Serving in Hope is a video-assisted resource for the spiritual formation of the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The goal of the series is to root all members of the Society in the spirituality and heritage of its founder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.
Serving in Hope combines videos with formation guides. The formation guides provide you with materials to enrich your understanding, invite you to discuss insights and to record your responses, and gives you enrichment readings to read between sessions.
Serving in Hope consists of a 5 minute Introductory Video for the program, and a 3 minute Video Introduction for each of the six Sessions in the Module together with the Formation Guide Booklet.
Serving in Hope is an on-going formation program for all members of the Society. It is also a program that can be used to mentor future new members into the spirituality and heritage of the Society. Serving in Hope can be used a session at a time during a Conference meeting, or combined together for a Retreat Day. Five modules are available to you at this time and are described briefly below.
Module I: Our Vincentian Vocation
The word "vocation" comes from the Latin vocare; which means "to call." Vocation is a 'call' - a personal summons from God to a human being, inviting the person to embark upon a specially chosen work relative to God's plan of salvation. As members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, we have been 'called' by God to a ministry of service to those who are poor, to bear witness to Jesus' compassionate love.
(From Serving in Hope: Module I, Our Vincentian Vocation, Section 1.1 Introduction.)
Module II: Our Vincentian Spirituality
Spirituality is a governing vision and a driving force, enabling a person to transcend himself or herself. It is, on the one hand, the specific way in which a person is rooted in God. It is, on the other hand, the specific way in which he or she relates to the created world. It is insight as the source of action.
For Vincent de Paul, there is only one driving force: the person of Jesus Christ. He tells us, "Jesus Christ is the Rule of the Mission, the center of our life and activity ... and we will find true freedom only when Christ takes hold of us."
(From Serving in Hope: Module II, Our Vincentian Spirituality, Section 2.2 Introduction.)
Module III: Our Vincentian Heritage
The heritage that Frederic Ozanam has bequeathed to us through his thought, his witness, and his work is so rich that it is almost impossible to grasp. Frederic led a fully human life, and his life was transformed by a holiness which he acquired progressively through the days of ordinary living that was rooted in prayer and meditation on scripture. Frederic was a husband and father; a champion of truth and justice; a lover of the poor and the founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
(From Serving in Hope: Module III, Our Vincentian Heritage, Session 3.1 Page 7 Introduction.)
Module IV: Our Vincentian Mission
The mission of Saint Vincent and Blessed Frederic was indeed rooted in the virtues of charity and justice. Vincent said: "There is no charity that is not accomplished by justice." And Frederic tells us: "The order of society is based on two virtues: charity and justice. However, justice presupposes a lot of charity already, for one needs to love a person a great deal in order to respect his rights that infringe on our rights, and his freedom that infringes on our freedom."
(From Serving in Hope: Module IV, Our Vincentian Mission, Session 4.1 Page 7 Introduction.)
Module V: Our Vincentian Rule
Today, faithful to the spirit of our founders, we are the Vincentians who have the responsibility and the privilege to "stir into flame the gift of God" given to us in the renewed Rule of the Society (approved in 2003).
And now our "Rule" has been renewed and revitalized out of our lives and experiences---out of the lives and experiences of over 650,000 Vincentians in 135 countries on the 5 Continents of the world. In the Providence of God, we have been given this renewed Rule, and it captures the heart and soul of being a Vincentian today.
(From Serving in Hope: Module V, Our Vincentian Rule, Session 5.1 Page 7 and 8 Introduction.)