social justice

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 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

King, Vincent and the Courage to Persevere

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Written By: Abdul-Malik Ryan, Assistant Director, Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care

The MLK Living Memorial, dedicated in 2016 to mark the 50th Anniversary of King marching in Marquette Park. The effort to create it was led by the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, and DePaul University was one of the supporting sponsors. See https://bit.ly/40khz1Z

Sometimes I wonder, as I know others have, what Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. would think about the fact that his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday. When King was living and working, the only individuals so honored were Jesus (peace be upon him) and George Washington. [1] King would likely be surprised that he would be so honored for many different reasons. He was widely unpopular among white Americans at the time of his death. King maintained a popularity with white Americans outside the South while he was focused on civil rights in the South, but became less popular when he turned his attention to discrimination in the North. In August 1966, when King was marching through Marquette Park on Chicago’s South Side to protest housing discrimination, 63 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of King and only 12 percent reported a “highly favorable” view. [2] King’s increasing focus on speaking out against the Vietnam war and the planned Poor People’s Campaign turned even those who had been King’s allies, like President Lyndon Johnson, against him.

If King could imagine a turn of events that would lead to a national holiday in his honor, I am sure he would hope that it would indicate that many people had come to see that he was right in the causes for which he struggled. It can certainly be argued that is true in some ways. By 2011, almost no one (only one percent) reported a “highly unfavorable” view of King to Gallup. [3] If it isn’t the case that most Americans have adopted King’s pacifism, the majority have come to see the Vietnam War as having been a mistake. [4]  

However, King understood enough about politics and human nature to worry that his increasing popularity in the decades after his death may have come from a misunderstanding, or at the least, a selective understanding, of what he was all about. He might also think that naming a national holiday after someone who tried to be a prophetic voice for change can be something of a paradox. (Of course, Jesus preceded King in that paradox.)

What is the value of holidays anyway? Certainly, times for rest, reflection, and celebration are good. The King holiday on January 20th invites us to reflect on the questions around his legacy and inspires us to continue the good that he came to symbolize for many. On January 25th at DePaul University we also spend time reflecting on the legacy of Saint Vincent de Paul as we mark Foundation Day. Vincent attributed this date as the beginning of the mission with his sermon at Folleville. Today, when there is for many a general sense of anxiety about the state of the world and even the future of higher education, what can we take from reflecting on these men and more importantly the wider legacies of the movements they continue to inspire? 

I think in times of injustice, in times of violence, in times of poverty, in times of anxiety, in times of confusion, the first call of these legacies is the call to courage. Courage to face challenges rather than run from them. Courage to do what one believes is right rather than what is easy or popular. Like other prophetic figures, Martin Luther King and Saint Vincent envisioned a world different from the one they saw around them. They had the courage to articulate that vision and work to convince others.

Beyond that though, they each had the courage to have faith in divine providence and to trust even when times looked bleak. This is the courage I find most inspiring, the courage to keep going, the courage to refuse to become cynical. This is the courage to not just want change, but to work for it, and to be willing to come together with others to do so, even when it is difficult.

In a sermon King delivered months before he was murdered, he talked about the “if” faith and the “though” faith. King said the “if” faith says that I will be faithful to my mission as long as things are going well, as long as it is easy. The “though” faith on the other hand says, “Though things go wrong; though evil is temporarily triumphant; though sickness comes and the cross looms, neverthless I’m gonna believe anyway and I’m gonna have faith anyway; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” [5] Vincent (also known for his sermons) urged his colleagues to “always be very courageous” because otherwise “that cursed spirit of laziness gives up at the smallest contradiction: there’s not the slightest discomfort it doesn’t avoid, no responsibility it doesn’t fear, no satisfaction it doesn’t seek; this self-love ruins everything.” [6]

I am amazed by the courage of people. The courage of people who are responsible for others, who have many depending on them. Also, the courage of those from whom no one expects (or to whom no one gives) much. The courage of those who people expect to give up. I am amazed when these people get up each day, when they refuse to give up, when they face their fears and doubts and the accusations and misunderstandings of others. We ask for the courage of that “though” faith in what we know is right, in the good we can do, in the good DePaul can do.

For Reflection:

What speaks to you most powerfully about the legacy of King in these times for yourself and for DePaul as a community? Where do you find overlap in the legacies of King and Vincent?

Reflection by: Abdul-Malik Ryan, Assistant Director, Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care

[1] Jesus, in that Christmas was a national holiday. Columbus Day was made a federal holiday with legislation signed in 1968 after King’s assassination, to be observed starting in 1971.

