By Bishop James Conley
On Sept. 27, the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, in which we ask for his intercession and commemorate his resolute charity, especially toward the poor and the marginalized.
Vincent was born in 1581 into a poor family in the southwest of France, the son of peasant farmers. He was blessed with a brilliant mind, which provided him a promising future. He entered the seminary, financing some of the costs of his education by tutoring other students.
He was ordained a priest at the extraordinarily young age of 19. He envisioned, at this time, that he would serve as a priest for a few years, obtain a benefice, retire at an early age, and help support his family.
However, in 1605, Vincent’s life took an unexpected turn. While sailing from the French city of Marseilles, his ship was seized by Ottoman pirates, and he was sold into slavery in Tunisia. After two years as a slave, he escaped back to Europe.
After his escape, he studied for a period of time in Rome, but then went back to France. In France, he established relationships with wealthy and influential people. In fact, he became a teacher and spiritual advisor to a wealthy French family.
For some time, Vincent viewed his priesthood as one of great comfort and leisure, but after several interactions with the poor, including the hearing of the confession of a poor man on his deathbed, his heart was moved with pity for those in grave material need. He utilized his connections with the rich and powerful not for his own gain, but to help those in need.
Vincent organized a system to care for the poor through the financial generosity of his wealthy friends and acquaintances. For instance, he turned to a group of wealthy women in Paris to fund hospitals, missionary projects, and relief funds for victims of war. He asked another wealthy donor to fund missionaries to provide outreach to poor tenant farmers. Vincent, who himself had been a slave, collected funds to ransom 1,200 galley slaves in North Africa.
Vincent founded the Congregation of Priests of the Mission in 1625, with the intention to evangelize rural populations and to promote vocations to the priesthood during a time of scarcity of priests. He and St. Louise de Marillac founded the Daughters of Charity, whose charism involved an extensive apostolate among the poor, the sick, and prisoners. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in 1833 by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and continues to follow Vincent’s example today.
Vincent could have lived a life of great leisure in his priesthood, but he chose to use the gifts that God had given him and the people in his life to allow others to experience the love of Christ.
Vincent lived out the theological virtue of charity that he received at his baptism. As St. Thomas Aquinas says, charity is “the friendship of man for God.” We love others through our love for him.
Charity, in our love, devotion, and worship of God, is never to the detriment or neglect of our neighbor. Rather, divine love purifies human love, and it changes us, the lover, as well. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, and when we are open and submissive to the Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit are palpable.
The fruits of the Spirit were palpable in the life of St. Vincent de Paul. It is said that he had an irascible temperament, in which he was often hot-headed; easily angered. But, this changed throughout his life, as he became gentle, tender, and attentive to the needs of others. Vincent himself commented on this change, saying that without the grace of God he would have remained, “hard and repulsive, rough and cross.”
The theological virtue of charity is infused in the will of every Christian at baptism. Acts of charity are not reserved merely to priests and religious, or great saints like St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. Charity is for every Christian.
The virtue of charity is lived out in many ways. An important expression of charity is that of volunteer service in the Church and the community.
I am grateful for those who volunteer their time, talent and treasure in service to the Lord in the parishes and institutions of the Diocese of Lincoln. Our diocese is blessed with a multitude of volunteers of all ages, who provide countless hours of donated service.
Without the selfless work of volunteers, parishes would clearly incur additional costs. Moreover, the work of volunteers benefits the mission of the Catholic Church—to bring souls into union with Christ.
However, we recall how the charitable work of St. Vincent de Paul changed both the lives of those he served, but also his own life in Christ. Likewise, volunteer work gets us outside of ourselves, and that changes us for the better; it helps us grow in friendship and solidarity with others.
As the document from the Second Vatican Council Gaudium et Spes states, “Man cannot fully find himself, except through a sincere gift of himself.” When we volunteer or perform any acts of charity, we are opening up our hearts to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Pope Leo XIII declared St. Vincent de Paul the patron saint of all works of charity. In honor of his feast day this year, and in gratitude to the many volunteers throughout the diocese, I have declared Sept. 27, 2019, Volunteer Day in the Diocese of Lincoln.
