St. Vincent de Paul...
you happily spent your life giving everything you had to God’s poor.
Help me to realize that God loves me when I give cheerfully.
Feast Day: July 19th
Vincent de Paul was a very holy priest. Born in 1576. He remembered how Our
Lord loved the poor and worked for them. So he did all he could to make life
sweet and easy for them. He gave them whatever money he had. He carried the
poor sick home and took care of them in his own house. When he found poor children,
he gave them food, clothing, toys, and his love. But always he told them about
Jesus Christ. He told them that the Savior was poor too, and loved the poor
most of all. He was most remembered for his kindness. “Give” was the word that
described his daily life. He worked to earn money, then gave it all away to
the poor. He brought poor people who were sick to his own home and cared for
them. He is the patron of charitable societies.
Poor children were always hanging on his coattails. To them, he gave food,
clothing, toys, and all the love that was in his heart.
Once he was captured by pirates and carried away to sea. But he made the pirate
himself love Jesus Christ and became a Catholic. To help him work for the poor,
he gathered fine men and women about him. The men are called Priests of the
Mission, who collected food and clothes for those who could not work. The women
are the Sisters of Charity, who nursed the sick and cooked meals for them.
After his death in 1660, the Vincentians and the Sisters of Charity continued
the work Vincent had started.
Reflection – Most people who profess piety ask advice of directors
about their prayers and spiritual exercises. Few inquire whether they are not
in danger of damnation from neglect of works of charity. See Lives
of the Saints for Every day in the Year, by Fr. Alban Butler.
Read more about St. Vincent de Paul and other saints in the following books available
through fatimashoppe.org or catholicbooks.org.
The
Children’s Book of Saints
Miniature
Stories of the Saints - Book One
Our
Friends The Saints
Saint Vincent de Paul
This story was compiled from the above books.
The Saints of the Week Archives
|