[2] Jenn Hatfield, “How Public Attitudes Toward Martin Luther King Jr. Have Changed Since the 1960s,” Pew Research Center, August 10, 2023, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/10/how-public-attitudes-toward-martin-luther-king-jr-have-changed-since-the-1960s/.

[3] Jeffrey M. Jones, “Americans Divided on Whether King’s Dream Has Been Realized,” Gallup, August 26, 2011, https://news.gallup.com/poll/149201/Americans-Divided-Whether-King-Dream-Realized.aspx.

[4] “CBS News Poll: U.S. Involvement in Vietnam,” CBS News, January 28, 2018, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/.

[5] Martin Luther King Jr., “But If Not,” audio recording, Ebenezer Baptist Church, November 5, 1967, Atlanta, GA, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/MlkButIfNot.

[6] Conference 131, Repetition of Prayer, August 10, 1655, CCD, 11:216. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/37/.

Navigating These Moments: A Call to Compassion

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Written by: Victoria Van Kirk Pride, Associate Director of Housing Operations

As we approach the results of a pivotal election, it feels like we’re all holding our breath—like the feeling of waiting for the “L” during rush hour on a crammed platform, surrounded by a vibrant mix of humanity and a soundtrack of varied conversations. Each of us comes from different stops along the transit map, carrying our hopes, convictions, goals, and perhaps a touch of anxiety—all striving to reach our destinations while keeping in step with the pace of the city and one another.

Amid this swirling energy and the heightened stress of the times, we are reminded of Saint Vincent de Paul’s words: “It is not enough to do good. It must be done well.” [1] This quote serves as a powerful call to action, urging us not only to act but to do so with intention. In these uncertain times, responding with compassion and understanding is essential. A little kindness can be one of the most effective antidotes to the emotions of the moment, helping us navigate the challenges we face together.

Our DePaul community thrives on its diversity, weaving together a rich tapestry of voices and experiences. Regardless of the election’s outcome, each of us plays a vital role in picking up the pieces and fostering meaningful conversations—we have to take care of one another. Recognizing and valuing our diverse perspectives is crucial, especially for those who may feel marginalized. Sharing an hour for coffee with a classmate who sees things differently, or supporting those who feel sidelined, can create real change. These small gestures add up and are like the stops on our beloved “L” line—each one helps map out our journey, guiding us through the complexities of our shared experience.

Let’s acknowledge that this election cycle has felt long and dramatic. The constant barrage of news headlines and social media clips makes it hard to sift through the noise for substance. It’s normal to feel a whirlwind of emotions—anxiety, excitement, disbelief—especially when our perspectives differ. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to breathe deeply and honor those feelings. Go for a walk in Lincoln Park, journal your thoughts to process any lingering frustration, or strike up a Teams chat or text thread with a DePaul friend or two to lift your mood or make you laugh—surely you can find a hilarious GIF to share apropos to the times we are in.

As we navigate this uncertain terrain, let’s remind ourselves of the Dalai Lama’s wisdom in quoting a favorite West African proverb: “If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” This somewhat humorous reminder underscores that even the smallest actions or intentions can create impacts or ripples of change, especially during challenging times when every effort to engage, support, and uplift one another matters more than ever. Let’s turn to one another for support and understanding to connect our personal experiences to collective action.

So, regardless of the outcome, let us reflect on our roles here in our Vincentian community. How can you embody the spirit of Vincent in your daily interactions? What steps can you take to foster understanding and rebuild respectful connections within your circles? Share your ideas with friends, join a campus group focused on dialogue, or even write a reflection on your experience this election season. Every voice matters in shaping our community.

Together, we can embrace the challenges ahead, finding strength in our shared values and humor, reminding ourselves that while adversity is inevitable, our response is a choice that shapes our community.

Reflection Questions:

  1. How can I actively contribute to creating a more inclusive community through and after the election?
  2. In what ways can I approach conversations with empathy and a bit of warmth?
  3. What small, intentional actions can I take this week to support those who feel overlooked?

Reflection by: Victoria Van Kirk Pride, Associate Director of Housing Operations

[1]  This popular quote at DePaul is a slight rephrasing of Vincent’s words. For the full quote, see: Conference 177, “Repetition of Prayer,” November 25,1657, CCD, 11:389. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/37/.

