Faith

At the V&L House, we are committed to living in a faith-based community rooted in the Catholic tradition and we strive to live the faith we profess through active Vincentian spirituality. We value time to reflect on our shared experiences and struggles. Formal reflection includes an opening orientation and closing retreat; fall and winter retreats; weekly community gatherings; and a Winter qtr. course grounded in theology and Catholic Social Teaching. It is our hope that the V&L House will be a nurturing environment in which participants can feel comfortable sharing experiences and challenges within a faith based context.

Simple Living

As a Vincentian affiliated community, the V&L House program seeks to transform participants into a more mindful and compassionate community in solidarity with those who are poor and marginalized. This tenet is also rooted in our care for the earth and stewardship over our limited natural resources. Students are formed to cultivate a lifestyle that reflects justice within our relationship to the earth, and to one another. In light of these values, for ten months the participants attempt to live more simply in a variety of ways with the support of other housemates.

Community Living

Community living is an integral aspect of the V&L House. This intentional community serves as a base of support for each member through a sharing of life experiences, and encouraging one another's commitment to faith, simple living, service and justice. We believe that no one stands alone, and our call to the Catholic Vincentian mission is not possible to answer without the support and challenge of community living.

Community Service

In response to St. Vincent's life of charity and social justice, each participant volunteers a minimum of 6 hours a week at a Vincentian or Daughters of Charity service site. The coordinator will work to match the student's interests with these designated sites. Two hours are worked at a common site, the Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen, which serves meals to the working poor, and people who are homeless, jobless and elderly.