28 October 1984
Murguia, Spain

My dear Sisters,

Let me begin by offering you two statistical facts. First, of the millions of people on this globe at the present time, only about eighteen or twenty percent have heard of Jesus Christ and accept His message. Secondly, every moment of the day about three people die and enter into the presence of God for judgment.

While we know that God wills every human being to be saved, and that He is infinitely just and merciful, we often find ourselves wondering how those millions, who have never heard of Jesus Christ or His Church, much less of Vatican II, are saved. We do know that God has written into every person's conscience and heart the commands that enlighten everyone who is born into this world. For the millions who know the Old Testament, the two great commandments of the law are clear: love God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind. That is the first commandment, and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments of the Old Testament found their fullness in Jesus Christ. By His life, death and resurrection He has thrown light on the meaning of these two commandments and how they should be interpreted in a human existence. We here are further privileged. We are the direct heirs of the teaching of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise on how these two commandments can be fulfilled best in a life dedicated to the service of the poor.

Have you ever found yourself wondering about the reason for the success of the Company or of the spiritual formula which St. Vincent and St. Louise have left the Daughters of Charity? The secret of that success is known fully to God alone, but I like to think it is the marvelous manner in which St. Vincent and St. Louise have proposed a way in which we can fulfill the two commandments of the law that accounts for this distinction which your Company has of being the largest single Community in the Church. There is an admirable equilibrium in the teaching of our Founders. They proposed a very dedicated service of the poor, while leaving us in no doubt that the source of the strength to serve the poor can only come from the strength of a Sister's personal love of God in Christ Jesus.

The dynamism, the energy, the love which St. Vincent de Paul manifested to the poor did not come from any doctrinaire views on politics or sociology. The source of his energy and the clarity of his spiritual vision came from his contemplation of the words and actions of Jesus Christ in the pages of the Gospel, and from his daily contact with Jesus Christ in the quietness of prayer. He became convinced that once men and women are made new through their personal dedication to Jesus Christ, a new world will follow.

When you listen to St. Vincent speaking in his conferences to the Sisters, you will find him alternating between talking now about the first commandment of the law and now of the second. He marries these two commandments in a union which brings forth the fruits of the spirit, of which St. Paul speaks in his letter to the Galatians. Through her fidelity to the teaching of St. Vincent, expressed in his conferences and in the present Constitutions, a Daughter of Charity will bring to the poor "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Gal 5:22). What all of us who are heirs of the spiritual riches of our Founders must remember is the observation made by Henri Bremond of St. Vincent; that it was not his charity that made him a saint, but his sanctity which made him truly charitable.

Yes, the two great commandments of the law are closely united. However, we must never forget in practice that there is a first commandment and a second commandment and that we can go to Jesus Christ in the poor with security only after we have met Him in the intimacy of prayer and the Sacraments. "Teacher, which commandment of the law is the greatest? Jesus said to him: 'You shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments the whole law is based, and the prophets as well.'" (Mt 22:36).

With St. Vincent I say: "So then, my Daughters, be modest, I beseech you, and labor earnestly to be perfect. Do not rest content with doing good, but do it in the way God wishes, that is to say, as perfectly as you