New City Press offers the followers of Vincent dePaul the option of praying with Vincent for 15 days or an immersion course covering 53 years in 13 volumes of his correspondance. And in between there is the first volume of a General History of the Congregation of the Mission (Vol. 1: 1625-1697).
All of the books and many more can be obtained through the Vincentian Heritage Bookstore at de Paul University.
“15 days” follows the format of the series with guide to creating a format for prayer and retreat and 15 meditations sessions with focus points and reflection guides. Jean-Pierre Renouard, a Vincentian, has devoted more than forty years of his priestly life to spiritual formation and Vincentian spirituality. For several years he directed the Vincentian Center at the Berceau de Saint Vincent de Paul, Vincent’s birthplace.
Some might be interested in Thomas McKenna’s Praying with Vincent dePaul.
For a quick overview of how to read about Vincent visit the Vincentian Encyclopedia article by Thomas Davitt Biographies of Vincent.
Tags: biography, Praying, Vincent
See also The Vincentians: A General History of the Congregation of the Mission (Vol. 2: 1698-1789)
This series tells the story of the priests and brothers who for almost four centuries have devoted themselves to human welfare, both spiritual and material. They have served everyone from the most abject poor to the highest royalty in virtually every nation and culture: Europe, the Middle East, Asia (including China), North and South America, Africa, and Australia. This thoroughly-researched history, based on original documents and scholarship past and present, presents a thorough picture of the Missioners daily lives their failings as well as their exalted acts of heroism.
The second volume, set at the turn of the eighteenth century, relates how Vincent de Pauls Congregation of the Mission worked to remain faithful to his vision while adapting itself to the demands of ecclesiastical and political life in France, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Portugal; in North Africa and in the Mascarene Islands off the coast of Madagascar; and in the Middle East and in China, where the Missioners ventured following the suppression of the Jesuits. They had to confront problems from without, as well as the internal accusations of Jansenism that abated after Vincent de Paul’s canonization. This important, down-to-earth side of history is not often told.