We are all on a spiritual journey. Abraham risked all to follow God’s invitation even in advanced age. The disciples journeyed with Christ and found themselves in surprising places.So too Vincent. His journey took him seeking a life of security to following Christ the evangelizer of the poor.
In this segment of Saturday Study Hall exploring the resources of the Vincentian Encyclopedia you are invited to reflect on Vincent’s journey as a model for our own similar yet different journey’s.
Vinícius Augusto Ribeiro Teixeira, CM guides us in the study The Paths of God and the Poor: The Spiritual Journey of Saint Vincent de Paul.
“As we travel along the paths that were opened by Vincent we encounter a wonderful, yet challenging, journey to holiness, a journey that can lead us to a deeper understanding of our life and our freedom, a journey that can enable us to clothe ourselves in attitudes of gratitude and self-surrender and ultimately involve us in a process in which we integrate prayer and action. As we engage in this journey we encounter a man of God, who accompanied the poor, who identified himself with the person of Jesus Christ and who, as a result of all of this, was sensitive to and in solidarity with the dramas and the hopes of humanity. In this essay we attempt to accompany Vincent de Paul as He travels through history; we attempt to understand the ways in which he read and interpreted the events of life and as a result we hope to obtain some insight into Vincent’s spiritual journey that will in turn enlighten our own spiritual journey.”
Concluding Reflections:
- What value might there be in comparing our own spiritual journeys with that of Vincent, Louise, Frederick or Elizabeth?
- Have you ever tried to pick out the highlights and low lights of your own journey?
- Were there any special turning points in the journey?
In outline…
- A life that questions and attracts
- A childhood like others
- Exploring talents
- Journey within
- Journey to the encounter with God and the poor
- Deepening his vocation and expanding the mission
- Birth and consolidation of his works
- Formator of the clergy
- Broadening the sphere of his action
- His journey to heaven
- A spirituality of enthusiasm and availability
- Clothing oneself in the spirit of Christ
- Advocating on behalf of the poor
The article, written for the 350th Anniversary of the death of Vincent de Paul, was taken from the “Anales” of the Province of Rio de Janeiro (September-October 2010), and appeared in Spanish on the Vicencianos Site(Saragossa Province of the CMs). The full article can be read in English through the link Spiritual Journey of Vincent .
See also the 6 minute video “The Journey of Vincent” on the famvinYouTube channel.
Graphic of Vincent de Paul sourced fromVicencianos Site .
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