Also available in High Definition quality on YouTube

„Pan przychodzi aby władać ziemią. Prawo i sprawiedliwość podstawą Jego tronu” rozpoczyna swoje przesłanie na Boże Narodzenie dla całej Rodziny Wincentyńskiej, ks. Gregory Gay CM, Przełożony Generalny w prezentowanym wyżej filmie świątecznym. Do życzeń O. Generała przyłączają się Asystenci Generalni i inni członkowie wspólnoty Kurii Generalnej. Każdy z nich kieruje do nas swoje słowa w ojczystym języku co daje okazję nie tylko zobaczyć poszczególne osoby i je poznać, ale także posłuchać różnych języków, również egzotycznych. Film zawiera napisy po polsku i angielsku przy wszystkich wypowiedziach.

You may also watch this Christmas video in other languages following these links:

English only subtitles; French and  Spanish.

Watch also another Christmas video prepared by the personnel of the General Curia, both Vincentians and lay personnel. This is first ever such presentation. Warning! This video does not contain subtitles, except for two moments. Original languages only.

Watch this film: Christmas Greetings from Curia Personnel

✔ DOWNLOAD – SUPERIOR GENERAL ADVENT LETTER 2011 (PDF)
✔ POBIERZ – LIST PRZEŁOŻONEGO GEN. NA ADWENT 2011 (PDF)
✔ EBOOK VERSION AND OTHER LANGUAGES

Iconography in the altar in the Church of Nativity, Magadan, Russia

The Season of Advent, 2011

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

To all members of the Vincentian Family:

May the grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts now and forever!

The above scripture, taken from St. John’s Gospel, is an appropriate way to begin our Advent reflection. At this time of year, much of the world moves from long, bright days to shorter, darker times. The year’s end approaches, giving us pause to reflect not just on what has passed, but on what lies ahead for us. The reality of change is palpable both in the weather and on the calendar, but also deep within the horizon of our hearts.

That is why, I believe, the Church gives us Advent: in seasons of change, it reminds us of God’s enduring love. Through the incarnation of Jesus, God assures us of his abiding presence in our world. In Jesus, we have a God who always accompanies us in times of light and darkness, in the settled center and uncertain edges of our lives. Yet, it is on the edge, the “outer limits” of life, that the Lord Jesus is often revealed to us.

The Advent stories show us lives lived on the edge: Mary’s stunning annunciation to be mother of the Lord; Joseph’s noble struggle to accept this awesome reality; Jesus’ birth in the simplicity of the stable; the shepherds’ humble homage; the sudden uprooting of the Holy Family to escape the wrath of Herod’s hands; all these Advent stories show us a God, though centered in Trinitarian love, who “emptied himself” (Phil 2:7), by becoming human. In choosing to live at the edge, Jesus ushered in the Reign of God, and paradoxically drew us closer to the center point of God’s love.

As Superior General, I have the privilege and responsibility of visiting with my Vincentian confreres, the Daughters of Charity, and members of the Vincentian family world- wide to spread the charism of St. Vincent de Paul. When doing this, I offer my support and encouragement to those who leave their safe, secure world to go to the edge and outer limits and serve the poor. I am edified by so many of my confreres, Daughters of Charity, and Vincentian Family members who courageously enter the world’s dark corners to illuminate them with the light of Christ. Let me share some examples to illustrate how they live the Advent journey of light and hope.

In the Republic of Chad, one of Africa’s poorest countries, Daughters of Charity from Spain serving with Vincentians from Cameroon, Madagascar, and Kenya work in a remote, rural area without any Church presence. Their “mission church” is a wooden stage with a makeshift tent, protected by large mango trees. In this neglected region, they bring Jesus and our charism to a people whose hunger and thirst is satisfied by the Word of God and the charity of Christ.

In the United Kingdom, I met with Vincentians in Partnership, a coalition of service providers for the poor made up of ten core and thirteen affiliated groups. We prayed, reflected, and discussed ways to imbibe and impart the Vincentian charism of love of God and service to the poor. Their work is with the urban poor, homeless youth, mentally ill, and addicted; in short, those on the margins of society. Their reach of care and compassion goes beyond their borders to Ireland, Eastern Europe and the USA. A descriptive website tells their story: http://www.vip-gb.org

After an eight-hour flight from Moscow, I arrived in Magadan Russia, a place which seemed to be geographically at the end of the earth. This mission is staffed by Daughters of Charity from the USA and Poland. Once in Magadan, I was transported into a forgotten world of closed prison camps, meeting people who were subject to decades of inhumane treatment. In the Stalin era, Magadan was the final stop for hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens, labeled “enemies of the people”.

