click on link: http://www.vincenter.org/vin-video.html
For resources go to http://www.svdpusa.org/ and click on Spiritual Resources
Click on link to connect to Guardian Angels Settlement site: www.guardianangelsettlement.org
Sister Annalee's reflection from our October district meeting: a top request!
ST. VINCENT de PAUL SOCIETY MEETING - 10/11/07
PRESENTATION (10 minutes): OUR LEGACY – OUR CALL – OUR SERVICE
OUR LEGACY: (Read from pg. 10 of SERVING IN HOPE – Module I of SVdeP Formation Guide)
“The Rule of the Society evolved out of the life and faith of Frederic. Authentic Vincentian service assists the impoverished and the troubled, but it is done in love and with love. As Vincent, Frederic knew that this is what our Lord asks of his followers, namely, that they seek and find Jesus in the poor. Vincentianism is Faith in Action: it is a reaching out in friendship and with helping hands to those who are poor or who are suffering. Vincentian helping is person-to-person, by a personal gift of the heart, in humility, simplicity and charity. Being a Vincentian is a vocation.” THIS IS OUR CALL! THIS IS OUR VINCENTIAN CALL!
OUR SERVICE OF THE POOR: (Read from pg. 33 of the same SERVING IN HOPE – Module I)
“The dignity of the human person:
“The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the person is the foundation of all the principles of the social teaching of the Church. The dignity of the human person was one of the basic principles in the ministry of St. Vincent and Blessed Frederic.”
MY CALL TO SERVE THE POOR TODAY: I would like us to just relax, focus on those I had the privilege of serving today, or most recently, and reflect on these 3 questions: 1) WHO? 2) HOW? 3) WHAT? (pause)
Now, let’s reflect slowly on each of these questions as I ask a few questions related to each of these 3 as they refer to MY GIFT OF PERSONHOOD TODAY/MY GIFT OF SERVICE TO THE POOR TODAY….
1) WHO?
-- Who did I see in those I had the privilege of serving TODAY? Visited last week? (pause)
-- Did I see Christ in them? Did I see Christ’s Face in their’s? (pause)
-- Could they/Did they see Christ in me? (pause)
2) HOW?
-- How did I look at them as they shared their situation with me? How did I serve? (pause)
-- Was I judgmental? Impatient? Distracted? (pause)
-- Was I gentle and open to them? Abrupt? Understanding? (pause)
-- Was I kind? Friendly and inviting? (pause)
-- Did I make them feel bad or ashamed, because they had to ask for help? (pause)
-- Did I serve them the way JESUS would have served them? (pause)
3) WHAT?
-- What did I give them….besides a hello?…besides the food they needed? (pause)
-- Did I give them: Acceptance? Rejection? Love? (pause)
-- Did I give them gently support? Encouragement? Hope? (pause)
-- Did I give JESUS to them? (pause)
(These are some questions I ask myself periodically which have been a big help to me)
The following is a prayer that I found last year that sort of captures the Spirit of this reflection
for me so that I will conclude with it here.
CONCLUDING PRAYER :
For all who give You a face, O God,
By spreading Your love in the world,
WE PRAISE YOU.
For all who give You hands, O God,
By doing their best toward others,
WE PRAISE YOU.
For all who give You a mouth, O God,
By defending the weak and oppressed,
WE PRAISE YOU.
For all who give You eyes, O God,
By seeing love in the hearts of others,
WE PRAISE YOU.
For all who give You a heart, O God,
By helping the weak,
WE PRAISE YOU.
For all who reveal You O God,
By reflecting Your beauty in their lives,
WE PRAISE YOU.
Strengthen and empower each of us, O God,
To make REAL –
YOUR PRESENCE
IN OUR WORLD. AMEN.
