{"id":148903,"date":"2016-06-30T14:48:01","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T12:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vincentians.com\/en\/?p=148903"},"modified":"2016-11-14T08:21:38","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T07:21:38","slug":"the-contributions-of-the-vincentian-charism-to-the-mission-of-the-church-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vincentians.com\/en\/the-contributions-of-the-vincentian-charism-to-the-mission-of-the-church-8\/","title":{"rendered":"The Contributions of the Vincentian Charism to the Mission of the Church (8)"},"content":{"rendered":"

8. Charity animates the mission and the mission is charity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jesus, in the synagogue at Nazareth<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/a> and as he proclaimed the text from the prophet Isaiah (The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord) <\/em>\u2026 in this manner Jesus defined his mission and gave the prophet\u2019s words a programmatic value as he initiated his public ministry. In that scene from which Vincent derived the motto of the Congregation, we should note that Jesus personalized the words of the prophet: \u201cupon me\u201d, \u201canointed me\u201d, \u201csent me\u201d. The same could be said today about the words which Jesus spoke as he concluded his reading.<\/p>\n

The Vincentian charism has made it explicit that the Christian life prolongs the life and the mission of Christ when he was on earth. The Vincentian charism has also actualized the meaning of evangelizing the poor: to act and to teach, like Jesus, (to reveal the words and deeds foretold by the prophets) (CCD:XII:75).<\/p>\n

In this service on behalf of the poor and every work that is undertaken for their promotion and their liberation, the prophetic and messianic signs are revelations of the merciful presence of the Father who, in the person of Jesus, walks beside the poor and saves them<\/a> <\/em><\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>. Thus, Vincent extends the following invitation: Come, then, my dear confreres, let us devote ourselves with renewed love to serve persons who are poor, and even to seek out those who are the poorest and most abandoned <\/em>(CCD:XI:349).<\/p>\n

Love and charity are at the very origin of the Mission: Christ\u2019s love is infinite (cf. CCD:XII:94). If we discover the love of Jesus Christ and clothe ourselves in his love, then like him, we will be able to dedicate ourselves to the salvation of our brothers and sisters: Let\u2019s look at the Son of God; what a heart of charity He had; what a fire of love! Please tell us, Jesus, who pulled You away from heaven to come to endure the curse of earth and the many persecutions and torments You suffered? O Savior! Source of love humbled even to our level and to a vile agony, who showed, in that, greater love for the neighbor than You yourself did? You came to lay yourself open to all our misfortunes, to take the form of a sinner, to lead a life of suffering and to undergo a shameful death for us; is there any love like that? But who else could love in such an outstanding way? Only Our Lord, who was so enamored with the love of creatures as to leave the throne of His Father to come to take a body subject to weaknesses. And why? To establish among us, by His word and example, love of the neighbor. This is the love that crucified Him and brought about that admirable work of our redemption. O Messieurs, if we had only a little of that love, would we stand around with our arms folded? Would we let those we could assist perish? Oh, no! Charity can\u2019t remain idle; it impels us to work for the salvation and consolation of others <\/em>(CCD:XII:216).<\/p>\n

Entering into this love of Jesus Christ we can serve the most wretched, the most abandoned, and the most weighed down by corporal and spiritual suffering <\/em>(CCD:XI:69).<\/p>\n

The mission becomes charity because, in following Jesus Christ, true evangelization is proclamation and service (transformative action): If priests devote themselves to the care of the poor, wasn\u2019t that what Our Lord and many great saints did, and they not only recommended poor persons to others, but they themselves consoled, comforted, and healed them? Aren\u2019t those who are poor the afflicted members of Our Lord? Aren\u2019t they our brothers and sisters? And if priests abandon them, who do you think is going to help them? So then, if there are any among us who think they\u2019re 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, if we want to hear those pleasing words of the Sovereign Judge of the living and the dead, \u201cCome, beloved of my Father; possess the kingdom that has been prepared for you, because I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was naked and you clothed me; sick and you assisted me.\u201d To do that is to preach the Gospel by words and by works, and that\u2019s the most perfect way; it\u2019s also what Our Lord did, and what those should do who represent Him on earth, officially and by nature<\/em> (CCD:XII:77-78).<\/p>\n

Charity-mission, mission charity \u2026 mission flows from love and charity sets the mission in motion and constantly animates the mission. The mission becomes charity and is expressed in the signs proclaimed by the prophets, signs of love<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

It is this experience of Charity-Mission <\/strong>that makes spiritual and corporal service not two separate purposes of the Vincentian charism but rather two aspects of the same purpose, of the same evangelizing mission.<\/p>\n

The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Mission <\/strong>concretize this contribution of the Vincentian charism to the Church\u2019s mission:<\/p>\n