St. Vincent de Paul: Apostle of the Holy Spirit
Here we are living in the 400 anniversary year of the Vincentian charism. This is a time of renewal and grace. 1617 was the year in which Vincent received the Holy Spirit and obeyed the Holy Spirit in order to make a radical change in his life.
It was the same Spirit which inspired the Apostles to begin the public mission of evangelization on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit made the apostles be became courageous to proclaim the Gospel to every nation, including the poor.
Vincent himself lived with a new fervor after that first sermon of the Mission at Folleville, made him go on a mission to the poor. Vincent had become a man of the Spirit. He followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and today, 400 years later, the fruits of the Holy Spirit have arisen abundantly in the Vincentian charism. Saint Vincent de Paul spoke about the action of the Holy Spirit: “When one speaks of the Spirit working in someone, that is, the Holy Spirit, while dwelling in them, gives them the same this tendency and temper to make him act like God, I do not say a perfection like the Lord, but according to the level of the gift of the Spirit “(SV XII, 108).
St. Vincent became the sharp instrument of the Holy Spirit in the spirit of mission and charity. The Vincentians should also be following that path of acting in the Spirit. Therefore, It requires Vincentians to be aware, to listen and to obey the Spirit to live the Vincentian spirit in today’s world.
On the day Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan, “and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: âYou are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Lk 3:22). The image of the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove — a visual experience : it is not mistaken for thought or feeling alone, but it is an objective reality. For this reason, Luke also presented the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire on the Apostles during the Pentecost (Acts 2: 3-4). The Spirit is the divine reality that comes from God. In Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to empower his mission. It is the power to preach the Gospel of the Messiah.
The 400th anniversary is a good time to return to the sources and discover the vitality of the Vincentian charism, deepen our experience of an encounter with Christ who proclaims the Gospel to the poor — a necessary condition to experience the vitality of our vocation as Vincentians. It is a time of grace for individuals and communities to recover the charism’s vitality, to overcome the misunderstandings of history, reject the tired and boring. This is a time to introduce what is “new” of the noble inheritance we have received from St. Vincent de Paul, and to do this creatively.
The occasion of the 400th anniversary of the charism is a propitious time for the Vincentian family to participate in the dynamics of the ongoing transformation: live in loving kindness with the poor, to listen to their cry, to become renewed in the mystical and charitable inspiration of Vincent and Paul, and finally, in the light of the Holy Spirit and the need for new history, to reaffirm that the Spirirt is the guide to our lives and our mission.
Pentecost transformed people from timid to courageous, fearful to strong, foolish to wise. Pentecost is the feast of new people: new in thought, new in language, new in heart and new in the passion for evangelization, new in will. The birth of this charism also made St. Vincent so full of Holy Spirit in his mind, his reason, his love, his language, and his heart that it made him become a new person for the poor.
May those who are following in his footsteps and living from that same Spirit also be inspired to preach the Gospel to the poor and to live charity with all those who are suffering.
Thank you, thank you.
It is a good time to reflect on St. Vincent and his mission along with my mission. Blessing, Ray