A Vincentian Example For this Election Season

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Written by: Tom Judge, Assistant Director and Chaplain, Faculty and Staff Engagement, Division of Mission and Ministry

Recently, it occurred to me that I have been spending much of my time during autumn 2024 in one of three ways. The first is the most typical: trying to keep up with the rapid pace of fall quarter at DePaul, with programs, Zoom meetings, deadlines, and emails following one after the other in a familiar cycle. The second is the most sublime: relishing the sunshine, mild temperatures, and beautiful colors we’ve experienced during this past month. Has there ever been, in recent memory at least, such an uninterrupted string of easy autumn days in Chicago? The third way I’ve been spending my time this fall is the way I like the least. It is unwelcome and worrisome. Lately, like many, I’ve been spending a lot of my bandwidth feeling anxious about the upcoming election. While reading the news and talking with friends, but mostly when I’m alone, I am distressed over our current circumstances. I ruminate over questions like, what are the latest headlines and poll numbers? What will happen if my candidates lose? Is there more I should be doing? And how did we, as a society, even get to this place?

Sometimes, after sitting with these thoughts and feelings for too long, I try to open my heart to God and ask for a little relief and guidance. I may even seek out a wisdom figure, someone who is likely to have a helpful insight or has made it through similar challenges before. That is what led me, several evenings ago, to Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853). Ozanam is a member of the Vincentian Family, less well-known than Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, but his legacy as a brilliant scholar and prophetic voice of charity and justice during a time of unrest makes him relevant to this moment.

In a short but eventful life, Ozanam was a lawyer, professor, and journalist as well as a devoted son, husband, and father. Formed by the Catholic faith, at a young age he and some friends founded a charitable organization based on Christian principles that engaged with the poor of Paris. The group became known as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul after they adopted the patron saint of charity as their model and inspiration. Now, over 170 years since it began, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has almost one million members who provide service to those most in need throughout the world. [1]

In a time of rising class struggles and agitation for reform, Ozanam did not advocate for charity alone. He also called out for justice. He declared that “the order of society is based on two virtues: justice and charity,” and he linked these imperatives with his faith through the use of a familiar Gospel parable. Ozanam wrote, “Charity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveler who has been attacked. It is justice’s role to prevent the attacks.” [2] Ozanam believed in a society based on the common good; advocating for the sacrifice of each for the advantage of all. During the Industrial Revolution, when urban poverty and harsh working conditions became more widespread and visible, he began to develop arguments in favor of basic rights like a natural (or living) wage, labor unions, and social security. In making these arguments, and grounding them in the teachings of Christ, Ozanam helped nourish the ideas that grew into the corpus of Catholic Social Teaching. Ozanam believed in a society whose end is love. And, he saw democracy, infused with the ideals of liberty, inclusion, equality, and human dignity, as the best form of government to achieve this end.

Of course, Ozanam’s call for reform attracted fierce resistance from the elite throughout France as well as within the Church. He knew this. However, true to his faith, Ozanam gently encouraged those who agreed with him to learn to defend their convictions without hating their adversaries. “All my life,” he wrote, “I have followed the poetry of love in preference to the poetry of anger. I will not change now.” [3]

I take heart from the life and wisdom of Frédéric Ozanam. I believe in his vision of a society where charity, justice, and human dignity are valued above all else, and democracy as a form of government is honored and upheld. I am mindful that he was active during a time of great human progress but also tremendous change, conflict, and social pressure. As this election season draws towards its culmination, I hold Ozanam’s example close. Undoubtedly, he experienced personal struggles and lived through widespread unrest. Yet he persevered. In fact, his faith and his commitment to charity and justice seemed only to grow stronger as his eventful, impactful, yet all-too-brief, life unfolded. In its wake is a legacy that informs and inspires even to this day.

Invitation for Reflection:

How is your spirit as we draw closer to Election Day? Can you draw any inspiration or insight from our Vincentian mission and heritage?

Consider Ozanam’s twin imperatives: charity and justice. How do these resonate with you? How are you devoting your time, energy, or resources toward them?

Reflection by: Tom Judge, Assistant Director and Chaplain, Faculty and Staff Engagement, Division of Mission and Ministry

[1] “About Us,” International Confederation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, https://‌www.‌ssvpglobal.‌org/‌about-us/.

[2] “Frédéric Ozanam Quotes,” The Vincentian Formation Network, accessed October 23, 2024, https://‌vincentians.com/‌en/quotes-collection/frederic-ozanam-quotes/.

[3] Ibid.

What is Vincentian Hospitality?

