In days of yore  saints were presented as living perfect lives from their first breaths. Today we are more sophisticated in recognizing that for most the path to holiness was a journey of many conversion moments.

In our heads we know that Vincent and Louise were not always saints. Today, for lack of better terms we speak of Vincent I and Vincent II to capture  the change in Vincent who in his early life seemed to be more concerned with “What’s in it for me” rather than the later Vincent who focused on “What’s in it for people who are poor?”. We try to understand the impact of Louise’s “Pentecost” experience. Much has been written about the impact of  Frederic being taken aback by an atheist’s question and the widening  of his horizons as he walked the slums with Rosalie Rendu.

In this Saturday’s Study Hall we have an invitation to look at some recent writing that illuminates the journeys of Vincent and Louise  with a view towards recognizing parallels with issues we wrestle with in our own journeys. Perhaps reviewing some of these articles in the Vincentian Encyclopedia may offer insights for our own journeys.

Vincent

• Louise de Marillac: a woman of the seventeenth century
• The Human and Christian Formation of Louise de Marillac
• The Faith of Saint Louise in light of an Individualistic Society

Louise

• The Faith of Vincent de Paul in the Midst of an Unbelieving Society
• The Paths of God and the Poor: the Spiritual Journey of Saint Vincent de Paul
• Saint Vincent Confronts the Crisis of Values of his era