St. Vincent De Paul Society Lincoln, NE

08/11/2024

Have you ever considered joining us? The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

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04/08/2023

Easter Sunday

Gospel: (John 20:1-9)
Even on this most glorious of days, the gospel incorporates contradictions: Mary of Magdala arrives at an empty tomb, and sees that Jesus is gone and “we don’t know where they have put him” while the disciple whom Jesus loved enters the tomb and “saw and believed”; they “did not yet understand the Scripture.” Our own Alleluias and Easter joy are perhaps filled with some of the same contradictions. It seems as though we, too, peer into the empty tombs of the ups and downs of our everyday lives and are challenged to see and believe. But we are the disciples whom Jesus loves; and we surrender ourselves to the Easter mystery when we return love. All we need to do is hand ourselves over into God’s hands. Filled with God’s love, we are then able to love in return. Alleluia! The tomb is empty; by our love we see and believe, and we are filled with new life. Alleluia! (Living Liturgy, p.112)

Gospel: (John 20:1-9)
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter ; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there…and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

04/01/2023

“The earth has grown cold. It is for us Catholics to revive the vital beat to restore it, it is for us to begin over again the great work of regeneration, if necessary to bring back the era of the martyrs. For to be a martyr is possible for every Christian, to be a martyr is to give his life for God and his brothers, to give his life in sacrifice, whether the sacrifice be consumed in an instant like a holocaust, or be accomplished slowly and smoke night and day like perfume on the altar. To be a martyr is to give back to heaven all that one has received: his money, his blood, his whole soul..” – Bl. Frederic Ozanam (Letter 90, to Curnier, 1835)

Gospel: (Matthew 21: 1-11 and 26: 14-27)
When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a c**t with her Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,’ The Master has need of them.’” …The crowds preceding him kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” After they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots. The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”

Image Credit: "Christ's entry to Jerusalem" by Lippo Memmi (14th century)

03/25/2023

Jesus promises Martha (and us) that whoever “lives and believes in me will never die.” The amazing fact of our living the dying and rising of the paschal mystery is that we already share in this eternal life. We readily see the dying in our everyday lives-the pain, suffering, death, sinfulness, self-emptying, discipline, giving up our wills. This gospel challenges us to see and believe equally signs of the grace of new life-glory, joy, peace, forgiveness, mercy, trust, kindness. Living the paschal mystery draws us to see these dyings and risings as two aspects of the same mystery. The already of eternal life is God’s grace already working in our lives. (Living Liturgy, p. 80)

Gospel: (John 11:1-45)
So Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he has said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, Untie him and let him go.” Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Image Credit: "The Raising of Lazarus" by Jean Jouvenet (1706)

03/18/2023

Before a Vincentian can be a sign of God’s love, a sign of God’s generosity, a sign of God’s service, he or she must have personal experience of God’s love, God’s generosity, God’s service. The most unfortunate people in society are those who have not had the experience of being loved. Before loving others, we must come to the realization that we are at every moment of our lives being loved by God. If we do not reflect often in prayer on the fact that the love of God is flowing down upon us at each moment of the day, it will be difficult for us to show love to others, to show love to the poor. May you have a love for the poor and be generous to the poor and be of service to the poor but, more importantly, may you have each day a fresh experience of God’s love, of God’s generosity and of God’s service. (McCullen, Deep Down Things, p.670)

Gospel: (John 9:1-41)
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made a clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam”—which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

03/11/2023

“A sure way for a Christian to grow rapidly in holiness is a conscientious effort to carry out God’s will in all circumstances.Each one should show a great eagerness in that sort of openness to God’s will which Christ and the saints developed so carefully.”
-St. Vincent de Paul-

Gospel: (John 4:5-42)
Jesus came to a town of Samaria. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know. My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.”

