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As Spiritual Advisors and as Formators, we are often called upon to lead prayers, either spontaneously, as part of a meeting or ceremony, or as a dedicated time of prayer with our Conferences and Councils.

For most of us, saying prayers is easy, but it is not always easy to find or to write those prayers, much less to find or write specifically Vincentian prayers.

Luckily, there are some terrific prayer resources available to help!

A wonderful practice for Conferences is to regularly pray the Rosary together. This Marian devotion is Vincentian by its very nature, since the Blessed Mother is the Patroness of the Society! From the National Council website, you can download and print a Vincentian Rosary, which includes meditations on the mysteries with a Vincentian focus. This is available in English and in Spanish.

During Lent, the Stations of the Cross can be an excellent time for shared meditation and prayer, and the Vincentian Stations of the Cross are also available to download and print in English and in Spanish.

For both the Stations and the Rosary, try to assign several people to lead the prayers and meditations when you do them.

For those times that you just need a quick prayer, try 500 Little Prayers for Vincentians, or 500 More Little Prayers for Vincentians (and in June you can also get Another 500 Little Prayers for Vincentians).  You can also download 500 and 500 More to read on your phone (they are a little long to print at home.) Sorry, these are English only.

And of course, the Opening and Closing Prayers for Society Meetings should really be used at each meeting. These prayers are available in Spanish or English, and they appear on the cards, in the Manual, and can either be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Manual (EN) Print Download
• Manual (ES) Print Download
• Meeting Prayers (EN) Print Download
• Meeting Prayers (EN) Print Download

You can find even more prayers on the web site to download, or to order in print.

Spiritual Advisors and Formators play a key role in what the Rule calls “Promoting a life of prayer and reflection, both at the individual and community level, sharing with their fellow members.” [Rule, Part I, 2.2] These simple tools will help you to do that!

By Rita St. Pierre, National Spirituality Committee Chair

In the Spring 2025 issue of The Well, Marge McGinley used a truly inspired image to help us understand Vincentian formation –the importance of football players understanding various formations in their playbook.

Indeed, as we strive to live our Vincentian vocation, with prayer to the Holy Spirit, we also must understand our “playbook,” be “formed.”  Ongoing learning in all areas of our Vincentian life is crucial to help us maintain our focus, guiding us to serve with compassion and zeal. Spiritual Advisors and Formators who commit to ongoing personal formation will be better able to provide whatever other Vincentians need for their life of service.

Primary to our vocation is to see the face of Christ in the poor, and to be Christ for them. Pope Francis wrote a beautiful reflection, Dilexit Nos (He loved us), that deepens our desire to see with the eyes of Christ. (Click the link below to read the Pope’s reflection).

Pope Francis notes: “We are invited to ponder and to rest in the “gaze” of Jesus, the one who sees us.”  He includes several Scripture references that tell how Jesus saw people and how he responded with compassion and love, thereby showing us how we can do the same.

This reflection from Pope Francis and its Scripture references would be wonderful for use within a conference or council meeting, a Vincentian retreat, and certainly for personal prayer and reflection.

By Marge McGinley, National Formation Committee Chair

As Bl. Frédéric once said of his newborn daughter, “I cannot behold that sweet little face, all innocence and purity, without seeing the image of the Creator more clearly mirrored in her, than in us… Could God have selected a sweeter means of teaching, correcting, and placing me on the road to Heaven?”

Like Frédéric, I never thought I could love any deeper than the love I have for my children. It was a love that was almost indescribable. Do you remember the first time you held your grandchild? Yet, it is there! Is it possible, that for those transcendent moments we could begin to understand the depth of love God has for every one of us? Could we translate that love we experienced in that moment and imitate that love as we approach our neighbors in need? A single friend of mine once stated, “When I look at my brother with his grandchildren, I begin to understand what God’s love for us must look like.”

In that moment we realize that nothing could separate us from this child. As we gaze at this precious gift, it’s somehow different than other experiences. Perhaps we are wiser and we realize life is full of challenges and forever we will be linked to this child in our thoughts and prayers. Could this be just a piece of what God’s love is for us?

When we spend time with our community friends, do we dare try to see them through the eyes of God? With prayer we see the beauty of each person whom we serve. We can see what assets they bring to our world vs what they may be lacking. We are able to see how very precious and at times how very fragile our neighbor might be.

Recently, my home visit partner and I were supposed to take someone to an appointment related to her benefits. When we got to her home to pick her up, she answered the door in a very frazzled state. She said, “It’s a bad day, I’m not up to it.” She invited us in and explained her anxiety level, and she just couldn’t take on an interviewer at a government office. However, we spent time with her assuring her that we will try again another day. As we were leaving, our friend said, “You won’t forget me, will you?” In that moment, I could understand God’s gaze of love for us. “No, we won’t forget you – ever!”

