…”we must give them a life worthy of the name.” (CCD XIIIb:159, or X:379)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– The poor need so much more than food and clothing. Dignity and self esteem are much harder to nurture but are nonetheless essential in breaking the circle of poverty. Today, Lord, I will make use of the opportunities of relieving whatever forms of poverty I may encounter.

“We should not indeed be doing enough for God and our neighbor if we supplied the sick merely with nourishment and medicine, and if we did not assist them with the spiritual services we owe them.” (CCD IX:50)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– Lord, let me find ways to provide for the spiritual needs of the poor I serve or at least to support those who can directly supply them.

“It is not the most learned who bear the most fruit, but those who are replenished with the most grace from God. Now who receives more grace than those who are united to his goodness as you are doing, bearing lovingly the duty which he has entrusted to you?” (CCD 7:534-535)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– O God, when I am tempted to envy those who are more gifted than I am, help me to remember that your grace is sufficient for me and doesn’t depend upon human abilities.

“Give some time every day, if it is only half an hour, to devotional reading, which is as necessary to the well-ordering of the mind as the hand of the gardener is to prevent the weeds from destroying your favorite plants.” (CW 1:219)
– St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

– Lord, I need to be nourished by reading your inspired word to keep my spiritual life alive and well. Help me to make this a priority in my life.

“Now if there ever was a good work, it is that of nursing the sick, so much so indeed that it surpasses all others in value.” (CCD X:1)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– Lord, whenever I am involved in any way with sick persons, whether at home or in the hospital, may I always see in them your image and treat them with great tenderness.

“God made the interests of the afflicted his own.” (SW 668)
– St. Louise de Marillac

– In union with you, Lord, I will take the core value of “advocacy for the poor” seriously and make the interests of the poor a real priority.

“You must expect everything from his infinite goodness.” (CCD 11:64)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– Lord, you have told us to “ask and you shall receive.” I ask you now for all those graces of which I stand so much in need. You are my strength in weakness and I rely on you.

“The poor cannot be judged by their outward appearance, not by their show of wit, for very often they do not look nor seem like intelligent beings, so rough, and homely are they.” (CCD 11:26)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– O God, teach me to look beyond external appearances and find you in those who call on me for help.

“Seek God in all things. In all your actions submit your motives to this unerring test: will this be approved by his all-seeing eye?” (CW 2:710)
– St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

– Even when I think my motives are the purest, I can still find a lot of self gratification in things I do. Lord, today I will make an effort to consult you when I have important decisions to make.

“God does not ask you to go beyond the means he has given you.” (CCD 7:523)
– St. Vincent de Paul

– O God, assist me today to use well the resources you give me for service to your poor ones.