Our President General issued his annual Circular Letter in January 2019, his message to Vincentians in all 155 countries where our conferences exist. I did a quick read through, followed by a slower one. Then I read it in pieces and savoured each segment for its own message. This process took a while. It required that I print a hard copy to make highlighting and underlining possible. (How do young people manage with just online materials?) Only then did I wonder which section I should present in this monthly message.

Lent begins on March 6, 2019 – a time for prayer, fasting and abstinence, a time to repent and renew. That's it! A time to rediscover our Vincentian roots and renew our vocational call! A time to do as Brother Renato asks, to "... return to our origins...as taught by our seven founders and the Social Teachings of the Church"!

Unfortunately, many of us don't know much about the original members of our Society. I wonder how many conferences and councils would be enriched by studying about our founders?

Recently I came across a neat illustration of a tree with Scripture as its roots, Church Documents as the trunk, the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching as the branches and the Issues of Today as the leaves. We Vincentians are action rooted in Scripture and supported by the Documents of the Church and her Social Teaching. Perhaps looking at this as a topic for meeting reflection would inspire our conferences/councils.

Our President General warns of the danger of forgetting our roots and that which supports us. I certainly hope that the Society that I love doesn't move away from these things and toward becoming another NGO. There is nothing wrong with non-governmental organizations. They do good work but they are not the Society that I love, the Society that serves because we see Christ in His poor and because we are blessed by our service.

During Lent let's pray for and learn more about the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Let's re-dedicate ourselves and our conferences and councils. We can start with the 2019 Circular Letter.

Blessings to all,
Denise