Today I would like to share with you a story rather than picturing a sequence of events about the beginning of a movement that changed everything. A movement that was a clear sign for the Vincentian Family – It is our time, time for the youth to get involved!
A group of family and friends waving inside a garden next to a statue
When I recall the beginning of MISEVI Poland during the summer of 2014, the first picture that comes to my mind is this: four girls, not fully aware of what they are going to face. Young idealists, deeply believing the world could be changed, not knowing then that in just a few months, they would be on a plane heading to Fort Dauphin Madagascar. They were working at a local school and a clinic, helping the Daughters of Charity and the Lazarists Fathers in their mission.
People associated to MISEVI
The second image is wider, new people come into this picture bringing loads of support to our four protagonists. It’s their parents, colleagues, and friends. It’s strangers, who providentially came across their effort. They all looked at those girls and wondered – “Why? Why are they doing this?” Some of them will join MISEVI, some missions in Benin, Ukraine or Kazakhstan while others will stay in Poland, working every day and supporting volunteers who help in different parts of the world.
After that, I can picture all the people I got to know during my five years of being a member of MISEVI in Poland: the newborn babies I took to hospital in Madagascar, the mothers frightened for their children’s health, the kids in Malagasy schools discovering their talents and abilities, the patients, who after long rehabilitation processes are fully recovered, the Daughters of Charity working day and night. I can see their tears of emotion and helplessness, the quiet talks, the private confessions, the “coming backs” to everyday lives, the dreams that came true. All this, despite being deeply soulful, is the closest picture in my heart.
Why am I talking about all this? Because MISEVI Poland is a compilation of stories, resultant of many accounts, a miscellany of peculiar characters, personalities and tempers. And due that diversity we set off into the world is strong, fitting in; these attitudes help us work efficiently. MISEV Poland is young and diverse however we aren´t afraid of challenges, as we are fully aware of the power of community. The story of MISEVI is the story of people for whom we do what we do and whose good is our highest value.
Lay missionary girl in Africa hiking through the woods with a group of people
Today while we hear about the lack of youth in the Church, we want to assure you- we are here, the youth is here, doing our best. Let us fulfill our mission as well as we can. We are certain, that only by working together, inspiring each other, listening to others and sharing our faith and testimonies, can we go into the world and… Share the love, because as our saint patron said:
“Do not be afraid, open the doors of your hearts to Christ”
“Do not be afraid…” This is what the lay missionaries in Saint Vincent’s family -Lebanon MISEVI were preaching at their apostolic missionary camp.
The camp was organised by the Lazarist’ priests led by Father Charbel Khoury with the participation of four other priests, two nuns from the Daughters of Charity and 15 laymen in the Chouf-Mount Lebanon region. The area is part of the Maronite Diocese of Sidon, which is a mixture of several denominations and sects, where the Maronite community, from the Roman Catholic Melkite, the Evangelical Church, and the majority of its inhabitants are from the Druze Unitarian community and are not Christians and are considered closer to Muslims.
It was a remarkable experience in a region where Christians live, as a minority among the majority of the Druze community, the so-called “after return,” which means return to their villages and areas after the War in Mount Lebanon, a civil war between Christians and Druze in 1983, and the Christians were expelled from their homes. Their lands were destroyed, they were robbed, and at that stage they suffered from kidnapping, slaughter and all kinds of fear and intimidation …
Even today, these people are still wounding and hurt.
There, we went out to five parishes, carrying with us the joy and the Word of our Lord and His calling for us not to be afraid because he is with us “to the end of the time.”
We met people and shared with them their joy and their suffering, we met them in our visits to their homes where we shared with them the word of God, and we listened to their pain.
We met them in the daily Mass where we broke together the “bread of life.”
We met them in children activities, which gathered about 80 boys, including Muslim Syrian refugees, and Druze.
We met them in youth meetings that carried the ideas, questions and concerns of young people in the light of the Word of God and the teaching of the Church …
We met them during women’s gatherings, which included about 70 women share with us the role of women in her family and the church, especially in that region.
We met them during the elderly activities in which we share a charity meal.
We met them at a religious concert that included all religious, political, civil and social figures. It was a joy to see their church filled with Christians and even non-Christians.
There we have experienced with them the power, the joy and the presence of the Lord in our lives.
