Dear John, One of the greatest blessings of my life is working for the Franciscans. But even more so, it is their devotion to simplicity and charity that inspire me. As such, I have spent the last few years scaling back on what I buy and keep. It was gross how much I had accumulated over the years: mounds of clothes I no longer wore, scores of books I will never read again, and a library of movies that I cannot bring myself to watch anymore. Nearly every Sunday for the past couple of years, I make a trip to St. Vincent de Paulâwhich is inspired by our Saint of the Day. I marvel at his life and witness: advocating for and protecting the poor. He understood that the poorest among us will enjoy the riches of eternal life with God. If you, too, are inspired by the lives of the saints, I ask that you continue supporting our mission to explore and share their lives in new ways. Your gift to Franciscan Media means that the example set by luminaries like Vincent de Paul can inspire generations to come. Peace!
Christopher Heffron
Editorial Director |
Saint of the Day for September 27: Vincent de Paul (1580 â September 27, 1660) Listen to Saint Vincent de Paulâs Story The deathbed confession of a dying servant opened Vincent de Paulâs eyes to the crying spiritual needs of the peasantry of France. This seems to have been a crucial moment in the life of the man from a small farm in Gascony, France, who had become a priest with little more ambition than to have a comfortable life. The Countess de Gondiâwhose servant he had helpedâpersuaded her husband to endow and support a group of able and zealous missionaries who would work among poor tenant farmers and country people in general. Vincent was too humble to accept leadership at first, but after working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley slaves, he returned to be the leader of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the Vincentians. These priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages. Later, Vincent established confraternities of charity for the spiritual and physical relief of the poor and sick of each parish. From these, with the help of Saint Louise de Marillac, came the Daughters of Charity, âwhose convent is the sickroom, whose chapel is the parish church, whose cloister is the streets of the city.â He organized the rich women of Paris to collect funds for his missionary projects, founded several hospitals, collected relief funds for the victims of war, and ransomed over 1,200 galley slaves from North Africa. He was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy at a time when there was great laxity, abuse, and ignorance among them. He was a pioneer in clerical training and was instrumental in establishing seminaries. Most remarkably, Vincent was by temperament a very irascible personâeven his friends admitted it. He said that except for the grace of God he would have been âhard and repulsive, rough and cross.â But he became a tender and affectionate man, very sensitive to the needs of others. Pope Leo XIII made him the patron of all charitable societies. Outstanding among these, of course, is the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, founded in 1833 by his admirer Blessed FrĂ©dĂ©ric Ozanam. Reflection The Church is for all Godâs children, rich and poor, peasants and scholars, the sophisticated and the simple. But obviously the greatest concern of the Church must be for those who need the most helpâthose made helpless by sickness, poverty, ignorance, or cruelty. Vincent de Paul is a particularly appropriate patron for all Christians today, when hunger has become starvation, and the high living of the rich stands in more and more glaring contrast to the physical and moral degradation in which many of Godâs children are forced to live.
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Pray, Hope, and Donât Worry Recognize, Reframe, Repeat: three Rs to help you deal with your daily anxiety. The beauty of this process is that it can work for any person who experiences anxietyâa parent, partner, friend, sibling, boss, coworker, or anyone in your life. You donât need a psychologist or a social worker to do this, though it may help to bring this process to therapy to talk about how it went. Next time you feel anxious, or any strong emotion, simply look at the thought (Recognize) with Jesus, see how you can reexamine the statement to remove some of the strong emotion (Reframe), and then do it again the next time it comes up (Repeat). And remember: Jesus is always with you. Just ask for help. âfrom St. Anthony Messengerâs âRecognize. Reframe. Repeat.â
by Fred Cabras, OFM Cap |
Time to Get Creative Reflect We have all been made in the image of a creative God, and we mirror that divine creativity in millions of ways. Letâs pray today to find creative expressions to nourish our souls. Pray O imaginative Creator, help me embrace my own creativity
by revealing to me my unique ability to solve problems,
express emotions, portray experiences, invent solutions, and tell stories.
I praise you for making each human being to reflect you in a particular way.
Today, I will honor you by choosing to prioritize my imagination
and live a creative life.
Amen. Act Even if youâre not a âcreative,â consider how any activity you engage in today has a creative aspect. Today's Pause+Pray was written by Shannon K. Evans. Learn more here! |
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