“The  secret  for  eternal  youth  is   in   having   an   ideal   to  achieve.”   El   secreto   de   la  eterna   juventud   es   tener   un  ideal  para  dedicarse"    

Hélder   Cámara,   deceased   Brasilian   bishop,  who   was   committed   to   the   poor   and  affiliated  with  our  Vincenian  Family.    

Today’s   catholic   church   invites  us   to   renovate   our   faith   and   to  proclaim  it  with  enthusiasm.    

Like   the   Samaritan   woman,   today’s   people  can   feel   the  necessity   to   come  near   the  well  to   hear   Jesus,   who   invites   all   to   believe   in  Him   and   to   receive   the   living   water   that  overflows  from  His  being.  (cf.  Jn  4,  14).”    

“You  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,  but  if  it  loses  its  taste,  with  what  can  it  be  seasoned?  You  are  the  light  of  the  world.  (cf.  Mt  5,  13-­‐16).  

“That   is  why   it’s  also  necessary  today   for  us  as  church  to  be  committed  in  favor  of  a  new  evangelization,   to   rediscover   the   joy   of  believing     and   renew   our   enthusiasm   in  communicating   our   faith”.   (Motu   Proprio  Porta  Fidei,  3,7).  

Jesus   was   sent   from   the   Father   and  under   the   Holy   Spirit’s   action,   he  proclaimed   the   Kingdom   of   God,  through  words   and   actions.   Jesus   called  men  and  women  and  communicated  the  new  way  of  life,  of  fraternity  and  love.    

“Go  out  to  all  the  world  and  proclaim  the  Good  News  to  all  creation.”  (Mk  16,15).    

In  our  faith  in  Christ,  when  our  sense  of  belonging   and   cohesion   grows,   our  desire   to   communicate   the  Gift   of   this  encounter  also  grows.    

Communion   and   mission   are   deeply  united…  Communion  is  missionary  and  mission  desires  communion.  

The  missionary  disciple,   guided  by   the  Holy  Spirit,  wants  to  make  manifest  the  merciful  love  of  the  Father,  everywhere  and   in   everyone,   especially   in   those  who  suffer  the    most.  

We’re   living   in   a   historical   moment  where   a   true   change   is   happening,  where   there ’ s   a   wor ld   that ’ s  crumbling,   and   a   new   world   that   is  emerging.   It’s   a   time   of   crisis   in   a  positive   and   negative   way,   full   of  enchantment   and   disenchantment,  with   new   values,   problems   and  possibilities,   that   calls   upon   the  disciples  and  missionaries  of  Christ.      

Saint   Vincent   lived   and   acted   in   the  17th   century,   in   a   society   that   was  marked   with   great   social   inequality,  with   a   lot   of   poverty   and   injustice.  Throughout  all  of  his  life  Saint  Vincent  let  reality  and  events  speak  to  him.  He  knew  and  heard   the  cry  of   the  poor  of  his  time.      

“If  we   asked  our  Lord  why  He   came   to   earth,  He  would  say:  To  help  the  poor!  …  Nothing  was  more  important  for  Him  than  to  work  for  the  poor”.    

The   encounter  with  Christ   in   the  poor  showed   Vincent   that   the   poor   are   our  “Lords   and   Masters”.   In   them   Jesus  reveals  the  true  face  of  the  Father,  “the  good  God”  of  love,  mercy,  the  protector  and  defender  of  the  poor.    

The   Vincentian   mission   expresses   and  manifests   a   clear   presence   for   the  apostolate   among   the   poor,   paying  special   attention   to   social   reality,  especially   the   causes   for   unequal  distribution  of  the  world’s  wealth.    

In  Christ  evangelizer  of  the  poor,  Saint  Vincent  found  the  “true  model  and  the  great   invisible   outline   by   which   we  must   measure   all   of   our   actions.”  “Christ   is   the   rule   of   the  mission”   and  must  be  “the  life  of  our  life  and  the  only  aspiration  that  our  hearts  desire”.  

Saint   Vincent   developed   the   mission   as   an   act   of  love,   which   is   lived   by   the   generous   and   integral  service   to   the   poor.   It’s   a   “material   and   spiritual  service”,  “affective  and  effective”,  through  words  and  actions   and   it   must   lead   to   true   love.   “Charity   is  greater  than  all  rules  and  all  things  must  relate  to  it”.    

The  missionary  service  to  the  poor  is  made  in  a  spirit  of  communion  and  participation.  The  work  carried  out  by  Saint  Vincent  was  a  broad  experience  in  solidarity,  it  was  creative  and  diversified,  and  it  counted  on  the  collaboration  of  many  people.    

It   was   a   communal   and   participative   work,   in   a   true  sense   networking,   as   we   call   it   today.   In   communion  and  collaboration  with  bishops  and  clergy,  he  united  the  rich  and  poor,  clerics  and  laity,  men  and  women.  

Saint  Vincent’s  missionary  experience  is  truly   a   light   for   us   all,   a   guideline   for  our  actions  today.   It   is  a  genuine  path,  that   requires   commitment,   generosity  and   helps   us   to   live   our   condition   of  disciples  and  missionaries  of  Christ.  

Let  us  go  to  the  poor!  With  increased  faith,  let’s  be  true  missionaries,  let’s  get  to  work!    

Seek  to  love  the  God  of  the  poor,    Proclaim  Jesus  Christ  with  zeal.    Tell  them  the  kingdom  of  God  ha  come  And  the  heaven  is  their  destiny.  (bis)  Buscar  que  el  Dios  del  pobre  sea  amado  /  con  celo  anunciarle  a  Jesucristo.  Decirle  que  su  Reino  ha  llegado  /  y  el  Cielo  es  el  lugar  de  su  destino.  (bis)  

   La  misión  de  Jesucristo  /  es  la  misma  que  Él  nos  dio.  Hoy  nosotros  continuamos  /  su  misterio  salvador.      Loores  elevemos  hasta  al  cielo  /  a  Dios  que  nos  llamó  a  tal  misión  Nosotros  somos  hoy  los  instrumentos    /  que  anuncian  los  designios  del  Señor.  Bis)      Oh,  que  felicidad,  hermanos  míos,  /  mayor  felicidad  nadie  tendrá  Ni  mismo  Santo  Padre  sentirá  /  la  paz  y  la  alegría  que  nos  da.  (bis)  Traducción  libre  de  una  canción  vicentina  muy  conocida  en  Brasil  y  que  puede  ser  utilizada  durante  la  catequesis.  

Seek  to  love  the  God  of  the  poor,    Proclaim  Jesus  Christ  with  zeal.    Tell  them  the  kingdom  of  God  has  come  And  heaven  is  their  destiny.  

   Jesus  Christ’s    mission  Is  the  same  that  he  gave  us.  Today  we  continue  His  salvific  mystery.        Let’s  raise  our  songs  to  the  heavens  To  God  who  called  us  to  this  mission  We  are  the  instruments  That  proclaim  God’s  desire.        What  happiness,  my  brethren,  Nor  greater  joy  can  people  have  The  father  will  feel  The  peace  and  joy    that  he  gives  us.    (Translation  of  a  Vincentian  song  that  can  be  used  during  the  catechesis.)