UPCOMING EVENTS

FY25/26 

Board meetings take place every other 3rd Friday of the month. 

All Vincentians are welcome to attend.

• _{November 21 - Board Meeting}
• _{January 16 - Board Meeting}
• _{January 24 - Ozanam San Ysidro - Corrales}
• _{March 20 - Board Meeting} 
• _{April 25 – Annual All-Conference Meeting – Belen} 
• _{May 15 - Board Meeting} 
•   _{Board Training}
• _{July 17 – Board Meeting}
• _{September 18 - Board Meeting}
• _{November 20 – Board Meeting} 

Friends, these are trying times. 

As you may know, massive cuts to Medicaid are on their way in 2027 and many SNAP slashes and changes to qualifications are already upon us.

Panic is setting in, as many SNAP recipients are left wondering if they will have access to the necessary food that their households need in November. As the goernment shutdown continues, our governor has approved 10 days of emergency aid through the state starting November 1. Did you know that, according to the Policy Equity Committee, New Mexico has the highest percentage per capita of SNAP and Medicaid recipients in the nation?

On the housing front, HUD employees have shared information that Permanent Supportive Housing dollars may soon be cut by 66% for the next funding cycle, sending 170,000 high needs individuals into imminent risk of returning to homelessness. The entire Continuum of Care—i.e. our widespread housing provider structure—is even under threat of being completely defunded. 

These are scary realities and possibilities at our doorstep. What are we to do as we look into the waves of massive need that threaten to overwhelm our capacity at SVdP and our spirits as Vincentians?

As a start, we must recognize that our work is more important now than ever. It is essential. We help to prevent homelessness. We feed the hungry. We clothe those who are in need. We advocate for justice and change in systems much bigger than us.

We must also renew our focus on why we do what we do and where our trust lies. 

Vincentians “aspire to burn with the love of God as revealed by Christ and to deepen their own faith and fidelity…Their ideal is to help relieve suffering for love alone, without thinking of any reward or advance for themselves” (Rule, 2.2). Vincentians give in a pursuit of spiritual growth. In looking at a landscape of growing need, we certainly have lots of opportunity to give of ourselves in the pursuit of growth!

In addition to examining our purpose for the work (i.e. the why), we must also remember where our trust is placed. The Rule reminds us that “Vincentians serve in hope” (1.2). We can hope, even in the face of increasing homelessness and hunger, because we know that these systemic injustices do not have the final word. We serve God, who makes all things new (Rev 21:5), and we must cling to that reality—knowing that we are vessels of that transformative work as Vincentians.

Celebrate Our Conferences 

The following Conferences received the National Friends of the Poor Grant - For Rent and Utility Assistance:

Our Lady of Annunciation - $4,950

Immaculate Conception - $1,500

St. Bernadette - $1,350

St. Francis Xavier - $1,000  

ASF Council Board Members

Linda Strasburg – President

Dawn Miller – Vice President

Governance

Twinning

Larry Gonzales – CFO

Trish Novak – Secretary

Linda Stubbs – Spiritual Advisor

Formation

Barb Garrity – DC A

Margaret Trace – DC B

Gerry Rohrkemper – DC C

Marie Kemmeren – SW DC

Dorothy Duran – NW DC

Mark Sadowski – Santa Fe DC 

Thanks to Vicki Berlanga and JoAnn Ortega for their work with this board and welcome to Barbara and Mark.  

Mercy as the Heartbeat of the Gospel

Mercy is the radiant core of the Gospel. In the Scriptures, we find a God who abounds in compassion, who hears the cry of the poor, who heals the brokenhearted, and who invites His followers to do likewise. Jesus, in the parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25), leaves no room for ambiguity: what we do to the least of our brothers and sisters, we do to Him.

The Church has traditionally summarized the corporal and spiritual responses to human suffering in what are called the Works of Mercy. These fourteen actions—seven corporal and seven spiritual—have been lived and promoted by saints and communities throughout the centuries. They are not optional, rather they are constitutive elements of Christian discipleship. St. Vincent de Paul, the great apostle of charity, did not merely encourage acts of mercy—he organized them, systematized them, and consecrated his life to them.

1: Foundations of the Works of Mercy

The Corporal Works of Mercy derive primarily from Matthew 25:31–46, where Jesus identifies Himself with those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, strangers, sick, or imprisoned. To these, the Church has traditionally added “bury the dead,” inspired by the Book of Tobit (Tobit 1:17–18). The Spiritual Works of Mercy are rooted in many passages throughout the New Testament, especially the teachings of Jesus and the letters of Paul. They invite believers to care not just for the body, but also for the soul—through instruction, correction, comfort, and prayer.

Throughout history, the Works of Mercy have shaped Catholic institutions: hospitals, schools, hospices, orphanages, and prisons. Saints like Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, and especially Vincent de Paul saw in them the most authentic way to love God in the neighbor.

In the Vincentian tradition, the Works of Mercy are not mere acts of charity—they are a call to justice, to systemic change, and to encounter with Christ in the poor. St. Vincent reminds us: “The poor are your masters and you are their servants.”