Manuel Ginete CM
Delegate for the Vincentian Family
You have heard the Heads and Representatives of some of the principal branches of the Vincentian Family. What I believe I am asked to do at this time is not so much to say Amen to what they have said, but perhaps to present some of the same points but from my vantage point as the Delegate of the Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission specifically for the Vincentian Family. As many of you may know, the Delegate in the past several years has served as coordinator of meetings, projects, and other activities of the international Vincentian Family. I shall attempt to answer the two questions addressed to the panellists of this round table.
WHAT DOES THE VINCENTIAN FAMILY EXPECT FROM JMV?
1. Take advantage of your YOUTH, and all the good things that come with being young: idealism and vision; openness to what is new, challenging, and exciting; and creativity and persistence.
I am reminded by what the prophet Joel says: “The old men will dream dreams and young men will see vision”. (3:1). You, as young people, have this advantage of idealism and vision, of being open to the new, the exciting and the challenging. Some of us who are more advanced in years may need to be reminded of the important place of idealism in life and in our world. Do us that service, insist on the ideal, even if you run against the wall of dogmatic experience. Preserve the vision that you are blessed with. Continue to be open to what the present world offers as new and exciting, be creative in your approach to the challenges of today´s realities, and persist on what you deeply believe is right, even if at times this is interpreted as stubbornness. Very often it is ultimately idealism and vision, openness, creativity, and persistence that spell the difference between remaining stationary and moving forward, or between being overwhelmed by the problems of today and being a factor in eventually effecting change in attitudes and structures.
2. Seek God in the depths of your experience.
There is no doubt that many young people today seek meaning in their lives. You, I trust, have found it in God. Share this experience and the importance of God in your lives with many other young people who are also looking for meaning, for value, for direction. It is a precious gift you have received. Continue to thank God for it, deepen it, share it, be witnesses to it.
3. Nurture your love for Mary as Mother, Inspiration, Guide:
As younger members of our extensive Vincentian Family, you have the privilege of growing in Marian spirituality. Nurture this love for Mary as our Mother, but also be ready to see her as inspiration and model of effective love of her Son, Jesus Christ, and the Church. Deepen your experience by reflecting on Mary’s “Magnificat”, as we did last night, and learn to move into the kind of spirituality that combines contemplation and action, justice and forgiveness.
4. Know your place in the Church and take it seriously.
As young people and most especially as lay members of the Church, you have a most crucial role in the shaping of the Church of the future, especially now that more and more the laity’s contribution is more appreciated and emphasized. The structure of the Church as we see it today is already being greatly affected by this development. Continue to take seriously your role and responsibilities in it by claiming your right to have a say on matters that touch our lives as Christians by reason of our baptism. Though as Vincentian you have a distinct mission in the Church, remember that this mission is a sharing in Jesus’ own mission, embraced by the Church of today, to make our world experience the reign of God.
5. Deepen your commitment to the Vincentian charism
From our spiritual Father, Vincent de Paul, we have received the special mission of loving and serving the poor. You are already doing this in your own way. But the Vincentian charism we share in the Family rests on the wonderful evangelical insight that resounded and continues to resound in the depth of our Vincentian spirituality: that in the poor we can and do experience the loving, compassionate, and provident God. From our perspective, the poor are not only beneficiaries of our charities; they are instruments of our own evangelization. This I wish simply to remind you so that if perchance you feel God as distant, remember that St. Vincent pointed us to the poor as the place where we can find God. If indeed, 73% of the world´s population today are poor, how blessed we are to know that he is that much present with us. What remains for us to do, of course, is to discover him in the poor.
At the same time, be convinced that our Vincentian charism is one that places a premium on collaboration. Collaboration with the different branches in our family, but also collaboration with others within the Church and the society at large who likewise care for the poor and the disadvantaged.
WHAT MAY THE JMV EXPECT FROM THE VINCENTIAN FAMILY?
1. Experience
Some call it old age wisdom. But as a great teacher, experience does have some things to offer: enough reason not to repeat the mistakes of the past, the ability to forgive one’s faults, but most especially the realization that another tomorrow is God’s continuing gift to us his children. And even as we the older members of our Vincentian Family do not seem to learn from it, do not take it against us. At the very least, we hope that our mistakes will pave your way to righteousness. In the Vincentian Family, you can expect to find a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, perhaps even a grandparent, who respects your idealism, and is willing to take chances with it.
And when youth has become a thing of the past for you too, know that we have still a place for you in the Vincentian Family, either as member of the AIC, SVP, MISEVI, AMM, or, of course, as a Daughter of Charity or a Priest or Brother of the Congregation of the Mission.
2. Support in your efforts to live a Marian spirituality
The JMV was born in the cradle of this historic place. But devotion to Mary has always been a hallmark of the Vincentian family. Generations before us have instilled this deep love for Mary, and we can be sure generations after us will continue this great loyalty to her as God’s privileged bearer of the Good News. The Family is here to help you grow in it, and be strengthened by it.
3. Sense of the Church and its mission
Our Vincentian Family offers you an example of what it means to belong to the universal Church. You are not alone in responding to Christ’s call to be light of the world and salt of the earth. There are millions of us in the Church and in our Family. If we put our minds, hearts and hands together, we can truly move mountains of unbelief, help liberate others from their fears, and fight the poverty and violence that have characterized our world today. In the Vincentian Family, you can expect others to share with you the responsibility of advocacy and prophetic witness, as well as the assistance in times of financial constraints.
At the same time there are in the Church those of us who are less than authentic witnesses. It is my hope that you will find in the Vincentian Family brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, who will be willing to accept your assistance in transforming ourselves into real and passionate witnesses of Christ today.
4. Internationality within the Vincentian Family
At a time when entry to some countries is restricted for reasons other than national security, your belonging to the Vincentian Family may well be the passport that you would need to join the family of nations in their efforts to eradicate poverty. Our internationality as a Family enables us to have greater impact, ensuring thereby that the voice of the poor is heard by more nations, paid attention to by more leaders, and that our projects, when undertaken in common with the other branches of our Family, will be able to help more people and do so more consistently.
These are what the Vincentian Family expects from you, members of the JMV, and what you in turn may expect from the Vincentian Family. In conclusion and on behalf of those who work with us in the Vincentian Family office in Rome, I wish to thank JMV for the witnessing, cooperation, and collaboration that you have lent to our worldwide Vincentian Family and our projects.