vincent de paul

From Seeds to STEM

Pradnya Mission and Ministry , , , , ,

Written By: Gabriella Bucci, Associate Professor of Economics

Image by Marija Zaric.

Sustainability was core to the work of Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. Saint Vincent understood that charitable donations of food and clothing, while providing temporary relief, are not long-term solutions for the deprived, war-torn, and impoverished. He wanted to provide seeds for farmers and “to enable all the other poor people who have no land—men as well as women—to earn their own living by giving the men some tools for working and the girls and women spinning wheels and flax or linen for spinning.” [1] He worked with villagers and taught them to create self-sustaining food banks. He created partnerships with the wealthy to fund and sustain orphanages and hospitals. [2] All this he did during times in which the wealthy avoided contact with the poor and in which bishops felt threatened about losing power in their villages and missions. [3] We continue to face societal challenges today and are called to meet these challenges sustainably, as Saint Vincent did.

At DePaul we build sustainability into our actions, courses, and programs throughout the university. Interested students can get involved in environmentally conscious student organizations such as ECO Depaul, DePaul Urban Gardeners, the Student Sustainability Committee and Net Impact. In our classrooms, we teach best practices in sustainability in environmental science, the arts, the humanities, geography, urban development, public policy, and many other corners of the university. Students and faculty have been involved, and continue to be active, in Life Cycle Assessments of products such as sports equipment, textiles, jewelry, and toys to determine the products’ impacts on the environment through their life cycle. Students, faculty, and staff are part of the Sustainable Urban Food Systems Initiative through the Steans Center. The President’s Sustainability Committee strives to make lasting environmental changes at DePaul and in the community. Those who care about climate change and environmental activism have an array of opportunities to find meaning and involvement throughout the university.

Students may be surprised to learn that environmental sustainability also has a home in DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business. We tend to think of climate advocacy as something that is the purview of individuals, nonprofits, and governments. However, students can also learn about the role of corporations in advancing environmental sustainability and even pursue careers that focus on corporate sustainability. In fact, in 2024, 82% of C-suite leaders say they believe the significance of environmental, social, and governance factors (ESG) in corporate performance will continue to grow. [4] Businesses impact sustainability through decisions they make about sourcing, logistics, and care for the environment.

We are preparing a new generation of business leaders who advocate for businesses to interact responsibly with the environment. Any undergraduate DePaul student can take the course Business 103: Business for Social Good where students learn about the ways businesses reduce their environmental impact and advocate for change. The new Business for Social Good student organization, B4SG, already has hundreds of student members!

And there’s more to come. In fall 2025, we are launching the Master of Science in Sustainability in Business degree. This STEM-designated degree prepares students to take on roles as corporate sustainability leaders. The program combines sustainability frameworks with data analysis and strategy for business decision-making and management. We seek to develop business leaders who carefully consider the full impacts of business practices on people and the environment.

By creating new business programs in sustainability, we recognize that business practices are a key to the future of environmental sustainability. We have more to do, more to learn, more to teach, more partnerships to build, more business relationships to foster, more service to complete. Let’s learn and work together.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Saint Vincent de Paul focused on long-term solutions over short-term aid. How can you apply this mindset to environmental sustainability on campus, at home, and in your communities?
  2. Sustainability challenges require input from many fields, including science, business, and the arts. How can we foster interdisciplinary work to develop innovative solutions for a more sustainable world?

Reflection by: Gabriella Bucci, Associate Professor of Economics

[1] Letter 2936, “TO JEAN PARRE, IN SAINT-QUENTIN,” August 9, 1659, CCD, 8:82–3. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/33/.

[2] “Vincentian Leadership Model: People,” Vincent on Leadership: The Hay Project, DePaul University, 2025, https://resources.depaul.edu/vincent-on-leadership/training/model/people/Pages/default.aspx.

[3] Bernard Koch, C.M., “St. Vincent and the Bishops,” Vincentiana 45:6 (2001). Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentiana/vol45/iss6/14.