By Margarita Galindo

One Saturday afternoon my granddaughter, Regina, arrived with her Catechism for the First Communion, to study for the following week. I asked her if she liked learning about God. She answered me in a way that surprised me. She said that learning about the Catechism and about God are part of her life. I immediately recalled the passage In Luke 18:15-17, where Jesus calls the disciples to allow children to approach Him, he explains “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs”. This passage highlights Jesus’s inclusive love for all, especially those considered insignificant by society, and teaches that one must approach God’s kingdom with a childlike spirit of trust and openness.

Further reflection on her answer, led me to write about the importance of our Vincentian Formation.

We cannot go through life without a clear awareness of the importance that we have to prepare ourselves for what we are doing, and in our case, our Vincentian life. Within the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States, and surely also in the rest of the world, there is a reality: the need for Formation; an integral formation that promotes spirituality and action, as Regina told me; not as separate realities, but complementary, since Formation and Spirituality must be lived in action every day in our lives and expressed in our attentiveness to each other and to those living in poverty whom we serve.

On-going formation is a constant process of transformative learning throughout life, focused on updating knowledge and improving knowledge, skills and attitudes, both in the personal (human, intellectual, emotional), spiritual (virtues, morals, character) and social (ministerial and pastoral) spheres. On-going formation seeks to help Vincentians adapt to the constant changes of the modern world, offering opportunities for development through various activities such as courses, workshops, retreats, certifications, trainings and formal and informal learning. Training, on the other hand, consists of a series of planned activities (or trainings), based on the needs of the Conferences, which are oriented towards a change in the knowledge, skills and aptitudes of Vincentians that allow them to develop their activities effectively within their areas of work. either in the Conference or in Special Works.

Reflect: Are we open to learning, to growing and to allowing the  transformative grace of the Holy Spirit to deepen our Vincentian Spirituality?

As Vincentians, is our commitment to on-going formation reflected in our  home visits and the attentiveness to our neighbors in need?

By Aldo Barletta, National Vice-President of Vincentian Spiritual Growth and Enrichment

Even after the National Assembly, I still feel like I’m floating in the air. For me, last year, Mary Our Blessed Mother was the protagonist, and this year, it was the Holy Spirit.

The anointing of the Paraclete we did not have to wait, it was in the sessions and workshops, especially on: 1) Wednesday, the day dedicated to Formation [where there was confirmed testimony of God’s message], 2) the workshop of “Home Visits – Part 1: Encounter with the Holy Spirit”, 3) before the Blessed Sacrament exposed every day at lunchtime, and 4) in the celebrations of the Eucharist, and by praying the Most Holy Rosary, especially with the Morning Prayer.

We know that, in our neighbors in need, we encounter the Crucified Christ, and we always long to be able to reflect God’s love in our encounter with our brothers and sisters. But we must recognize that to be able to see the face of Christ, and for us to be able to reflect on His face, we can only do so by being enlightened and inspired by the Holy Spirit. For this, it is essential, first of all to promote intimate encounters with God as often as possible. We will not be able to achieve those moments, if we allow ourselves to be caught up in the noise and high speed of this earthly world. More and more often, we must pause and raise our gaze to the sky.

To better honor our Vincentian heritage, we must rest on the promise of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, our advocate, source of light, power, grace, anointing, gifts, and charisms. We can spend our lives trying to understand how great He is, but it’s best for us to call on Him, try to learn how to better recognize Him, and surrender ourselves to Him. The Holy Spirit will fill us with what we need to better love, adore, serve God, our brothers and sisters in need, and members of our beloved Society.

If you are a Formator or Spiritual Advisor, giving retreats should be one of the regular services you offer for your members – but if you’ve never done that before, where do you start?

Formation Resources

On the Formation Resources page, you’ll find a button for Retreats. There, you will see a variety of resources to get you started, including complete materials you can use to prepare and facilitate your own retreat. One great example. under “Other Retreats” is one titles “Finding Christ in the Moment”. When you download this PowerPoint, you will find it includes links to get videos you can embed (and instructions on how to do so).

This retreat is based on a talk given by Fr. Dennis Holtzschneider at our 2021 National Assembly, and it include notes and prompts for you to guide the conversations and sharing in your own retreat.

Recorded Retreats

There are several recorded retreats that you can find on the Retreats and Reflections video library. These are typically longer videos (about an hour) that you can play, with several pauses to discuss and share what you’ve seen. These include The Faces of Christ, Turn Everything to Love, as well as talks such as Laying Down Your Life for a Friend. These longer form videos can save you a lot of preparation time in planning your own retreat.

Prayers for the Retreat

A retreat should be a prayer-filled time! If you are not comfortable writing your own prayers, start by looking through the different prayers and meditations available here for download, or purchase a printed copy of 500 Little Prayers for Vincentians, or 500 More Little Prayers for Vincentians.