There we knew that fear with Christ is becoming courageous and daring to proclaim the Good News;
Why not when we have toured the streets of villages carrying the relics of the Lebanese saints while non-Christians stand on their balconies watching and meditating…
How can we not experience the power of the Lord when spiritual hymns are heard and Mass is held in the heart of the Scout City, the largest gathering place of Walid Jumblatt, the largest leader of the Druze community …
Yes, together we have experienced that when we open our hearts to Christ, there is no place for fear.
There we said that we, Christians, are children of this land and this region. We were and will remain because we believe in Christ who planted us in the heart of the mountain to be a living testimony proclaiming the “Good News of Love.”
Today, many individuals, especially young men and women in various countries, are discovering the Vincentian missionary ideal as a way to give meaning to their life and to revitalize their life. In Mozambique, in the small town of Xinavane, I met four young members of MISEVI from Mexico who, with great joy, were involved in a process of evangelization among the poor country people. Also in Mozambique, in the city of Nacala, I spent time with some young people from Spain, members of the Vincentian Marian Youth Association and MISEVI who left the comfort of their family and country in order to engage in the evangelization and the social promotion of the poor. In the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, two young people from Spain and one from Honduras, members of MISEVI, coordinate several social centers that advocate for those persons who are living on the streets. In Brazil, the Congregation of the Mission ministered for twelve years in a parish on the outskirts of Diadema. In 1999 when the Congregation left this parish a group of twenty lay persons decided to organize a branch of MISEVI in order to minister in this poor neighborhood and in order to participate (during the time of their vacation and with other members of the Vincentian Family) in popular missions that were offered to the people living in that area.
These are just some of the numerous examples of people who are discovering and living the Vincentian missionary ideal as a way to give meaning to their life and to rejuvenate their life. I would like to share with you some elements of that missionary ideal. I invite you to reflect on the missionary experience and the fundamentals that ground this way of life.
The foundation of the missionary ideal
Why are these individuals embracing the missionary ideal? What is the significance of this ideal? What is its foundation? The foundation of this missionary ideal is Jesus, the missionary of the Father who calls us to be his disciples and missionaries.
Jesus, missionary of the Father
God, in infinite love, created the world and the human person. Because of sin that disfigured creation, God made a covenant with Abraham and established the people of Israel. Throughout history God spoke to these people and invited them to a new way of life. God promised this people a “new land”, a new world of peace and justice and freedom. In order to reveal the fullness of creation and to establish in a definitive manner his covenant and his promise, God sent his son, Jesus, who inaugurated the reign of the fullness of life, the new heaven and the new earth (Hebrews 1:1-3).
In Jesus, the Son of God made man, God inaugurated his plan. In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus presented himself as one anointed by the Spirit and sent by the Father to proclaim Good News to the poor (Luke 4:18-19). His mission was to insure that all people would have life, the fullness of life (John 10:10). He proclaimed that the priority in life should be first, to seek the kingdom and its justice (Luke 12:31).
During the three years of his public ministry Jesus lived as a poor man; he reached out in a preferential way to those who were poor and defended them in their suffering and in their need. Jesus lives and presents his proposal for new life, namely, love must become the measuring rod of all reality. In love people are called to live in faithful obedience to God, in communion with others, in the building up of their own life and in responsible action that transforms the world.
With words and actions Jesus lived what he proclaimed and proclaimed what he lived. In the midst of a reality marked by social and economic poverty, by Roman domination and by religious domination, Jesus developed a liberating ministry: he reached out to people, healed their infirmities, opened their eyes and their heart so that they could understand the meaning of life and become aware of their rights and thus become integrated into society. With regard to the dignity of the person, Jesus promoted the true nature and vocation of the human person and developed an inclusive and integral ministry.
Jesus utilized a pedagogy that enabled him to touch people’s heart and transform their life. Jesus’ words and actions quickened the heart, called people to a new way to live as community and urged people to live in solidarity with one another. Furthermore, Jesus’ words and actions created an enthusiasm in people that, in turn, enabled them to love God and their neighbor. Jesus evangelized by his presence, by his being with people, and by his loving action. Jesus engaged in transformative action; he created authentic community; he placed new values and attitudes of service before people and provided people with a new way of viewing and living life.
Jesus became like us in all things but sin. Jesus presented his message with humility … he did not impose his message but respected the freedom of his listeners and followers. Because of the depth of his message and the quality of his life and service, Jesus’ activity and words have credibility and authority. Jesus reveals the value of the cross: Jesus teaches people to live in love and solidarity in order to transform the hearts of people and such love and solidarity demands renunciation and the cultivation of generosity. Jesus teaches us about the need to accept the cross and suffering as a necessary condition in seeking the greater good.