[4] “2024 State of Corporate ESG: Navigating new frontiers of regulation and AI,” Thomson Reuters Institute, November 4, 2024, https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/esg/corporate-esg-report-2024/.

Accepting Our Limitations When Striving for Excellence

Pradnya Mission and Ministry, Mission Weekly

Updates, resources, and events highlighting the integration of DePaul’s Vincentian mission into the daily life and work of the university community.

 

MISSION MONDAY

Accepting Our Limitations When Striving for Excellence

Vincentian wisdom encourages us to strive but also to be content with our efforts.

READ MORE

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Faculty and Staff are Invited…

Join the Global Engagement Conversation! DePaul faculty and staff, connect with our award-winning Global Engagement team to explore how Vincentian values shape multicultural experiences on campus and abroad. Learn how they support international students and discover ways to get involved in Global DePaul. Enjoy engaging conversation, community building, and a delicious lunch!

Please RSVP HERE!

 

Please Join…

With the intent of nurturing our DePaul Catholic community spiritually (mass), and corporally (lunch and good community after!) we would love to have faculty and staff join us at this Catholic faculty and staff mass. 

Please RSVP HERE to let us know you will be attending. 

On the third Wednesday of each month, rotating between both campuses, DMM will now host a mass/lunch, especially for faculty and staff. 

 

Accepting Our Limitations When Striving for Excellence

Pradnya Mission and Ministry, Mission Monday

Written By: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

Photo by Chaewul Kim

When you are always striving for something, it’s easy to think that what you are doing is not enough and to internalize things that reinforce that view. Although I am not Catholic, I attended 8 years of Catholic school, which required me to take several theology classes and reflect on the Bible. One of the verses that stuck with me was Matthew 5:48, which is one that perfectionists of all faiths or beliefs may find affecting or even disturbing. It reads, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [1] As Vincent de Paul himself very relatably said, “That’s aiming high; who can reach it? To be perfect as the Eternal Father is perfect!” [2] This seems like an impossible standard, and it has troubled me for a long time. So, I began to research the verse.

It turns out that this is one of the most mistranslated and misinterpreted verses of the Bible. The Greek word that has been translated as “perfect” is teleios, which means “complete” or “mature.” Scholar Bonnie Bowman Thurston notes that the verse, which occurs within the context of loving one’s enemies, indicates a “perfection in love” that “contemplates all persons alike from the standpoint of God.” It is a call for “observable dedication to certain qualities of conduct. Perfection . . . does ‘not imply complete sinlessness and full virtue as matters of fact.’” [3] She adds that “perfection is not a completed state of being; it is not an abstraction. It is the person of Jesus whom we grow toward and follow after in order to complete or mature ourselves. Our perfection is, in modern parlance, ‘in process.’” [4]

Vincent had a similar insight. He observed, “Whom can we call perfect? No one on this earth. . . . Anyone who strives to know himself well will see many weaknesses and failings in himself, and will even acknowledge that he can’t help having them.” [5] He defined perfection as growing in holiness, which meant aligning a person’s will to God’s and imitating Christ’s behavior as much as possible. [6] Under this definition, we are always supposed to be striving, but we gain righteousness through God’s love, not through our own effort. In earthly life, the striving, the effort itself, is perfection because it’s as close as we can get to being like God.

You don’t have to be Christian or even believe in God to take comfort in the advice that Vincent gave his followers about pursuing perfection. He said, “True, solid holiness consists in this: doing well what you do.” [7] In a later conference he qualified it, adding the phrase “as far as our human weakness . . . allows.” [8] That is liberating for perfectionists. It is enough that we try our best while recognizing and accepting that we have limitations.

Reflection Questions:

What does it mean to “do well what you do” within the context of your work at DePaul?

How does your work contribute to your overall efforts to pursue goodness? If you’re a perfectionist, what are some ways in which taking stock of these efforts allows you to be gentler to yourself in self-assessments?

Reflection by: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

[1] New Revised Standard Version.

[2] Conference 195, “Purpose of the Congregation of the Mission (Common Rules, Chap. 1, Art. 1),” December 6, 1658, CCD, 12:68–69. Available online at: https://‌‌via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/36/.

