How we serve the poor every month

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At The Door is Open, the Archdiocese’s drop-in centre in the downtown eastside

 

• We prepare a hot lunch in the morning and serve it from 11am to 12pm on the 1st Saturday and the 3rd Saturday of every month.

• We prepare a hot breakfast and serve it from 8am to 9am every Monday morning with Sr. Chita, who manages The Door is Open.

• We purchase food supplies for additional breakfasts throughout the week.

• We collect and donate new and gently used clothing, shoes, and other items to be given to the guests.

 

Monthly Mass at Inglewood Care Centre

 

• Mass is usually held at 10:30am on the 4th Wednesday of every month.

• We join CtR volunteers to set up the room for the Mass, and assist the residents to get to and from the Mass.

 

Free Haircuts at the Catholic Charities’ Men’s Shelter

 

• We sponsor two haircutting sessions a month by Alexandre, a professional barber.

• 15 to 25 guests receive a haircut at every session.

 

Get Involved

 

• Join us as a volunteer in our monthly activities.

• Donate new or almost-new clothing and shoes.

• Help us expand our activities and launch new charitable initiatives.

• Make a financial donation to the SSVP group. 

 

Email us to get started or for further information at ssvp.westvan@gmail.com.

 

 

Pray for the poor and the work of the SSVP group

 

Lord, teach us to be generous

To give without counting the cost

To return good for evil

To serve without expecting reward

To draw closer to those whom we find difficult

To do good to those who cannot reciprocate

To love generously

To work without being concerned about rest

To be solely concerned about giving

To give our whole self

To give to those who need us

Hoping to receive only You as our reward. 

 

 

About the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul

 

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was established in 1833 by a group of university students studying in Paris at the Sorbonne and led by Frederic Ozanam. The group was set up to provide support to those in need. The mission of the Society is to serve Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, and joy and to provide help in all possible ways. Today, over one million people in over 130 countries are actively involved and support the work of the Society.

 

The first Canadian SSVP conference was founded in 1846 in Montreal. The SSVP conference here in West Vancouver was established in June 2009.

 

 

About Saint Vincent de Paul

 

Saint Vincent de Paul was a French priest (1581-1660) who organized works of charity, founded hospitals, and started two Roman Catholic religious orders. He was born into a peasant family on April 24, 1581, in the village of Pouy in southwestern France. He studied theology at the University of Toulouse, was ordained a priest at 19, and completed his theological studies four years later. While living in Paris, he came under the influence of a wise spiritual guide who gradually caused him to see that helping others was more important than helping himself. By 1625, he had influenced a number of young men, some of them priests, to join him in forming a religious group to be called the Congregation of the Mission. Fr. Vincent and his friends worked with the poor people of the countryside near Paris, helping to feed and clothe them, and teaching them about Christ. With Saint Louise de Marillac, he started the first religious group of women dedicated entirely to works of charity outside the cloister, a group called the Daughters of Charity.

 

Saint Vincent was a man of action. The religious spirit he communicated was simple, practical, and straightforward. He looked to Christ as his leader and tried to translate the Gospel message into concrete results. He died on September 27, 1660, and was canonized a saint in 1737. The religious groups he founded continue to carry on his work.