Jesus teaches and gives witness to the fact that the human desire for happiness finds its response in God. Life has a transcendent dimension of communion with a merciful God. Jesus teaches us to establish a relationship with God through prayer and contemplation. He also teaches us to cultivate an authentic spirituality so that we can overcome sin, live the true values of life, heal the wounds of the world and make people aware of their inner goodness. Jesus invites us to engage in a fruitful journey of love. Jesus’ whole life and the content of his teaching are a plan to be lived, an horizon that enables us to confront the reality that surrounds us and then, move forward … Jesus’ life and teaching is a path to be followed.
3 women posing
Jesus makes us disciples and missionaries
Jesus proclaims the Kingdom and relies on the collaboration of those who are poor … the collaboration of all people. Incarnated into the life and the history of his people and his time, Jesus awakened people to his proposal and to the need to live their life in a new way, to live their life from the perspective of love. Throughout his missionary journey as the One sent by the Father, Jesus, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, invites all people to follow him; he calls men and women and communicates to them a new way of life, a new way to be community and a new way to love. From among the number of his followers he chooses his apostles and disciples.
As the result of a profound relationship with Jesus, his followers discover that they have been chosen by God for a new life, a life ultimately related to the person of Jesus and committed to the task of making all things new. As participants in the life and the mission of Jesus, these disciples receive the command: Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The disciples are called to identify themselves with the Master, to share their treasure, the gift of faith and to not measure the effort or the sacrifice that is needed in order to live in accord with the gospel and in order to proclaim the gospel to all people … Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16).
The command of Jesus specifically mentions the proclamation of the word, the celebration of faith and charitable action as means to establish and strengthen communion with God and union among people. Communion and mission are intimately related with one another. Communion is missionary and the mission is for communion. The Disciples of Christ are not isolated or static persons; rather they are persons who live in community and who give themselves to others. The missionary/disciple cannot “possess” or “own” his/her life, rather such individuals are always reaching out to others, always putting aside self-centeredness and self-interest in order to refer all things to Jesus Christ and to the people to whom they must proclaim the good news. These men and women are subjects who move toward an encounter: an encounter with the Teacher and with men and women who are awaiting the proclamation. Therefore, Jesus gathered his disciples together in community and after his death and resurrection he sent the Holy Spirit to them which in turn made them church and strengthened them in communion and in the mission. Jesus, through the action of the Holy Spirit, continues to entrust this missionary endeavor to the Church so that all might live in communion with God and with one another. The mission is the essential task of the Church, a task that should be carried out in freedom, dialogue and charity in order to establish communion in solidarity, justice and love.
The mission and its challenges
Lay Vincentian missionaries attempt to live and act as disciples and missionaries of Christ, the Missionary of the Father. They are convinced that, today like yesterday, Christ calls them and sends them forth along paths throughout the world to proclaim the gospel to all people (Matthew 28:19) and to accept the demands and challenges proper to their time.
The mission of evangelization
The mission is an integral part of Christian identity. As people become more aware of their oneness with Jesus, they also become more aware of the need to communicate the gift of this encounter. When the disciples are in love with Christ, they feel compelled to proclaim to the world the fact that salvation is found in Christ alone who is the fullness of life. To be a disciple and a missionary are two fundamental dimensions of the Christian vocation that are assumed at the moment of Baptism. The mission is a question of faith … it involves sharing with all people the gift of faith in Christ. To evangelize is the primary mission of the church and of each Christian. To evangelize is to do what Jesus did, to continue his mission of proclaiming the nearness of the Kingdom of God, providing concrete signs of its nearness, following Jesus’ teachings and living gospel values.
To evangelize is to proclaim the good news which is Jesus himself … Jesus who, through the Spirit, communicates to us the life of the Father. Benedict XVI has stated: There is no greater priority than this: to enable the people of our time once more to encounter God, the God who speaks to us and shares his love so that we might have life in abundance (Verbum Domini, #2). In light of the fact that the people of God is a people who are “sent”, the mission of proclaiming the Word of God is the obligation of all the disciples of Jesus Christ, an obligation derived from their Baptism. The mission is universal. Even though Jesus exercised his ministry within a small and very limited geographical region, his missionary disciples have no geographical or cultural boundaries when proclaiming the good news. The irreplaceable and necessary presence of the Spirit is the very soul of this action of proclaiming the Good News of salvation to all peoples and all cultures and all places.