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Last week, DePaul University’s new president, Rob Manuel, shared a message in honor of the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul. He detailed the concepts of radical hospitality and service as deeply connected to the spirit and life example of Vincent de Paul, an ongoing inspiration for us today. While the connection between mission and service is familiar to most at DePaul, in subsequent conversations I observed that the idea of radical hospitality was new to many. This was especially true in articulating the present day meaning of DePaul’s Vincentian mission. The concept of such hospitality, however, has deep roots in our Vincentian heritage and is rooted in the life example and testimony of Vincent de Paul. There is great spiritual depth to the practice and experience of radical hospitality, particularly when considering our mission.

A common Vincentian story told at DePaul is often referred to as the story of the white tablecloth. In the foundational documents and rules established for the Confraternity in Châtillon-les-Dombes in 1617, Vincent de Paul explained the careful attention necessary when seeking to serve those in need. He recommended that missioners lay out a white cloth before serving food to a person in need, and that they engage in kind and cheerful conversation to better understand the context of that person’s story.(1) The attentive care communicated through gestures such as these reflect a recognition of the sacred dignity of those being served, as well as the essential relational dimension of human interaction, breaking down the distinction between “us” and “them.”

When Vincent established the Congregation of the Mission, he recognized the importance of establishing “a community gathered for the sake of the mission.” This community would not be based upon individual action, it would be built on the collective interdependence of those sharing a common purpose. Vincent took this further in establishing the Daughters of Charity alongside Louise de Marillac. Louise invited young peasant women into her personal space and formed a community. She recognized their potential and taught them to read and write, equipping them to be catalysts of change in their communities. Such hospitality was unprecedented at the time. Louise created entirely new opportunities that did not exist previously for women in society. With Vincent she shaped an intergenerational community, gathering women across all boundaries of social class. The Daughters believed that the “streets are our chapel,” and they continue to carry a spirit of personalism, openness, and hospitality outward, wherever they go.

In 2016, a special edition of the journal Vincentian Heritage was devoted to the theme of hospitality. It was inspired by our Vincentian spirit, so urgently needed in today’s world. The articles in this virtual compendium of Vincentian hospitality contain many insights on the transformative power of the practice of possibility.

The preface describes Vincent de Paul as a “hospitality practitioner” due to his desire to serve and care for others in the way that is best for them.(2) Subsequent articles further develop the theme through the lens of Vincentian tradition, emphasizing hospitality as a “sacred” experience that reflects the very nature of God. Vincent and Louise’s attention to the quality of the services they provided is singled out as a reflection of their deep, faith-based commitment to offering the best care possible to others, particularly those that society forgot or diminished.(3) An encounter of hospitality as a transformational event is highlighted “because we are engaging in new relations and opening ourselves to deep change.” In the process of encountering others, we must simultaneously address the harmful or unjust structures that get in the way of the effective care that hospitality demands.(4) Cultivating friendships and learning to listen deeply to oneself and the needs of others in the manner of Vincent de Paul is emphasized, as is the practice of hospitality to students of all faith traditions. We must recognize the importance of our words and actions in welcoming and caring for students, and in helping them to feel at home.(5) The intentional practice of hospitality, and how it effectively passes on the Vincentian mission and charism in the relational encounter between students and community partners, is also detailed.(6) Vincentian hospitality has been successfully used to address some of today’s most pressing societal issues.(7) Other articles discuss Vincent’s attentive care and concern for the sick and indigent, prisoners, and foreign migrants, and all those whom society tends to marginalize.(8) This edition truly illustrates how the practice of hospitality can serve as a catalyst for both inner and outer transformation.

Interestingly, an earlier Vincentian Heritage article by Sioban Albiol in DePaul’s College of Law points out that Vincent was himself a migrant and therefore he maintained a special concern for foreigners. This was reflected in the hospitality he provided to others.(9) The article states:

Saint Vincent de Paul must have felt the blessing and the pain of migration in his own life. Like so many economic refugees, at some personal cost to himself and his family. His father’s selling of two oxen to finance Saint Vincent’s studies is recounted by several authors. He left his home in order to pursue educational opportunity and economic security that could not be found in his place of birth. The land where he was born would have provided a bare existence.(10)

Vincent’s frequent reflection upon and practice of charity connects closely to the concept of hospitality. While today charity may sound soft and ineffective in the face of large, structured inequities, it also might be understood as the critical affective and relational dimension to justice. In fact, Vincent’s emphasis on charity was about action and generativity beyond the surface level.(11) Vincent advised his followers that charity involved the willingness to endure risks for the sake of offering hospitality to those in need: “If you grant asylum to so many refugees, your house may be sacked sooner by soldiers; I see that clearly. The question is, however, whether, because of this danger, you should refuse to practice such a beautiful virtue as charity.”(12) Enduring risks and vulnerability means extending ourselves beyond our comfort zone for the sake of others. Vincent’s charity, and his personal transformation over time, began by responding to the needs of those in front of him. He saw it as a virtue and an imperative of his Christian faith to be approachable.(13)

The resources above may help to shape a distinctive Vincentian hospitality vitally integral to sustaining and energizing the daily practice of our mission as we engage students, colleagues, community partners, and guests and visitors within our DePaul campus and community. However, in the spirit of Vincent de Paul, we will only learn radical hospitality and understand its profound meaning through concrete actions and experiences.

