“Inventive Love: St. Vincent de Paul’s lifetime of service among the poor.” When Vincent died on Sept. 27, 1660, it was clear that a deep spirituality had transformed his humanity. By his own account, he was strong-willed and had been easily moved to anger as a young man. He also had a tendency to be moody. But he recognized these traits and the need to confront them. “I turned to God and begged him incessantly to change my dry, contentious manner and to give me a warm, gentle spirit. And by the grace of God, and with the little bit of attention that I gave to holding back the movements of nature, I have somewhat changed my dark moods.” His contemporaries witnessed that the mature Vincent was not only inventive in deeds, but had become a warm, approachable man who related to rich and poor alike in a simple, loving way.
Visit America Magazine at http://www.americamagazine.org/ for the full story.
From a side bar to the story
Truth-telling
• Vincent urged his followers to let the truth have a special place in their lives. He encouraged them to: speak the truth, despite embarrassment or inconvenience; witness to the truth, so that their lives match their words; search for the truth humbly as wayfarers rather than thinking that they possess it as an owner; practice the truth through works of justice, charity and peace; strive for single-minded truth, or purity of intention; and live truthfully as servants of the poor, keeping their possessions modest and sharing readily.
See a partial list of links to his other published works in the Vincentian Encyclopedia
Tags: America Magazine, Robert P. Maloney, spirituality, Vincent