The Daughters accompany the survivors (called “the repressed”) of the prison camps, assisting in their healing by helping them to “tell their stories”. Along with the presence of the region’s only Catholic Church, these former prisoners now have a welcoming community of faith. The beauty of the Church of the Nativity with its Martyr’s Chapel, which honors untold numbers of people who perished in prison camps, and actual stories of surviving prisoners, can be seen on their web site: http://magadancatholic.org

Each of these three experiences – Chad, Vincentians in Partnership, and Magadan – hold a place in my heart as we celebrate the season of Advent. They remind us that the light of Christ overcame the darkness of a world filled with sin and suffering. The four Advent Sunday Gospels all help us focus on what is essential for Christian discipleship: being “watchful for Christ” (Mk. 13:33); “preparing the way of the Lord” (Mk.1:2); trusting that “nothing is impossible for God.” (Lk.1:35); and “testifying to the light” (Jn.1:7). Taken together, these Gospel stories provide a formula for putting faith into action all year long.

This Advent way, a watchful, willing, trusting, and testifying gospel faith, was pivotal in the life of St. Vincent de Paul, who found Christ where he least expected: on the edge, the “outer limits” of life. In his two pivotal conversion experiences; hearing the confession of a sick man, and successfully exhorting his flock to provide food and medicine for a desperately ill family; both experiences led Vincent to Christ in the poor. Once he entered the world of the poor, it transformed his life. From that time on, he organized and inspired his followers to do the same:

“Do not limit your vision any longer to yourself, but see the Lord around you and in you, ready to put his hand to the work as soon as you ask for his help. You will see that all will go well.” (Coste III, English Edition, p. 143, 19 December,1646,)

As we prepare heart and home for the Christmas coming of the Lord, let the words of Jesus and the charism of St. Vincent de Paul resonate more deeply in your hearts and lives. The Advent and Christmas stories vividly remind us of One who was born, lived, and died on the “edge”. John’s Gospel poignantly reminds us that Jesus “came to his own and his own did not receive him.” (Jn.1:10) This was true for the Holy Family. Often portrayed in paintings and holy cards as sedate and serene, in reality they trod the path of poor, vagrant refugees.

That sad reality continues today. The Christ who was poor lives on in the poor, who often possess little more than the clothes on their backs, lacking food, shelter, and human dignity. Yet, as St. Vincent said, the poor have the “true faith” as can be seen their unwaveringly, steady trust in God. Their lives and those of the Vincentian Family who accompany them tell the Advent story of hope every day.

I suggest each of us carve out some time from our busy schedules in these Advent weeks to reflect on the scriptures and the life of St. Vincent, so we may be “watchful, willing, trusting, and testifying” disciples of Jesus, true to our vocation as members of the Vincentian Family. As we take time to encounter the Lord in prayer, scripture, and the Eucharist, we will gain courage, as did St. Vincent, to ask the Lord to direct us to his poor, often unnoticed and on the edge of our lives. In doing so, we will enter into solidarity with them as our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let me close with a powerful image appropriate for Advent. As I noted earlier, the Church of the Nativity in Magadan offers a community of healing and hope for former Soviet camp prisoners and the poor. This small Church is a feast for the eyes: a stunning, symbolic Martyr’s Chapel, the Stations of the Cross, striking stained-glass windows, and iconography too vivid to forget. Yet, the icon of the Nativity (which is reprinted at the beginning of this letter) above the altar is most striking when one first enters the Church. Its placement there is certainly liturgically appropriate.

But for me, this icon illustrates so much more. It shows us how discipleship with Jesus and the Vincentian charism bear witness to the power and presence of God in our world today. Despite Magadan’s death- dealing past, both the icon and the Church of the Nativity confirm that Christ is born again. The Church of the Nativity and all the works of the world- wide Vincentian Family are daily living reminders to us that “The light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

May the Lord be born in you anew this Christmas and bless you in this coming year!

Your brother in Saint Vincent,
[--] G. Gregory Gay,
C.M. Superior General

You can view, download or share the Letter directly in Scribd.com:

[ENGLISH] ADVENT LETTER 2011

[POLSKI] LIST NA ADVENT 2011

Letter for Advent 2011

As you know, earlier this month our website went mobile increasing the comfort of viewing it on mobile devices. Along, we released a tiny, and simple application for smartphones which brings news from our Province directly to your mobiles. In the same time Famvin.org released another three similar applications called VinFeed and available in English, Polish and Spanish.

Number regular users of portable devices, smartphones, tablets and ebook readers is growing rapidly. Recognizing this situation, as we did earlier in the Lent, Superior’s General Advent reflection was prepared in ePub format which is used in ebook readers. Many other devices can handle it, too. However some device will require installation of additional plug-ins or apps to use this kind of files. As they are lighter in volume, they open faster on portables. All eight ePub versions of the Letter can be downloaded from the links below.

