“The Poor in the heart of St. Vincent”

Celestino Fernandez writes… “I simply ask the listener or the reader to imagine for a moment Vincent de Paul, an elderly man, speaking to us about the memories of his heart and doing so as a type of indelible witness. Once again then he opens his heart to us like a father who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old (Matthew 13:52).

“I am going to explore the heart of Vincent de Paul, in light of its broadest meaning and symbolism, … I am going to reflect on Vincent’s existential relationship with the poor.

Jesus of Nazareth has told us: from the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks(Matthew 12:34). In other words, the heart is the source, the strength, and the cement of the human person. This is clearly evident in Vincent de Paul.

• A heart that organizes, plans, discerns and denounces… A heart for the poor that has an exclusive option, a special sensitivity,  sees sacramentality of the poor, the poor as our “lords” and a heart that interprets and analyzes events from the underside of history

The following outline traces his path.

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Dimensions of the heart
  • 2.1 A heart of stone
  • 2.2 A heart of flesh
  • 2.3 A heart on fire
• 3 Keys to the heart
  • 3.1 From a theological perspective
  • 3.2 From a Christological perspective
  • 3.3 From an ecclesiological perspective
• 4 The Tasks of the heart
  • 4.1 A heart that organizes
  • 4.2 A heart that plans
  • 4.3 A heart that discerns
  • 4.4 A heart that denounces
• 5 The lessons of the heart
  • 5.1 An exclusive option for the poor
  • 5.2 A special sensitivity toward the poor
  • 5.3 The sacramentality of the poor
  • 5.4 The poor as our “lords”
  • 5.5 The poor as our “masters”
  • 5.6 Interpreting and analyzing events from the underside of history
• 6 Conclusions

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Tags: Celestino Fernández, Featured, Heart, Vincent