Spiritual Retreats Established by Saint Vincent

With regard to Retreats, Saint Vincent carried out what nobody else had ever thought of attempting. The greatest saints of the last century must have groaned over the corruption prevailing in the bosom of Christianity. They indeed exhorted the faithful to weigh all their actions in the balance of Eternal Truth and to reflect seriously on Eternity, which is ever rapidly approaching. But it was reserved to Saint Vincent to procure for them in this regard, joys which were hitherto unknown, and to remove from the less fortunate (that is to say, the greater number) the real or imaginary pretexts behind which they usually concealed their negligence or their insensibility. For this it was necessary not only to provide Directors capable of touching their hearts by their discourses, and of directing them in the Holy Tribunal of penance, but it was necessary also to spare them expense. It is a strange fact that where pleasure is concerned expense does not seem to count, however considerable it may be; but it always seems excessive directly there is question of eternal salvation.

This reflection inspired Saint Vincent with the thought of sharing his house, his furniture, all that he had, with those who would profit by it to become reconciled with God. Like the father of the family of which the Gospel speaks, he compelled the good and the bad to sit at his table. All the recompense he asked for was that the good should better themselves still more, and that those who were not should make every effort to become so.

Such disinterestedness was soon reported throughout Paris and the Province, and in a few months Saint Lazare was receiving a larger number of guests than ever. It was a touching sight to see, in the same refectory, noblemen of highest rank sitting with the lowest among the people; laymen at the side of those in the bonds of Holy Orders; magistrates and simple artisans; masters and servants; old men eager to come and weep over their past, and young people coming to seek means of preservation for the future. To sustain an enterprise of this kind and to obtain all the fruit it should produce, certainly a big heart was needed, and great enlightenment.

Such was the outline of Saint Vincent's plan; but it had to be carried out in such a way as to be useful to those who made the Retreat, and to be transmitted from age to age, even to his last successors. He therefore strove to make them all appreciate the grace that God was putting in their reach. He represented to the "exercitants" that the sole aim of the Retreat is to destroy the reign of sin, to reform man entirely, to renew his interior life, to open his eyes to the duties of his state and to his personal obligations, and finally to establish him solidly in a state of true Charity which unites his heart and all the powers of his soul to God, so that he can in all truth cry out with the Apostle: "It is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ lives within me."

In order to neglect nothing that might contribute to the success of the Retreats the Servant of God wished that the priests to whom he confided their direction should take as the subject of their sermons, not those which are pleasing to the soul or the imagination, but the great Truths of salvation; in a word, those which a good Christian should never forget, and cannot recall without becoming better.

Thus, the end for which God created us, the graces received, the great lessons which Jesus Christ, His Son, has given us; the helps He has prepared for us in the Sacraments, the dispositions necessary for approaching them; the horror of sin, its fatal consequences, the vanity of the world and of its opinions, the illusions of our own mind; the temptations of the flesh, the malice and artifice of the old serpent, the shortness of life, the uncertainty of the moment of death, the dreadful judgments of God, the happy or miserable eternity - these and other similar ones are the truths which he imposed on the Directors of the Retreats, and which still today form the subject of sermons and meditation during the spiritual exercises. By this means those making the Retreat are effectually disposed to examine the state of their conscience, to make a good general confession, or, if it has been made, to render their conscience more perfect by a review of what may have been defective in the past; to take to oneself a Rule of Life from which one is not to deviate without absolute necessity; and, above all, to form strong resolutions to avoid evil, and to do good.

Fearing that after his death the Priests of the Congregation, being overburdened with labour and worried by so much expense on behalf of these gratuitous Retreats, might let their zeal cool down little by little, the Saint tried to forewarn them against this kind of temptation. He represented to them therefore that their house had formerly been a refuge for lepers, of whom none were cured, but that henceforth it would receive persons attacked by a leprosy far more dangerous than that of the body; or, to speak more correctly, dead persons, of whom a great number would recover health as well as life through the Divine Mercy. For, with regard to sinners. Our Lord operated every day the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, and therefore it was a great privilege for the Priests to be the chosen instruments of these stupendous resurrections. "Ah!" he exclaimed, "what a shame if this place, which is now like a health-giving pool of Bethsaida, where so many come to bathe in the hope of recovery, should one day become a corrupted cistern through the relaxation and laziness of those who dwell there! Let us pray to God that such a thing may never happen. Let us pray to the Blessed Virgin that She may prevent it by Her intercession, and by the desire She has for the conversion of sinners. Let us pray to the great friend of the Son of God, Saint Lazare, that it may please him to be ever the protector of this house, and that he may obtain for it the grace of perseverance in the good begun."