DOWNLOAD  «ePUB» FILES

❦  Advent Letter – ENGLISH
❦  List na Adwent – POLSKI
❦  Carta para el Adviento  - ESPAÑOL
❦ Lettre pour l’Avent – FRANÇAISE
❦  Lettera per l’Avvento  - ITALIANO
❦  Carta para o Advento – PORTUGUÊS
❦  Letter für Advent – DEUTSCH
❦  List pre Advent – SLOVENČINA

Online sharing services like SCRIBD.COM give us enormous opportunity to share our documents, presentations, publications. Once uploaded it can be viewed directly and embedded in your ministry websites or shared by email, Twitter, Facebook or sent to your mobile. You can download the files in user and printer friendly formats like PDF (printer-friendly and universal) or DOC (Word), PPT (if slideshow) or as formatted text file (RTF). Some online services allow Apple’s iWork formats, too. The table below invites you to view the Advent Letter in one of these languages: English, Polish, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German and Slovak. Hover and click on the chosen edition and it will open on your screen.

Download: 2011 Mission Appeal (ENGLISH)

Pobierz: Apel Misyjny 2011 (POLSKI)

❦ ❦ ❦

❝ or read it on-line ❞  ❧  ❝ lub przeczytaj online❞

Superior General in Chile 2011, (courtesy of CM Province of Chile)

Mission Appeal is also available in:
❧ Español ❦ Français ❧

On Sunday, July 31, 2011

Baltimore is a very significant place for the Vincentian Family in the United States especially Federation of Sisters of Charity and Congregation of the Mission.  In June 1808 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton arrived to Baltimore invited by Archbishop William Luis Dubourg  SS. In Baltimore she opens her first school (St. Mary’s College) and in 1809 for the first time takes vows of chastity and obedience.  In 1816 by the invitation of the the same Archbishop, Fr. Felix DeAndreis CM and Fr. Joseph Rosati CM arrive to Baltimore from Europe initiating the Vincentian community in the United States. Two of 23 successors of St. Vincent de Paul are Baltimoreans.

During the Mass, Superioress General, Sr. Evelyne Franc DC installed administration of the new province. First she installed new Visitatrix (Provincial Superior) who is designated for a six-year term by the Superioress General with her Council (Constitutions, C73). She is Sr. Louise Gallahue DC, previously Visitatrice of Northeast Province (Albany, NY) since 2009, when she replaced Sister Kathleen Appler DC, now a member of the General Council. Sister Louise is recognized both as highly qualified psychiatric nurse and healthcare system manager. Before she was appointed head of  the former Northeast Province  (it was her second time as Province leader; her first term was 1992-2002) she was a Chairperson in the Board of Trustees of St. Vincent’s Medical Center and St. Vincent’s Health Services in Bridgeport, CT. She served in boards of trustees in many other hospitals across State of New York and New England which she is native. As she says herself, moving to St. Louis  is a challenge, because she never lived in the Midwest before and she will miss New England and closeness to  Ocean coast, she enjoyed in Albany. She joined Daughters of Charity in 1966, three years before the Northeast Province was erected. She earned BSN from Boston College School of Nursing and MSN in Psychiatric/Community Mental Health Nursing from Columbia University.

Next Sr. Evelyne installed new Provincial Council members, which are chosen in the same way the Visitatrix is designated. According to the Constitution Provincial leadership can be elected however Province members decided to use “consultation” instead of “election”.  The new 8-members Provincial Council consists of  Sr. Rose Ann Aguilar DC (previously Councilor in West Central Province), Sr. Nora Gatto DC (prev. Councilor in Northeast Prov.), Sr Janet Keim DC (from East Central Prov.), Sr. Mary Beth Kubera DC (from East Central Prov.), Sr. Jean Rhoads DC (prev. Councilor in Southeast Prov.), Sr. Joanne Vasa DC (prev. Councilor in West Central Prov.) , Sr. Mary Walz DC (prev. Visitatrix of West Central Prov.), and Sr. Mary Catherine Warehime DC (from Southeast Prov.). Afterwards, Sr. Gallahue installed new Provincial Treasurer who is Sr. Jane Graves DC (prev. Treasurer in Northeast Prov) and new Provincial Secretary, Sr. Maureen Schmalzreid DC.

Watch picture gallery from the inauguration gathering in Baltimore

The new leadership team has quite varied experiences in ministry. There are three sisters with education and formation experience, one sister in healthcare administration and one in clinical healthcare with a focus on geriatric health, one in youth work/Vincentian Family and two social workers, both with experience in Hispanic ministry and one with seniors.

