St. Vincent De Paul, Apostle Of The Poor

Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23
Luke 9:51-56

Today we celebrate the great Apostle of charity~St. Vincent de Paul, the patron of all charitable societies.In today’s Gospel, when the Samaritans rejected Jesus because his eyes were set for Jerusalem, the brothers James and John were angry and requested that they might be permitted to call down fire from heaven above to burn them up but Christ rebuked them. His purpose is to save and not to condemn. To heal our wounds and not to break us down.

What a wonderful insight for us to being a people for others. St. Vincent also experienced hostility earlier he was captured and made a slave. After a miraculous escape through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, He was also accused falsely of stealing in the place he was. He endured till death he end and shared in the sufferings of Christ

I continue today’s reflection with some facts about St. Vincent…
St. Vincent went to Avignon and later to Rome to continue his studies. While there he became a chaplain to the Count of Goigny and was placed in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. He became pastor of a small parish in Clichy for a short period of time, while also serving as a tutor and spiritual director. (Thank you to the website Sacred Space for the historical information – a great resource for background information!)

From that point forward he spent his life preaching missions to and providing relief to the poor. He even established hospitals for them. This work became his passion. He later extended his concern and ministry to convicts. The need to evangelize and assist these souls was so great and the demands beyond his own ability to meet that he founded the Ladies of Charity, a lay institute of woman, to help, as well as a religious institute of priests – the Congregation of Priests of the Mission, commonly referred to now as the Vincentians and then the Lazarites-Congregation of the Mission. He was a friend to many great men of his time-St. Francis de Sales, St. Louis Maria de Montfort etc.

And what are we doing if we are not doing God’s Will?” and “God does not consider the outcome of the good work undertaken but the charity that accompanied it”. are famous quotes from Vincent de Paul. Doing the will of God entails loving God and neighbor. St. Augustine tells us that, “What does love look like? It has the hand to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and the needy. It has the eyes to see the misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. “

let us stop being greedy and give to the needy. The Lord will exalt and honour you. Psalm 112:9 says He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour”.
No matter what, we will always have enough to give whether we are rich or poor. Whether we are prince or pauper. We have enough time and talents to give. We have enough comfort and care to give. Giving of yourself is enough.”No one has ever become poor in giving”-Anne Frank. What you give, you get ten times over.

Fr Osho