The challenges of the mission
The disciples/missionaries, inspired by the Holy Spirit, attempt to make visible the merciful love of the Father in all places and to all people, but especially to those who are poor and suffering. As they live out this mission, the disciples advance in holiness which in turn they reveal to the world. Their task is to proclaim the Good News in light of the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the people of our time … to proclaim the Good News with a profound respect and in dialogue with the world, in dialogue with the social and cultural diversity of the world. Therefore the mission is always a proposal, freely presented, that transforms life and society.
The mission has to be continually actualized and cannot avoid confrontation with the concrete problems of the world. The theology of the mission tells us that we ought to develop a process of evangelization ad intra (a process that encourages people of faith in those lands that have been traditionally Catholic) and a process of evangelization ad gentes (a process that reaches out to people in those areas where the faith and the church are not firmly established). Today, with globalization and rapid change, there is almost no distinction between these two forms of evangelization. Today the whole church should be in a state of mission since the whole world and all nations are in need of an intense missionary activity.
The horizons of evangelization are as vast as the various situations that we find in the world … thus the horizons are quite varied. The present world is pluralistic, a place of many changes and therefore, we must evangelize in a new manner. If we operate only within the parameters of the culture and do what we always did in those places, then the result will be one of nullifying the power of the Holy Spirit. God is everywhere and so we must discover how to proclaim the good news in the language of each specific culture, in new places, and in a new manner that is in harmony with the reality of the specific place.
Today we live in an historical time of true epochal change. It is a time filled with enchantments and disenchantments, a time in which we confront new values, problems and possibilities that raise questions for the disciples and missionaries of Christ. In light of this reality God calls us to live and renew our faith and to offer a missionary response, a new and zealous response. The Catholic Church invites us to renew our faith and to proclaim it with enthusiasm. It is for this reason that the Pope convoked a Year of Faith and has called us to develop a new evangelization. Benedict XVI has stated: We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Matthew 5:13-16). The people of today can still experience the need to go to the well, like the Samaritan woman, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and to draw upon the source of living water welling up within him (cf. John 4:14) … there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith (Porta Fidei, #3 and #7).
It is not easy to present a synthesis of the challenges and the primary lines of action of evangelization during the present era. I preset here what I believe to be some of the more significant and important challenges.
A] Evangelization is not a proselytizing campaign that is developed in order to confront people of other religions and /or non-believers; evangelization is not an attempt to recover some glorious past of the Catholic faith. Evangelization is an attempt to stir up in people and in the community an acceptance of the gospel so that it touches and transforms every aspect of life, which leads to a life of love in communion with God and with others. It is necessary to evangelize from the base, that is, from the concrete situation of people and not from a position of economic, cultural, clerical or religious power. Thus we are called to evangelize from the perspective of personal and community witness as a poor/servant evangelizing church which does not seek to establish the church of the past, a church of power that had the support of the sate and other powerful groups.
B] Evangelization ought to be developed from the perspective of nearness and encounter. These two attitudes characterize the manner in which God revealed himself in history and are two ways of living in an ecclesial manner as disciples/missionaries. God is near to people, so near that God became incarnated in the midst of people. Just as God goes out to encounter people, the missionary ought to be close to people in their concrete reality and ought to promote an encounter with Jesus Christ and an encounter with one’s brothers and sisters. Nearness creates communion and belonging and also creates the possibility for an encounter. Nearness takes the form of dialogue and creates a culture of encounter.
C] Evangelization is the work of everyone and no one person or group of persons in the Church has an exclusive right to evangelize. The evangelizing task is the mission of all Christians. From the perspective of ministry, everyone has a missionary responsibility and this is especially true of the laity who, in light of the clerical evangelization of the past, ought to be protagonists of the new evangelization.
D] Evangelization, in light of the spiritual experience of people, ought to promote missionary activity that leads people along a path where they are able to discover Jesus, able to become fascinated with his person and with his cause. Evangelization should make people passionate about Jesus and equally passionate about transforming the world into the kingdom, passionate about making Jesus’ values present in the world. Evangelization ought to be prophetic and liberating … ought to make people more human and ought to promote peace and justice. Thus evangelization is not just concerned about worship and the preservation of religious customs and traditions.
