Vincentians called to a holy life

New Queensland president of the St Vincent de Paul Society BRIAN MOORE, at his induction Mass in St Stephen's Cathedral, Brisbane, on July 2, issued a call for members to be true to the society's spiritual roots with a commitment to personal holiness.

This is his address, drawn from his own thoughts as a Vincentian and from society publications

FOR many years as a Vincentian I have pondered on our commitment to personal holiness.

There is no doubt in my mind that an ongoing spiritual renewal is required of all Vincentians if the St Vincent de Paul Society is to continue to fulfil its obligations.

The original aim of our founder the Blessed Frederic Ozanam and his band of young men was to deepen the Catholic faith of its members. This aim must never be forgotten.

Conference administration, finances, making conferences (branches) more efficient, developing the necessary skills to listen and advise, being aware of issues that affect the poor are all important matters but secondary.

The real question is, and has always been the one of personal holiness, which is a very beautiful personal relationship between the individual and Almighty God.

Some years ago an Irish bishop by the name of Francis G Brooks, addressed a large gathering of Vincentians on spirituality and he stated "In emphasising the necessity of a genuine spirituality, I hope I have not made you say to yourselves ... 'If that is the case, I am no use in the St Vincent de Paul Society ... I am no saint.' In the marvellous ways of God ... brothers and sisters in giving ... you will receive far more in return."

Sadly, we do have some members who become disinterested at the mention of spirituality, reminding us from time to time that they did not join the society to belong to a prayer group.

Furthermore some conferences and special-work conferences do not reflect very well on the beautiful opening and closing prayers at their meetings, or on their spiritual readings, our mission statement, our core-values statement and The Rule.

Has a certain stagnancy set in because they view holiness as a state obtained ... rather than a life-long process of growth to know and serve our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ!

I really feel that we must always actively seek God's guidance in prayer upon every matter in relation to our lives as well as our Vincentian vocation.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Vincentian vocation is a call to holiness. In 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul said, "Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

Paul says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old has gone, the new has come."

Before his conversion, St Augustine was a "party animal".

After he became a Christian, he often walked home past a bar he had frequented every night. One night, a prostitute, who assumed he had finally "come back to his senses", approached him. But when they met he walked right by her.

In amazement, she called out to him, "Augustine, don't you recognise who you just walked by? It's me!" For a moment he stopped, turned to her and said, "Yes, but it is no longer me!"

Being partakers of Christ's divine nature we have His very nature within us and that nature will cause us all as Vincentians to grow in spirituality.

As we do, holiness will be a natural outgrowth of our relationship with God. Remember that one cannot be holy in a hurry, but we can take another step in that direction each day.

Recently when reflecting on my school days, it appeared to me at that time, the love of God was more or less based on a merit system. If you were good, God loved you. If you were not good, He was angry with you.

As I matured I noticed that some people who claimed to be holy, seemed harsh to me. They looked like they were enduring, rather than enjoying their commitment to Christ. They appeared to be comfortable in church, but miserable elsewhere.

There is no doubt in my mind that God uses His Word ... people and circumstances to mould us into the likeness of Christ.

God's Word provides the "truth" we need to know - God's people such as nuns, the priests, parishioners and the Vincentian vocation provide the "support" we need to grow - and circumstances such as our Good Works as Vincentians give us the "opportunity" to show Christ likeness.

The fruitful activity of the society depends most of all on its members becoming people of "deep faith". Being a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society is not an achievement, but a commitment to grow in "personal holiness".

Therefore ongoing personal spiritual vocational development is a necessary condition for the success of our work.

A good question for us all to reflect upon is: "How can we really discover whether we are growing closer to our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, or whether we have consciously settled for a same and unchallenging substitute?"

One sign is whether our conference and council meetings are held in a spirit of "fraternity - simplicity and Christian joy", free from bickering, jealousy and distrust.

As Vincentians we have to be careful that our conference and council meetings do not become "committee meetings".

Much self-denial is therefore required of us all as Vincentians, to keep our meetings free from any controversy that will break the unity of spirit and the bond of peace.

Another sign is our attitude towards the poor ... Each family or person should be discussed as they should be treated ... with the respect that is due to any brother or sister in Christ.

A further sign is our continued commitment to seek out those in need. If our work finds its inspiration in our close union with Jesus Christ, we will then see those people we help as children of God, and not just hands open for financial help.

It is in and through our Good Works as Vincentians that we will grow in the love of God. We will share in the wonderful vivid faith of many of our people.

Our everyday work and our work in the society, are not merely the objects we have to sanctify, but the very instruments of our own sanctification. Spiritual maturity is neither instant or automatic. It is a gradual continual progressive development, that can take the rest of our lives.

In Recife, Brazil, where great numbers of poor people were illiterate, Bishop Helder Camara used to instruct his catechists, "Sisters and brothers, watch how you live. Your lives may be the only gospel your neighbours will ever read. We are all witnesses, at every moment of the day.

"That does not mean shouting the Creed from the rooftops. It means living in such a way that our lives would not make sense if God did not exist."

When Jesus said "Let your light shine before all", He did not mean that we should be haranguing people in the street? No! ... that would not work.

Our Lord's words are not about coercing other people into religion, but about doing good in a visible way, "so that others, seeing your good works, may glorify our Father in heaven".

SIC: TCL