“Your Call” – In today’s presentation the 5th video of Father Tomaž Mavrič, Superior General, we recall that, in the letter addressed to the entire Vincentian Family for the opening of the celebration of 400 years of the birth of our charism. He invites us to be attentive to the cry of the poor, especially to strangers, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me….” (Matthew 25, 31-46).
In the same way, he encourages us to live this Jubilee year as a vocational year. “I am talking about new vocations to the consecrated life in the different Congregations within the Vincentian Family and for new members to its lay branches. It is clear that the initiative always comes from Jesus, but we need to cooperate and help the person Jesus is calling to the consecrated life or to become a member of some lay branch of the Vincentian Family, in the fullest way possible, for that call to become a reality.”.
In this way, he proposes the following initiative to us: “each one of us, collectively in groups or individually, will set for himself or herself, during this Jubilee Year, this concrete goal: to pray, be attentive, look for, encourage, and invite one new candidate to the consecrated life for one of the Congregations within the Vincentian Family or to join one of its lay branches as a member. Is this unrealistic? Is this a fantasy? With Jesus all is possible!
Father Luigi Mezzadri, as an introduction to the video, reminds us “At the beginning, four hundred years ago, there was much work but the community houses were small and poor. Charity was at work like a magnet. As the prophet Zechariah wrote: In those days ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues shall take hold, yes take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, “let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23). Charity urged many individuals to respond to God’s call. Charity is a love that, by the power of the Spirit, is enkindled in our heart. It is wonderful to see our Superior General mingling with our missionary confreres. After so any years of service and charitable ministry, is it right to call those confreres “elderly confreres” … would it not be better to refer to them as “contented Vincentian missionaries”? … indeed, their zeal has not been extinguished.
Let us watch this video and share it as a way to deepen and live our Jubilee celebration.
We have presented four videos already:
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