How might a radical Vincentian hospitality become concrete and real in our day-to-day interactions and encounters?

How might the practice of hospitality lead to both inner and outer transformation—within us and within the communities of which we are a part?

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

1) See Document 126, Charity of Women, (Châtillon-Les-Dombes), 1617, CCD, 13b:13; and Document 130, Charity of Women, (Montmirail – II), CCD, 13b:40. At: https://‌via.‌library.‌depaul.‌edu/‌vincentian‌_ebooks/‌38/.

2) Thomas A. Maier, Ph.D. “Preface: The Nature and Necessity of Hospitality,” Vincentian Heritage 33:1 (2016), available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol33/iss1/1.

3) Thomas A. Maier, Ph.D., and Marco Tavanti, Ph.D., “Introduction: Sacred Hospitality Leadership: Values Centered Perspectives and Practices,” Ibid., at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol33/iss1/2.

4) Ibid, p. 5.

5) Annelle Fitzpatrick, C.S.J., Ph.D., “Hospitality on a Vincentian Campus: Welcoming the Stranger Outside our Tent,” Ibid., at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol33/iss1/9.

6) Joyana Dvorak, “Cultivating Interior Hospitality: Passing the Vincentian Legacy through Immersion,” Ibid., at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol33/iss1/16.

7) J. Patrick Murphy, C.M., Ph.D., “Hospitality in the Manner of St. Vincent de Paul,” Ibid., at: https://‌via.‌library.‌depaul.edu/vhj/vol33/iss1/12.

8) See John E. Rybolt, C.M., Ph.D., “Vincent de Paul and Hospitality,” Ibid., at: https://‌via.‌library.‌depaul.‌edu/‌vhj/‌vol33/iss1/5; John M. Conry, “Reflections from the Road: Vincentian Hospitality Principles in Healthcare Education for the Indigent,” Ibid., at: http://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol33/iss1/14.

9) Siobhan Albiol, J.D., “Meeting Saint Vincent’s Challenge in Providing Assistance to the Foreign-Born Poor: Applying the Lessons to the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic,” Vincentian Heritage 28:2 (2010), at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol28/iss2/20/.

10) Ibid., p. 282.

11) Conference 207, Charity (Common Rules, Chap. II, Art. 12), 30 May 1659, CCD, 12:223, at: https://‌via.‌‌library.‌depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/36/.

12) Letter 1678, Vincent de Paul to Louis Champion, Superior, In Montmirail, November 1653, CCD, 5:49, at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/30/.

13) See Robert Maloney, C.M., “The Way of Vincent de Paul: Five Characteristic Virtues,” Via Sapientiae, (DePaul University, 1991), at: Five Characteristic Virtues; also Edward R. Udovic, C.M., Ph.D., “‘Our good will and honest efforts.’ Vincentian Perspectives on Poverty Reduction Efforts,” Vincentian Heritage 28:2, at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol28/iss2/5.

Vincent de Paul: An Essential Memory

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This week we are celebrating the best of our spiritual heritage: the life of Saint Vincent de Paul.

I discovered St. Vincent when I joined the Congregation of the Mission at 18 years of age on February 5, 1984. I was looking for community and a communal experience. I rapidly felt in love with him, his life, his commitment, his humanism, and his endless creativity. Over the past 38 years I have come to understand that Vincent is an important part of an infinite constellation of guardians, prophets, and witnesses. He is part of a constant, sacred memory of the God of a thousand names and expressions in a vast array of religions, cultures, and spiritualities.

