FROM THE PROVINCIAL

More on Love in Action

Dear friends,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

St. Vincent de Paul was a practical man, a man of action. He was that way when
it came to loving God. He was that way when it came to loving the neighbor.
In fact, he combined these two loves and taught that the surest sign of our love for God is found in our actions of love for our neighbor, especially the poor. One of St. Vincent’s better known quotations says it best:

Let us love God but let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brows ... For there are several who, having achieved an external equilibrium and a mind filled with lovely thoughts about God, stop there; and when this comes to reality and they find themselves needing to do something, they fall short. They
flatter themselves with the nice conversations they have with God at prayer; they even speak about him like angels, but emerging from that if there is a question
of working for God, suffering, mortifying themselves, teaching the poor, going in search of the lost sheep, liking being without something, dealing with the sick or some other calamity, alas! there is no one there, they lack the courage.

We who look to St. Vincent for inspiration must be practical like him, people of action. Our love for God is tested in the crucible of our practical love for others, especially the poor.

Our commitment to action is evident in the parishes we serve in the Midwest Province. In the last issue, we looked at St. Vincent Parish in Perryville, Missouri, our oldest parish and one that has remained rural. In this issue, we turn
to another St. Vincent Parish, this one in urban south St. Louis. We hope these and future issues will give you a glimpse of one way we try to enflesh
our heritage of Vincentian practical love.

Last spring, many of you were able to join us for groundbreaking at our new Vincentian residence at St. Mary’s of the Barrens in Perryville. I am happy to report the building is almost complete. The weekend of July 21-23 will be given to dedicating and celebrating the new residence, including a blessing of the
residence and an open house for donors, friends, and special guests. Without your generosity, we could not have undertaken this project. Because of your gifts
and support, our active priests and brothers will be able to live in community and share life and prayer with our senior priests and brothers. Thank you!

I am also very happy to report that the Midwest Province has been fully accredited by Praesidium, Inc., an independent agency with which the religious orders of men and women in the United States contracted to assess whether we are protecting God’s children. Praesidium examined the Province’s practices regarding prevention, response, and supervision last winter. We have met successfully all their objective standards and so have been fully accredited. We are committed as a Province to continue maintaining these high standards as an expression of our commitment to protecting God’s children and offering professional ministry.

By the time you receive this, I will have returned from my annual visit to our mission in Kenya where, thanks be to God, we will have ordained two more East Africans as Vincentian priests. Father Alex Isonga, CM, and Father Ignatius Mukanzi, CM, are our newest priests in the Province. May God grant them many years of fruitful ministry.

And may God bless each of you and your families and loved ones. Thank you for all you do for the Church and the Province.

James Swift, C.M.