From: richarra@gmail.com

The Royal Road of the Holy Cross (1)

 TO MANY the saying, “Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me,” Matt. 16:24. seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final
word: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.” Matt. 25:41. Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need
not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the day of
judgment. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens when the Lord
comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who during life
made themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great
trust to Christ, the judge.
--Thomas à Kempis ---Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 12

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September 27th - Saint Vincent De Paul, Confessor
c.1581-1660

SAINT, social worker, reformer, he was a man who changed the face of
France and, in a large measure, the thinking of the world. This is
the picture the world paints of Monsieur Vincent. If anything, this
picture is an understatement. It is incredible that one man's life
should have had such scope.

 This is not to say that all legends concerning him are true. It is
true that he established a home for orphans, for example, but this
happened late in his life, and it is only one of the many results of
his virtue and generosity. Monsieur Vincent was a man who spread his
nobility of character in several directions.

 Vincent was born at Pouy in France, in 1581, of a peasant family,
and through the sacrifices of his father, Jean de Paul, he was
educated at the University of Toulouse. He was not without ambition
and, after his ordination in 1600, he obtained a patron, tried for a
good ecclesiastical benefice, and went as far as Marseilles to
prosecute a debtor. They were perfectly legal acts, but nothing about
them indicated his future sanity.

 The only interruption to his climb to power was his capture—on
returning from his trip to Marseilles—by Barbary pirates who sold him
as a slave in Tunis.  After his escape, he continued to use his
extraordinary charm and appeal to further his career. In 1610 Vincent
was in Paris, almoner to Queen Marguerite, first wife of Henry IV.  He
was made pastor of Clichy in 1611, and became tutor to the children of
Philippe de Gondi, count of Joigny, in 1613.

 It was while working among the serfs of the Gondi estate that the
ambitious young priest turned toward sanctity. He had, perhaps for
the first time, become aware of the true state of the common people of
war-torn France, their spiritual and economic destitution.  His
personal solution to the problem was the gift of himself. From that
time forward, Vincent belonged entirely to the poor.

 The ignorance of the people stemmed from the ignorance of the clergy.
It was required of a village priest only that he know enough Latin to
say Mass. The knowledge of doctrine was almost nonexistent and the administration of the sacraments was, to say the least, eccentric.
The Council of Trent had ordered the establishment of seminaries, but
the country was torn by war. Of the twenty that had been founded, ten
had not even survived until 1625.

 With the help of Madame de Gondi and other influential friends,
Vincent founded a congregation of secular priests who devoted
themselves to the conversion of sinners and the training of the
clergy. The rules of the Congregation of the Mission were approved by
Pope Urban VIII in 1632, and its members were given the priory of
Saint Lazarus, thus gaining their popular name "Lazarists." They were
employed in missions, teaching catechism, preaching, hearing
confessions, and performing all other works of charity.  They
undertook the direction of seminaries, gave retreats and courses to
the seminarians. Saint Vincent lived to see 25 houses of the
order founded, and today his order has spread throughout the world.

 The influence he had previously gained among the wealthy he now put
to good use. He asked for and received incredible sums of money for
his poor, and when that was gone, he asked for more. He procured and
directed the foundation of several hospitals for the sick, for
foundlings, and for the aged.  He cared for more than four thousand
children a year, and as many old people.  At Marseilles he established
a hospital for galley-slaves.

 During the wars in Lorraine he collected alms among the pious persons
of Paris, to be sent to the aid of the suffering.  He founded
societies to bury the dead and distributed seed among the farmers. At
the same time, in order to remove them from the brutality of the
soldiers, he brought to Paris 200 young women for whom he
found shelter.

 Vincent never forgot that he had been a slave; during his lifetime he
was able to raise the money to ransom twelve hundred Christian slaves
in North Africa. He created an asylum where forty thousand poor were
given useful work.

Not only did Vincent expect large sums of money from his friends, but
also their time and effort. His influence among the ladies of society
led to the organization of the Ladies of Charity to help in the
distribution of alms. But these women had never in their lives soiled
their fingers with real work. Monsieur Vincent was a realist; he knew
that he could not make draft horses out of butterflies.  If they were
suddenly asked to scrub floors, he would soon be left with no ladies
at all.

 The difficulty was solved when he met Louise de Marillac, now
canonized herself. Louise organized an auxiliary force of another
type, one used to any amount of hard work, and with no social position
to lose. From these beginnings rose the order of the Daughters of
Charity, which is now spread throughout the world.

 This humble peasant, concerned only with the poor, made his influence
felt in the highest circles. Vincent had some influence with Cardinal
Richelieu and Cardinal de Retz, and was sent for by King Louis XIII as
he lay dying. He was in high favor with the queen regent, Anne of
Austria, who nominated him to the young king's Council of Conscience.
Anne consulted Vincent in ecclesiastical affairs.

 Vincent was so indifferent about personal appearance that he usually
appeared at court dressed in old clothes. This was not eccentricity,
nor even absentmindedness: Saint Vincent could not see why he should
be extravagantly dressed to enter the royal presence when millions
were hungry and in rags.

 Vincent was able to be many things to many men because, first of all,
he was a man of prayer.  In the midst of so much activity, the
awareness of God was always present, and this was the secret of his
power.

 On September 27, 1660, having received the last sacraments and having
given his last advice, Vincent died quietly in his chair.  Because of
him, it is no longer so easy for a man to pass as a Christian without
extending his charity, his love, and his help to the unfortunate.
Never had a man more deserved to hear the words: "Come, blessed of my
Father ... for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and
you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and
you covered me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came
to me" (Matt. 25:34-37).


“Free your mind from all that troubles you;
God will take care of things.
You will be unable to make haste in this (choice) without,
so to speak, grieving the heart of God
because He sees that you do not honour Him sufficiently
with holy trust.
Trust in Him, I beg you
and you will have the fulfilment
of what your heart desires.”
--St Vincent de Paul

Bible Quote:
But speak thou the things that become sound doctrine:  (Titus 2:1)


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Adoramus Te (We Adore Thee)

We adore Thee, most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here and in all Thy churches
that are in the whole world, and we bless Thee; because by Thy Holy Cross
Thou hast redeemed the World. Amen.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)