Vincent de Paul is a very human prophet and teacher capable of provoking a yearning within us for God, the God of the poor and the most abandoned. This memory and our yearning take concrete form as something bigger than our own egos. We recognize it as something essential for a peaceful and sustainable coexistence in this, our common home. Vincent’s life and his work were inspired by the memory of God, a memory and yearning for compassion, mercy, solidarity, transformation, and love and justice. The memory of God in Vincent’s life is a strength that forces us to go to the margins, to welcome the stranger, to console the afflicted, to free the oppressed, and to “leave no one behind.”[1]

Today Vincent de Paul is a living memory, and our yearning must therefore include working for racial equity and to overcome structural racism and systems of white supremacy. For us, we must recognize the historical reality of the unfortunate connections some members of the Congregation of the Mission had to slavery in the nineteenth century. And we must articulate the connections that enslavement and the legacy of institutional racism have to our present. The yearning of God must be a yearning for truth and transformation.

I am certain that Vincent himself experienced a memory and yearning for God early in life. “He left his home diocese, Dax, and moved to the capital around 1607, where he began to make contacts among the ecclesiastical and even social elite. Being surrounded with refugees, the poor, and the marginalized, his attention gradually shifted away from his personal advancement toward service given to his needy sisters and brothers.”[2] The poor provoked in Vincent an essential memory of who he was called to be. They became both unique human beings endowed with sacred dignity and a living memory of the revelation of God. Every single day they called him to service, to compassion, to solidarity, and to transformation. In Vincent’s heart relationships with those who were poor led to a constant yearning for God, for the best of our human experience. They transformed his very existence.

Vincent was a humble man. He never aspired or claimed to be a “little god” or tried to control everything and everyone. He lived with a yearning and sense of God’s presence throughout his life, especially when doubts or conflict surrounded him. He felt this essential yearning and connection to God in his daily work, in the loving coexistence of his community, and in the day-to-day struggles to sustain all the projects he created to help victims of war, peasants, men in prisons, the destitute, the sick, and abandoned children. More than believing in God, Vincent de Paul knew God, served God, and committed his life to God as present to him in all those most abandoned by society. It was in the poor that he knew God, loved God, and felt the living God. His commitment to the excluded, the ones on the margins, the most abandoned, became one of those essential and perennial memories in his developing a deeper form of humanity.

Therefore, our Vincentian theological-spiritual approach is not of a pious type. Instead, it attempts to make a leap from religious devotion to ethical dedication in favor of social and environmental justice for the defense of vulnerable and threatened life. Vincent de Paul gave religion an ethical horizon. He taught us that the recognition and care for the dignity of the other, especially the ones on the margins of society, is essential to really experience God, to know God, and to serve God.

In this celebration of the feast of Saint Vincent my Vincentian heart feels a yearning for God, a yearning for compassion and solidarity, for equity and inclusion, and for respect, recognition, and care.

Happy feast of Saint Vincent to our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Over this week, let us experience together a yearning for those essential things that bring us joy and inner peace.

Reflection by: Fr. Memo Campuzano, C.M., Vice-President for Mission and Ministry

[1] Cf. Luke 4:16-21.

[2] John E. Rybolt, C.M., Ph.D., “Vincent de Paul and Hospitality,” Vincentian Heritage 33:1 (2016), at: https://‌via.‌library.‌depaul.edu/vhj/vol33/iss1/5/.

 

 

Shifting Our Perception

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Depending on our mindset, Mondays can be difficult mornings as we face the beginning of yet another week of work. This may involve facing a long to-do list, including some tasks we might not rather do, coming immediately on the heels of a weekend taste of rest and relaxation.

However, with some mental reframing, we might shift and say to ourselves with some authentic enthusiasm: “Today is a new day and the start of a new work week! This is a new opportunity for me to live my values and to put my mission into action!”

What might you need to move into such a mental-emotional space? Are there practices or habits that could help you to do so? Maybe meditation or prayer, walks outside, or seeking the support of a community of friends and colleagues?

As our Mission Mondays continue to follow Christians through their Lenten season, we might find some insight in the words of prophet Isaiah from the readings for this fifth and penultimate week of Lent. Isaiah invites the Hebrew people to change their mindset, to hearken no longer on the hardships of the past, and to recognize what God is doing anew in their presence: “Do you not perceive it?”[1]

How much of our mindset is the result of our perception or our ability to see and focus our attention on the emerging, possible good in our midst?

This week, we also read of Jesus’s often-quoted admonition to those condemning a woman: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”[2] Jesus is clearly seeing and focusing on something different than the mob of people set on violence.

Shifting our perception—whether to focus on the good and possible rather than what is troubling, or to set our minds and hearts toward forgiveness and compassion rather than judgment and condemnation—can be mightily difficult for most of us. Such a shift will probably not be achieved through our own will alone. The many ongoing daily challenges of life, added to the tragedies now being amplified in our world with the violent destruction and loss of life in Ukraine, can make it especially difficult to adopt a forward-looking hopeful frame of mind. Doing so may require a healthy dose of grace and some proverbial sunshine to emerge in our lives independent of our own efforts.

