Feast Day – September 27 Patron saint of the charitable organizations St. Vincent de Paul’s Feast Day celebrates the life of St. Vincent de Paul, a 17th century French priest who founded the Daughters of Charity in 1633. Born in Pouy, France (outside of Paris), in 1581, St. Vincent was the third of six children born to a poor country folk couple. He was ordained as a priest at age 19 and earned his Bachelor’s of Theology in 1604. He spent the first years of priesthood living in relative ease in Paris. The year 1617 marked a turning point in St. Vincent’s life. It was then that he decided to dedicate his life to serving the poor. He came to believe that God lived in every person, no matter what their condition in life or where they came from. In July 1617, St. Vincent abandoned his comfortable life as a priest in Paris and became a parish priest dedicated to the poor. St. Vincent saw that the poor needed nursing and social services, often in their own homes. In 1633, he and Louise de Marillac, also an advocate of the poor, taught 12 peasant girls to care for the poor, to read and write, and to lead religious lives. These women were the first Daughters of Charity; a group that would grow to a world-wide network of sisters that today care for millions of poor in every continent in the world. PRAYER: Dear St. Vincent, the mere mention of your name suggests a litany of your virtues: humility, zeal, mercy, self-sacrifice. It also recalls your many foundations; works of mercy, congregations, societies. The church gratefully remembers your promotion of the priesthood. Inspire all charitable workers, especially those who minister to the poor, both the spiritually and materially poor. Amen. WHERE TO LEARN MORE: There are many books and videos available on the saints. Also, there is a lot of information on the Internet, try http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb03.htm
0 Comments
According to the dictionary definition, the words apostle and disciple mean the same thing – “one who is a follower of Christ”. However, the word apostle has come to refer to one of the original 12 followers of Christ. It means ‘one who is sent’. When we think of those Apostles and their relationship with Jesus it is hard not to feel some envy. They were his friends. He talked with them, laughed with them, partied with them. They felt the weight of his affectionate arm around their shoulder. These are the things that we can only dream about as we wait to see Jesus in heaven. Not only do we envy their relationship with Jesus, we may also be inclined to think that it couldn’t really have been that hard for them to live and share their faith, after all, they really KNEW Jesus in the flesh. The truth is that it was very hard for the Apostles. Even though they loved him and called him “Teacher”, they weren’t always convinced that he was the long awaited Messiah. They were often confused and afraid. It was only after the Ascension of Jesus when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost that they gained the grace and power and wisdom to spread the Good News of the Gospel with authority. While the Apostles experienced Jesus as a Man, we experience him as God, and through the teachings of the Church, we have the full assurance that Jesus truly is God. We have the same Holy Spirit guiding us who led the Apostles but we also have so much more. We have the Church and her sacred teachings, the Bible, the Sacraments, and the promises of Christ. He said, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12 We, the Church, are the body of Christ, and Jesus works through us. We can be the presence of God’s love to one another. In this way we become the Hands and Feet of Christ passing his own love on to others. Do not envy the close relationship Jesus had with his Apostles, for Jesus is very much alive today and he longs for a close relationship with you. He has given us all that we need to be Dynamic Disciples. We need only trust and obey.
|