E] Evangelization should not begin with doctrinal, catechetical, dogmatic or moral concepts. Above all else evangelization should be biblical and should place people in direct contact with the world that leads them to the historical Jesus of the gospels. In light of the word it is important to discover, in the midst of the present reality, the voice of God and the ways in which God is present.
F] From the perspective of a renewed theology of God, Christ, sin, morality, the Church, the People of God and openness to the world, evangelization needs to discern the presence of the Spirit in the signs of the time and this in turn should lead to a deeper commitment to the world. Evangelization should lead the Church to an on-going conversion to the gospel, to an ability to leave behind antiquated structures that do not allow people to live an authentic faith, a faith that transforms.
G] All evangelizing activity ought to be missionary and community oriented and not focused on the church as temple, but rather focused on the streets and the homes of people and the workplace and daily life and nature and ecology … realities that lead to an encounter with people and that lead to the integration of people into a living ecclesial community that in turn becomes a countersign to modern individualism and to present day “ecclesial membership” which so often is meaningless.
H] Incarnated in a culture, in a specific social and human situation, the mission needs to confront new situations (for example, the world of chemical dependency, immigration, ecology, youth, social exclusion, peace, and communication) and also needs to promote unity in diversity. In a spirit of humility and respect, the mission means that we are present and engaged on the outskirts of society, with those who are most poor and excluded, in those places where the cries of the poor are most urgent, on the frontiers where the church confronts new and difficult problems in the midst of new situations, in the desert where the gospel is not well-known, where the church is poor, where the church is a minority or just taking its first steps. May we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit who renews everything and moves everywhere … may we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit even though we do not know where the Spirit is leading us!
MISEVI: a new path that allows us to respond as missionaries
Lay Vincentian missionaries are present in various parts of the world and are attempting to live their missionary vocation as Vincentians and as members of a missionary organization called MISEVI. What does it mean to live out our missionary vocation as Vincentians? What is MISEVI?
The missionary witness of Saint Vincent
Vincent lived in the seventeenth century. Throughout his life he allowed himself to be questioned by the realities that surrounded him. He was aware of and listened to the cries of the poor and from that perspective developed his spirituality and his activity: God is absolute … Christ is the evangelizer of the poor … the poor are the presence of Christ … the proclamation of the Good News of liberation to the poor is the center of Jesus’ life and mission. Vincent de Paul said: And if we ask Our Lord, “What did you come to do on earth?” “To assist the poor.” “Anything else?” “To assist the poor” (CCD:XI:98). Nothing was more important for Vincent than to minister on behalf of the poor.
The encounter with Christ in those who are poor made Vincent aware of the fact that the poor are our lords and masters (CCD:XII:4). True faith involves a commitment to the mission and to charity on behalf of the poor. To make God know to poor persons; to announce Jesus Christ to them; to tell them that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that it is for persons who are poor (CCD:XII:71). The Vincentian mission expresses and reveals a clear preference of ministry among those persons who are poor, a ministry in which we are attentive to the social reality but especially to the causes that create an unequal distribution of the world’s wealth. Evangelization of the poor is a sign that the kingdom is near at hand.
In Christ, evangelizing the poor, Vincent encountered the true model who should be used to measure all our actions. Christ is the Rule of the Mission (CCD:XII:110). Clothing oneself in the sentiments and the attitudes of Christ, evangelizer of the poor, is the path that enables the disciple/missionary to live and accomplish the mission. Vincent highlighted five virtues: simplicity, humility,, gentleness, mortification and zeal. These are personal and community virtues, indispensable tools that enable us to renew our faith, to draw closer to and to dialogue with those who are poor, to discover and accept the challenges of evangelization and to discover the various paths along which the mission will lead us.
Vincent developed the mission as an act of love, an act of generous and integral service on behalf of the poor. The mission involves: corporal and spiritual service, affective and effective love, words and actions, all things are related to charity. In the Vincentian mission, service of the word is intimately related to charity which in turn leads to the Word who frees, saves and transforms the causes that generate poverty and injustice.
Vincent was engaged in an extensive, creative and diversified ministry of solidarity. Always at the service of the Church and in communion with the Church, Vincent’s ministry was communitarian, participative and collaborative. Communion and collaboration with others (men and women, rich and poor, clerics and lay people) are the key of the success of Vincent’s missionary service on behalf of the poor.
To be a Vincentian disciple and missionary as a member of MISEVI
Yesterday and today the example of Saint Vincent continues to inspire many men and women in their vocation as disciples/missionaries of Christ and continues to create an awareness of new and creative missionary initiatives. MISEVI is the newest fruit of this Vincentian missionary heritage, a fruit that has come to maturity through the creative action of the Spirit in the church.
