Journey of Faith: the History of the Vincentians in America

Journey of Faith: The History of the Vincentians in America

“Becoming a Missionary Disciple”

A Teacher’s Lesson Plan for Grades 7 to 9

Background

The Vincentians are a religious order of priests founded by St. Vincent De Paul.
We can learn a great deal about what it means to be a missionary disciple by learning about St. Vincent’s life. How did Vincent know what God wanted him to do?

St. Vincent was born in April of 1581, the son of a peasant farmer in France. The young Vincent knew how difficult the life of a farmer was and first became a priest because he believed it was the route to a financially secure life.
As time went on, the circumstances of Vincent’s life brought him to a poor parish in Folleville, France. Vincent found that many of the Catholics had forgotten the importance of their faith. Vincent gave a sermon to the people and the response was overwhelming. Vincent had to recruit other priests to help him because so many people wanted to go to confession. Vincent realized that the people had a genuine desire for renewal of their faith, but they needed instruction. Because of this, Vincent began to offer parish missions to help people come to a better understanding of their faith and greater participation in the sacramental life of the Church. He was very sure that this was what God was calling him to do.
Vincent always tried to be aware of God’s Divine Providence – that is, God’s plan for his creation as it is revealed to humans. Vincent was always ready to say “yes” to whatever God asked of him. But how did he know what God was asking? Vincent was well acquainted with scripture. He knew all about Jesus’ teachings and he understood that our mission was to be as Jesus was, particularly in Jesus’ care for the poor and the sick. Because of this, Vincentrecognized God’s plan in the events around him. One day someone told Vincent about a poor family. All of them were very ill and they had no food or medicine. Vincent spoke to his congregation about them and they responded very generously. Vincent knew that there were more poor and sick people who needed help. This event of Divine Providence led Vincent to start a group called the Ladies of Charity. Vincent told them that they should feed the poor as if they were feeding Jesus.
Divine Providence led Vincent to do much more. He ministered to prisoners and slaves. He helped prepare men to become priests. He opened homes for the hundreds of abandoned and orphaned children in France. Each time, circumstances around him led Vincent to hear God’s call.

Our video, Journey of Faith: The History of the Vincentians in America, is the story of Vincentian priests – that is members of St. Vincent’s missionary congregation – who left everything behind to journey to a frontier land to care for God’s people. They also heard God’s call.

Felix De Andreis was one of the missionaries who heard God’s call to go to America. As we see in the video, De Andreis already was doing important work for God. He was preparing priests to be missionaries. While you watch the video, keep an eye out for the signs of Divine Providence in De Andreis’ life (example: For a long time, De Andreis had a strong sense God was calling him to go to the US or China as a missionary. He recognized the fulfillment of God’s call when Bishop Debourg asked him to come to America). This is the “call within the call”.

Materials

Video – “Journey of Faith: The History of the Vincentians in America”

Copies of the Activity Sheet

Pens or Pencils

Procedure

The object of this lesson is to help the students understand that all of us are called to be missionary disciples. This is because we are all baptized into Jesus. This means we are to be Jesus for others as well as see Jesus in others. Everyone’s call is unique. How do we know what God wants us to do? Just like St. Vincent and Felix De Andreis, we have to be willing to answer God’s call. Through prayer, the circumstances of our lives, and the people that we meet, we can come to an understanding of our very own call.

Explain to the students that you will be showing them a documentary called, Journey of Faith: The History of the Vincentians in America. Tell them that the Vincentians are a religious order of priests founded by St. Vincent de Paul. Explain to them that the priests that serve in this parish (recall their names to the students) are also members of the Vincentians. Share some of the information you received about St. Vincent from the “Background” portion of this Teacher’s Lesson Plan. Some of the questions the students will be asked in the activity portion of the lesson will be based on information from the background material.
Ask the students to remember some of the following facts from the video:

The Vincentians are a religious community of priests founded by St. Vincent de Paul. What are some of the special ministries the Vincentians are dedicated to? [some possible answers: Education and care of the poor and sick, the education and training of clergy, care for prisoners and slaves and care for orphans.]
The Vincentians agreed to send missionaries to America and signed a contract with Bishop Dubourg. What were some of the provisions of their contract?
Name three dangers the missionaries faced in coming to America. [some possible answers: Bad weather, storms at sea, wild animals, avalanches..]
At the time the missionaries were coming to America, the diocese of Louisiana was more than a quarter of the size of our present day United States [827,000 square miles]. How many states were created out of the Louisiana territory? [answer = 15]
Felix De Andreis wrote to his superior to tell him about missionary life in America. Name some challenges the missionaries faced in their ministry [some possible answers: learning two new languages – French and English, the vastness of the territory and the distances they had to travel, meeting the needs of Catholics who were so dispersed, the shortage of priests to help…]

Part of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God is that God has given unique abilities and talents to each person. Encouraging the students to use their gifts in ways that serve others helps them develop a better sense of what it means to live as a child of God. It also helps them make a personal investment in the Mission of Jesus. Children can be uncertain about what they are called to do and how they recognize that call. Have your students read, “The Call of the Spirit”, aloud together in class. Let your students take a few minutes to answer the questions that follow the story on their own. When they are finished, go over the questions with the whole class.

