Testimony and Purpose in VMY

Emma

Hello friends of the Vincentian Marian Youth Association.  My name is Emma Velasquez and I am from Mexico.  I knew and became a member of the VMY when I was five years old and on August 15^th, 1995 I professed my Marian consecration.

Virginia and Juan Carlos

Hello I am Virginia. Hello.  How are you?  I am Juan Carlos … we are a married couple who are members of MISEVI … we met thirteen years ago during a youth formation session and at the present time we are in Honduras, in the mission of Mosquita.

Lucia

Hello, I am Lucia and a Daughters of Charity and also a member of VMY.  I began developing my faith as a member of the VMY and it was there that I also began to discover what it meant to serve the poor … to serve means giving of one’s time and committing one’s self to others.  As a result of this a question arose in me:  where does God want me to go?  What does God want me to do?  Thus there began a process and a search that led me to the experience of being sent to the missions in Mozambique.

Eduarda

My name is Eduarda and I am from Angola and at the present time I am studying at the Interprovincial Seminary.  My path has also been one of discovery which began when I was a member of the VMY where I began to share with other young women and men, where I began to learn about the lives of the Founders, Saint Vincent and Saint Louise, where I was helped to encounter the Lord.

Emma

For me the VMY has been a gift from God, a blessing … it has been a path that has allowed me to come to know God and to know the Virgin Mary.  The VMY has been a means that has enabled me to come to know the meaning of serving those most in need.  Thanks to this Association I have experience a great joy in living with Jesus and making Jesus known to other young people.

Within the Association I have been engaged in various ministries such as catechesis, popular missions, health care ministry, and formation of volunteers.  I have also accepted the responsibility of coordinating activities on a local, diocesan, regional and international level.  In 2006 God entrusted me with a new missions when I became a volunteer at the International Secretariat of the VMY.  This experience continued for three years (2006-2009) and helped me to grow in every respect as a person.  I believe that it was during this time that I came to a greater understanding of the legacy that Saint Vincent and Saint Louise and Saint Catherine Laboure have passed on to us.

Virginia and Juan Carlos

We invite all the member of the VMY to live their lay Vincentian missionary vocations as members of MISEVI, an association that has come into existence so that we can continue to proclaim the word of God throughout the world.

Lucia

During the process of discernment and struggle, I decided to walk the road to Santiago and it was there that I discovered God that I told God that I was happy and that yes, my path involved entering the Company of Daughters of Charity.

Emma

With regard to transitioning I can say that God marks out the path that one must travel.  Yes, we make plans but in the end it is God who is guiding us and perhaps leading us along paths that are quite distinct, paths that we would never have imagined traveling.  In my case I continue to have direct contact with the VMY, especially with the International Secretariat and I continue to feel that I am part of the Vincentian Family.  At the present time my ministry is with my local parish where I am a catechist and a member of the Liturgical Committee.  As a result of these new faith experiences I realize that each association, congregation, movement or lay group has its own proper charism and is involved in different activities, but in the end we are all ministering for one purpose and for this reason I would like to share with you a suggestion that I have been privileged to live: we must always remember that VMY is a Church association, who are part of the Church, we are the Church, in whatever parish or whatever group we may find ourselves there will always be a need for our hands, our effort and our enthusiasm to continue to build the Kingdom of God.

Eduarda

I am also searching and struggling to discover what God wants from me and what I want … in this process of discovery I see that the Lord is calling me to be a Daughter of Charity.  I began this process of vocational discernment and was accompanied by another Sister and when I discovered that the Lord was truly calling me to be a Daughter of Charity … here I am and I am completely happy because I have found God, I have discovered that God is a part of my life and I see that my life has meaning as I give myself to others and commit myself in loving service of the poor in the Company of the Daughters of Charity.

Emma

With regard to my hopes for the future: I want to grow in the faith and in my religion, I want to continue my relationship with the Vincentian Family and collaborate with them in every possible way; I want to remain active in my parish and together with my husband I want to form a Christian family in which God’s love, the faith and mutual help are ever present realities.