Saint Vincent reminded his Missioners of the good effects of Retreats, which they themselves had witnessed, encouraging them to consider neither the trouble nor the expense. But with regard to this, his example was more eloquent than his words. He increased the number of admissions for Retreat, and the more he advanced in age the more lavish he became in his generosity, which is rare in old age. Indeed his charity knew no bounds; he extended it so far that, in the end, he admitted to the spiritual exercises all those for whom he could find room. From certain calculations made we know that during the last twenty-five years of his life more than twenty thousand persons made their Retreat in his house; that is to say, over eight hundred every year. It is true that a certain number paid their expenses altogether, or partly, but most of the rest could give nothing.

It is not rare to meet with virtuous persons who hold different opinions about such or such a thing. Thus several Missioners found his charity excessive. A Brother who had charge of the expenses said to him one day: "By going on in this way the House will break down, because you admit too many to make the Retreat." The holy man replied: "My Brother, I do it because these people want to be saved."

Another represented to him that amongst this multitude of exercitants there were a certain number who had no thought of profiting by it, being far more attracted by the good food for the body than by that for the soul. But the worthy imitator of the Charity of Jesus Christ replied that, in the eyes of faith and religion, it was already a great advantage that a certain number of exercitants derived all possible profit from the exercises; that the fact of feeding a needy man is in itself an alms always very pleasing to God; that, if we were to be too difficult about admitting those who presented themselves, we should run the danger of repulsing some upon whom the Holy Spirit had merciful designs; and that by wishing to scrutinize all their intentions we might stifle in many of them the first inspirations of grace, hidden behind human and material considerations. His explanations on this point were so explicit that one easily perceived it was a breath from on High urging him, or rather sweeping him, along that path.

Doubtless such a burdensome undertaking was the occasion of enormous sacrifices for the Saint, but we must remember that even in this world he was recompensed a hundredfold. As soon as his Congregation began to extend, all those Houses, which possessed the necessary means, established Retreats like those held in Saint Lazare in Paris.

He was able himself to verify the incalculable good they produced everywhere. A wonderful number of letters came to congratulate him on the blessings which God granted to his zeal. Priests, Curés, Bishops, Cardinals, all thanked him for m akin g easy for them this practice which sanctified pastors and people. The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Lazare were started in a good number of dioceses. Some prelates who formerly, whilst simple ecclesiastics, had placed themselves under the direction of Saint Vincent and been sanctified by the Retreats, undertook to sanctify their clergy by the same means. One of them wrote one day to the Servant of God that at that time he had thirty priests in his Episcopal House making their Retreat, with much fruit.

Not alone in France, but in Italy also, the Hand of God was with the Missioners. Cardinal Durazzo, whose zeal was an honour to the Roman purple, had no sooner established the Priests of the Mission in the town of Genoa, of which he was Archbishop, than he asked if these Missioners would do as much good with regard to his clergy as they had done in the country for his flock. The results were prodigious. The spirit of humility and of compunction were shown by so many signs that it became difficult to moderate their transports. One of the Gentlemen of Saint Lazare said on this occasion: "We are here in the valley of Jehoshaphat; each one is acknowledging his miseries. Blessed are those who, having sought this confusion before death, may be prepared to escape that of the great day of the Lord." Cardinal Durazzo, who could scarcely believe his eyes, could not restrain his tears. He thanked a thousand times over the prime mover of so much good and those who served as his fitting instruments.

All this success made the Saint inflexible in his resolution of permitting no change in his House with regard to the Retreats. The misfortunes of the time have never affected the practice of this work of charity.

Practice - Let us resolve to make a good Retreat this year. If our occupations will not allow of this, let us employ at least one day to put the affairs of our conscience in the state in which we should like to find them at the hour of our death.

- text taken from Virtue and Christian Refinement According to the Spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul, by Saint John Bosco