Finally, according to Constitutions of Daughters of Charity Superior General, Rev. Gregory Gay CM, native of Baltimore, installed new Provincial Director, Rev. Thomas McKenna CM (US Eastern Province). Born June 11, 1943 in Brooklyn. NY,  he entered the Congregation of the Mission June 12, 1962, was incorporated in the Congregation June 13, 1967 and ordained May 30, 1970. He’s got M.A. in Philosophy from St. John’s University, NY (1973) and doctorate in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America (1980). For 10 years, Father McKenna taught spirituality as a member of the department of theology at St. John’s University. He has also taught at Tangaza College in Nairobi, Kenya. Visitor (Provincial Superior) of the US Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission, 1999-2009. Currently member of Campus Ministry in Niagara University.
“He is noted as a good speaker and writer in the areas of scripture and Vincentian spirituality. Many of the Sisters know him through retreats and conferences that he has given. To this new role he brings his gifts of intelligence, clear thinking, attentive listening and common sense.”,  wrote Superior General in the message on his appointment in December 2010. (Read more)
The Provincial Director is a priest of the Congregation of the Mission, who provides for a Province of the Daughters of Charity a service of Vincentian animation and accompaniment, in collaboration with the Visitatrix and her Council. He is appointed by the Superior General and represents him in the exercise of the functions that the proper law of the Company recognizes (Constitutions, C75)

This is low quality amateur video recording from the Eucharist in Baltimore Basilica presenting highlights of the event.

The process of unification called Visioning for the Mission began in 2007 with a gathering of the Daughters of Charity from all of the uniting provinces in Buffalo, New York, and a plan was developed to make their vision a reality. Today, Northeast (Albany,NY), Southeast (Emmitsburg, MD), East Central (Evansville, IN) and West Central (St. Louis, MO) Provinces became one, the Province of Saint Louise, taking the name after St. Louise de Marillac, Foundress of the Company of Daughters of Charity (along with St. Vincent de Paul).

Marillac Provincial House in St. Louis, MO (4330 Olive Street), previously the headquarters of West Central Province will continue its role in the new erected Province. St. Louis was chosen because of its central location, easy access to all types of transportation and reasonable costs of living. Various branches of the Vincentian Family in the USA (Vincentians Western Province, SSVP, Ladies of Charity, VMY) are headquartered in St. Louis, too. Also, Saint Louis allows for mobility required to meet needs of those who are poor with adequate access to public transportation. Daughters of Charity (actually Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph from Emmitsburg) came to St. Louis in 1828 to open the first hospital west of the Mississippi River.

Merger of the provinces brought some valuable benefits. New, full-time lay employee positions were created. Number of Daughters of Charity involved in the leadership was reduced significantly. More Sisters can be assigned to hands-on ministries. Reconfiguration of four provinces allows reorganizing current ministries and start new ones in new locations. Four former Provincial Houses will most of their activities. Senior-aged Sister Residences will be maintained. . The retreat center and co-op farm will continue in Evansville, IN.

In the new Province of Saint Louise 562 Sisters are working in over 70 communities in 22 of 34 US States, Washington, D.C. and  Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When the four currently merging Provinces were initiated in 1969, there were some 2,000 Sisters in all of them.  Decline in vocation was one of the reasons of reconfiguration to make the ministry more effective. They minister in 190 different works in those locations including as far south west as El Paso, Texas, and as far north east as Boston, Mass. The Sisters serve in inner cities in schools such as St. Mark’s Grade School in Harlem, N.Y., as well as in rural areas including Dumas, Ark., where they serve in a small, health center.  Province of St. Louise Sisters serve in foreign missions on every continent except Antarctica. Soon the number of ministries will increase.  The first new location will be in Greensboro, NC, where two Daughters of Charity soon will serve at St. Mary’s Parish, ministered by the Vincentians (Eastern Province). In recent years, the parish has grown with new members from the Ivory Coast, Mexico, Nigeria, Vietnam, and immigrants from other nations. The Daughters of Charity are not strangers to Greensboro; they served there at St. Leo’s Hospital from 1906 to 1954; St. Pius X School from 1926 to 1998; St Mary’s Mission School/Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal School from 1928 to 1972; and at St. Mary’s Center from 1973 to 1992.  According to Archdiocese of St. Louis new Province’s plans also include renovation of the former convent at St. James the Greater Parish in South St. Louis for postulant sisters (details not yet known). The Daughters believe that combining sister-personnel and their “best practices” would be the most effective way to continue to stand in solidarity with the increasing numbers who find themselves in circumstances of poverty.

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Nowa Prowincja Sióstr Miłosierdzia w Stanach Zjednoczonych

In collaboration with  Sr. Mary Frances Barnes DC
Picture credits: Filles-de-la-charite.org;Daughters-of-charity.org; Sr. Denise LaRock’s blog

“…I write to you in order to present some comments with regard to the Vincentian Family Day of Prayer which will take place on the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul…” Its proposed theme is «Harvest the fruits of the Jubilee Year!»

Rome, July 19, 2011

To all the members of the Vincentian Family

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May the grace and peace of Jesus Christ be always with us!