The Lord is the master of the history. The Holy Spirit was preparing for the birth of the service years ago and enlightened through the way. The Lord used us who are not deserved for his service.
In 2009: a local parish family of servants “St. Thomas Aquinas Family” was established in Jesus the King Cathedral, in Upper Egypt affiliated to the Coptic Catholic Church (An Eastern rite church in full communion with the Holy See).
After 1 year, exactly in September 2010, an international conference of youth called “Mediterraneo del Giovanni Paolo II” was held in Loreto, Italy and during this conference I (the writer of this article) met Ribel Elias (later on MISEVI International President). The Lord used us both to build collaboration channels between MISEVI-LIBAN and St. Thomas Family. From 2011 till 2016, MISEVI-LIBAN had a major role in helping the servants of St. Thomas family to improve their methodology through missions serving the poor in the Christian villages covering their spiritual needs. Beginning from that date many missions were held helping the poor wherever the Bishop of Minia diocese guided us to go.
In July 2016, it was an honor to welcome priests and servants from MISEVI-LIBAN to come to Egypt and serve the poor with us in our parish churches. Moreover, it was an honor to welcome Father Doctor Milad Zakhary, CM, and Sister Mervat from Daughters of Charity in the same service. The service recommendation was to begin to establish our MISEVI-EGYPT in Cairo where Father Milad and Sister Mervat serve specially the many servants from Upper Egypt who now live in Cairo. The time is ready to build together with servants from Cairo itself the first nucleus of MISEVI-EGYPTE.
In January 2017, the first meeting of MISEVI-EGYPTE was held in the Daughters of Charity convent. First period was dedicated to put the vision, mission, and translation of the international laws in Arabic and French. Then the formation meetings followed. After that, we were officially recognized as a part of International MISEVI early in 2019. Service in MISEVI-EGYPTE can be easily categorized into short-term and long term services. Short-term services are done by adopting BQP (Bible Quiz Program) for competitions between the youth in the Bible the word of God. While, long term services are done by doing missions for the poor in the villages that are in need of Spiritual support.
It was an honor to welcome our General Father. Tomaz Mavric, CM here in Cairo early in May 2019. It was a great experience for us. We asked his prayers for our upcoming mission held in July 2019 and many BQP competitions that will be held all over the summer.
The lesson learned from this brief history, is that the collaboration between churches can become very beneficial more than we can expect. Every church has its own grace and charisma. Putting all these gifts in the hand of the Lord can fruit 30, 60 and 100. Pray for us for the continuity and persistence of the service.
Priest preaching at an eventA nun praying to GodA priest officiating at an event.A priest being recognized for his workA priest surrounded by many people
The theme of the last assembly of MISEVI in Salamanca was Disciples and Missionaries. On that occasion Father Hugh O’Donnell gave us a wonderful reflection that we need to deepen more and more.
During the Easter season the liturgy proposes that we should read, meditate and pray the precious book of the first disciples and witnesses of the risen Lord, the Acts of the Apostles. Luke, in his narration of the faith experience of the first Christian community, starts by describing their life, their faith, their dedication, their relationships, and the way they nourished their faith to be able to bring the light of the resurrection to the world.
He writes: ‘They remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles. They were attentive to the brotherhood, they were assiduous in the participation of the Eucharist and to the prayers together. Everyone was filled with respectful love and joy. As they shared faith they shared also their goods and possessions and distributed the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed. Faith and goods shared! Each day they lived praising God gladly and generously. God gave them the power to do many signs and miracles. The Lord blessed their community by adding new members who wanted to follow Jesus.’ (Acts 2, 42-47)
The community of the believers and the apostles who were transformed by the Holy Spirit were an open book to any one they met on the road. They admitted their fragile condition as sinners, but believed that God used them for his purposes. We see Paul narrating more than once his history of being both a sinner and a graced man of God. We see Peter full of joy and energy, witnessing with joy and courage, in the face of opposition and imprisonment. We learn from Stephen the joy of martyrdom for the kingdom of God. These first disciples traveled into dangerous places and crossed geographical, cultural and religious borders to bring the Good News, at the risk of their own lives.
