N REMEMBRANCE: Van Bensett, Partner in Mission
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July 26, 2022His love for the lost is a legacy to remember Van Bensett completed the mission he was chosen to do on earth on July 14. He had just finished engaging a group of youth in a “Cube of Love” session at Bowen High School in Chicago. While preparing to leave the building, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
According to St. Alphonsus Liguori, “The means for maintaining perfect love is to accomplish frequent acts of love. Fire is kindled by the wood we cast into it and love is enkindled by acts of love.” In one word, Van was a man who loved. He loved his family; he loved his community; and he loved his mission and life-work with Life Directions.
Van partnered with Fr. John Phelps, co-founder, president and CEO of Life Directions, in 1997. Van held the titles Program Director and Program Manager, and added value to the vision “Peers Inspiring Peers.” As a multi-tasker, he assumed responsibility in a variety of areas. Committed to Life Directions values – balance in relationships, partnerships in diversity, and a mission-driven attitude – Van was a true missionary disciple serving the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable.
He implemented the Peer Motivation/Mentor Program, the After school Matters Program, and the Peaceable Gardens Project in Chicago Public Schools. Effective in the Life Directions Neighborhood Enrichment Program, Van was a community organizer who inspired young adults to turn from violence to peace-building. Leading Community Circle gatherings and Partners for Peacemakers events, he promoted the value of “the other.”
Van’s passionate spirituality sparked as he co-directed Focus Life Retreats, inspiring others to realize that “they are not only a gift, but a gift for others and chosen to be sent.” Van was innovatively creative and a prolific writer. He contributed several articles to this very publication.
Van often shared this legacy of love by way of the “Cube of Love.” He modeled the “art of loving” with this special cube. Each side of the cube is a face of unconditional love. Roll the cube for a way to live out the rest of the day, and then share your “acts of love” with someone else. Little by little, we will become the Artists of Love that Jesus modelled: Love everyone; Be the first to love; Love Jesus in others; share the hurts or joy of others; love your enemy; love one another.
The Cube of Love was Van’s gift to us, his lasting legacy. Van entered preparation to become a Redemptorist Associate at the Redemptorist Retreat Center in Oconomowoc in October of 2017. He became a Redemptorist Associate in January of 2020. Van was dedicated to the Redemptorist Circle of Associates in Chicago, and often practiced “The Way of Love: the Crib, the Cross, and the Eucharist.”
We feel blessed to have witnessed a life that demanded notice … a life that exemplified brilliance ... a life that inspired emulation … a life that burned to light the path for others. Van’s life and legacy of love will always be remembered.
Our prayers and love are extended to Van’s family: his wife, Saira, and their children, Olivia, Maya, Lewis and Van; and his parents, Peggy and Lewis Bensett.
Annette Howard is Life Directions Director of Training, Redemptorist Associate and Van’s Partner in Mission, colleague and friend.