Fr. Rolando Gutiérrez, CM, Vice-Province of Costa Rica invites us to reflect

1. TURN THE MEDAL OVER
REFLECTION
Rolando Gutiérrez, CM Vice-Province of Costa Rica invites us to reflect

2. A TIME TO
UNDERSTAND
Jubilee Year on the
Occasion of the
400th Anniversary of
the Vincentian Charism

3. TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO UNDERSTAND
I propose that we focus our attention on
one of Vincent’s conferences entitled
“the spirit of faith”:
“I must not judge a poor peasant man or woman by their
appearance or their apparent intelligence, especially since very
often they scarcely have the expression or the mind of rational
persons, so crude and vulgar they are. But turn the medal, and
you will see by the light of faith that the Son of God, who willed to
be poor, is represented to us by these poor people; that he
scarcely had a human face in his passion, and passed for a
madman in the mind of the Gentiles and a stumbling block in the
mind of the Jews. With all that. he describes himself as the
evangelizer of the poor: He sent me to bring good news to the
poor! How beautiful it is to see poor people if we consider them
in God and with the esteem in which Jesus Christ held them! If,
however, we look on them according to the sentiments of the
flesh and a worldly spirit, they will seem contemptible… “
(CCD:XI:26)

4. Vincentian realism: The Vincentian
charism is primarily realistic. Vincent
recognized that the poor are often
crude, vulgar and contemptible in
appearance. There is a danger of
viewing ourselves as Vincentians
whose faces are covered with a mask
of sentimentality and as such, we
attempt to soften the harsh reality of
poverty by referring to the poor as our
lords and masters (which they are, [cf.
CCD:X:266]) without analyzing the
realities that create those situations of
poverty. As a result, we find ourselves
doing the same things that we have
been doing year after year.
TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO UNDERSTAND

5. Vincentian realism is the first
requirement if we are to turn the medal
over. Vincentians must learn to call things
as they are, and must also know
themselves and their limitations with
regard to serving the poor. As
Vincentians we must also understand
how various systems lead to on-going
impoverishment. Unless we do these
things, we become entertainers who act
and do things on the behalf of the poor
without ever deepening our
understanding of what it means to be a
true and authentic Vincentian. Let us not
be afraid to confront the reality of the
poor whom we serve nor the reality of
our own poverty!
TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO UNDERSTAND

6. The light of faith: We are not dealing
with some type of personal conquest
but rather we find ourselves standing
before the gift of faith which
enlightens the human spirit and
enables us to understand that in
serving the poor we are serving Jesus
Christ. Perhaps we have repeated
these words so frequently that their
profound significance has become
lost!
TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO UNDERSTAND

7. Indeed, to place ourselves at the service of those countless crude,
vulgar and despicable men and women is to listen to the voice of
Jesus, who tells us: whatever you did for one of these least
brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40).
Without an authentic living out of our faith, it becomes impossible
to live this mystical experience of action. Therefore, the faith with
which we receive the Eucharist is the same faith that enables
TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO UNDERSTAND
us to turn the medal over in
order to discover Jesus Christ
in those poor men and women
whom we serve. Indeed, we
can be certain of this fact
because “while our senses
sometimes deceive us, the
truths of God [will] never
deceive” (CCD:IX:199).

8. Finally, we recall here the words of Pope
Francis and his invitation to become pastoral
ministers who renounce self-absorption
(Evangelii Gaudium, #8 and #94) and in light
of those words we can understand that
turning the medal over means, first of all, that
our service on behalf of the poor is not some
honorary title … indeed we cannot call the
poor our lords and masters and at the same
time feel as though we are “above” the poor
because we have our “daily bread” and they
do not. Turning the medal over is more than
a change in attitude. Rather it implies a
community commitment, it implies that the
poor are included on our list of friends, it
implies sitting at the table and sharing with
them in the same way that we would do with
any of our other friends.
TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO UNDERSTAND

9. A TIME TO
CONTEMPLATE
Jubilee Year on the
Occasion of the
400th Anniversary of
the Vincentian Charism

10. “I must not judge a poor peasant man or
woman by their appearance or their
apparent intelligence, especially since very
often they scarcely have the expression or
the mind of rational persons, so crude and
vulgar they are. But turn the medal, and you
will see by the light of faith that the Son of
God, who willed to be poor, is represented
to us by these poor people; that he scarcely
had a human face in his passion, and passed
for a madman in the mind of the Gentiles
and a stumbling block in the mind of the
Jews. With all that. he describes himself as
the evangelizer of the poor: He sent me to
bring good news to the poor! How beautiful
it is to see poor people if we consider them
in God and with the esteem in which Jesus
Christ held them! If, however, we look on
them according to the sentiments of the
flesh and a worldly spirit, they will seem
contemptible… “
(CCD:XI:26)
TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO CONTEMPLATE
Let us call to mind an
encounter with some
person in need which has
influenced the way in which
we (individually and as a
community) have lived our
Vincentian charism. What
images and/or memories
do you recall? What is the
impact of Vincent’s words
that were referenced at the
beginning of this
reflection? Reread those
words of Vincent de Paul
and let us spend some time
in contemplation on those
words:

11. A TIME TO
MEDITATE
Jubilee Year on the
Occasion of the
400th Anniversary of
the Vincentian Charism

12. TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO MEDITATE
Let us mediate upon and enter into
dialogue on the following questions:
‣ How realistic has our Vincentian
service been? Are we able to
accept our limitations so that we do
not become an obstacle to the
larger community or an obstacle for
service on behalf of the poor? Do
we take time to analyze the root
causes of poverty?
‣ Do the poor see us as people of
faith? Do they experience us as
their friends?

13. A TIME TO
COMMIT
Jubilee Year on the
Occasion of the
400th Anniversary of
the Vincentian Charism

14. TURN THE MEDAL OVER ・ A TIME TO COMMIT
After we have discussed this theme in
our group let us commit ourselves to
clothe ourselves in an attitude that
will help us to turn the medal over.
Let us reflect on our manner of
serving the poor: what step can we
now take as we continue to clothe
ourselves in the spirit of Jesus Christ,
evangelizer of the poor? Perhaps the
words that Vincent spoke to the
Daughters of Charity will help us in
this regard: “[your] chief concern will
be to serve the sick poor, treating
them with compassion, gentleness,
cordiality, respect and
devotion” (CCD:X:267).

15. by Rolando Gutiérrez, CM Vice-Province of Costa Rica
Translated: Charles T. Plock, CM Eastern Province, USA
presentation by