International Volunteer Day

Opinion

For the St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia, International Volunteer Day provides an opportunity to celebrate the contribution of members and volunteers to Australian life and society, and to reflect on the deep connection between volunteerism, faith and Catholic Social Teaching, writes National President Claire Victory.

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Every day, St Vincent de Paul Society members and volunteers give their time and energy to support Australians in need and to create a fairer Australia.

For many, this work is an expression of their faith, through which they aspire to live the Gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope and joy, and by working to shape a more just and compassionate society.

Our members offer a range of services including housing support and emergency accommodation, meals, emergency relief and connection to employment services.

They also provide the equally valuable but intangible offering of solidarity—of genuine relationship, true encounter, and restored dignity—as they sit with people during their darkest night.

That is why the theme of International Volunteer Day this year—'solidarity through volunteering’—is particularly relevant to the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia and why it provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the connection between volunteerism, faith and Catholic Social Teaching.

Vincentians believe that Jesus Christ is not only God, but also truly human and at home in our world.

When the voice of the poor calls, they willingly leave their prayers, or other religious practices, knowing that they are leaving God for God.

They seek to honour, love and serve their truly human God by honouring, loving and serving the poor, the abandoned, the victims of exclusion and adversity.

Inspired by the compassion of Jesus Christ to all, Vincentians seek to be compassionate, kind and deeply reverent to all those they serve. With trust in God’s help, they see their work as a continuation of Christ’s own work.

Vincentians express their love for God, and for all God’s people, by the sweat of their brow and the strength of their arms. They seek to do this with gentleness and humility, striving to be selfless and genuine, yet passionate about the needs of the poor.

As an organisation and as proud Vincentians, our work is informed by Catholic Social Teaching, which reminds us that as brothers and sisters in Christ, as sons and daughters of God, we all have equal and infinite dignity, and that we are also all in need of healing.

There is no artificial hierarchy or divide between our members, volunteers and the people experiencing poverty or disadvantage that they serve, whom we call companions.

I have been a St Vincent de Paul Society member since I was 10 years old, and I have experienced the privilege of serving companions in need.

The profound opportunity it offers for mutuality—to sit with a person experiencing poverty or disadvantage and to truly encounter each other, so that both transformed and healed by the interaction.