Worldwide, yet locally focused : (March 2009)

The Society of St Vincent de Paul is known in almost every corner of the Christian world. But it is not as an international organisation that it is most effective. During the season of Lent we are rightly reminded that whatever good works we chose for the season they should enable us to help others. So Trócaire boxes are given out in schools and the post contains persistent and moving appeals from many international charities.

In his encyclical on love Pope Benedict praised the organisational capabilities of the international charities and their logistical expertise in moving vast amounts of aid quickly to where it is needed. That is wonderful. He warns however that aid must be delivered not simply efficiently but also with compassion and love for the recipients.

He insists moreover that Christian aid must be motivated by love of the poor person which is the tradition of the Gospels, St Vincent and Frederic Ozanam. The Vincentian tradition is to see and serve Christ in the person of the poor.

Fr Perry Gildea - Vincentian Fathers

Cliftonville Road, Belfast 15

This might be the special teaching charisma of the SVP. By its nature the essential strength of the SVP is not its international structure nor organisation but rather its local nature.

The local conference is the essential building block of the Society, caring as it does for the poor in our immediate midst. Poor exist very often unnoticed and unknown in our own communities. In various ways they come to the notice or attention of the local conference.

It is the very immediate nature of this local assistance of the poor which calls for the loving service demanded by Ozanam and Vincent. It is the face to face dealing with and understanding of the nature of the effects of poverty. It is helping to put food on the table of a local family, provide fuel or clothes for people we meet.

It is providing breakfast clubs and after school clubs for local children who would go hungry, or have no place at home to struggle with homework. It is the visits to the lonely and the housebound, and the visits by our younger members to nursing homes. It often doesn't get headlines.

Because of the confidential nature of the work of the SVP it cannot be accompanied by heart rending pictures of suffering victims. It is however immediate, face to face and welcome. It is particularly welcome because it is kindly and personal. Those who need the help of their local conference of the SVP must always have their human dignity enhanced through the kindness of the helpers. It all demands Christian charity that is true love in the hearts of the members.

Each conference of the society is structured to nurture divine love in the members. Meetings begin and end with prayers which touch on the essential qualities of the members.

Equally, there should be some spiritual input which is a source of reflection or nourishment at the beginning of the meeting. They are there to underline the quality of love and service which is the expected work of the Christian and the society.

Archived Reflections....click here

Early in his discovery of the service of the poor St Vincent realised that organisation was needed for love to be effective. An essential of all his organisations was teamwork. So too the local conference functions as a team. Whether it is jointly deciding how best to meet the local needs and using resources, or whether it is in visiting with others. The person being helped must know that they are not simply the object of an individual's personal concern, but rather they are the concern of the Christian community in whose name the SVP are acting.

Again, in Pope Benedict's letter, he goes to considerable length to emphasise that concern for the needs of our neighbour is one of the essential constituents of the true Christian community. For many around the world it is the local conference of the SVP that makes that essential constituent a reality. The very generosity with which local communities support the Church door collections are eloquent testimony to this understanding.

Fr Perry (March 2009)

Frederic Ozanam