I could continue to highlight more elements of this cornerstone of the life of the first Christians. In our daily and ordinary lives, we need to re-read and re-write our own history, based on the book of the Acts of the Apostles and just now we have the whole month to read and meditate on these first missionary disciples, as we prepare for Pentecost.
For our reflection, I would like to highlight three elements that characterized the life of the first disciples: joy; communion and sharing; readiness to go to bring the good news.
Joy
The striking characteristic of the disciples was their joy at being disciples. What made them happy was their identity; being followers of Jesus was the deep motivation of their joy. Pope Francis is encouraging us all to rediscover our joy. His first apostolic letter that set out the program of His Pontificate was entitled ‘The Joy of the Gospel’. His other exhortations – ‘Laetare et Gaudete’, ‘Laudato Si’, ‘Amoris Laetitia’ and the last one, ‘Christus Vivit’, are each a call to renewed joy in our Christian vocation.
To live in happiness and serenity in the midst of our daily life is sometimes challenging. From the earliest days, St Vincent taught us to offer all our daily activities to God during our meditation and to rely on him.
When I think of relying joyfully on God I have a memory that always comes to my mind of a man who was traveling with his luggage in a carriage led by a horse. Since the horse was thin and tired, when they reached a slippery road, the man took his luggage and he put on his own shoulders in the carriage. When he was asked why, he said he had pity on the horse and he wanted to help it. But as a matter of fact, all the load was still on the horse’s back!
This anecdote always reminds me that I need to put my confidence in God fully. That is the source of joy. Whoever places his confidence in God never runs out of joy. A disciple who has this confidence is full of joy and serenity and ready to share with those who need it. Vincentian joy is also based on making others joyful:
‘Another effect of charity is to rejoice with those who rejoice. It causes us to enter into their joy. Our Lord intended by His teachings to unite us in one mind in joy as well as in sorrow; it’s His desire that we share one another’s feelings. Saint John’s Gospel relates that the blessed Precursor said, speaking of himself and of Jesus Christ, that the Bridegroom’s friend is very happy to hear his voice. ‘My joy,’ he said, ‘is complete; he must increase and I must decrease.’ In the same way, let’s rejoice when we hear the voice of our neighbor who rejoices, for he represents Our Lord to us; let’s rejoice at his successes, happy that he surpasses us in the honor and esteem of the world, in talent, grace, and virtue. That’s how we should share his feelings of joy.’ (St Vincent, Correspondence, Writings and Documents, Volume 12 page 222)
Communion and Sharing
Communion is one of the distinctive characteristics of the first Christian community. In our Vincentian way of living the Gospel since the early days of our foundation, communion and charity go together. We are missionaries together with others. Vincent was able to create networks of charity because he was able to put many hands and minds together in mutual cooperation. As the Logo of Misevi indicates, all our dreams are realized in a communion of world-wide dimensions. At the same time, communion among the members who live side by side is vital. Communion grows by means of praying, sharing, planning for the poor and with the poor.
Sharing their faith characterized the disciples of Jesus. When Peter found himself in the entrance of the temple and a man begged him to give him something, he said: ‘We do not have silver nor gold, but we give you what we do have. In the name of Jesus get up….’ (Acts 3:6)
Readiness to go to bring the good news
Readiness to go to bring the good news that characterizes the Apostles also characterizes the Vincentian. St Vincent exhorted his missionaries: ‘…we are to run to the spiritual needs of our neighbors as if we were running to a fire.’(Recommendation given at a chapter. Correspondents vol 11, page 25)
‘So, our vocation is to go, not just to one parish, not just to one diocese, but all over the world; and to do what? To set people’s hearts on fire; to do what the Son of God did. He came to set the world on fire in order to inflame it with His love. What do we have to desire but that it may burn and consume everything. My dear confreres, let’s reflect on that, please. It’s true then, that I’m sent not only to love God but to make Him loved. It’s not enough for me to love God, if my neighbor doesn’t love Him. I have to love my neighbor as the image of God and the object of His love, and to act in such a way that people, in their turn, love their Creator, who knows them and acknowledges them as His brothers, whom He has saved, and that by mutual charity they love one another for love of God, who has loved them so much as to hand over His own Son to death for them.’ (St Vincent, Correspondence, Writings and Documents, Volume 12 page 215)
As Vincentians it is our charism to read the signs of times in the sense of looking for the places where there are the greatest needs of those who are poor. The Church is calling us to open our eyes to the poorest people of our time, and we do not need sophisticated research to see them. It is enough to open the door of our hears and we will easily find them.
