The Apostle in the Top Hat

Daughters of Charity

March 14. St. Louise de Marillac was born August 12, 1591. She married Antoine LeGras on February 5, 1613, had a son named Michel, and was widowed when Antoine died on December 21, 1625. St. Vincent de Paul then became her spiritual director, and under his guidance she became very active in caring for the poor and in visiting the Confraternities of Charity. With Vincent, Louise co-founded the Daughters of Charity on November 29, 1633. She died March 15, 1660, and was canonized in 1934. In 1960, Pope John XXIII proclaimed her the patron saint of all Christian social workers.  (Vincentian Feast Days.)

Daughters of Charity

On the role of the Daughters of Charity: 

St. Vincent de Paul has said the Daughters' main role is to "honor our Lord Jesus Christ as the source and model of all charity, serving Him corporally and spiritually in the person of the poor."

For the full article, click here.

Reflection on St. Vincent de Paul

The Vincentian Year ends with the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul. We reflect on the opportunities over the last 12 months to meet Christ in the poor we serve.

FEAST OF ST. VINCENT de PAUL

September 27

Gospel:

When Jesus saw the crowds he went up on the mountainside…his disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them: “How blest are the poor in spirit: the reign of God is theirs. Blest too are the sorrowing; they shall be consoled. Blest are the lowly;they shall inherit the land. Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill. Blest are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs. Blest are the single-hearted, for they shall see God. Blest too the peacemakers; they shall be called children of God…”

Reflection:

For Vincent, love is always very concrete, very practical. It is love in practice. “Let us love God, my brothers and sisters,” he urges, “let us love God, but let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brows.” We are called to follow Christ as servants of the poor. Servants get their hands dirty. They labor long and hard. They engage in difficult tasks, visiting the sick and elderly in their homes, feeding street-people, serving the hungry, helping the widow and orphan. They are on the front lines ministering to the poor. As St. Vincent says, we must first do and then teach.

Vincentian Meditation:

St. Vincent tells us that “Love is inventive to the point of infinity.” I encourage you today to be very inventive. Because you are on the front line in laboring for the poor, you will be among the first to know their real needs. It will not be psychologists or economists, who study the needs of the poor by examining the data they receive. You will know ahead of them because the poor will tell you directly. Be inventive in meeting those needs. (Maloney, Go! On the Missionary Spirituality of St. Vincent de Paul, p.133-4)

Journal: (Write down your thoughts on the readings after a moment of silence)

In what ways can you become “inventive to infinity” in serving the needs of the poor that come to you?

Closing Prayer:

O God, your son Vincent preached the Good News to the poor,

-may we continue to be effective instruments of Christ

to those most in need.

O God, give us the strength and creativity we need to stand in solidarity with those who suffer,

-may our hearts be filled with compassion and love.

O God, you call us to be followers of St. Vincent de Paul,

-grant us the grace to be “inventive to infinity” in serving the poor and suffering! Amen