Vincent – “centuries ahead of the Church’s magisterium”

“Saint Vincent taught us that” resonated in her heart as Mother Guillemin  heard the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

“Vincent de Paul, his teaching and his life were centuries ahead of the Church’s magisterium.” Thus writes Sister María Pilar López, DC and she offers proof in a very insightful and challenging article “The Prophetic Dimension of the Vincentian Charism in the light of the social doctrine of the Church.” After a brief introduction she follows with sections devoted to.

• What do we mean by prophecy?
• Saint Vincent and the dignity of the person
• Saint Vincent and justice
• Saint Vincent and the management of material goods
• Saint Vincent and solidarity
• Saint Vincent and human promotion
• By way of conclusion: visions and dreams

She concludes… “We can say with Mother Guillemin that there is nothing more noteworthy than the spirit of Saint Vincent. For her this was one of the great discoveries and one of the greatest marvels that occurred during the Council. She expressed this idea in the following manner: Each time that a seemingly new idea was put forth, I told myself with deep personal and filial satisfaction: “Saint Vincent taught us that” … perhaps he did not use the same words since he expressed his ideas using the language of his era. But his thinking had a purity and clarity and authenticity so that it was never contradicted or censured by the teaching of the Church … Let us rejoice in the fact of being children of such a father.”

This article was translated for famvin from the Spanish source with the permission of the author.

The complete English translation can be found in the Vincentian Encyclopedia