celebrations

Today was the tenth anniversary of the Society for St. Vincent de Paul in my town. I spoke at the mass this morning and the following is what I said. A portion of this will be published in a book on stories from the heart for the National Council of SVDP. I am so very honoured to have been asked...

Good morning. My name is Nicole xxxx and on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the SVDP here in xxxx, I was asked to take just a few minutes to talk about how it all began. Before I do that though – I’d just like to express some gratitude for the blessings of a reasonable boss as I’m actually working today but my boss gave me a couple hours off so I could attend mass and the celebration so if you wouldn’t mind indulging me: God bless Joe!

The SVDP began ten years ago at the encouragement of Father Bryan xxxx. It was at a time in (my town's) history that if you didn’t live through it, it’s very difficult to explain. People were arriving from all over the country after having heard there were jobs here and they arrived with nothing. They often left behind their families in the hopes of getting a job, setting up a home and then bringing them here. But what they didn’t anticipate was lack of housing, first and last month’s rent required which was often over $1000, a gruelling job that many were not even hired for. There was no food bank, no immigration services, no soup kitchen, no shelter. They were trying to make ends meet – but many, many struggled.

We talk about being called to the SVDP and personally, I’d had a difficult year. We’d lost our son Gabriel who was stillborn just a few months before and I needed to focus my mind of something besides my grief. So when I sat at the first meeting and it came time for elections I felt called to raise my hand. I was elected as the founding president of the SVDP. I won by a landslide – in an election with only one candidate.

There were twelve of us that began the SVDP – besides myself, there was xxxxx and two members who have since passed away – xxx and xxx and I used to say; see we’re just like the disciples, as if we were that important. We kept an empty chair at the table when we had our meetings to remind us of who our most important member was.

Father Tito, who was just ‘Tito’ then, was working in the parish when we began and just a day or two after the elections, I remember he called me in a panic. We had our first official ‘call’. I told him I would be at the church as soon as I was done working and when I arrived, he met me at the door. There was a young man who needed a room for the night. Father Bryan was away at the time and so we had no bank account and no money. We discussed what we should do and we decided to err on the side of generosity. We would put him up in a hotel room for the night. I told Tito that I would pay for the room and that if we had no money to repay me, I’d consider it a donation but I knew we couldn’t keep that up for very long.

After leaving the young man at the hotel, I came back to the church and Tito hurried me into the church office. He showed me a donation envelope he’d found on the counter and inside was a cheque earmarked for the SVDP…for the exact amount of money I’d just paid for the hotel room.

We were blessed in many ways those first years and one other blessing came to us in someone Betty liked to call “Saint Cam”. The idea of having a monthly SVDP supper came about because we all wanted a way to do something special for the people we met on our calls. We knew we wouldn’t really be feeding their bodies so much as feeding their souls by offering our time and our friendship. We insisted on using real plates and silverware and setting the tables nicely – this would be a special event.

We prepared our first supper and as we waited for people to show up, we all huddled in the kitchen of the parish hall nervously wondering if anyone would come. I heard some noise out in the hall and as I stepped out, I saw someone turn and leave quickly. I called out to him and he stopped awkwardly to ask if this was where the free supper was. I said it sure is and asked him to please come sit down.

Now, he was dirty. Not kind of dirty, not slightly dirty – but very, very dirty. And when he sat down at our table dressed with white linens and set with sparkling silverware, I didn’t care one bit that he was dirty because someone had come to our supper! We served him just like a king that night because as it turned out, he was the only person to show up for our supper. We brought him plate after plate of hot food and we sat and visited with him while we ate as well. We learned that his name was Cam and that he lived here on the streets of xxxx. We had a great supper with him that night and when he left we filled his arms with a warm winter coat, some blankets, an old camp stove and as much food as he could comfortably carry.

Cam came back the next month and the next and he always brought people with him, people he knew needed help and could use a warm meal. Over the years, Cam has brought so many people to the SVDP and that is why Betty dubbed him – Saint Cam.

When I reflect back on that first supper, I am still struck with how strong a lesson there was that day. If Jesus had arrived at our supper – that is exactly how he would have come. With unwashed hair and dirty hands and if we are living what we believe, if we are really learning the lessons we are taught, if we really want to evangelize our faith – we would greet him with a warm meal and a friendly hello and if we are blessed…he would ask us to sit down and share that meal with him.

And so – I believe – that on that day, Jesus did visit us because we were blessed with knowing Cam.

God has called me in different directions the past few years – specifically in four directions named A, J, E and M – but my heart remains with the SVDP. I’ve never felt closer to God than my time with them and I hope that when I return one day, they’ll remember the lesson of the Prodigal Son and welcome me back with open arms. I am humbled to have held even such a small part in the beginning of this very special organization.

Thank you.