How seriously are we “Welcoming the Stranger?

To be more specific… How seriously are the men and women in the various ministries of the Eastern Province taking the call of Pope Francis as well as the leaders for the Vincentian Family to welcome the stranger?

We have come to know that Pope Francis is a man of action… as was Vincent de Paul. It is not surprising then that in recent messages he has stressed action verbs.

In his talk to 11,000 members of the Vincentian Family gathered in St. Peter’s Square he focused on three verbs – to adore, welcome and go.

 In his message for 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees January 14, 2018 he stressed four verbs – “welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating migrants and refugees” (Yes, this is the 104th time the Popes have drawn our attention to migrants and refugees.)

This concern is hardly new… It is the same call that was demanded of the Chosen People:

• Deuteronomy 10: 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
• Leviticus 19:34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

In the spirit of these appeals, it seems good to look at how the men and women in various ministries of the Eastern Province have already anticipated the Pope’s calls to action.

In coming weeks and months, we will present how people in the various ministries of the Province have already anticipated these calls.

In the next post in this series, we will look at each of these verbs as used by Pope Francis. Then we will travel the province to see how these verbs animate our ministries.