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Spiritual Reflection - April 2024

What is written below is designed to be read with the other essays as promised for 2024.MY IMAGE OF GODI love because I loveI love that I might loveLove gives pleasure of itself.  (St Bernard)The letters of St John in scripture emphasize again and again that God is love.  So that a love for prayer can be developed within us, we need to make sure that we are searching for the God who is found in love.This God loves me. Full stop, no ifs, no buts, no conditions. The tragic thing is we do...

Spiritual Reflection - March 2024

(This article continues the theme of developing our spirituality, as referred to in my February article.) Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.  When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a small piec...

Spiritual Reflection - February 2024

And his teaching made a deep impression on them because,unlike the scribes,he taught them with authority  (Mk 1:22).The recently deceased National President of the St Vincent de Paul Society, Terry Jordan, wanted to emphasize the spiritual side of the Society. Clearly he knew that we cannot be true Disciples of Christ without this emphasis. After all, we serve the poor in the hope that all will come to know the treasure hidden in Christ. Because of Terry’s emphasis I intend to devote...

Spiritual Reflection - January 2024

January 2023WHERE IS THE POVERTY?A religious sister whom I worked with in my early years of priesthood, eventually spent some years in the 1980’s working in Ethiopia. I often thought of her, as Ethiopia at the time was experiencing a huge famine. More than a million died as a result. To my joy, this servant of God was at Sunday Mass in my parish soon after her return home. I instinctively knew that an interesting conversation would take place if I made the time. There must be a huge diffe...

Spiritual Reflection - December 2023

It is somewhat irritating as Christmas draws near, writing something relating to the Christian message, when there is a war going on between the peoples of Palestine and Israel. Fighting for peace is of course a totally misleading slogan. Young Israeli’s conscripted into the armed forces are taught they must do this (go out and kill) and then return to normal life. They label the people they fight as “terrorists”. Even if they do win, and they most likely will, they will still lose be...

Spiritual Reflection - November 2023

It is true that we are called to create a better world.But we are first of all called to a more immediate task:that of creating our own lives.– Thomas MertonThomas Merton had been a Trappist monk for several years before he became known for his protests against the building of nuclear weapons. His book ‘Seven Story Mountain’ was written soon after World War 2. It attracted a widespread interest in deeper forms of prayer and the monastic life. What he says in the above statement is importan...

50th Anniversary - The National Council of Tonga

Read the newsletter for full coverage of the 50th Anniversary celebrations recently held in Tonga....

Spiritual Reflection - October 2023

The encyclical Pacem In Terris was presented to the world by Pope John 23rd in 1963 in response to the Cuban missile crisis a year earlier. We could say the document was a call to politicians everywhere to establish a global community. It was certainly well-received and intended as not something meant just for Catholics.  Early in the document, Pope John refers to human rights: the right to freedom of speech, belief and so on.  Under the heading of Human Rights...

President-elect presents credentials to Pope Francis

A bust of Ozanam was gifted to the PontiffBrother Juan Manuel Buergo Gómez was this week in Rome to present his credentials to Pope Francis in his capacity as President General-elect. The cordial meeting took place yesterday, September 6, in St. Peter’s Square, after the traditional Catechesis on “Wednesday’s Audience”.On the occasion, the President-elect said to the Pontiff: “Your Holiness, I am Juan Manuel Buergo, the new President General of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, fr...

Spiritual Reflection - September 2023

The picture above portrays an event  in the life of St Martin of Tours.  The story goes that Martin, while still preparing for baptism, came across a beggar, freezing from lack of clothing in the middle of winter. Martin then removed his cloak, cut it in half with his sword and presented one half to the man. Later that night, Martin had a vision of Christ saying: “Martin, a mere catechumen has clothed me”. The artist, Fr David Orange. He views this work as a visual r...

Spiritual Reflection - July 2023

Like the nectar of the flax flower...

Spiritual Reflection - August 2023

The corners of a house may be seen and examined,Not so the corners of the heart....

Spiritual Reflection - June 2023

Steadfast as the rock that scorns the lashing tides....

Latest Issue of ‘Ozanam Network’ Digital Magazine

The Issue nº 01/2023 of ‘Ozanam Network’ digital magazine, translated and edited by Council General International’s Communications Department, is now available. One of the highlighted news is “SSVP is celebrating 190 years of its foundation.”  This issue is also packed with other news and relevant information, including:2023 – Year dedicated to Jules Gossin, 2nd President GeneralInformation on candidates for the 17th President GeneralUkraine: a misión of peace and charity...

