Sometimes someone says something to us about us that finds a firm place in our thinking.  It need not be something brilliant or even insightful, but when we hear it, we know that it is true and it sticks.  It becomes part of how we think about ourselves and how we give ourselves guidance and encouragement and energy.  I have had that blessing a few times in my life.  Some simple words have pierced my sense of self and defined what I want to be.  I am not going to explore those experiences from my own life but express a confidence that all of us have had that blessing at some time and place.  Sometimes, we can hear someone speak of such a moment in their lives.  Sometimes, I think that we can identify such an experience in the life of another.  I wonder if Vincent heard it on the lips of Madame de Gondi as she asked him “What must be done?”  For the rest of his life, did Vincent ask himself that same question and that gave the force to his ministry?

I wonder about that moment with Blessed Frederic Ozanam.  When he came to Paris as a young man prepared to start his studies, we can identify him as a very devout person with a fierce willingness to defend his faith.  Such a way of thinking would not have been popular after the French Revolution.  Yet Ozanam was supported by a number of like-minded students who willingly spoke openly about their faith.  They would not allow themselves to be backed or to soften their words.  This causes them to enter into debate with their fellow students.  As the story goes, they were challenged for the sincerity and depth of their belief:

“Let us be frank, Mr. Ozanam; let us also be very particular. What do you do besides talk to prove the faith you claim is in you?”

These words penetrated Ozanam and his companions.  It was not an accusation that could be countered by a clever rejoinder.  It penetrated to the heart of who he and they were.  They soon recognized that their well-spoken arguments needed a grounding in action.

The words spoken at Frederic challenged him at a central part of who he was.  “How do I demonstrate that this faith of mine is more than rhetoric?  What founding do I give to my beliefs in action?”  He would not forget this challenge for the rest of his life and service.

We know what happened.  Frederic and his companions sought guidance on how to turn words into action.  Tradition tells us that they came into contact with a Daughter of Charity, Sister Rosalie Rendu, who taught them how to visit Paris tenements and to offer assistance as best as they could and face-to-face.  They placed themselves under the patronage of Saint Vincent de Paul and thus the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was formed on April 23, 1833.  The rest is Vincentian history.

Yet, the experience and learning of Frederic can also be our instruction.  Perhaps the dramatic context gave the words extra force in the life of Frederic, but it would not be powerless in our own experience. What if someone said to me—or I said to myself— “Let us be frank, Fr. Patrick; let us also be very particular. What do you do besides talk to prove the faith you claim is in you?”

We might allow this question to be asked of ourselves as we celebrate the Feast of Blessed Antoine Frédéric Ozanam these days.  The Letter of James (2:17) states it clearly:

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Vincent knew this and offers that lesson both to Frederic and to us.