As Vincent de Paul would advise, we need to remain radically open to the experiences and people in our lives—to first perceive Providence at work, then to humbly and graciously receive the blessings and opportunities before us—so that we may be able to say, as the Psalmist does, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”[3]

  • What might help you this week to focus on the good that is possible for you to do and to experience, even amidst difficulty?
  • What holds you back from such openness?
  • When was there a moment in your life in which you embodied an open, positive mindset, and what were you doing—or what was occurring—at that time to make this possible? What might you glean from this experience to apply to your life today?

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

[1] Isaiah 43:19.

[2] John 8:7.

[3] Psalm 126:3.

Effective Charity

Charity, Frederic Ozanam, Mission Monday, Vincentian values , , ,

hands holding hands

The Catholic tradition names Saint Vincent de Paul the patron saint of charity. While today the term “charity” is sometimes caricatured as a Band-Aid approach to addressing social problems, the effective charity demonstrated by Vincent and Louise in seventeenth-century France, and the effective charity of the Vincentian family today, calls for a radically different understanding.

The word “charity” derives from the Latin term, caritas, which denotes a generous and self-giving love.[1] During their lifetimes, both Vincent and Louise “vigorously called upon charity as an indispensable source of power to confront the poverty and injustice of their day.”[2] Indeed, charity provided a way of resisting the dictates of the state, which, as a result of the “War of Great Confinement,” criminalized those who were poor and forbade begging as well as almsgiving.[3] Yet, through their ministry, Vincent and Louise refused to discount the dignity of those who were poor. Instead, they demonstrated an effective charity that went far beyond mere philanthropic efforts to alleviate need. They focused on developing meaningful relationships with those to whom they ministered, whom much of society had shunned. Such connections allowed them to “build a parallel and contradictory world of charity”[4] that acknowledged right relationship and was shaped by the power of the human encounter.

To this day, this kind of effective charity continues to inspire Vincentian social institutions, which focus not only on addressing the immediate needs of those who are disenfranchised, but root themselves in accompaniment and the construction of meaningful transformative relationships. Such institutions equally commit themselves to calling society to justice and working for systemic change.

Frédéric Ozanam, one of the principal founders of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, described the complementary nature of charity and justice in the following way: “The order of society is based on two virtues: justice and charity. However, justice presupposes a lot of love already, for he needs to love a man a great deal in order to respect his rights, which limit our rights, and his liberty, which hampers our liberty. Justice has its limits whereas charity knows none.”[5]

So from a Vincentian perspective, rather than charity being dismissed as a lesser form of justice, effective charity should be understood as a complement to justice in effectuating social change.[6] From a Vincentian perspective, effective charity must lead to effective justice.

In what ways do you see evidence of the Vincentian traditions of effective charity and justice in your work at DePaul? How does this description of effective charity challenge your own understanding of charity?

Reflection by: Siobhan O’Donoghue, Ph.D., Faculty and Staff Engagement Director, Mission and Ministry

[1] Mark Laboe, “Connecting Charity with Justice,” The Way of Wisdom (blog), 24 August 2020, https://blogs.depaul.edu/dmm/2020/08/24/connecting-charity-with-justice/.

[2] Craig B. Mousin, “Vincentian Leadership—Advocating for Justice,” Vincentian Heritage 26:1 (2005): 263, https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol26/iss1/14.

[3] Edward R. Udovic, C.M., “Caritas Christi Urget Nos: The Urgent Challenges of Charity in Seventeenth-Century France,” Ibid. 12:2 (1991): 86, https://via.‌library.‌depaul.edu‌/vhj/‌vol12/iss2/1/.

[4] Ibid., 102.

[5] Pierre Pierrand et al., Ozanam, Husband and Father, Champion of Truth and Justice, Lover of the Poor, Founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (Albagraf, Pomeezia Italy: 1997), 35.

[6] Mousin, “Vincentian Leadership—Advocating for Justice,” 263.

 

A Vincentian Call at this Moment

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At this moment in time, the Division of Mission and Ministry recommits to the principle of justice. For the families and communities of all those directly impacted by systemic oppression, police brutality and the plethora of mass shootings and gun violence that have cut short the lives of many, we continue to grieve, to be outraged, to pray, and to act. In living out the Vincentian question, What must be done, we recommit ourselves to never ceasing in our struggle for justice. Our work is the work of connecting contemplation and action – centering marginalized voices and ennobling the dignity of all. Our Mission and Ministry staff continues to be here to listen, to believe, to accompany, and to walk together.