Image Credit: "Christ and the Samaritan Woman" by Henryk Siemiradzki (1890)

03/04/2023

“So very often, many outpourings of affection for God, of resting in his presence, of good feelings toward everyone and sentiments and prayers like these, although very good and very desirable, are nonetheless suspect if they do not express themselves in practical love which has real effects…Let us love God, my brothers, let us love God. But let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brow.”-St. Vincent de Paul- (McKenna, Praying with Vincent, p.64)

Gospel: (Matthew 17:1-9)
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; LISTEN TO HIM.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.”

02/25/2023

First Sunday of Lent

We are never immune to temptation; it is real. But temptation always brings choice, decision, and greater self-knowledge. In the case of the Son of God, his choice was also between God and Satan, his decision was to be faithful to God’s Law and revelation, and his greater self-knowledge led him out of the desert to begin his public ministry. In our daily living we must place our temptations and the choices within the context of the commandment to love God and neighbor. This is Lent’s challenge and invitation. (Living Liturgy, p. 64).

Gospel: (Matthew 4:1-11)
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” The devil took him to the city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. …Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”

Image Credit: "The Temptation of Christ" by Ary Scheffer (1854)

02/25/2023

02/18/2023

Bishop Untener's observations about the poor could give us all much to reflect upon. In his question, “How shall what we are doing here affect or involve the poor?” I like the two verbs, affect and involve. Both are important. We can spend much time discussing problems about the poor without ever—or at least only after much time—affecting the lives of the poor. To involve the poor: that is an ideal which we must try to realize in the programs we elaborate to relieve need and redress injustice. We must try to involve the poor in the projects which we organize. We must try to help the poor in such a way that they will be able to help themselves and thus rise out of their poverty in such a way that is in harmony with their human dignity. The work we do for the poor is a work of faith. Activated by the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ and inspired by the example of St. Vincent, we try to bring the healing hand of Christ to those in need and the courageous voice of the prophet to those in power. This is the challenge that faces the Vincentian Family today. (McCullen, Deep Down Things, p.738)

Gospel: (Matthew 5: 38-48)
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard the commandment, ‘You shall love your country man but hate your enemy.’ My command to you is: love your enemies, pray for your persecutors. This will prove that you are sons and daughters of your heavenly Father, for his sun rises on the bad and the good, he rains on the just and the unjust. If you love those who love you, what merit is there in that? Do not tax collectors do as much? And if you greet your brothers only, what is so praiseworthy about that? Do not pagans do as much? In a word, you must be perfected, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Image Credit: "All Together Now", Sculpted by Andy Edwards (2014), installed in Messines, Belgium in 2015.

02/11/2023

Holiness demands that we live who we are…our identity and mission cannot be separated. “Doing” who we are—choosing to let our identity express itself in mission—is lived out in feeding the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and clothing the naked. The Bible in all its parts calls us relentlessly for action on behalf of others. This is a staggering demand, bigger than any individual, and so it is truly a corporate mission undertaken by the community of disciples working together. (Living Liturgy, p.5p)

Gospel: (Matthew 5: 17-37)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets. I have come, not to abolish them, but to fulfill them. Of this much I assure you: until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter of the law, not the smallest part of a letter, shall be done away with until it all comes true. …Whoever fulfills and teaches these commands shall be great in the kingdom of God. I tell you, unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God.”

Image: "Brotvermehrung" by Anton von Perger (1838)

02/07/2023

Feast of Blessed Rosalie Rendu - February 7

Sister Rosalie Rendu (1786-1856) was a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who worked for the poor in the Mouffetard district of Paris, France. Her zeal for the poor drove her to establish the means to educate poor children; to care for infants; to support the elderly; to serve the poor in their homes; and to supervise young working girls. One of her disciples in her mission of service was Frederic Ozanam and the first members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. She gave to them her gift of insight in serving the poor when she told them, “Be kind and love, for love is your first gift to the poor. They will appreciate your kindness and your love more then all else you can bring to them. If you wish to be loved, you must love, and if you have nothing to give, give yourself.”

Gospel: (John 15: 9-17)
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on in my love. You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and live in his love. All this I tell you that my joy may be yours and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.