St Vincent de Paul
At our recent City House educational session, Janice Andersen of the Basilica of St Mary’s was asked to tell not only her own story, but that of St Vincent de Paul’s. Here is what she shared with us.
Born in 1580 in France, St Vincent de Paul yearned for an always-deepening relationship with Christ in his life. Drawn into the suffering and pain of the people, he lived with incredible optimism and joy - finding Christ and forgiveness in the faces of those he helped.
There are four characteristics one can see in St Vincent de Paul and his ministry. Lived out in humility and simplicity, we can seek to integrate these characteristics into our own life.
Unconditional acceptance, love and patience for himself and others: St Vincent de Paul faced his own shadows and faults, repented and found forgiveness. Letting go of his own need for perfection - admitting his shortcomings, and offering them to be use in service to the Lord - Vincent found freedom, acceptance, patience and love for himself and others.
Absolute balance between prayer and action: The more Vincent embraced the discipline of prayer - the greater his ability to act in love. Even as he embraced humility, Vincent had the audacity to act in bold ways to fulfill his mission of helping the needy and the suffering. Through prayer and meditation we receive what we need to be of service.Through action in relationship, we find God and are drawn back into prayer.
Attentiveness to the moment: Trust that God provides us what we need, and who we need, when we need it. We must be attentive to who we are with and what we are doing. NOW is the moment we find the holy and sacred. Vincent had a deep conviction that God is present in time, history, events and people. God is here!
God is in charge. As we put our trust in God’s goodness and mercy, we begin to surrender our need to control everything and everyone in our lives. We develop patience and trust to let God be God, and to wait…
A quote from St Vincent de Paul:
“I should not judge poor peasants, men or women, by their exterior nor by their apparent mental capacities. All the more is this so since very frequently they scarcely seem to have the appearance or intelligence of reasonable beings, so gross and offensive are they. But turn the medal, and you will see by the light of faith that the son of God, whose will it was to be poor, is represented by these people.”