With this fraternal greeting I write to you in order to present some comments with regard to the Vincentian Family Day of Prayer which will take place on the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul.

I realize that in different parts of the world the Vincentian Family engaged in many activities as they celebrated the 350th anniversary of the death of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise.  We, the members of the Executive Committee of the Vincentian Family, have decided to take advantage of this important moment in the life of the Vincentian Family and propose that on the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, September 27, 2011, we pause and reflect on the meaning and significance of the different celebrations and projects that were engaged in during the Jubilee Year (especially those activities undertaken on a local level).  In other words, our hope is that we internalize in a positive manner the richness of all the reflections, celebrations and work that was done during the Jubilee Year.

Thus we propose the following theme for the Day of Prayer on the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul (2011): Harvest the fruits of the Jubilee Year! May the different associations share their reflections so that on the feast day these reflections can be shared with others during the celebration of the Eucharist.  At the same time the different groups and associations can express in some manner during the Eucharist the commitment that resulted from this shared reflection.  The objective here is to celebrate and deepen the meaning of the fruits of the Jubilee Year, discerning the invitation of the Lord’s Spirit to deepen our roots.  As we do this we also seek to insure our acceptance and growth in the challenge “Charity-Mission” so that we might better serve people who are poor.

This year we prefer not to send out any formal outline with regard to the celebration of Saint Vincent’s feast.  We leave this to the creativity of each National Council and local group of the Vincentian Family.

Before the Day of Prayer we invite the different branches to come together and reflect on a local level or to come together and reflect with other members of the Vincentian Family in your area.  We then invite you to send your reflections and conclusions to the national leadership team.  If the Vincentian Family is organized in this manner in your country, we ask that these National Councils then send a synthesis of these reflections to the office of the Vincentian Family of the General Curia of the Congregation of the Mission in Rome (famvin@cmglobal.org).  It is important to send beforehand your reflections on the Jubilee Year so that this might be made known to the International Vincentian Family.

After the Day of Prayer it is also important that you share the actual celebration of the feast day: content, program, videos, the different shared reflections, the creative ways of celebrating the feast, etc.

In this way we can share all of this with the rest of the Vincentian Family through the different means that we have at our disposal, especially the web page of the Vincentian Family.  I am convinced that if we share the different ways in which the Lord has spoken to us during the Jubilee Year and share the ways in which we can deepen the fruit of the Jubilee year during the celebrations of Saint Vincent’s feast, then we can become more united and more grounded in our evangelization and service as a family.

Dear sisters and brothers of the Vincentian Family, the Jubilee Year was not some event that began and is now ended.  Rather it was an event that had an impact on our lives … an event that gave us new energy to serve Jesus Christ faithfully and creatively today.  We extend to you our embrace and our prayers as you prepare to celebrate the feast of Saint Vincent.  May we be renewed in our commitment of mission and charity and may we move forward in a creative way as we continue this commitment.

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
Superior General

Read the Letter in other languages

Przeczytaj list po polsku:

Przełożony Generalny – Dzień Modlitw Rodziny Wincentyńskiej

For the first time this Lenten Letter was brought to you in the number of methods which never happened before. You ca read the text online here ora download it for printing as PDF. You can view it as document in your browser on Scribd.com platform which enables you to view, copy, download in various formats and share among your friends, communities and social networks in very simple way. Finally, what is an innovation, the Letter can be downloaded or send to your mobile devices as E-Book (e.g. iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle and more). It is also available in eight languages.

If you want learn more on how to get the letter in other languages and as E-book go to our previous post: New technology, media and languages for Superior General Lenten Letter

❒ view as document in your browser
❒ download as PDF
❒ download as E-book from mobile devices and readers

Ash Wednesday  9 March 2011

To all the Members of the Vincentian Family

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May the grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts now and forever!

As I write this Lenten Letter for 2011 I am very conscious of the fruits of the Jubilee Year that we celebrated, the 350^th anniversary of the deaths of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise.  Hopefully it was a year that we were able to deepen our relationship with God, with one another as a Vincentian Family, and particularly with our lords and masters the poor.

As we know, Lent is a time of intense scrutiny of our own relationships, ever conscious of our own limitations and faults.  Above all it is a time for us to reach out for healing, including to God, in order that our hearts might be filled once again to overflowing with His compassion.

Recently I participated in a special workshop that the Community of Sant’Egidio holds for Bishops and friends of Sant’Egidio. The founder of this wonderful lay movement, Andrea Riccardi, opened the gathering with a talk directed to all of its participants but particularly to the Bishops as pastors of the Church.  He used Pope John Paul II as a model for Bishops.  The main point of his sharing was the example that John Paul gave with regard to being a man of encounters, particularly his encounter with God and his encounter with the poor.  It is interesting that the Bishops present, in the comments made, were edified by this simple but profound reflection.  I myself was edified, but reflected on the fact that in essence it was nothing that we did not already know.  It is something that Jesus Christ himself has taught us; and as His followers we are called to imitate Him in this unique relationship with the Father as well as imitate His reaching out in meeting the marginalized of society.

