In celebration of the Feast of St. Vincent DePaul, and the 200th anniversary of the Vincentian Mission in America, the congregation of St. Vincent DePaul took the following pledge.
At this celebration of the Feast of St. Vincent DePaul, in this 200th year of Vincentian presence in the United States, we commit ourselves as a parish to living the virtues of St. Vincent more deeply, both in our communal life and in our everyday lives. These virtues are Simplicity, Humility, Meekness, Mortification, and Zeal.
And so I invite you to ponder which of the five virtues speaks to you most deeply. Which is closest to your heart? Which is most challenging? Which one, if embraced fully, would most transform your life? Which one can you commit to in the year to come?
Simplicity. Humility. Meekness. Mortification. Zeal.
We will now proclaim five commitment statements, one for each of our Vincentian virtues.
- In the year to come, I pledge my heart to the virtue of SIMPLICITY. I will speak plainly, converse honestly, and conduct my affairs with straightforward goodness. I will strive to free my heart of attachments to the possessions, pursuits, and concerns that distract me from serving my God.
- In the year to come, I pledge my heart to the virtue of HUMILITY. I will remember my own dependence on God, and consider others’ virtues ahead of their flaws. I will strive to cast aside pride, and to approach each day as a lowly servant of our good and loving God.
- In the year to come, I pledge my heart to the virtue of MEEKNESS. I will be warm, approachable, respectful, and open to those I encounter. I will strive against any natural irritability, praying instead for a kindly spirit with which to serve God’s people.
- In the year to come, I pledge my heart to the virtue of MORTIFICATION. I will be clear-eyed about my faults, resolving to die to sin daily. I will strive to be a faithful servant to people who are experiencing any form of poverty, placing their needs above my passing pleasures.
- In the year to come, I pledge my heart to the virtue of ZEAL. I will live the life of faith joyfully, my heart burning within me as I respond to God’s call. I will strive to live a balanced life, so that my service of God’s people may long endure.
As a faith community modeled on the example of St. Vincent DePaul and the cloud of witnesses formed by Vincentian spirituality in the United States over the past 200 years, we pledge ourselves now and in the year to come to the virtues that St. Vincent held most dear. May our embrace of these virtues continue our conversion—as individuals and as a parish—into all that God longs for us to be in this world. Let the church say AMEN!
And may Almighty God bless us, Father, Son & Holy Spirit. AMEN.
