For the Vincentian charism, caring for our common home is not a secondary concern, but an expression of a faith deeply committed to reality. We must begin with the certainty that “the world is God’s creation, the place of his grace, the place of our salvation. To separate ourselves from or try to escape the world is not Vincentian” (Juan Patricio Prager, CM, Vincentian Charism and Spirituality: Our Way of Life). The suffering of the earth and of those who inhabit it is not foreign to us; on the contrary, “the problems of the world are our problems” (Ibid.).
This contemplative and grateful outlook has deep roots in our founders. Saint Louise de Marillac, reflecting on the order of the cosmos, invited us to praise the Creator through the care of creation, expressing her desire to live:
“honoring, during this month, that sacred order which the true and only divinity established in creation” (Saint Louise de Marillac, Correspondence and Writings, E. 86).
Today, the ecological crisis and the social crisis are intimately connected. Pope Francis, through his encyclical Laudato Si’, “encourages people to take responsibility for the earth, calling for greater care for our common home and its creatures, as well as for the most vulnerable” (Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, CM, A Spirituality with Open Eyes: The Vincentian Charism and the Reform of the Church).
This teaching reminds us that we cannot separate the defense of the environment from our service to suffering humanity. Integral ecology “calls for greater respect for the environment and for those living in poverty, as well as for the protection of human life” (Ibid.). As part of a shared reality, we are called to promote “integral solutions that consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems” (Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, no. 139).
To unite prayer with liturgical action for this common cause, the Church has taken significant steps. Recently, “the Vatican presented the new ‘Mass for the Care of Creation,’ approved by Pope Leo XIV” (Corazón de Paúl – Vincentian Evangelization Network, July 5, 2025), who also presided over the first Eucharist celebrated with this intention, inviting people to disarm their hearts and heal the original harmony with the earth.
Vincentian ecology calls us to move from good intentions to concrete commitments. Vincentian charity is a “spirituality of action” and is demonstrated through the sweat of our brow (The Vincentian Charism in the Church). Responding to the cry of the earth and of those who are excluded means offering today “a service rooted in justice and solidarity” (Statutes of the Vincentian Family of Ecuador “FAVIE,” Art. 3).
The Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, Father Tomaž Mavrič, CM, urges us to practice this responsible love through a committed mysticism: “The time has come to… live the mysticism of open eyes, that is, recognizing Jesus who comes to us in the person of the poor” (Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, CM, Advent Letter 2025: An Advent with “Open Eyes” to Live the Mysticism of Charity).
Keeping our eyes open calls us to actively care for the victims of human and environmental selfishness, working together to build a more fraternal, compassionate, and integral world.
