St. Vincent de Paul and the importance of following prayer with action

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, priest

Find today’s readings here.

When I lived in Chicago, I frequently took the Red Line downtown, and one of the most intriguing sights I encountered when staring out the train window was a giant mural of a priest born in the 16th century, St. Vincent de Paul, whose feast day is celebrated today.

The massive image depicts a smirking (scowling? both?) priest measuring roughly 70 feet by 36 feet. When you get up close, you can see that the mural is actually composed of hundreds of smaller stamps, just two inches in width, depicting individuals associated with DePaul University, on whose building the mural rests. Created by Mark Elder, C.M., the mural took nine months of research and nearly three weeks of painting to complete with the help of several students.

While the mural had frequently caught my attention, several years went by before I helped a friend with a project about St. Vincent de Paul and learned more about the saint and the well-known charitable organization that bears his name today.

Ordained a priest at just 19, St. Vincent initially ministered to the wealthy. But hearing the confession of a poor farmer on his deathbed prompted Vincent to reconsider his ministry. He went on to found the Congregation of the Mission, the Confraternity of Charity and, with St. Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity.

The organizations affiliated with St. Vincent placed special emphasis on serving the poor, and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, a lay college professor, founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1833. Today, the society is active in more than 150 countries, including the United States, visiting the poor and helping meet their material and spiritual needs.

On this feast day, I’m reflecting on something St. Vincent wrote during his life that resonates today, particularly when it comes to the debate around offering “thoughts and prayers” and whether action must follow. St. Vincent worked to spread the Gospel, particularly to the poor, but exhorted his companions not to ignore the physical suffering they encountered. In short, his prayers were followed by action.

St. Vincent wrote, “If there are any among us who think they are in the mission to evangelize the poor people but not to alleviate their sufferings, to take of their spiritual needs but not their temporal ones, I reply that we have to help them and have them assisted in every way, by us and by others.”

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