Thursday, XXV Week of Ordinary Time, Commemoration of St. Vincent de Paul
(Haggai 1)
Ten years ago when the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was building its new cathedral, lay Catholics working with the very poor protested the construction. With prophetic boldness they claimed that its cost of $300 million was a needless extravagance. Confident that the Archdiocese was doing what it could to help the poor, Cardinal Mahoney proceeded with the project.
We hear of a similar tug-a-war between spending on social needs and constructing a monument to God in the reading from the prophet Haggai today. In this case, the prophet takes the side of construction. God should receive glory, he intimates, so that everyone may keep priorities in right order. Construction in such a case often has measurable social benefit. In the presence of great institutions, people produce more in order to maintain their environment.
Today we remember one of the greatest organizers on behalf of both the poor and the institutional Church. St. Vincent de Paul would tell the congregation of sisters he founded that it was quite all right for them to leave prayers to attend to the needs of the poor. He insisted that it is just going from Christ to Christ. He also championed the Church in opposition to the Jansenist heresy which limits the efficacy of grace. The Congregation of Missions, the order of priests St. Vincent founded, has also aided the Church by distinguishing itself in seminary education.