Certainly our own founder Saint Vincent de Paul, calls us to this encounter with God saying “Give me a man of prayer and he will be capable of all things” (Coste XI, 67).  He calls us into that deep relationship with the Father that Jesus Himself had.  Saint Vincent also shares with us “that true religion we find among the poor” (Coste XII, 171); in other words, that deep encounter with God is also experienced in our encounter with the poor.  And as Saint Vincent clearly tells us, among them we find our salvation.  I ask that we, as members of the Vincentian Family, examine this two-fold relationship with God and with the poor in this Lenten season.

Recently I heard a song that is common among young people today which reflects on the need to bow our heads in prayer, especially as we look around and see the world of those who suffer today. A title of yet another  song is “Born This Way,” the latest single of Lady Gaga, which is an anthem for the marginalized.  One of the verses reads, “Whether life’s disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today, because baby you were born this way.” I am particularly touched to see how many young people focus their attention, rather than on themselves, on the needs of those who are poor as we too look closely at our world and all the different situations of suffering.

Let us focus especially on our relationship with the poor.  I would like to speak about a number of situations that I have observed in my visits as Superior General to the different places where the Vincentian Family is serving and evangelizing.  It struck me, and I have said this on a number of other occasions, that in every society there is a particular group singled out as what we call  “scapegoats.”  They are the ones most looked down upon; they are the outcasts from their own society.  I find this experience to be true in every continent.  In my most recent visit to Ethiopia, our Bishop confrere Markos spoke to me of a group of people that the confreres and Daughters of Charity minister to who are considered outcasts in the society of Ethiopia, who have a long-standing history of being looked down upon and discriminated against not only by those with whom they live day in and day out, but often by the authorities of the society.  I had this same experience in Vietnam, in India, in the Congo, and even in first-world countries, as here in Italy.  Just recently the whole Italian society’s eyes were opened to the horrible plight of the gypsies that abound in the city of Rome and live in situations that are inhuman.  Four children were burned to death because of the poor conditions in which they are forced to live.

During a memorial service that was held for these four children, Cardinal Vicario Agostina Vallini spoke strongly in favor of the poor and our need to open our eyes to their reality, especially the reality of the immigrant poor.  He challenged all present to examine their consciences, both individually and as a Christian community. Many times immigrant peoples obviously do not want to leave their homeland; but they do so as fugitives from war, from the violence that they experience, from hunger, searching desperately to live in peace and with dignity. There is no doubt that the presence of immigrants in any society creates new problems that oftentimes are complex and we can’t look at in a simplified manner. But as the Cardinal said, we are Christians and we cannot not love and get involved in the lives of those who live in poverty, who are considered among the least of our brothers who are marginalized from our society.

The Cardinal spoke of them as the real presence of Jesus Christ. When hearing that, how clearly I could see Saint Vincent saying the same thing to us as members of the Vincentian Family, seeing Christ in the poor, especially among the most abandoned poor.  Today my brothers and sisters, we are challenged to see and respond to these poor: the homeless, street children, prisoners, immigrants; those suffering from gender inequality, discrimination against women, the trafficking of women and children both for sex and for work purposes and children soldiers, which is a theme that at another time I would like to develop at greater length. For me it is incredible that our society uses young children to carry weapons, to continue the battles of people who seek only their own political interests and desires. What are we doing to defend the lives of these innocent children?  It is horrible to see them carrying weapons that weigh as much as they may weigh and that can take the lives of others as innocent as they are.  The Cardinal also said in his homily that before all types of poverty, whether they be old forms of poverty or new forms of poverty that we find that surrounds us in our cities, we should bend our knees and ask God for pardon, pardon of God and pardon of them for what we have not been able to do for them.

Many times in seeing the situation of marginalized people, the outcasts, which I have written about in previous letters, there is a joy that I feel in my heart to see that the Vincentian Family is in one way or another serving their needs and reaching out to them with the love God has placed in their hearts for the poor.  In this Lenten season, we need to raise the question: Are we doing all that we can for those who are cast out from our societies?

In the Final Document of the General Assembly of the Congregation of the Mission we state that “Seeing what the Lord has done and is doing through us, we, in the manner of Saint Vincent, would like to do and be more for the poor.” Would that this be a challenge for all of us of the Vincentian Family in this Lenten season – to do more and be more for the poor and with the poor.

