SAINT VINCENT de PAUL
Founder of the Lazarist Fathers
and the Daughters of Charity
(1576-1660)
Saint Vincent was born in 1576 near Dax, south of Bordeaux, of a poor family which survived by means of their labor. It seemed that “mercy was born with him.” When sent by his father to the mill to procure flour, if he met a poor man coming home, he would open the sack and give him handfuls of flour when he had nothing else. His Christian father was not angry; seeing his good dispositions, he was sure his son should become a priest, and placed him as a boarding student with a group of religious priests in Dax. Vincent made rapid progress, and after seven years of studying theology at Toulouse and in Saragossa, Spain, was ordained a priest in 1600. He always concealed his learning and followed the counsel of Saint Paul who said, “I have wanted to know nothing in your midst but Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ crucified.”
Soon after his ordination, he was captured by corsairs and sold as a slave in Tunisia. He converted his renegade master, and escaped with him to France. Then, after a time of study in Rome, he returned to Paris and took for his spiritual director Abbé de Berulle, a famous director of souls. This servant of God saw in him a priest called to render outstanding service to the Church, and to found a community of priests who would labor for its benefit. He told Saint Vincent this, that he might prepare himself insofar as was humanly possible. When Saint Vincent was appointed chaplain-general of the galleys of France, his tender charity brought hope into those prisons where hitherto despair had reigned. When a mother mourned her imprisoned son, Vincent put on his chains and took his place at the oar, and gave him to his mother.
His charity embraced the poor, the young and the aged, the provinces desolated by civil war, Christians enslaved by the infidels. The poor man, ignorant and degraded, was to him the image of Him who became as “a leper and no man.” “Turn the medal,” he said, “and you will see Jesus Christ.” He went through the streets of Paris at night, seeking the infants and children left there to die — three or four hundred every year. Once robbers rushed upon him, thinking he carried a treasure, but when he opened his cloak, they recognized him and his burden, an abandoned infant, and fell at his feet. Not only was Saint Vincent the providence of the poor, but also of the rich, for he taught them to undertake works of mercy. When in 1648 the work of the foundlings was in danger of failure for want of funds, he assembled the ladies of the Association of Charity, and said, “Compassion and charity have made you adopt these little creatures as your children. You have been their mothers according to grace, when their own mothers abandoned them. Will you now cease to be their mothers? Their life and death are in your hands. I shall take your votes; it is time to pronounce sentence.” The tears of the assembly were his only answer, and the work was continued.
The Priests of the Mission or Lazarists, as they are called, and thousands of the Daughters of Charity still comfort the afflicted with the charity of their holy Founder. It has been said of him that no one has ever verified more perfectly than Saint Vincent, the words of Our Lord: “He who humbles himself shall be exalted...” The more he strove to abase himself in the eyes of all, the more God took pleasure in elevating him and bestowing His blessings on him and on all his works. He died in 1660, in an old age made truly golden by his unceasing good works.
Reflection: Most people who profess piety ask advice of directors about their prayers and spiritual exercises. Few inquire whether they are not in danger of damnation from neglect of works of charity. Let us never forget the terrible foretold words of the Final Judge: “Depart from me, workers of iniquity; I was hungry, and you did not feed Me; I was without shelter, you did not take Me in...; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me, etc.” (Cf. Matt. 26:31-46)
Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 8; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints, and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).
www.infinitelove.ca/cal/engl/07-19.htm

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
DAILY PRAYER WITH REGNUM CHRISTI

THE REAL FIGHT UNTIL THE END
September 27, 2011
Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, priest
Luke 9: 51-56
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely
determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of
him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his
reception there, but they would not welcome him because the
destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James
and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down
fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and
they journeyed to another village.
Introductory Prayer: In you, Lord, I find all my joy and happiness.
How could I offend you by chasing after fleeting success and lifeless
trophies? I believe in you because you are truth itself. I hope in
you because you are faithful to your promises. I love you because you
have loved me first. I am a sinner; nevertheless, you have given me
so many blessings. I humbly thank you.
Petition: Lord Jesus, make me meek and humble of heart.
1. An Unpopular Strategy: Jesus was like the general of an army. His
wasn't a visible enemy, though; his enemy was the hidden forces of
evil itself. Jesus waged war on the devil until the bitter end. "This
was the purpose of the appearing of the Son of God, to undo the work
of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Jesus marched on toward Jerusalem, and
this Gospel described his march with a military term: "resolutely".
Nevertheless, even though he was engaged in fierce combat, Jesus
didn't show it in a way the world understood. Our Lord approached his
battle in Jerusalem like a sheep being led to the slaughter. His
strategy was humility. Humility was the atomic bomb that he would
drop on Satan's designs and plans. He thus undid the pride and
arrogance of Lucifer.
2. A Lesson in Humility: St. John the Evangelist is an active
participant in this passage. He himself knew that Jesus' purpose was
to wage war (see 1 John 3:8), and he and his brother dreamed of being
well-decorated in Jesus' battalion. They sought places at his right
and left hand in the Kingdom (see Mark 10:35-37), and now they seek
to use their rank as apostles to bring down revenge on their
opponents. Jesus rebuked them, redefining for them the idea of
kingship in his reign. They learned quickly that the weapons of
attack were kindness, gentleness, charity and humility.
3. Mission Oriented: In military standards, a commander-in-chief
might have considered the incident in Samaria a defeat. Christ was
uprooted from their presence, so humanly speaking, he lost. This
however, is not the case. Had Jesus complained or retaliated against
the fanaticism of the Samaritans, that would have been a defeat.
Instead, the Gospel tells us: "They journeyed to another village."
Simple as that! Christ won victory because he didn't waste time on
fickle, whimsical and capricious expectations; rather as a true
soldier, he forgave, forgot and continued to the next town.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, allow me to understand the
bumps and bruises of your "boot camp." It is hard to understand why
life is so taxing for my weak nature, but I know that we are at war
with the forces of evil. Seeing you die for this war and winning it
gives me greater courage to commit my bit to the war effort. Help me
to prefer the virtue of humility over my pride.
Resolution: Today, I will be to the one who does an everyday chore
in my house. I will make the coffee for all or wash the dishes to
demonstrate to the Lord (and myself) that I can be humble.
meditation.regnumchristi.org