September 27 is the memorial feast of St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660). The two pillar of his ministry are: charity works of mercy for those in need and fight against the heresy of Jansenism.
As he lived through the
turbulent time of the protestant reformation, St. Vincent de Paul faced the
counter-reformation movement in the Catholic Church. However, there was an
extreme anti-Luther, anti-Calvin movement, known as Jansenism, dividing the
Church. This heresy, based on a problematic interpretation of St. Augustine’s
theology of sin and grace, argued that Christ died only for the special elect
as ordinary humans are not capable of observing the commandments for salvation.
God’s grace, an antidote to
our sins, is not for certain “elites” but sent to all. But it is not just
simply receiving grace to be saved as we need to make fruits of the grace i.e. (John
15:8; Colossians 1:6) we received through our works, observing the
commandments.
And the work, rooted in our
faith, is essential (James 2:14-26), to act out of the grace. So, St. Vincent
de Paul worked hard through his pastoral ministry.
The
harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest (Matthew 9:38).
As a priest, St. Vincent de Paul took these words of
Jesus in his pastoral ministry. Because of his compassion, he saw great needs
to care for the poor, the sick, the marginalized, and other vulnerable people,
in the society, and reached out to them, just as Jesus was moved with compassion in lending
his care to those in need (e.g. Mark 1:41; Matthew 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Luke
7:13). His ministry for the poor and the afflicted was to also modeled after
the ministry of Jesus, who said, reflecting the words of Isaiah (61:1-2; 58:6),
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad
tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a
year acceptable to the Lord”(Luke 4:18-19).
Ever since to time of Moses, God has commanded us to care for those in need:
If one of your kindred is in need in any
community in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not
harden your heart nor close your hand against your kin who is in need. Instead,
you shall freely open your hand and generously lend what suffices to meet that
need.
When you give, give generously and not with a stingy heart; for that, the
Lord, your God, will bless you in all your works and undertakings. The land
will never lack for needy persons; that is why I command you: “Open your hand
freely to your poor and to your needy kin in your land”. (Deuteronomy 15:7-11).
And Jesus has reminded us of this in Bethany:
The poor you will always have with you (Matthew
26:11a).
St. Vincet de Paul also knew that he needs financial
resources to run his ministry for the poor and the vulnerable. In fact, he also
ministered to the wealthy and the aristocrats, garnering their supports for his
ministry for those who were less fortunate. He was, in fact, a bridge between
the poor and the rich. What he secured was not just fundings but also human
resources to join in his ministry, realizing these words of Jesus in sending
his disciples on mission:
The
harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest (Matthew 9:38).
As he led more and more people, priests and lay
people, reaching out to the poor and the vulnerable, St. Vincent de Paul founded
the Congregation of the Mission in 1625, and co-founded the Company of the
Daughters of Charity with St. Louise de Marillac in 1633.
Today, these Vincentians continue to St. Vincent de
Paul’s outreach ministry, the works of mercy, throughout the world, to the poor
and the vulnerable, in Jesus’ name, linking the poor to the wealthy.
Though “preferential option for the poor and the vulnerable”
is an integral part of the Catholic moral theology, it is not an option but
rather imperative (Deuteronomy 15:7-11) for all Christian to care for the poor
and the vulnerable, as the Good Samaritan, being a loving neighbor to a
stranger in need (Luke 10:25-37). And this is a way we love God by loving our neighbors
in need, whether we know them personally or not, as Jesus said, putting
Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 together:
You shall love the Lord, your God, with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the
greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two
commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).
After all, our Lord, Jesus Christ, came to this world
as a poor baby, being born in a manger, placed in a manger, not in a
comfortable room in the royal palace, though he is the King (Luke 2:7; cf.
Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-6). And he remained with the poor and died as a poor
man. In fact, our salvation hinged upon how we care for the poor and the vulnerable
(Matthew 25:31-46; cf. Luke 19:31).
Let us follow an example of St. Vincent de Paul and
the Vincentians to bear abundant fruit of the grace we have received through
our works of faith for the poor and the vulnerable.
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