I also ask us to focus on the poor in situations of desperation as victims in the midst of violence and mob destruction as we have witnessed in places throughout northern Africa recently: in Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt among some of the  more significant situations.  It is the poor who have cried out to have their needs heard.  In the midst of the deafness of those responsible for caring for the common good, the suffering and the frustration, as well as the anger can no longer be contained and in “this bursting forth” God speaks. How do we, how can we, respond?

Another locus of where the poor are often found is in the conflicts that arise among religions, particularly when the expression of the religions is in its lowest fundamentalist form.  I think of the many so-called “religious” wars and how often in God’s name violence and destruction have been brought about.  Oftentimes it has been because of the inability of the human beings involved in these conflicts to sit down and dialog in an open way looking for peaceful solutions rather than resorting to conflict and violence and war.

In that encounter offered by Sant’Egidio, I had the opportunity to listen to a Muslim leader who spoke to us about the importance of living not just in a culture of tolerance of one of another, but the need to move beyond that to the development of a culture of acceptance, respecting one another for who we are, for the faith that we express, trying to understand clearly our own faith and the faith of others. It is something that is needed to be done on both sides of conflict situations.

It is all about building good  trusting relationships that can come about in and through dialog. As followers of Jesus Christ in this time of Lent we are called to reflect deeply on attitudes that oftentimes divide us.  Ignorance in itself is one of the root causes of fundamentalist attitudes where the search is many times for one’s own particular interests rather than for the common good of all.  A ready solution that the Christian world has offered to this ignorance is education. This Muslim speaker said very clearly that where Christians have provided good, human, value-oriented education, the relationships between peoples, both Muslims and Christians, is much better. Education is a key and those of the Vincentian Family who are involved in education should reflect deeply on this ministry that we are providing and in this time of Lent to see if it is an education that is doing its utmost to provide a formation that is integral, a formation that helps people to build values, values that bring people together in relationships of understanding and caring.

Besides ignorance, there is also the challenge of fear that many times paralyzes people, keeping them from moving out of the themselves toward others in good, healthy, harmonious relationships.  The gift of Jesus Christ in and through his death and resurrection that is at the heart of what Lent is about, gives us not only a sign, but the grace, the courage to be able to break down all fear.  It is God’s  love for His own Son that was able to conquer death and to break the paralyzing attitude of fear, enabling His Son to rise to new life in the Resurrection.  It is the same gift of the resurrection, the same gift of God’s love that was poured out upon His Son and which His Son poured out on the entire world, which gives us the courage to move forward and to build relationships.

My brothers and sisters, let me summarize by saying that the Lord speaks  loudly to us in the cries of those who are poor.  Can we do more? Can we be more? Let us examine our actions of solidarity with those who live in poverty.  Let us refresh and be creative in deepening our relationship with those who are poor,  walking with them as advocates for what is just and right.  Just as we are called to be one with the poor and in solidarity with all humanity as we work toward a world of peace, we are called at the same time to be one with God who is the source of all life and love. Let us ever be mindful that we are called to act with justice for peace and the integrity of all creation, motivated by that which is at the heart of our vocation as Vincentians, the charity of Christ crucified.   Let this gift that we have received through our Vincentian vocation, a gift which is a concrete expression of God’s love for all of us, be at the heart of what purifies us and reconciles us and makes us anew as we celebrate this Lenten season, culminating in the great gift of new life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let Alleluia be our song for we are an Easter people.

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
Superior General

Below, you can find access to view the Lenten Letter in all of the languages from Scribd.com application widget. To view your language click on the title link in the widget frame. The document opens in full screen. You can read it, share in social networks, download it in various formats or send to you mobile device. You can get embed code and insert it into your website.

Popularity of smartphones, tablets and other advanced mobile devices is growing in recent years. Trying to meet that challenge we decided to share this Letter for Lent in – *. epub – format for mobile devices like iPhone, iPad, Android and ebook readers like Amazon’s Kindle. Right click on the link below you are interested in and save it on your desktop or copy the link and send to your device.

Both innovative solutions – Scribd.com and ebook were provided by Famvin.org team as response to recent letter of the Superior General on use of modern technology in Vincentian mission. We believe you will receive this solutions positively, and making the Lenten message more “mobile” and “networked” your ministry can be more effective and fruitful as well as your personal study and reflection.
Since it is an innovation and first time used Famvin.org welcomes all your comments and opinions on this solution. Your voice counts and helps improve the service. To leave comment and opinion simply use the comment form below or contact either Fr. John Freund CM or Toma’ by email.

LETTER OF THE SUPERIOR GENERAL FOR LENT 2011
(eBook files to download for mobile devices)

❍ List na Wielki Post 2011 [polski]
❍ Letter for Lent 2011 [English]
❍ Lettre de Carême 2011 [française]
❍ Carta de Cuaresma 2011 [español]
❍ Carta da Quaresma 2011 [Português]
❍ Fastenzeit Brief 2011 [Deutsch]
❍ List pôstny 2011 [slovenčina]
❍ Lettera di Quaresima 2011 [Italiano]

“The world is not now what it once was, nor is it what it will be”

DOWNLOAD THE LETTER IN PDF

13 January 2011

To all the members of the Congregation of the Mission

The Congregation is not now what it once was; nor is it what it will be.

