Praised be Jesus and Mary.
It was the deathbed confession of a dying servant
that opened Father Vincent's eyes
to the spiritual needs of the peasantry in France.
This seems to have been the turning point
in the life of a man from a small farm in France
who had become a priest with a little more ambition
than just to have a comfortable life.
It was the...
Countess de Gandhi, whose servant he had helped,
who persuaded her husband to support a group
of zealous missionaries who would work among the poor
and the country people in general.
And Father Vincent was too humble
to accept leadership at first,
but after working for some time,
in Paris, among the imprisoned galley slaves,
he returned to be leader
of what is now known as the Vincentians.
These priests were to devote themselves entirely
to the people in smaller villages and towns.
Later, St. Vincent established
a community of Vincentians,
a community of Vincentians,
a community of Vincentians,
a community of Vincentians,
and fraternities of charity
for the spiritual and physical relief
of the poor and the sick of each parish.
And from these, with the help of St. Louis,
came the Daughters of Charity.
And he organized the rich women of Paris
to collect funds for his missionary projects.
Founded several hospitals,
collected relief funds for the victims of war,
and ransomed over 1,200 galley slaves from North Africa.
He was very zealous in conducting retreats for clergy
at a time when there was great laxity,
and he was very zealous in conducting retreats for clergy.
He was very zealous in conducting retreats for clergy.
He was very zealous in conducting retreats for clergy.
Abuse, and ignorance among them.
He was a pioneer in clerical training,
was instrumental in establishing seminaries.
St. Vincent was, by temperament,
a very irascible person.
Even his friends admitted it,
worry about it.
He was a very irascible person.
even his friends admitted it,
it. He said that except for the grace of God
he would have been harsh and repulsive,
rough and cross. But he became a very
tender and
affectionate man, very sensible, sensitive
to the needs of others.
Pope Leo XIII
made him the patron of all charitable
societies and outstanding
among these, of course, is the Society of St. Vincent
de Paul, founded in
1833 by his admirer, Blessed
Frederick Ozenam. St. Vincent
once wrote in one of his letters
that
Strive to live content
in the midst of those things that cause you discontent.
Free your mind from all
that troubles you. God will take care of
things. You'll be unable to make
haste in this without, so to speak,
grieving the heart of God because
he sees that you are not able to live content.
You do not honor him sufficiently with
holy trust. I beg you, and you will have
a fulfillment, the fulfillment of what
your heart desires. So no matter what
imperfections we have, we can pray to
St. Vincent de Paul to overcome them just
as he did. Of course,
not by our own efforts, but as he mentions,
except for the grace of God.