So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ These are things the pagans are always concerned about. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned about everything else in the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.
\nMatthew 6:31-34<\/p>\n
The spirit of our Congregation comprises those intimate personal attitudes of Christ which our Founder recommended to the members from the beginning: love and reverence towards the Father, compassionate and effective love for the poor, and docility to divine providence.
\nConstitutions, 6<\/p>\n
Saint Vincent’s experience of the provident action of God made docility to Divine Providence one of the characteristics of his spirituality and, therefore, today it is one of the characteristics of the spirituality of the missionary. As always, Saint Vincent was inspired by Jesus.<\/p>\n
Saint Vincent was not always understood. Frequently, some were irritated by his slowness; others admired his firmness once he knew the will of God. He said to Saint Louise: “Hidden treasures are found in Divine Providence and so those who honor our Lord so magnificently, follow Providence and do not anticipate it.”<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> “Do not anticipate Divine Providence, but rather follow in its steps,” was Saint Vincent’s advice:<\/p>\n Do I dare say something without feeling shame? … There is no choice, it is necessary that I say it: After going over the principal things which have taken place in this Company, I think that had they been done before they were done, they would not have been done so well. I can say that about all of them without any exception. This is why I feel a special devotion in following step by step the adorable Providence of God. And the only consolation I have is that I firmly believe that our Lord has done and continues doing things in this Company<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Our submission to Divine Providence, though at times painful and difficult, ought to be total and complete. For in such situations God acts. Saint Vincent counseled a missionary working in Poland with these words:<\/p>\n I ask you, God, that wherever the Company is present and laboring, may it receive the grace to submit itself with love to your diverse plans. As circumstances arise, may the Company render service to your people. For with your grace, O Lord, the zeal and courage and faithfulness of this family, the Little Company, will be strengthened and made manifest<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n To another missionary he wrote:<\/p>\n What are we going to do? Should we not desire only that which Divine Providence desires? This morning, at the time of prayer, I had the strong desire to understand and grasp the reality that everything that happens in this world, both good and evil, all the pain and suffering, all these things occur because of God’s plan for the world. How wonderful is this understanding of our world, and for missionaries, how necessary! For if we struggle to submit our will to the will of God, then one of our rewards will be peacefulness of spirit<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n The security that exists in trusting in Divine Providence is contained in the very words of Jesus himself:<\/p>\n Jesus, speaking of the confidence we should have in God said: Behold the birds of the air, how they neither sow nor reap; and yet God provides food for them. He clothes and nourishes them. He cares for the flowers of the field, the lily, for example, which is so magnificently arrayed that Solomon in all his glory is not to be compared with it. Now, if God thus provides for the birds and the flowers why should you refuse to place your confidence in so good and liberal a Father? O you of little faith! What! You trust in yourselves rather than in him! He can do all things! You can do nothing. Yet you presume to depend on your own industry rather than on his bounty, on your own poverty, rather than on his riches. Oh what misery!<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\n Father, your love never fails. Hear our call. Keep us from danger and provide for all our needs. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2. Submission to the Power of God<\/h3>\n
3. We Are Worth More than the Birds of the Air or the Flowers of the Field<\/h3>\n
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Prayer:<\/h2>\n