The Call of the Spirit

Mrs. Hunter was talking to the class about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of all Baptized Catholics. Jeremy was confused.

For a few weeks now, the class had been talking about the Holy Spirit. It began with a class about Baptism. Mrs. Hunter told themthat when people received the sacrament of Baptism they were promising to be a part of Jesus’ mission in the world. Jeremy was pretty sure he understood what it meant to be part of Jesus’ mission. All of the students in his class had already taken part in a fundraiser for the homeless shelter, St. Benedict’s. Jeremy knew that by participating he was helping the poor, just as Jesus had. But now Mrs. Hunter was talking about a “call.” Jeremy wasn’t all that sure how he could receive a call from the Holy Spirit who he could not see and never remembered talking to.

Jeremy wasn’t the only one who didn’t get it. He saw more than a few puzzled faces on his fellow students. Mrs. Hunter asked the class if anyone would like to share a time when they knew that the Holy Spirit had called them to do something. The class was quiet and then Matthew, a boy who always seemed to be joking around, said, “I think I got a call from the Holy Spirit.” The rest of the students, including Jeremy, started to smile. “Here he goes again,” thought Jeremy.

But instead of making a joke, Matthew said, “My Aunt Rosemary runs a food pantry in the parish. Usually she has lots of volunteers to help her but one day, three of her volunteers called to say they couldn’t make it. Aunt Rosemary knew that there would be lots of families coming to get food that day. She would have a hard time taking care of so many people by herself, so she sent me a text. I got on my bike and went to help her.”

Mrs. Hunter smiled and said, “Why do you think that was a call from the Holy Spirit, Matthew?” Matthew replied, “Because I think the Holy Spirit uses other people to communicate with us sometimes. We know that helping the poor and sick was an important part of Jesus’ ministry. When we see a person in need or are asked by someone to help, I think it is a message from the Holy Spirit. We will never be a part of Jesus’ mission if we are waiting for a voice from the sky!”

Now the students did laugh but they finally understood. Mrs. Hunter smiled too and then said to Matthew, “Thank you for being the voice of the Holy Spirit for our class today.”

Activity Sheet Questions

1) Matthew told his classmates that even though he got a text from his Aunt, the message was really from the Holy Spirit. Why?

a) Because the Holy Spirit uses different events and different people to communicate with us.

b) Because he was being asked to do something that Jesus did.

Answer: Both a + b

2) St. Vincent de Paul knew what Jesus wanted him to do because he listened to the Holy Spirit. What were some of the things the Holy Spirit called St. Vincent to do?

a) Take care of the Sick b) Take care of the poor

c) Take care of orphans d) Involve others in the mission.

Answer: All

3) To know what Jesus wants us to do, we listen for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in many different ways. What are some of these ways?

Often when we find out that there is a person in need, we can be sure that the Holy Spirit wants us to help. Our parents, teachers and priests have taught us what it means to be kind to others. If we see someone being mistreated, bullied at school for instance, we know the Holy Spirit would want us to be a friend to that person.

4) What ways can we prepare ourselves to hear the Holy Spirit when he calls us to be a disciple?

a) We can learn about Jesus so we can continue his work

b) We can pray and ask for God to make us more loving

c) We can learn to see Jesus in every person we meet

Answer: All

Activity Sheet Back Page

Ask you students to give some thought about how they will practice being a missionary disciple for Jesus this week. Encourage them to jot down a few ideas. If there is time, you might ask the students to share a few of their answers. End the class by saying the closing prayer together.

Important Terms from the Video

Apostolic – of or relating to the Apostles. In the case of Apostolic Administrator; one who is acting as a successor to the Apostles.

Bishop – A member of the clergy who has received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. A bishop is in charge of the Church in a local area called a diocese. An archbishop is in charge of an archdiocese.

Clergy – A term applied to men who have been ordained for ministry within the Church. Bishops, priests and deacons are members of the clergy.

Diocesan – Matters having to do with a diocese. A diocese is usually a determined geographical area but sometimes it can be made up of a group of people of the same rite or language. With a Bishop as its spiritual leader, a diocese is a community of Roman Catholic faithful.

Divine Providence - God’s plan for guiding all of creation to its proper end. God’s loving care for us.

Divine Revelation – A truth revealed by God.

Emigrant - A person who leaves their own country to permanently settle in another.

Expedient – an action suitable for bringing about a particular result in a given circumstance.

Gethsemane – The garden on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where Jesus went to pray after celebrating the Passover with his disciples. It is where Jesus was arrested.

Interstices – a small space that lies between objects. A gap or break in something.

Novitiate – Refers to the period of training undergone by those who have been accepted into a religious order. The novitiate is the period of formation prior to taking vows.

Precipice – a very steep rock face or cliff, typically a tall one.

Seminary – a college where men are trained for the priesthood

Theology – Faith seeking understanding. It is the study of God based on divine revelation in scripture.