[3] Bonnie Bowman Thurston, “Matthew 5:43-48: ‘You, Therefore, Must Be Perfect,’” Interpretation 41:2 (April 1987): 171, Atla Religion Database.

[4] Ibid., 172.

[5] Conference 207, “Charity (Common Rules, Chap. 2, Art. 12)” May 30, 1659, CCD, 12:219.

[6] For more on these ideas, see conference 180, “Observance of the Rules,” May 17, 1658, ibid., 12:2n5; conference 143, “Repetition of Prayer,” October 17, 1655, ibid., 11:286. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/37/; and conference 196, “Members of the Congregation and their Ministries (Common Rules, Chap. 1, Art. 2 and 3),” December 13, 1658, ibid., 12:93.

[7] Conference 116, “Uniformity (Common Rules, Art. 17),” November 15, 1657, ibid., 10:284. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/35/.

[8] Conference 195, “Purpose of the Congregation of the Mission (Common Rules, Chap. 1, Art. 1),” December 6, 1658, ibid., 12:69. Available online at: https://‌via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/36/.

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 and likeness 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

The Vincentian Roots of Friendship

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Written By: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

What do Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, Elizabeth Seton, and Frédéric Ozanam have in common? Some answers are obvious: they loved God deeply, they shared a mission, and they accomplished enormous good for the poor. But they shared commonalities not only in what they did but how they did it. All these dynamic Vincentian figures relied on the power of friendship. This could take a practical form, such as networking to found and support their organizations. But they also relied on it to fulfill personal needs—to mature their outlooks and nurture the incredible amount of spirit it took to accomplish their goals. Much of what we know about these figures comes from the letters they wrote, and, especially in Elizabeth’s and Frédéric’s cases, many of these were to their friends. [1] Therefore, it seems fitting that before Valentine’s Day, which many countries now celebrate as a friendship day, we consider the role of friendship in our Vincentian heritage, our DePaul community, and in our own daily lives.

Let’s put the importance of friendship within our own cultural context—both in broader American culture and in the culture that exists at DePaul. Back in 2023, the US surgeon general made headlines when he declared loneliness a public health epidemic. In early 2024, a poll from the American Psychiatric Association found that “30% of adults [said] they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week over the past year, while 10% [said] they are lonely every day. Younger people were more likely to experience these feelings, with 30% of Americans aged 18–34 saying they were lonely every day or several times a week.” [2] Considering the student population DePaul serves, these are essential statistics. A significant benefit of being a college graduate is an increased likelihood of having more friends, which provides cascading advantages over a lifetime. [3] This is a benefit we hope our students will derive from their time in our community. But forming and maintaining friendships in adulthood is so difficult that a specific branch of therapy, friendship therapy, has recently been created to address this need. Whole books are being written on how to make friendships work, and the New York Times even has a “friendship correspondent.” (That’s Anna Goldfarb, who has written an excellent book called Modern Friendship.)

Given the importance and difficulty of cultivating friendships, what can we learn from the Vincentian figures who excelled at this? They teach us that we should accept difficulty; just because their friendships were powerful doesn’t mean that they were easy to develop or maintain. When Louise first met Vincent, she felt accepting him as her spiritual director would be “repugnant.” Vincent did not want to be anyone’s director, and a curious two-year gap in an otherwise voluminous correspondence between them has led more than one scholar to believe there was a period of “coolness” in their relationship. [4] I highly recommend reading the published collections of the letters of the four Vincentian personages, which DePaul has made available online. [5] They show how affection within their relationships grew. There are two major threads running through all of them. First, these friendships were grounded not just in common interests but in a deep and common love (of God and of the poor) that was carried out in common enterprises. Second, the letters are supreme demonstrations of simplicity. Simplicity in the Vincentian sense usually means cultivating a deep sincerity, expressing a total alignment of our values, words, and behavior. But I think it could be extended to mean something else: profound openness about thoughts and feelings, in the sense of our internal states, in the sense of our affections, and in the sense of accepting the thoughts and feelings of others. Author and scholar Brené Brown has observed that the word courage “originally meant ‘to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.’” [6] This is what we see happening in the lives and letters of our Vincentian forebears. They had the courage to practice simplicity.

