Day 2 – Meeting of International Provincials

by | Jul 2, 2013 | Eastern Province

Opening address by the Superior General Fr. Gregory Gay GregGay1-208x300-150x150

In his opening address to the Provincials gathered in in NY Fr. Greg Gay, said, “Lord it is good for us to be here.”… and let’s get to work!

He continued ” We are not here to build booths of self-congratulations, but to pitch tens of mutual sharing and fellowship. Like the disciples we may feel overwhelmed at the challenges before us in our provinces. But like the disciples, we know the Lord Jesus always accompanies us and that the charism of St. Vincent will inspire and guide us as his spiritual sons.”

“Our daily schedule, while full, allows time for prayer, Eucharist, learning, dialog and reflection.”

He proposed that the time together be governed by what he called the “three R’s: Reflect, react,and re-integrate.

  • “Take time to reflect on what you red and hear, carefully listening and proessing not only words but ideas.
  • React to what you hear and thin; speak your mind formally and informally and informally, whether it be in your small groups or our plenary sessions.
  • And finally, re-integrate: discover how, what you see and learn here, can benefit your confreres and assist you in your workd as their Visitor.”

“Lord is is good for us to be here.” Now let’s get to work!

Presentation about the history and works of the Eastern Province – Fr. Michael Carroll

Economic Solidarity and the Congregation – Fr. Gregory Day, Fr. Robert Maloney, Fr. Joe Geders

One of the characteristics of St. Vincent was his concern for the economic stability of the works of the mission. In this spirit the first part of Fr. Joe Geders presentation focused on an explanation of the concerns and works of the Econome General.

The remainder of the morning presented basic facts on the Congregation’s fiscal realities and a joint presentation on the economic challenges for the Congregation by Father Gay and Fr. Robert Maloney.

They first provided some background before proceeding to explain initiatives toward economic solidarity. They concluded with suggestions for the future.

  • Consciousness -raising
  • Building up Patrimony funds
  • Clarifying the conditions for the use of Patrimony Funds
  • The use of Micro-Credit as illustrated in efforts to assist Haiti
  • Mega Projects
  • Efforts to help Provinces to become self-sustaining
  • Wise money management for the mission
  • Promoting a full-functioning Development Office
  • International Investment Committee
  • Preserving and Sharing the Patrimony

This was followed by table discussion.

Heritage quotes

“Our situations is not like that of the Mendicants. All they have to do is pitch their tend and they are established. But we, who do not take anything from the poor, need revenue…” St. Vincent de Paul

“Vincent insisted on stable financial foundations for any new apostolate and when he occasionally disccover that bishops were not honoring their commitments, he withdrew his confreres.” John Rybolt, “St. Vincent and the Patrimony.

Vincentian Charism in our Provinces.

The afternoon session focused on small and large group discussion on manifestations of the Vincentian Charism in our Provinces.