126. TRANSLATION OF THE RELICS
OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL

April 26

Your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. All flesh is grass and its glory like the wild flower's. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord remains for ever. What is this Word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you.

After the French Revolution, the body of Saint Vincent de Paul, which had been carefully shielded from the violence of the times, was moved on April 25, 1830 from the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Paris to the Church of the Missionaries of the Congregation of the Mission. A large crowd, including the Archbishop, canons of Notre Dame Cathedral, confreres, Daughters of Charity, orphans and the poor of all types, accompanied the reliquary containing the remains of the Saint during the whole journey. As this procession moved forward, the official report stated that the crowd increased because many persons were anxious to see the previous remains of the saintly priest who had filled their great city with monuments and institutions created by his charity to comfort and lessen the pain of the unfortunate. From the silence and peace in which his body rests, he raises his voice with force and humility today urging everyone to live their own vocation with dignity.

1. A CONGREGATION CAN DO EVERYTHING WHEN IT IS ENCOURAGED AND MOVED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD

Nothing is more contrary to the spirit of Saint Vincent than idleness or laziness. He would have liked to have had more hands and more time to devote to the evangelization of the poor. Only good deeds, he said, commenting on Scripture, will follow the just. Repeating the warning of his spiritual director and confessor, AndrČ Duval, he urged the community of missionaries:

An ecclesiastic should have more work to do than he could get through, because as soon as sloth and idleness get a grip on an ecclesiastic, vices pour in from every direction, temptations to impurity and many, many others! May your divine goodness be pleased to deliver the Congregation of the Mission from the spirit of slothfulness and from the pursuit of comfort. Give this Little Company an ardent zeal for your glory so that it may embrace all creation. Never allow it to lose an opportunity of serving you! We are called to serve and to be missionaries, real missionaries, children of God, possessed by the Spirit of God. Thus this Company should be willing to undertake any endeavor where it perceives the movement of the Spirit of God.

2. THOSE WHO COMPRISE THIS SMALL GROUP OF MISSIONARIES IN HEAVEN

Devotion and work on behalf of the poor are the source of vocations, as well as a testimony of fidelity to the calling of the Mission:

What will happen if we fulfill our obligations? This will happen: God will increase from day to day the graces of our vocation. He will send the Company persons determined to act in accord with the Spirit of God. He will bless all that is done at home and abroad. Finally, those persons touched by our ministry will bear witness before God to our fidelity. Also the group of missionaries who are now in Heaven, Father de la Salle, Father de Sergis, and all the others, including our dear Brother Desfriches who died recently, all of these persons will continue to please on our behalf before the throne of God.

3. I DO NOT FEEL THAT I AM ABSOLVED FROM WORKING FOR THE SALVATION OF THOSE POOR PEOPLE

Not even the ailments of old age prevented Saint Vincent from working. While not wishing to place a greater value on his actions than on those of others, he said:

As for myself, in spite of my age, I say before God that I do not feel exempt from the obligation of laboring for the salvation of those poor people, for what could hinder me from doing so? If I cannot preach every day, all right! I will preach twice a week. If I cannot preach more important sermons, I will strive to preach less important ones. If the people cannot hear me, then what is there to prevent me from speaking in a friendly, informal way to those poor folk, as I am now speaking to you, gathering them around me as you are now.

***** Do I make use of my time and good health to devote myself to the evangelization of the poor?

***** Do I allow myself to succumb to idleness and laziness, and hide the talents that God has bestowed upon me?

***** Do I easily excuse myself from working when I have some small ailment?

PRAYER:

Lord, you endowed your priest Saint Vincent with the wonderful gift of mercy. As we celebrate the translation of his relics may we imitate the love kindled in him by the Holy Spirit, and in your name dedicate ourselves to the service of the poor. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.