News from the Council General International

Dear brothers and sisters (ITVPs)Peace of ChristThe Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVP) and the Religious of St. Vincent de Paul (RSV), as well as the entire Vincentian Family and the Holy Church, celebrate with joy the beatification of Father Henri Planchat, who was a fellow member of a Vincentian Conference in Paris in the early years of our Society.For more details, please click the below link. https://www.ssvpglobal.org/henri-planchat-a-fellow-member-and-later-a-priest-will-be-beati...

Spiritual Reflection - May 2023

Aroha mai, aroha atuLove received demands love returned...

Spiritual Reflection - April 2023

Ko te maumahara kore ki ngā whakapapa o ōu mātua tīpuna, e rite ana ki te pūkaka awa kāore ōna hikuawa, ki te rākau rānei kāore ōna pakiaka.To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without its roots....

Spiritual Reflection - March 2023

TUWHITIA TE HOPO! Banish your fears!Feel the fear and do it anyway!A popular hymn these days ‘BE NOT AFRAID’ is inspired by texts in the 1st Testament of the bible and incorporates the invitation of Jesus ‘Come follow me’. It may surprise you but that phrase (or similar) appears 365 times in the bible. The two people at the beginning of the Jesus story, namely Mary and Joseph hear these words uttered by the angel.  Given the reason for their fear they certainly needed this reassuran...

Circular Letter to SVDP Members - 31 January 2023

The President General speaks of the importance of succession at the Council General and gives some advice to the VincentiansToday, January 31th, 2023, another Circular Letter written by brother Renato Lima de Oliveira, 16th President General International of the SSVP, as he has been doing since the beginning of his mandate. The Circular Letters are published in general, annually, and follow a tradition started by the 1st President General   Bailly de Surcy when he wrote the f...

Spiritual Reflection - February 2023

Ko tangata  takahi manuhiri, ko te marae puehu:Insult the visitor and you contaminate the marae.This magnificent whakatauakī (saying) reveals an understanding that something connects us with each other.  The wairua (spirit) of each us comes from the same Source. Because of this understanding, in the Māori world, manaakitanga (hospitality) is key to welcoming visitors onto a marae. Real hospitality is when you are made to feel you belong. Anything less in the Maori world is an insult ...

Spiritual Reflection - January 2023

I grew up in south Taranaki with the mountain staring at me as I stood at our backdoor. My memory has me seeing myself positioned right in the middle of this beauty pondering Phantom’s Peak, the mountain in miniature, displaying equal majesty, halfway from the top. A liberal smattering of snow seemed always to decorate what nature had provided for our eyes a long time ago. In my naivety as a child I didn’t think this mountain was anything special and thought all mountains were like that! One...

Spiritual Reflection - December 2022

A great meditation for me is to ponder the characters in the Nativity story: Joseph, Mary, the Three Wise Men and observe what comes to mind. When I do this, two words keeps surfacing: generous and listen. Joseph knows how to listen to the Spirit through his dreams. All of his instructions came to him in his dreams. His fiancé is pregnant but he learns not to divorce her. When the child is born he realizes he must remove Jesus from Bethlehem and go down to Egypt (the land that speaks of slaver...

Spiritual Reflection - November 2022

You have already been told what is rightAnd what God wants of you.Only this, to live justly,To love faithfully And to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) Christianity is a religion which invites others to discover what we have discovered. However, we are never believed unless our lives witness to what we proclaim. Preaching is one way of spreading the Good News, but we preach most powerfully by living the way of Christ - the way of compassion. We can never claim maturity as a Chr...

Spiritual Reflection - October 2022

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. (Luke 4: 18-19)“Me, a racist? Never, some of my best friends …” Okay then. How many ethnic groups do you have in your parish? How many white people are in your conference? How many representatives from the ethnic groups are in your conference? Befor...

Spiritual Reflection - September 2022

We are used to saying, ‘God is Love’ and in modern times we have emphasised the covenant relationship with God through Jesus as being initiated by God out of love. But the word love is not all that easy to understand. St Ignatius says, “it expresses itself in deeds rather than words”. If that is true then one of the deeds that always expresses love is hospitality.  Over the years I have noticed how the spirit thrives in a parish when there is a real effort to welcome all. Hospitalit...