Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, priest
(Zechariah 8:1-8; Luke
9:46-50)
No name is associated
with charity as much as Vincent de Paul.
St. Vincent worked among gallery slaves and other unfortunates. He also founded organizations that cared for
the poor. This rich legacy of charitable
service continues today with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and also with the
Daughters of Charity, which Vincent founded.
When Jesus tells his
disciples that to serve a lowly child is equivalent to serving him, he uplifts charity. It is no longer an act of piety but genuine
worship of the Lord. It cannot replace
the Eucharist, but it complements and completes it. The Eucharist feeds people spiritually so
that they can act charitably. At the end
of the Eucharist, the priest sends the congregants to do precisely that. The command, “Go…” always implies to do good
for others.
Like Jesus’ disciples,
we can waste time worrying who is best.
It is a vain and worthless exercise.
We all do some things well while failing in other pursuits. We could spend our time profitably in helping
those in real need. These people
surround us – perhaps a street person or perhaps a child who needs someone to
read to her.
