Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul. Vincent, the son of poor French peasants, was born in 1581. When he grew up and became famous, he loved to tell people how he had taken care of his father’s pigs. Because he was intelligent, his father sent him to school; and after finishing his studies, Vincent became a priest.

     At first, he was given an important position as the teacher of rich children, and he lived rather comfortably. Then one day, he was called to the side of a dying peasant. In front of many people, this man declared that all his past confessions had been bad ones. Suddenly Father Vincent realized how urgently the poor people of France needed spiritual help. When he began to preach to them, crowds went to confession. He finally decided to start a congregation of priests to work especially among the poor.

     The charities of St. Vincent de Paul were so many that it seems impossible for one person to have begun so much. He ministered to the galley slaves who worked on the sailing ships. He started the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity with St. Louise de Marillac. He opened hospitals and homes for orphans and the elderly. He collected large sums of money for poor areas, sent missionaries to many countries, and bought back Christian slaves from northern Africa. Even though he was such a charitable man; however, he humbly admitted that he was not so by nature. “I would have been hard, rough, and ill-tempered,” he said, “were it not for God’s grace.” Vincent de Paul died in Paris on September 27, 1660. He was proclaimed a saint in 1737 by Pope Clement XII. (iMissal, Saint a Day)

     Jesus asks us to be good to others, especially to those who suffer. He says to us, “As long as you did it to one of the least of my brothers or sisters, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). We can put these words of our Lord into practice and follow the example of St. Vincent de Paul by reaching out to those around us when we see them in need.

Here are a few of his quotes, I hope they inspire you to be closer to our Lord each day:

❦ If we are faithful to God, we will lack nothing.

❦ If the world takes something from us on the one hand, God will give us something on the other.

❦ How hard it is to find an individual who is really knowledgeable and truly humble.

❦ I ask Our Lord to be your wisdom and your governance so that all will go well with you and by you, in accord with whatever God may ask.

❦ Doing good is not everything; we have to do it well, after the example of Our Lord.

❦ I ask Our Lord to give you a share of His humility and patience to overcome your difficulties.

❦ God demands first the heart… then the work.

❦ Restlessness usually stems from pride and from being discontented with one’s lot in life.

 

Hail Mary full of grace…

St. Clare, pray for us.

St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

 

Be one and be holy,

Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen

St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church

Houston, TX