So, Vincentian wisdom shows us that the best friendships are based on shared values and what might be called applied simplicity. We at DePaul have a particularly promising chance to strengthen relationships with those around us based on this wisdom. We are a community “gathered together for the sake of a mission,” so we know it is likely that others here share at least some of our deepest values. And if we practice simplicity, if we have the courage to make first moves and to be (appropriately) persistent, if we are open about what is in our hearts, then in time we can build the same types of friendships that sustained our Vincentian exemplars.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Who are the people who seem the likeliest partners in friendships for you? Are these people you need to reach out to, or are they people you already know? Where are the existing opportunities to deepen these relationships, and what are some ways you can create more?
  2. How have your friendships with colleagues at DePaul inspired and nurtured you? Is there anything you would like to accomplish as a joint effort with your friends?

Reflection by: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

[1] Numerous articles have been written on the role of friendship in these Vincentians’ lives. In addition to those cited in other footnotes in this article, some of the best are Margaret J. Kelly, D.C., “The Relationship of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise from Her Perspective,” Vincentian Heritage 11:1 (1990): 77–114. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol11/iss1/6; Wendy M. Wright, “Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton and the Art of Embodied Presence,” Vincentian Heritage 18:2 (1997): 249–60. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol18/iss2/9; Judith Metz, S.C., “The Key Role of Friendship in the Life of Elizabeth Bayley Seton,” Vincentian Heritage 29:1 (2009): 8–23. Available at: https://‌‌via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol29/iss1/2; and Frederick J. Easterly, C.M., “Frédérick Ozanam, A Layman For Now,” Vincentian Heritage 4:2 (1983): 140–71. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol4/iss2/4. If you visit Vincentian Heritage’s website at https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/, use “friend” as a search term to get results for many more.

[2] American Psychiatric Association, “New APA Poll: One in Three Americans Feels Lonely Every Week,” January 30, 2024, https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/new-apa-poll-one-in-three-americans-feels-lonely-e.

[3] Daniel A. Cox, “The College Connection: The Education Divide in American Social and Community Life,” Survey Center on American Life, December 13, 2021, https://‌www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-college-connection-the-education-divide-in-american-social-and-community-life/.

[4] There’s some ambiguity about whether Louise mentions this repugnance specifically about Vincent as a person or just about changing directors in general. Louise de Marillac, document A.2, “Light,” n.d., Spiritual Writings, 1. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldm/; Hugh O’Donnell, C.M., “The Relationship of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise from His Perspective: A Personal and Theological Inquiry,” Vincentian Heritage 11:1 (1990): 62. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol11/iss1/5; Loretto Gettemeir, D.C., “Louise: A Life in Her Own Words,” Vincentian Heritage 12:2 (1991): 111. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol12/iss2/2/; see also O’Donnell, “Relationship of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise from His Perspective,” 69.

[5] For Vincent’s letters, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/coste_en/. For Louise’s, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ldmlcd/. For Elizabeth’s, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/seton_lcd/, and for Frédéric’s, see: https://via.library.depaul.edu/ozanam_law/.

[6] Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are (Hazelden, 2010), 12.

Living Content Among Reasons of Discontent

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Written By: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

Photo by Aaron Burden.

The winter quarter months of January, February, and March often seem interminable. Joyful holiday events are over, the optimism with which we’ve greeted the new year may be waning, and our ability to keep our New Year’s resolutions may lessen with every passing day. Spring break can seem far away as we stare down the maw of winter.

