{"id":148900,"date":"2016-06-27T14:47:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T12:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vincentians.com\/en\/?p=148900"},"modified":"2016-08-04T03:07:30","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T01:07:30","slug":"the-contributions-of-the-vincentian-charism-to-the-mission-of-the-church-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/vincentians.com\/en\/the-contributions-of-the-vincentian-charism-to-the-mission-of-the-church-5\/","title":{"rendered":"The Contributions of the Vincentian Charism to the Mission of the Church (5)"},"content":{"rendered":"

5. The world, as seen and desired by God, is the environment in which the mission of the Church is accomplished<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In order to describe the Vincentian vision of the world and history, Father Morin has utilized the comparison of a person who beholds some aspect of reality. Thus, he describes the spiritual journey of Vincent de Paul as a history of beholding the poor: beholding the poor in a manner that expanded as he encountered the poor, beholding the poor in a manner that took in all those who were poor, beholding the poor in such a manner that from the little parish in Ch\u00e2tillon his vision became universal (eventually extending to Madagascar), beholding the poor in a manner that was deepened with the passing of time (from beholding the poor to beholding Jesus Christ, from beholding Jesus Christ to beholding the poor)<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Wanting to see the world as Jesus saw it and as Jesus desired it, Vincent came to understand that his works and establishments were not of his doing but rather, were founded and established by God: The good which God desires is accomplished almost by itself, without our even thinking of it. That is how our Congregation came into being, that missions and retreats for the ordinands began, that the Company of the Daughters of Charity was formed, that the Ladies of Charity for the assistance of the poor at the Hotel Dieu of Paris and the sick in the parishes were established. That is also how the care of the foundlings began and, in a word, how all the works for which we are now responsible came into existence. None of the above was deliberately undertaken by us, but God Himself, who wanted to be served in such circumstances, brought them imperceptibly into being. If He made use of us, we had no idea, however, where that was leading <\/em>(CCD:IV:128-129).<\/p>\n

In the prophetic writings we frequently find the expression: what do you see? <\/em>(Amos 8:1; Jeremiah 1:11), following by the words: then the Lord showed me <\/em>or then the Lord said to me <\/em>(thus, the clay in the hands of the potter, the vineyard with sour grapes, the fig tree). Reality is transformed by the glance of the prophet, that is, God allows the prophet to see the world and history not in the manner that their contemporaries viewed those realities, but as God saw them, as God desired them. Father Renouard states that in the eyes of Vincent de Paul events are a sign from God and, in the case of the poor, such signs are privileged. Vincent viewed events as revealing God, as revealing the will of God<\/em><\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The ability to see the world as God sees it and desires it led Vincent de Paul to state: the poor, who do not know where to go and what to do, who are suffering already and who increase daily, are my burden and my sorrow <\/em>(CCD:III:492). At the same time Vincent denounced the reality that the great ones of this world think only of honors and wealth <\/em>(CCD:XI:20). He made every effort to advance the liberation and the salvation of the poor because the Son of God became man like us in order that we might not only be saved, but, like him, saviors, which means cooperating with him in the salvation of souls <\/em>(CCD:XII:97). Vincent was so convinced of this fact that he was able to say: It is not enough for me to love God, if my neighbor does not love him <\/em>(CCD:XII:215).<\/p>\n

Again we find Vincent encouraging people to see things as God sees them: I ask Our Lord to grant us the grace of considering those matters as they are in God and not as they appear apart from him; otherwise we might deceive ourselves and act other than he wishes <\/em>(CCD:VII:403).<\/p>\n