TO SERVE THE POOR IS TO SERVE GOD Throughout history men and women, through their commitment to their sisters and brothers, have given us different examples of their love for God. In our Vincentian Family we have seen some wonderful examples of this witness. We have experienced this in the person of our beloved Vincent de Paul who told us that we must act first and then later teach. For Vincent the process of evangelization was very important but this process had to be accompanied with concrete actions on behalf of those women and men who were poor. On many occasions Saint Vincent exhorted the Missionaries and the Daughters of Charity to serve the poor spiritually and corporally. On one occasion he strongly admonished the Missionaries with the following words: “So then, if there are any among us who think they are in
the Mission to evangelize poor people but not to alleviate their sufferings, to take care of their spiritual needs but not their temporal ones, I reply that we have to help them and have them assisted in every way, by us and by others … to do that is to preach the Gospel by words and by works” (CCD:XII:77-78). Our family is characterized by service and mission and so when we speak of one of these realities we are implying the other reality. We can say that the mission of the Vincentian Marian Youth consists of the organization and the formation of ourselves and others so that we might be able to serve the poor. During our recent General Assembly that was held in Portugal much was said about this question of mission and service. The final document reveals in a clear manner the intention of the delegates and here we simply recall some of those points: “We will form ourselves and work with present strategies in the form of project so that we might learn how to draw up, carry out and evaluate our plans (Final Document, 3.1) and later we read: We will encourage all the young people of the Association to discover and live the richness of the Vincentian charism by engaging in direct contact with people who are most poor” (Final Document, 3.3). Here we also refer to the theme of twinning among countries which the International Council is promoting (see Final Document, 3.2).
INTERNATIONAL COUNCILOR
Argelys Vega
We are members of a family that is commited to those persons who are most poor and this commitment is lived out in the midst of a world that is becoming poorer and poorer with each passing day and as a result of this reality more is being demanded of us. Have you asked yourself what is means for you, as a young person, to be a part of this family? What contribution are you willing to make? What commitment are you willing to make? Let us move out from our comfort zone and then, following the example of Saint Vincent de Paul, let us boldly go forth to encounter those women and men who are most in need.
YVM + WYD MADRID 2011 We urgently need your collaboration to send us the Vincentian Family Questionnaire, before July 15th, His e-mail: encuestafv2011@gmail.com. Thanks!