For me, the worst aspect of this season is feeling that my productivity is impaired while knowing that there’s so much yet to accomplish. The antidote is finding that I’m not alone and that even immensely dynamic people feel the same way. I’m accustomed to hearing stories about this from those around me—but it may surprise you, as it did me, to know that people from our Vincentian past knew this feeling well. In an 1835 letter, Frédéric Ozanam, the founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, wrote: “I feel inspiration withdrawing from me as it were in warning…. I cannot will, I cannot do, and I feel the weight of daily neglected responsibility gathering on my head.… I fell into a state of languor from which I cannot rouse myself. Study now fatigues me …. I can no longer write. Strength is not in me. I am blown about by every wind of my imagination.” [1] Reading these words, I think it’s no coincidence that this letter was dated in February!

How are we to cope with feelings like this? Do the founders of our Vincentian Family have any advice to offer?

Although he didn’t address the winter doldrums specifically, Vincent de Paul once offered Louise de Marillac wise counsel when she was experiencing profound restlessness. From the perspective of their shared faith, he encouraged her to bear ambiguity and dissatisfaction patiently with grace, saying, “Try to live content among your reasons for discontent and always honor the inactivity and unknown condition of the Son of God. That is your center and what He asks of you for the present and for the future, forever.” [2] Although these words were written about a particular situation (Louise was worrying over finding her vocation), they work for our scenario as well. In modern terms, we need to accept our feelings of negativity. Denying them only makes things worse; it makes us fight against ourselves. Realizing that these feelings have a purpose—even if we don’t currently understand it—is also helpful. Vincent was encouraging Louise to be at peace with dormancy, recognizing that it might be a part of the development of something. With that in mind, we can see the languor of winter as a necessary period of quiet preparation, anticipating the refreshed spirit and renewed activity of spring.

Reflection Questions:

If you’re experiencing seasonal discontent, can you identify any specific causes? Can these tell you anything about what might be developing within you? To put it another way, how might your winter be laying a positive foundation for your coming spring?

Reflection by: Miranda Lukatch, Editor, Vincentian Studies Institute

[1] Frederick J. Easterly, C.M., “Frédérick Ozanam, A Layman For Now,” Vincentian Heritage 4:2 (1983): 163. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol4/iss2/4/.

[2] Letter 29, “To Saint Louise,” [between 1626 and May 1629], CCD, 1:54. Available online at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentian_ebooks/25/.

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/.

Practicing Persistence

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Reflection by: Roxanne Farwick Owens, Associate Professor, Teacher Education, College of Education


“God allows [us] to give rise to the practice of two beautiful virtues: perseverance, which leads us to attain the goal, and constancy, which helps us to overcome difficulties.” [1] — Vincent de Paul

In this season of setting resolutions, let’s think about the virtues of perseverance and constancy. If those came naturally to us, we would not be among the 43% of Americans who give up their goals by mid-January, or the 91% who throw in the towel by early March. Examining Saint Vincent’s quote above more closely, we see a few important words beyond perseverance and constancy: “practice” and “overcoming difficulties.” There are going to be roadblocks and we’re going to have to practice how to get around them. Why are we surprised when we are presented with difficulties in meeting our goals?

We live in a society that values immediacy and quick results. We can’t order express delivery of accomplished resolutions from Amazon. Success takes time. We have to remind ourselves to celebrate each success along the way. We may not have hit our final target yet, but we’re on the way. And we have to grant ourselves grace if we take a step off the path once in a while.

Speaking of hitting targets, I love to bowl, even though I am terrible at it. (I’m not being modest. I am really bad, but I have a good time.) In bowling, the ultimate goal is to knock down the ten pins at the end of the 60-foot lane. There is a lot involved in a proper bowler’s stance, the steps you take, how you hold the ball, the way you swing your arms, and your follow-through. One of the biggest surprises to me? Successful bowlers don’t focus primarily on the 10 pins at the end of the 60-foot lane. They use the arrows and dots on the lane just past the foul line to help them aim their ball at the target. In other words, they focus on what is right in front of them. They know where the strike zone is—but they keep their eyes on what is closer to them to guide their path to success.

Another interesting thing about bowling is that the ball doesn’t have to actually hit all 10 pins to result in a strike. If the ball hits 4 specific key pins, there is a domino effect, and the rest will all fall. If the ball hits other random pins, it can result in dreaded combinations of splits. It will still be possible to achieve a strike, but it will be more difficult. So, as we fine-tune our resolutions, perhaps rather than considering all the many ways we could improve ourselves, we can narrow down to a few “key pins.” Working toward achieving a few key targets sounds so much more do-able than splitting our focus among multiple goals.

