Light from the Altar - Saint Vincent of Paul, 19 July

Is there any saint more popular than Saint Vincent of Paul! By popular I mean loved by the people. His name stands for Christian kindness, for active charity. You see the picture of a benevolent old priest with a baby waif in his arms and you say at once: "Ah, Saint Vincent of Paul." Of course, every one knows him, and if they did not they would at least be acquainted with his spiritual daughters, a Congregation which has spread all over the world, Sisters with large flapping bonnets, looking like white birds of passage. They are found in the battlefield, in the hospitals, in the hovels, in the poor schools, in the workroom, in the reformatory, and they have made the name of their Founder a word of exchange for charity.

Vincent of Paul was a peasant of Gascony; his father cultivated a little farm, and Vincent and his brothers tended the sheep and drove the plough. But as the boy showed unmistakable signs of a vocation to the priesthood, he was sent to school, from thence to the University, and then was ordained priest in 1600.

From this point Vincent's life reads like a romance, and brings forcibly to our minds the perilous times in which he lived. Travelling from Marseilles to Narbonne, he was seized by Mahometan pirates, carried a captive to Barbary, and exposed for sale in the slave market at Tunis. There this priest of God was examined, overhauled, handled like an animal, and sold for the worth of his muscles. A fisherman bought him, but sold him again, as the Gascon peasant could not bear the sea. His next master was a doctor who had spent fifty years in search of the philosopher's stone. He was a kind man, and soon learned to love his gentle slave. He gave him lectures in alchemy, made him tempting offers of riches, friendship, and domestic happiness if he would renounce Christ and swear to the Koran. At the end of a year the old doctor died, and Vincent was again in the market. This time he was bought by a renegade Christian, who sent him to labor in the fields. With the spade in his hand and the hot African sun overhead Vincent sang Gascon canticles and the Salve Regina. His audience were the dumb beasts, the birds of the air - and none other. The renegade's wife used to come to listen to his singing, and in her talks with the saint was fascinated with his doctrine. She upbraided her husband for his infidelity to his God, and so wrought upon the poor sinner, that, with Vincent's help, she persuaded him to fly from temptation, leave Africa, and begin a new life. In Vincent's company he embarked in a frail vessel and landed safely at Aigues-Mortes. Thence, the penitent went to Rome, and lived and died a fervent Brother of Saint John of God.

Vincent journeyed alone to Paris, and lived as chaplain with a gentleman. But his trials were not yet ended. A theft was committed in the house and Vincent was accused. For six years he bore the slander with sweet patience. Then the thief confessed and Vincent was acquitted. From that time forth the saint's wonderful virtue seems to have been recognized by those amongst whom he lived. He entered the household of the Count de Joigny, and left it only to devote himself more exclusively to the poor, whom he passionately loved. He founded a Congregation of secular priests, who take simple vows and dedicate themselves and all their powers to their own sanctification and that of their neighhors. They give themselves up to the training of priests in seminaries, to the giving of missions, and to parish work of all kinds. During the Founder's life twenty-five Houses of the Congregation were founded. Besides this great work,Vincent set on foot in- numerable charities of the most extensive kind; foundling hospitals were built, the sick and the fallen were helped with untiring charity, funds for the terrible war waging in the south were collected. Thousands and thousands of pounds passed through Vincent's hands. He, the poor farmer's son, dispensed princely sums to needy soldiers, orphaned children, and widowed mothers. We, who need money so much for our good works, what can we make of this prodigy? We sigh as we look at our empty hands, and say: "If only we had money!" Ah! I think if we have the right heart, the prayerful mind, the trust in God, and a good cause, our Lord will not hold us back for a paltry sum. What is gold to Him? He will give it if we will prove ourselves worthy stewards. No; it is not money we want so much as the burning zeal for souls, the mortification of self, the heart united to God, Dear great-hearted saint! teach us thy secrets - the confidence that asks aright, the patience that waits, the courage that dares.

At eighty years of age, when his back was bent and his pace was slow and his eye dim, Vincent rose at four every morning and spent the first three hours of the morning in prayer. Is not this a voucher for his early years and his later prime? We do not acquire such habits in old age; they are got in the vigor of youth. Vincent knew the necessity of prayer, and could find no time in the day, so he stole the hours of the night and drew strength as well as refreshment from Our Lord Himself.

One day when the saint was eighty-five he was found dead in his chair - gone home noiselessly, sweetly; home, to be met by thousands whom he had helped and comforted in this life; to be met by Him Who said: "What you do for the least of these. My brethren, you do unto Me." Saint Vincent of Paul, pray for us!

- taken from Light from the Altar, edited by Father James J McGovern, 1906