As well at this moment, we share a powerful result of communally connecting prayer and action. In February of this year, DePaul’s Division of Mission and Ministry along with our Muslim student group UMMA and the local nonprofit organization IMAN hosted a Virtual Fast-a-Thon, in which people were invited to experience fasting as a spiritual practice connected to building solidarity and working for social change. Our special guest was Cariol Horne, a former Buffalo (N.Y.) police officer who had been fired from her job after intervening to stop abuse by another officer in 2006. As a result of her firing, Cariol also was prevented from collecting her pension. Cariol has never stopped struggling for justice, both in her case and in the wider cause of preventing police abuse. Her case, and her struggle received renewed attention in the wake of the George Floyd case and other prominent cases which raised questions about why police officers didn’t intervene to stop abuse by other officers. In late 2020, Cariol’s Law was passed in the city of Buffalo to obligate officers to intervene to stop abuse and protect them from retaliation after doing so as well as other systemic police reforms which can serve as a model for other jurisdictions.

During Fast-a-Thon after reflecting on her own experience of fasting for the day of the event, Cariol was asked how she was able to persevere in her struggle for justice for so long. She spoke about her children and her community. She shared how deeply it affected her when she heard of others who had given up on constructive change and lashed out in ways that were destructive to others or to their own selves. She said she wished that they had known of her own campaign and that people like her were struggling and she was moved by the solidarity of others and the attention her case was finally getting. Last week, as the sacred fasting month of Ramadan began, we received the good news that Cariol had prevailed in her court case, that she would receive formal reinstatement and back pay that would allow her to receive her pension. (For more information on Cariol’s case and Cariol’s law visit cariolslaw.com).

We are called by our Vincentian Mission to connect contemplation and action – to be in solidarity with those who are marginalized, oppressed and suffering. We recognize the limitations of our own individual experiences and perspectives and experience the great wisdom and inspiration that are gained in encounter and solidarity across social divides. We strive to take part in efforts that sustain struggles against injustice and work constructively toward nonviolent systemic change. We firmly believe that all people of goodwill joining together in such efforts is the way forward, a path that is steep and difficult at times, but filled with beautiful rewards.

 

Photo: Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune

Connecting Charity with Justice

bcicirel Charity, Frederic Ozanam, Mission Monday, Vincentian personalism , , , , ,

Responses to injustice based only on charity may readily be maligned for not addressing the systemic issues that cause suffering to be perpetuated; yet, properly understood, charity should be seen as an essential part of transformative action and as the vital relational and affective dimension of justice. The word charity derives from the Latin, caritas, and can be better understood as a generous and self-giving love. It reflects an understanding of love as a sustained virtue and not as a fickle or thoughtless passion.

Frédéric Ozanam, influential lay leader and founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, understood that acts of charity enabled insight into the plight of the poor and oppressed, and facilitated more substantive and transformative social change. His beliefs resonate with those of Vincent de Paul and others within the Vincentian tradition. Ozanam emphasized personal relationships as fundamental to both affective and effective social action and transformative service. This Vincentian personalism, as we have come to know it, recognizes the unique circumstances of individual people, while concurrently working toward broader, systemic change. Ozanam’s words on the power of experience help us understand this piece of Vincentian wisdom:

The knowledge of social well-being and reform is to be learned, not from books, nor from the public platform, but in climbing the stairs to the poor’s man garret, sitting by his bedside, feeling the same cold that pierces him, sharing the secret of his lonely heart and troubled mind. When the conditions of the poor have been examined, in school, at work, in hospital, in the city, in the country… it is then and then only, that we know the elements of that formidable problem, that we begin to grasp it and may hope to solve it.[1]

As you consider social issues that must be addressed in our time, how do you maintain a personalism consistent with our Vincentian mission? That is, how can you better recognize and respond to the unique personal circumstances of those affected, while also working at the same time for systemic change that addresses the root causes of their suffering?

How might this Vincentian approach apply given the context of your work in higher education? How might DePaul University better reflect such a way of being?

1) Raymond L. Sickinger, “Frédéric Ozanam: Systemic Thinking, and Systemic Change,” Vincentian Heritage 32:1 (2014), 8. Free to download at: https://‌via.‌library.‌depaul.‌edu/‌vhj/‌vol32/‌iss1/4/

 

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

 

DePaul’s former Clifton-Fullerton Hall was renamed Ozanam Hall this past summer. See the Newsline Article from July 23, 2020 for more information.