And perhaps on those really tough days when we want to abandon our resolutions, we can say to ourselves, “Saint Vincent said there would be days like this.” And then we can pick up the next ball and smash right through that obstacle.

I am going to consistently ask myself four key questions this year that might also be useful to you:

  1. How have I practiced taking risks toward growth this week?
  2. In what ways have I assessed and avoided conditions that might make me veer off-course, so I don’t get stuck behind a roadblock?
  3. Have I regularly granted myself grace and celebrated victories large and small to keep up motivation and maintain perseverance?
  4. Am I remembering to use the arrows right in front of me to guide the steps along my path, rather than focusing only on the end goal?

Reflection by: Roxanne Farwick Owens, Associate Professor, Teacher Education, College of Education

[1] The original quote is in reference to boredom, but making this slight change to the wording (see bracketed “us”) does not alter Vincent’s intentions nor the quote’s universal meaning. Letter 1228, “To Guillaume Cornaire, in Le Mans,” June 15, 1650, CCD, 4:36–7.

Wrestling with God

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Exactly eighteen years ago, on this day, December 9th, I became the first woman in my family to chant publicly from the Torah. I still remember the opening words like a catchy song.

In Vayishlach, the Torah portion for this week, there are two brothers—twins—Jacob and Esau, who never really get along. One is smooth, one is hairy. One is scheming, one is brusque. In fact, they wrestle together in the womb. Jacob tricks his nearly blind father into giving him the blessing that belongs to Esau as the firstborn. The brothers’ relationship is a disaster from the get-go.

Jacob eventually settles in Canaan, with status, material wealth, and many offspring. Perhaps out of fear, perhaps because he truly misses his brother (the Torah often lets us infer emotional subtext), Jacob invites Esau to reconcile with him. The night before Esau’s arrival, Jacob finds himself alone, wrestling with an angel.

Hold up. Wrestling with an angel?

Was he hallucinating? Was he having a bad case of sleep paralysis?

In the Torah, it says that Jacob came panim-el-panim (Hebrew for “face-to-face”) with God.

What does it mean to come face-to-face with God? When was the last time you felt God’s presence? Was it during a moment of tranquility, connection, solitude, despair? Do you ever wrestle with God? Perhaps with the concept of God itself?

There are, of course, many interpretations, from rabbis and scholars, about what Jacob endured that night. But here’s mine: Jacob, alone in the dark, finally faces himself. He wrestles with his conscience. He admits to himself that he has, in some way, wronged his brother.

One of the Vincentian values we espouse at DePaul is humility. And not just humility when it comes to our successes or material possessions, but humility in the context of our personal and communal relationships. Saint Vincent de Paul writes, “You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy—the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good.”[1]

“Sin” and “failure” are charged words that don’t always sit well with me. But Saint Vincent had a good point. Holding onto our pride—nursing past resentments, harboring the belief that we are always right—detracts from our ability to empathize and see the humanity in those who hold different perspectives from us.

It’s a vicious cycle: when we can’t see the humanity in others, it’s hard for others to see the humanity in us.

The morning after Jacob wrestles with God, Esau approaches him in the desert, and, in an unexpected turn of events, forgives him. The brothers fall into one another’s arms, weeping. In a deep act of humility, Esau declines the many gifts Jacob offers him, but Jacob insists, telling his brother that seeing his face is like “seeing the face of God.”[2]

Panim-el-panim. Face-to-face. We can only really glimpse the divine in others when we come face-to-face with ourselves. Because we only exist in relationship. Never alone. And there are always angels.

Reflection Questions

  1. When was the last time you came face-to-face with someone who deeply disagreed with you?
  2. When was the last time you came face-to-face with yourself?

