March 16, 2021
VinSights
Vincentian Insights from the Province
Fr. Michael Carroll, CM

SSVDP Canada Sets High Bar

We can learn much from SSVDP Canada. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul launched its national housing campaign on February 7, 2021, the feast day of Blessed Sister Rosalie Rendu. The theme is “Safe, secure and affordable housing is a human right.” Read the post HERE.
Fr. John Freund, CM

A Mother Watches Her Child Suffer

There is a special pain that cuts through the hearts of mothers especially, but fathers also, as they see their child suffer. There is so much more to Mary’s grief than the final stage so masterfully captured in Michelangelo’s Pieta. Read or listen to the post HERE.
Fr. Pat Griffin, CM

A Vincentian View:
Dreamers

We hear the warning regarding the person who sees possibilities with open eyes and in the most practical of manners; that individual gets things done. Vincent and Louise were those kinds of people. Read the post HERE.
Fr. Tom McKenna, CM

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory 
(1 Cor: 10:31)
If there ever was a motivational speaker, it is St. Paul. Writing to the people of Corinth, he touches on what is perhaps the incentive for all Christian action: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” (I Cor 10:31). Read the post HERE.
Province News|Notes
A Vincentian Approach to the Virtues of St. Joseph.
 
Join the Vincentians in a virtual discussion on the human father of Our Savior.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has dedicated 2021 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. While little is known about this saint, his virtuous actions speak volumes as the ideal “provider and protector.”

To celebrate the occasion, join us every Friday in March as the Shrine’s Vincentian priests delve into the life and personhood of St. Joseph in an intriguing series: “A Vincentian Approach to the Virtues of St. Joseph.”

There are still two more live events to go. Register for your virtual attendance now.
A Member of Vincentian Family Recovers from COVID In-Time for 117th Birthday 
Sister André, a Sister of Charity of Nazareth, is the second-oldest known living person in the world.
 
Read about her in the New York Times HERE.

Read about her in the Catholic Leader HERE.

Read about her in America Magazine HERE
CM Global Features Eastern Province Documentary in Four Languages
The English-language film, Ready and Able: A Vincentian Story was translated into three additional languages (subtitles). The Vincentian global network (CM Global) recently featured the translations.
 
English version is HERE.
French version is HERE.
Italian version is HERE.
Spanish version is HERE
Vincentian Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Fr. Pedro Opeka, CM, from Argentina, has worked with people living in trash heaps in Madagascar for more than 30 years. He was nominated by Prime Minister Janez Janša of Slovenia for the high honor. 
 
Read more about it HERE or HERE.
From the Vincentian UN Representative
Jim Claffey writes about digital rights being human rights in his post, "Oxen and Cellphones."
 
To read the post in English, click HERE.
To read the post in Spanish, click HERE
Getting to Know St. John's New President
Fr. Brian J. Shanley, OP, recently joined the St. John’s University family and began his tenure as the18th President.

Read some fun facts about him HERE.
Niagara's President Again Named to List of Influential Leaders
Fr. James Maher, CM, is listed at No. 76 in the university's weekly newspaper’s ninth annual “Power 250,” a list of the 250 men and women who, in the publication’s opinion, wield the most clout in the eight-county region. Read about it HERE.
Fr. Sylvester Peterka, CM, Pens Vincentian Vocations Blog Post

When asked to share some thoughts with men considering a vocation, Vincentian Fr. Peterka writes about keeping Jesus in the center of everything in life. “We are not social workers or do-gooders. We are proclaimers of the Good News of Jesus Christ!”

Read more HERE and learn about Vincentian Vocations HERE.

Philadelphia Archbishop Visits The Miraculous Medal Shrine
Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez made a pastoral visit to the Shrine in Philadelphia on February 22. A friend of many Vincentians, the Archbishop celebrated Mass and the Novena with the faithful.

Read more about it HERE and watch local news coverage of his visit HERE.
Celebrate Women's History Month
New Video Celebrates Amazing Work of Daughter of Charity
of St. Vincent de Paul
Sister Constanza Roldán Azorín, DC, is a 77-year-old Spaniard with 10 years of experience as a missionary in Argentina. Walking the streets of Barrio 9 de Noviembre in Bahía Blanca, she managed to fund 84 micro-enterprises, build more than 30 houses, and a Community Center.

Watch the short video HERE.
SUPPORT the Work of the Vincentians
The Vincentian Priests and Brothers of the Eastern Province serve those on the margins in areas often forgotten by the world.

This includes pastoring the poorest of parishes, prison ministry, addiction recovery, immigrant and migrant services, and much more.
This month, we talk with Fr. Dennis Holtschneider, CM, who serves as President of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. We thought we’d ask Fr. Holtschneider a few questions.

Read Fr. Holtschneider's Give Me Five answers HERE.
Fr. Rooney's most popular Vincentian Minute video from the past month is titled,
A Vincentian Minute - A Vincentian Does Lent 3

To watch the short video, click the image above or click HERE.
That's Very Vincentian
St. Andrew Kim Radio Drama a Big Hit Among South Korean Catholics

A radio drama on St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the patron saint of South Korea, has become widely popular among Catholics in the country.

The drama based on the life, works, and thoughts of St. Andrew Kim, Korea’s first native-born Catholic priest from the Diocese of Daejeon, is a tribute marking the 200th anniversary of his birth.

The 30-espisode show is broadcast twice daily except Sunday.

Read more about it HERE.
Miraculous Medal Shrine Newsletter

The Miraculous Medal Shrine invites you to subscribe to its FREE email newsletter, INSPIRE. The weekly reflections and monthly updates highlight news and upcoming events, and offer reflections about the wonders of God, and the intercession of Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
Very Vincentian Poem
By Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Constantly Risking Absurdity (#15)

Constantly risking absurdity
                                             and death
            whenever he performs
                                       above the heads
                                                            of his audience
 the poet like an acrobat
                                 climbs on rime
                                          to a high wire of his own making
and balancing on eyebeams
                                    above a sea of faces
            paces his way
                              to the other side of day
   performing entrechats
                              and sleight-of-foot tricks
and other high theatrics
                              and all without mistaking
                     any thing
                              for what it may not be

      For he's the super realist
                                    who must perforce perceive
                  taut truth
                                 before the taking of each stance or step
in his supposed advance
                                 toward that still higher perch
where Beauty stands and waits
                                    with gravity
                                                to start her death-defying leap

      And he
            a little charleychaplin man
                                          who may or may not catch
               her fair eternal form
                                    spreadeagled in the empty air
                  of existence

Poet and translator Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021) is the author of more than 30 books of poetry and the founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers in San Francisco, California. He passed away this year on February 22 at the age of 101. 

Comic by Fr. Al Pehrsson, CM
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