Vincentian- Using What God Has Given Us To Help Others
What does it mean to be vincentian? St. Vincent de Paul is an important figure that comes to my mind when hearing the word vincentian. Vincent de Paul was a saint in the Catholic Church and a French Catholic priest. De Paul dedicated himself to serving the poor. The reading, “Fire Within” by Robert P. Maloneys shows how Vincent de Paul was vincentian. He was one of the most active saints in history. Vincent founded three groups: “the Charities”, Congregation of the Mission, and Daughters of Charity. In the year 1617 he wanted to organize works of charity in France and that was when he founded “the Charities”. Charities have spread worldwide through France and the rest of the world. Today there are more than 100,000 members in 53 countries.
In 1625 he founded the Congregation of the Mission. This was the community of priests and brothers that sponsor St. John’s along with three other universities. After de Paul died the Congregation spread to even more countries. St. Vincent de Paul’s legacy lived on. During his lifetime priests gave more than 1,000 missions among the poor. Vincent was a superior general to the congregation. For example, he held council meetings regularly, gave talks, wrote out rules, and held assemblies. He started becoming more and more involved in improving the clergy. He organized retreats for those who wanted to become priests or already were. Also, he would offer conferences on Tuesdays for the clergy. A clergy is a body of people ordained for religious duties. More than 12,000 men made retreats at the Central House in Paris to be made a priest during Vincent de Paul’s lifetime. In the year 1633 de Paul founded Daughters of Charity. They were a women’s community who worked on streets, in hospitals, and in schools. Previously religious sisters lived in cloistered convents. Vincent founded the Daughters of Charity along with Louise De Marillac. The sisters became the largest assembly for religious worship that the church had ever seen. Today they serve in 94 countries on all continents. While guiding the three groups Vincent wrote 30,000 letters and continued to hold frequent conferences.
According to “Fire Within” Vincent de Paul was very dedicated to people. In Paris life was difficult for many individuals. Infants would be found lying on the side of the street. Vincent provided homes for the abandoned infants. The Daughters of Charity were assigned to work and they built thirteen houses for the children. Vincent wanted the Ladies of Charity to take the children as their own. This is an example how Vincent de Paul cared for the poor. He did this in order to serve Christ and show his compassion and care. In 1639 Vincent created campaigns for the relief of those suffering from war, plague, and famine. One of his assistants Mathieu Regnard, made 53 trips crossing enemy lines in disguise. He carried about a million dollars per trip from de Paul for the relief of those in war zones. Even at the age of 72 Vincent de Paul continued to show care for the poor. He organized huge relief programs for the less fortunate. Soup would be served to them at the Central House of the Vincentians and many others would be fed at the houses of the Daughters of Charity.
Vincent died but his Vincentian legacy continued on. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, has more than 750,000 members today, serving in 151 countries. At his funeral the preacher said how Vincent changed the face of the Church. People saw a deep spirituality in de Paul due to all of his hard work through his life. He was dedicated to the Church. Jesus is what drew Vincent de Paul to be dedicated to helping the poor. Jesus Christ is what pushed de Paul to be so dedicated to the church and community making him the ultimate Vincentian. Vincent de Paul showed the ultimate love of Christ and love for the poor through all of these things he did. He helped and was a leader to the clergy and people through the church, founded three important groups, and did all he could to help the poor and dedicate his life to them. The keystone in Vincentian spirituality is following Christ as Evangelizer and Servant of the Poor. Vincent de Paul did exactly this, he followed Christ through all that he did and made it a priority to serve the poor.
In the reading “Fire Within” another virtue of importance to de Paul that was stated was simplicity. Speaking the truth is what you should put your passion into. Another idea of importance to de Paul was having confidence in God. People must realize that all good comes from God. Also, we must have confidence in God’s forgiveness. When experiencing humility we must see all things as grace, realize we are gifts of God’s love, develop a servant’s attitude, listen, and be willing to be evangelized by the poor. Love is also very important to Vincent de Paul. We must accept God’s love, follow Christ as servants of the poor, be creative, and have perseverance. Working together and acting as brother and sister with the poor will have a positive effect. We must deeply trust God and have complete trust in providence. Being a servant of the poor and living in simplicity, humility and charity is what St. Vincent de Paul saw as one of the most wonderful things in life. Being Vincentian is exactly what de Paul stated.
It is noted in the documentary “Charity’s Saint”, that Vincent de Paul is Vincentian. De Paul loved and served Christ and the poor. He was the symbol of successful reformation in the church. De Paul always lived a normal life and enjoyed singing and dancing. He became a priest to make some money and take care of his family. De Paul’s conversion was a slow and long process. Whenever de Paul would see people struggling he felt like God was calling for him. He felt influenced by schools, people, and spirituality. Overall, the final product of his conversion was himself. There was a family called the Gandhis and de Paul was hired as a tutor for them. The Gandhis were rich and had a lot of land and money. De Paul traveled from place to place with the Gandhis to collect dues from the people living on their land. While traveling de Paul sees people experiencing spiritual abandonment not being served well by the church. The Vincentian question is: what must be done? This question has many parts to it. For example, what will I do?, what will you do?, and finally, what will we all do? The components of this question refer to the actions people will take to make a difference in the community.
Madame Gandhi had once asked de Paul to hear a confession from a dying peasant who she considered the finest man on her estate. De paul started preaching about the importance of confession. People are able to acknowledge their sins and feel more open. Living with the Gandhis de Paul started feeling like a rich person. He felt wrong and knew that God was calling him. He escaped the estate and traveled to South Eastern France. It felt wrong for him to be living in luxury while the poor were suffering. De paul would apologize a lot for his own faults. For example, he would go days without speaking and had a quick temper. He would ask God to free him from his moody disposition.
In “Charity’s Saint” it is stated that Charity is a really important aspect of de Paul’s life. Madame Gandhi pleaded for him to return and he did. At the estate he went on missions and would care for the poor people. He emphasized the importance of everyone asking God questions about life. The Congregation of Mission reformed the church. De Paul wanted his mission to be everywhere around the world in churches. He takes on St. Laissez in order to give the Congregation a platform. The church of France was successfully reformed. Everyone in hierarchy had to do their job or else they would have to be judged by God. For example, if the king does not help his people God will punish him.
Vincent de Paul’s assistant Louise de Marillac lived a rough childhood. She never knew her mom, her dad remarried, and her step-mom did not accept her. Louise ends up creating a family, but her husband gets sick and she blames herself. De Paul thinks Marillac should serve other people and forget about herself. He invited Louise de Marillac to work with charity. Together they create the Daughters of Charity. Women are given more roles through the Daughters of Charity. Both Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul were soulmates. De Paul said how he had never seen any imperfection in Marillac.
Overall, being Vincentian in my opinion means putting others before yourself and listening to God. A vincentian experience I had at St. John’s University was the midnight run. We took a bus into the city and got off at different stops and gave food to the homeless. This was really eye opening for me. Throughout both the reading and the documentary Vincent de Paul listens to God and puts others before himself. For example, in the reading “Fire Within” de Paul provided homes for the abandoned infants. Houses were built for them and the Daughters of Charity take the children as their own. In the documentary de Paul did not want to live in luxury because he felt like it was wrong. People who are poor have to suffer so de Paul wanted to make a difference and help. He felt like God was calling him to help the poor. To be Vincentian calls for people to practice God’s will and listen to him. Vincent de Paul lived by serving the poor because God was calling him to do so. There is no better way to live life than dedicating your life to Christ according to de Paul.
Ashley Golden global passport 