Reflection by: Kayla Schneider-Smith, Assistant Director, Religious Diversity & Pastoral Care and Jewish Life Chaplain

 

[1] “St. Vincent de Paul—You Must Ask God to Give You Power to Fight Against the Sin of Pride,” Catholic Digest Magazine, 14 October 2021, https://www.catholicdigest.com/from-the-magazine/quiet-moment/‌st vincent-depaul-you-must ask-god-to-give-you-power-to-fight-against-the-sin-of-pride/.

[2] Genesis 33:10, The Contemporary Torah (Jewish Publication Society, 2006), https://‌www.‌sefaria.‌org/‌Genesis.33.11?lang=bi&aliyot=0.

A Season of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy

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Reflection by: Rev. Diane Dardón, Director, Pastoral Care and Religious Diversity

Several weeks ago, a crowd gathered to celebrate the holidays at DePaul’s annual tree lighting ceremony. This year the celebration continued as hundreds made their way from the tree lighting to the Lincoln Park Student Center to participate in Holidays Around the World. As part of DePaul’s commitment to honoring and supporting the spiritual and religious dimensions of our community, this event gave students an opportunity to learn about the multifaith and interconvictional traditions that so many within the university community embrace. Nearly 600 students engaged in activities or sampled the holiday foods from a multitude of faith or spiritual traditions. One of the Christian traditions that was highlighted in Holidays Around the World was Advent.

As a child, I loved Advent! I did not understand that Advent was celebrated in many Christian churches on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. I didn’t realize that this was a Christian liturgical season that marked the beginning of the Christian calendar. I had no clue that the four candles on the Advent wreath that were lit week by week each carried an Advent message of hope, peace, love, or joy. Instead, I loved Advent because I knew it meant that we needed to get ready for Christmas: trees needed to be cut down and decorated, cookies needed to be baked and iced, and lists of Christmas wishes needed to be sent off to dear Santa. I knew that when the Advent wreath magically appeared at the front of the church, we had a lot to do in preparation for Christmas.

For Christian communities that embrace Advent, it is, indeed, a time of preparing for Christmas. But the preparation is not about wrapping gifts or putting up decorations. Instead, Advent is known as a season for preparing one’s heart for the birth of Christ. And more importantly, it is a time of waiting and watching for the coming of the Kingdom of God, a time when all will know hope, peace, love, and joy.

Unfortunately, as we begin this Advent season, we are also deeply embedded in a season of tumult and strife. In these times, many may find themselves watching and waiting for the things that Advent promises but struggling because of a sense of hopelessness, a keen awareness of a world that is not engulfed in peace, and disappointment because joy in a hurting world seems impossible and love for neighbor is thwarted by differences or indifference. It is in times such as these that “God offers us the saints both for our imitation and comfort. We can imitate their spiritual strengths and take comfort in their difficulties.”[1]

For the Vincentian community, we look to Saint Vincent and Saint Louise and are reminded that they, too, lived in tumultuous times. During their lives, Paris was growing daily with masses of people flooding into the city. There was political unrest, with royalty being forced to flee their homes and responsibilities. Invasions and social unrest caused strain on the military. Religious differences caused great schisms among the people. Natural disasters, such as tremendous flooding, increased the societal issues of

poverty, homelessness, crime, and overflowing prisons. Amid this tumult, Vincent and Louise lived in hope and committed their waking moments to helping bring peace, joy, and love into their world. They worked tirelessly to be the very ones who ushered in a new Kingdom, a transformed world.

In this season of watching, waiting, and preparing for a transformed world, we are encouraged to imitate Vincent and Louise. As imitators, we do not lose heart but instead become agents of transformation, encouraging hope in ourselves and others, working toward peace in our communities and the world, and offering love and spreading joy daily.

Things to ponder:

  1. How can you transform your own world? Where do you find hope, and how can you share that hope with others?
  2. What can you do to create peace in your world or your community?
  3. How can you express love through your daily actions? Where do you find joy, and how can you share that joy?

Reflection by: Rev. Diane Dardón, Director, Pastoral Care and Religious Diversity

 

[1] Quoted from John E. Rybolt, C.M., Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St. Vincent de Paul (Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 2012), 128 pp.