Many generations of mothers have cajoled their children with “Try it. You’ll like it!” (It seems they all went to the same “Mommy” school.)
A famous layman, of the last century, Chesterton, used it in a different sense. ”The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”
I wonder if maybe we should use the “try it, you’ll like it” approach to synodality.
On this feast of Vincent De Paul, we can be thankful Vincent never stopped dreaming… and working1
St. VIncent imagined a world very different from the world he lived in.
He imagined a world that could be … and asked what can I do.
Who, or what, has transformed your life?
Let’s explore what and who transformed St. Vincent de Paul.
April 15 of 1891,1931, and 1961 is the publication date of each of major papal documents that mark the core social teaching of the Catholic Church.
The metaphor of “The Shoes of the Fisherman” reminds us that Pope Francis continues to walk in the shoes of Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI, and John XXIII.
Jesus said “Let not your hearts be troubled!” My heart is troubled by the polarization of “either/or” thinking. So I ask was Jesus and “either/or” thinker? Or was he a “both/and thinker?
A traveler spotted three men laying bricks. He asked the first man what he was doing. “I’m laying bricks.” The second man said he was “putting up a wall.” The third man was “building a cathedral.” Let’s explore.
I have no recollection of the initial life choice my parents made in my name. But they set me on a path I still walk 85 years later. It led me to unexpected of a life choice to be a Vincentian.
What is the largest and longest conversation in the world?
In 2019, Pope Francis set in motion a three-year conversation among 1.3 billion Catholics.
Up until now, I never thought about “how” Jesus shared his news with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
I never paid attention to the “how” he shared the good news in each of the appearances after his resurrection.
“Pay It Forward.” The lead line in the movie was, “When someone does you a good deed, don’t pay it back; pay it forward.”
Isn’t that what Jesus meant when he said “Do this in memory of me!”
Today I ask are there any roads you didn’t take… or maybe not follow far enough?
Do we sometimes keep Jesus in the tombs of our hearts?
In this Vincentian Mindwalk let’s explore the “real world” of Good Friday, Holy Saturday … and Easter Sunday.
How does Jesus’ resurrection open up the doors to a real world that goes beyond our limited versions of “the real world.”
Let’s ask that question about God’s love for us. It tells a lot about the vow God has made with us.
More importantly, It raises questions about how we view God and treat the “others” in our lives.