked back to doing community service – or thinking about doing service – in my 20s. And then I thought about theme songs from various DePaul Service Immersion Trips I’ve been on.

With new Spring Service Immersions just around the corner, and DCSA and Loop Community Service happening all the time I’d like to share my top 5 songs about service and invite YOU to add to the list via the comments!

In no particular order (and mostly stuck in a pop groove so do add hip hop, metal, show tunes, whatever):

“Hammer and Nail” by the Indigo Girls – fresh as a spring breeze while you’re painting on a service site.

 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTI2GGNFR_U&w=420&h=315]

“A distant nation my community
A street person my responsibility
If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring.”

 “Blessed to Be A Witness” by Ben Harper – Introduced to this one by students on a service trip to the slums of Guayaquil, Ecuador, where we encountered families living on garbage dumps, tens of thousands of people living in shacks with no running water, and Jenny, a local activist who looked everyone in the eye and demanded, “¿Por qué estás aquí?” (Why are you here?).

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK10z0y_1k&w=560&h=315]

“Only by the grace of God go I.
I am blessed to be a witness.”

 “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye – I remember this from being a kid and its call to action seems just as timely now with #BlackLivesMatter, continuing war, and fears putting us at odds with compassion and solidarity. You have to have an interest in ‘What’s goin’ on’ to get involved.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M&w=420&h=315]

“Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying.”

  “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals – My older brother, whose life is incredibly difficult right now and all about service, recently put this on a mix for me. It’s catchy.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc6jd9P1X6w&w=560&h=315]

“Wake up kids
We’ve got the dreamers disease.”

  “Hands” by Jewel. Yes, Jewel. It’s in the same genre as “Hammer and Nail,” granted – so share your own genres in the comments, and enjoy this in the meantime.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfsS3pIDBfw&w=420&h=315]

“We are God’s eyes
God’s hands
God’s mind
We are God’s eyes
God’s hands
God’s heart”

 

Katie Brick is the Director of the Office of Religious Diversity at DePaul University.