My dear confreres,

May the grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts now and forever!

The world is not now what it once was, nor is it what it will be. My brothers, the world has changed faster than most of us would ever have anticipated. The internet is one of the key movers in this change. One web site alone, Facebook, has a population the size of the third largest country in the world, behind only China and India. We live in a world without borders. Can missionaries neglect this virtual country or choose not to engage in conversation with its citizens, most of whom are young? Have not missionaries always had to learn the language and culture of a mission territory? We hear from Pope Benedict XVI, that we are to, “…help the men and women of our digital age to sense the Lord’s presence, to grow in expectation and hope, and to draw near to the Word of God which offers salvation and fosters an integral human development. In this way the Word can traverse the many crossroads created by the intersection of all the different “highways” that form “cyberspace”, and show that God has his rightful place in every age, including our own.” (Message for the 44th World Communications Day). How can we do this if we don’t speak their language and frequently encounter them in their virtual world?

The Congregation is not now what it once was, nor is it what it will be. Just twenty years ago few in the Congregation had any awareness of how the world would be changed by technology. A mere ten years ago, at the beginning of the third millennium, our former Superior General, Father Robert Maloney wrote a series of letters, one requiring each province to have an internet connection in its motherhouse and house of formation. We have advanced to the stage where, from the General Curia can send e-mails to all of the provinces and vice-provinces of the Congregation and to many of the individual and confreres as well. He also encouraged each province to have a website. It is noteworthy that today only a handful of provinces have active and attractive web sites. Father Maloney also challenged us to champion the pastoral use of technology on behalf of the poor.

I have two questions to pose to you for your reflection, my brothers. First, How will the world be different in just six years? Whether we like it or not, technology will be woven more and more into the fabric of our lives, even the lives of the poorest among us. Second, Will we be ready to serve in such a world? Our Lines of Action from the General Assembly 2010 provide direction as they focus on

1. Formation: encouraging confreres to form attitudes and develop skills necessary for pastoral ministry in the next six years;
2. Reconfiguration: being able to streamline our structures and our administrative processes;
3. Dialog: widening our horizons to discover new needs and collaborative ways of evangelizing and serving;
4. Creativity: responding courageously to new needs in a world without frontiers;
5. Systemic change: aimed at root causes of poverty.

All of these goals can be greatly facilitated by the use of the internet and tools of technology.

• Can we use our Vincentian technology resources:
• to work together with others, especially members of the Vincentian Family and yet beyond, in serving the poor and investigating the causes of poverty?
• to seek grants for setting up computer learning centers in the poorest countries? We had a pilot project going in Africa, specifically regarding computers and computer centers, but because of lack of financial backing, the project was not able to move forward. Yet there were eight or nine countries of our provinces in Africa interested in pursuing this means of development as a tool of helping to educate and at the same time to evangelize.
• to continue to train confreres in computer technology? I know of individual confreres throughout the Congregation who have a particular interest in this type of technology and are well equipped and are moving forward. A good example is Father Aidan Rooney in Bolivia. From Bolivia he has the opportunity to develop a great deal of technology for the service in the Diocese as well as the service of the poor that he and the men in the mission there are serving.
• to devise ways in which older confreres can help in the service of the poor through computer technology?

We have to do some reviewing and take specific steps:

• That each province have a website that is attractive, especially to the young, and that it be frequently updated. It means commitment of personnel without a doubt. And yet, a commitment that will enable a confrere or confreres to reach a good number of people in and through this technological advancement.
• At the international level, we are willing to move forward with this training. We will try to offer as much as we can to help the confreres become equipped in this means of evangelization.
• We can help to establish guidelines or perspectives on the pastoral use of the internet by missionaries.
• We can provide assistance through Famvin in setting up websites, that is, in the major languages that can be easily updated by anyone who has the basic skills of word processing.
• We have also thought about the possibility of a type of international gathering, whether it be virtual or in person in order that we might come together and share our expertise and at the same time help prepare moving others forward in this most needed advancement in technology.

Let me conclude with a great thought made by John Paul II in his document on the Church and the internet in 2002. “Although the virtual reality of cyberspace cannot substitute for real interpersonal community, the incarnational reality of the sacraments and the liturgy or the immediate and direct proclamation of the gospel, it can complement them, attract people to a fuller experience of the life of faith, and enrich the religious lives of users.”

My brothers, I ask you to reflect seriously upon this message and move forward with a desire to evangelize and serve those who are our lords and masters with new ways and new means ever faithful to our call.

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
Superior General

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