Music for the Retreat

Music adds a special dimension to our sharing in a retreat. Ray Sickinger’s many Vincentian songs are especially appropriate for a Vincentian retreat. You will find many of them on the Ozanam Orientation Formator’s flash drive, and a CD is also available.

Training and Instruction

Now that we’ve mentioned planning a retreat, would it be nice if there were a video on How to Plan a Spiritual Retreat? You’re in luck – there is!

The Society has published many books and documents for purchase or download, but there are also many videos available for personal enrichment, or to share at Conference or Council Meetings.

Spirituality and Formation Channel

On the Society’s Vimeo pages, there is a special channel for videos related to Spirituality and Formation. There are almost fifty videos there, and they are well worth reviewing to find videos of special interest to you or your Conference. We’ll highlight just a few of them below.

Pro-Tip: if you don’t have a reliable Wi-Fi connection in your meeting room, you can download any of these videos onto your computer in advance. On the screen below the video you’ve chosen, look for the download icon (indicated here with a red arrow) and click it to download. 

Fred Talks

Fred Talk videos are only three to five minutes long, and each covers a single topic, such a one of the Vincentian Virtues. They make a nice change of pace for reflections at your Conference meetings, by watching them together and then discussing. You’ll notice throughout the videos there are text pop-ups indicating reference sources for the materials discussed. These are for members who may wish to take a deeper dive on their own.

Retreats

There are several recorded retreats. These are typically longer videos (about an hour) that you can play, with several pauses to discuss and share what you’ve seen. These include The Faces of Christ, Turn Everything to Love, as well as talks such as Laying Down Your Life for a Friend. These longer form videos can save you a lot of preparation time in planning your own retreat. Be sure to think through prayers for the group to say together, prompting questions to help facilitate sharing, and other parts of the retreat, such as Mass, snacks, or meals.

Training and Instruction

Now that we’ve mentioned planning a retreat, would it be nice if there were a video on How to Plan a Spiritual Retreat? You’re in luck – there is! There are also videos on Formation Planning, and the Spirituality of Vincent and Frédéric.

There is a long list of videos to choose from on our channel, and more will continue to be added. Be sure to bookmark the page and check back often. Those videos are for you and for your Conferences and Councils!

By Marge McGinley, National Vincentian Formation Committee Chair

Some people say that summer slows down a little but really summer offers us different choices, especially if Our Lord has led us to work in Formation. Most of our workshops where we spend time teaching and hopefully inspiring our Vincentians to grow in holiness as they minister to our neighbors in need, are conducted during the school year. As Conference members we continue to care for our neighbors in need but also take those opportunities to spend time with family and friends and hopefully take a little time off or away.

Instead of teaching the Ozanam Orientation on a Saturday, perhaps you’ve been invited to a picnic. Instead of running a webinar during a weekday evening, maybe you’re sitting by a pool, lake or ocean. Just the thoughts are refreshing. When we have time to pause our activities, the Holy Spirit can lead us where He needs us most. Our minds can clear, and creativity can heighten. Taking time for ourselves also helps prevent compassion fatigue therefore, never even approaching burnout.

Taking good care of ourselves allows us to do God’s work longer in our lives. When we are compassionate people, every situation and every person whom we encounter, impacts us. That can take a toll over time. So, let’s look a little deeper into all the “re-“words in the title of this article.

Bl. Frédéric teaches us that “the poor we see with the eyes of the flesh; they are there and we can put finger and hand in their wounds and the scars of the crown of thorns are visible on their foreheads…and we should fall at their feet and say with the Apostle, Tu est Dominus et Deus meus. You are our masters, and we will be your servants. You are for us the sacred images of that God whom we do not see, and not knowing how to love Him otherwise shall we not love Him in your persons?”

What can we do to stay capable to “share more love” with God’s people?

We often saw Jesus take time with His disciples to pray, but we also witness Him enjoying their company along with so many others. The wedding feast of Cana, the fish fry gatherings on the beach, the dinners at friends’ and sinners’ homes. Jesus was available and willing to spend time in nourishment and fun. As we gather as Vincentians, we are building friendships which will provide support and keep us well to better serve our neighbors in need. As we gather with family and friends this summer, take time to soak in their love and care for you, so you may share it with others.

Take steps to avoid compassion fatigue: Live within your mission statement, de-brief with other Vincentians, Refill and refuel in healthy ways, Leave your superman/woman cape in the closet. As Vincentians, and servant leaders we must find ways to pour ourselves out without wearing ourselves out and be able to teach others the same. St. Paul tells us in Phil 4:11-13, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

While we are relaxing and refreshing, perhaps we might dream about where the Holy Spirit might be leading us in next year’s formation in our Conferences and Councils, always aware of Saint Vincent’s guidance:

“Since you know the means of getting better, in the name of God, make use of them. Do not take on anything beyond your strength, do not be anxious, do not take things too much to heart, go gently, do not work too long or too hard.”