Two objects filled up the whole life of Saint Vincent: his own sanctification, and that of his neighbour. He began by sanctifying himself, and did not forget others; for he knew that the Ministry of Jesus Christ must produce fruits. His manner of acting in this sacred ministry deserves indeed that we should set forth its principal fruits.
All his actions bore the seal of extraordinary wisdom. A man through whose hands so many important affairs had passed would have had the right, at any rate in his old age, to depend somewhat on his experiences. But Saint Vincent seemed to be the only one who was ignorant of the great accuracy of his mind, the vastness of his capabilities, the wisdom of the measures which he adopted. In the decline of life he was as timid and as reserved as he had been at the age of forty. He undertook nothing without having recourse to God by fervent prayer; he listened willingly to others and gladly followed their advice. That law which the Saint had imposed on himself, of deliberating, of consulting and stopping to weigh always the "for" and "against," caused some delay occasionally in his decisions; but once they were taken it became impossible to change anything. The thought of abandoning a project which had been wisely planned seemed to him to be a temptation. God could not complain of a man who could answer Him: "Lord, I recommended this affair to Thee, I took advice; what else could I do in order to know Thy Will?"
Prudence was another of his grand qualities. He was the declared enemy of everything resembling presumption; and it displeased him to be pressed to give an answer without having a little time to reflect on what had been proposed to him. When the force of circumstances obliged him to give his opinion without delay, he began by imploring help from on high, and usually gave no solution that was not based on Holy Scripture, or on some action of Our Lord. It is a fact that he always managed to find some texts which had connection with the object upon which he was consulted. The fear of burdening his conscience with others people's faults, or of being mistaken in carrying out the designs of God, made him very circumspect when there was question of persuading a person to accept a particular office. He certainly had very great powers over his children, but he would never take upon himself alone to choose anyone for far-away missions.
For extraordinary missions he only chose those of his subjects whom God had inspired with the desire of making this great sacrifice of themselves. The privilege of bidding farewell for good to their family and to their dearest friends was only granted to those who had begged for it persistently for a long time. The Saint thought, rightly, that a man who showed signs of a special call by God produced more fruit by himself alone than many others whose vocation is less free from other human motives, and consequently less pure.
This wise prudence did not, however, degenerate into weakness nor soft condescension. On the contrary, Saint Vincent said that "the ill success of a war was generally put down to a blundering of the generals; thus the faults of a Community usually come from the failings of the Superior. The worst Superiors are those who, in order to please their companions and make themselves popular, pretend not to see things and let everything go just as it pleases." He said also that he had seen a Community - one of the most regular Communities in the whole world - fall away in less than four years through the carelessness and cowardice of a Superior. Therefore he concluded, if the welfare of a Community depends upon Superiors, certainly we must pray much to God for them, as having charge and having to render an account of all those who are under their care.
This firmness of the Saint extended to all points of Rule, and it was not only in the Houses of the Congregation that he desired to see them observed inviolably, but, as far as possible, on the Missions also, and even on a journey. To supplement what was absolutely too difficult to fulfil outside Community life he prescribed other practices. If several of his priests were travelling together, one was always put in charge so as to direct the others and to take care that the Rules should be observed.
The strictness of the Saint was neither morose nor haughty. Being severe only to himself, he was kindness itself towards others, and strove to please them in everything they could reasonably expect of him. If he had to refuse anything it always cost him much pain, and he did so not because he wanted to assert his authority, but because it was impossible for him to grant it. He explained the motives of his refusal, and whenever these motives ceased to exist he invariably remembered the request made and gave leave to carry it out. "If he was obliged to give an order," relates one of his own priests, "he always did it politely, without using the least tone of command, or any words that might arouse the idea of asserting his authority; it was always by way of request: 'I beg you, sir, to do such or such a thing' If he were starting on a journey or returning from one, I felt quite struck by the affection of his farewell and the cordiality of his greetings. His words were always full of a sort of spiritual sweetness which was so powerful that, without the slightest feeling of resistance, one felt inclined to execute his orders."
The delicate way he had of penetrating into the very depths of even a heart hardened by sorrow was most powerful in imparting new courage. "I compassionate the pains you are suffering," he wrote to a discouraged Superior who was employed by him; "but you must not be surprised at these difficulties, and still less allow yourself to be depressed by them, for one meets with them everywhere. It is quite enough for two men to live together for them to become a trial to one another; and even if you lived alone you would be a burden to yourself, and you would find something in yourself with which to exercise your patience; so true it is that our miserable life is full of crosses! I praise God for the good use you are making of yours, as I believe is the case. I am too well acquainted with the wisdom and meekness of your spirit to think that they would fail you on these trying occasions. If you cannot please everybody you must not be troubled about that, for Our Lord Himself did not." The needs of the Company having obliged him to separate two priests who were working in peace together, he wrote to one of them: "I do not doubt that it is painful for you to be separated from this dear and faithful friend, but remember that Our Lord was separated from His own Mother, and that His disciples, who were so perfectly united amongst themselves through the Holy Spirit, had to become separated for the service of their Divine Master." In fine, it was impossible for his children to be tried by any affliction without his suffering even more than they did.
Being convinced that a Superior can only reasonably require from others what he first practises himself, Saint Vincent assisted regularly at all those Community exercises which cost most, and especially the morning meditation. His perfect regularity authorized him to expect the same from his inferiors. And he was specially strict on this point towards those to whom he gave the charge of directing others. "They are at the head in order to be useful". He said that "those who keep no rule and are not exemplary jail in an essential quality for governing; a man, however gifted in other ways with the talent of directing others, lacks what is necessary for the Superior of a House, or the Director of a Seminary, if he is not diligent in following the Spiritual Exercises or keeping the Ride"
In order to render his Direction profitable to all of whom he had charge he strove from the very beginning to destroy sin in them, and all that might lead to it. For this end he established an Intern Seminary, which he made a school of virtue, in which the pupils, of all ages, who were admitted found in the Spiritual Exercises a sure means of destroying the old man and becoming new creatures in Jesus Christ.
Disobedience was the fault he found most unpardonable in a Seminarist; if he did not correct himself he was sent away, whatever other qualities he might possess. According to our Saint, a man who is too much attached to his own will is an enemy of that childlike simplicity extolled in the Gospel, which alone gives a right to the Kingdom of Heaven; such a man is incapable of the holy abnegation which must be the prime virtue of a disciple of Our Lord.
On leaving the Seminary he sent to study theology and philosophy those who still needed to work up these subjects. The masters he gave them were such as would keep up their fervour as well as teach them their science. Nothing was more painful to Saint Vincent than to see a young man decreasing in fervour in proportion as he increased in knowledge, or losing his time in useless speculations which would only feed curiosity. He said: "Just as a glass which- is passed from the heat of the furnace into a cold place runs the risk of being shattered to pieces, so a young man who passes from a place of recollection, vigilance and prayer into the tumult of a class runs the risk of getting deranged." He desired that all the Missioners should have all the learning of Saint Thomas, "but on condition they should also have the humility of this holy Doctor. Pride means the downfall of the greatest of geniuses, as it was of the Angels; and knowledge without humility has at all times been pernicious to the Church."
The conclusion of his advice was that the young should prepare themselves well to serve their neighbour, because there were too few workers, while the country folk were losing their souls for want of instruction.
Practice - If we have learning without humility we shall never be the Children of God, but rather the sons of the father of pride; that is to say, of the devil. A Pater and an Ave to Saint Vincent, that he may help us to follow his example.
- text taken from Virtue and Christian Refinement According to the Spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul, by Saint John Bosco