WITNESS
9-27-13
A CHARITABLE HEART---THE STORY OF SAINT VINCENT DePAUL
I am sure
You have heard the saying:
“Charity begins at home”
I am here to tell you
That that is NOT true
It is not true today
Was not true yesterday
And will never ever be true
Saint Vincent DePaul
Was born in to a peasant family
Was educated by the Franciscans
And became a priest
At the age of 19
His following
Consisted of people
Who were rich and fashionable
Yet Vincent himself
Was utterly devoted to the poor and oppressed
A heart of compassion
A heart of charity
A heart of love
He founded
A congregation of priests
Who would live from a community fund
Renounce all church support
And work to help reestablish faith
In the smaller towns and villages
In that same year---1625
He established the Sisters of Charity
The first congregation of “unenclosed” women
Totally devoted to the poor and the sick
He was a LEGEND
Even in his own lifetime
He touched all people
Clergy and lay people alike
Rich and poor
Outcasts and convicts
A CHARITABLE HEART to be sure
Legend has it
That EVEN NOW---almost 600 years later---after his death
That his physical heart has NOT decayed---is still incorrupt
So we need no further testimony
Than God himself
About the charity---about the heart
Of a man named Vincent DePaul
Like the saying goes,
“It is what is inside that counts”
Dear Lord---we pray
That we may have ALL have
The HEART OF
The love of
The compassion of ---and
THE
CHARITY OF SAINT VINCENT DePAUL
Robert P. Wallman
September 28th, 2011
Ps
September 27th is the feast day of Saint Vincent DePaul
WITNESS 9-27-13
9-28-14
