Introduction
The Commission selected a number of texts of St. Vincent as found in The Way of Vincent de Paul by Robert P. Maloney, C.M. The editor has added texts from the works of different confreres. Wherever possible, we have asked the author or translator to choose texts which they considered particularly significant. At times the excerpts are longer than what might be used in a short morning or evening prayer. In that case, confreres might select a portion of the excerpt giving, as one of the authors suggested, the words of St. Vincent himself priority.
Christ Rule of the Mission For Vincent de Paul, there is only one driving force: the person of Jesus Christ. "Jesus Christ is the Rule of the Mission,"
"Remember,...that we live in Jesus Christ by the death of Jesus Christ and that we ought to die in Jesus Christ by the life of Jesus Christ and that our life ought to be hidden in Jesus Christ and full of Jesus Christ and that in order to die like Jesus Christ it is necessary to live like Jesus Christ."
"It is therefore essential for you to empty yourself in order to put on Jesus Christ."
Vocation To make God known to the poor; to announce Jesus Christ to them; to tell them that the kingdom of heaven is at hand! But that we should be called to be associated with, and to share in, the works of the Son of God surpasses our understanding. What! to render ourselves--I do not dare say it--so great, so sublime is it to preach the gospel to the poor, for it is above all else the office of the Son of God, and we are applied to it as instruments by which the Son of God continues to do from heaven what he once did on earth. Great reason have we, my brothers, to praise God and to thank him unceasingly for this grace!
The Purpose of the Congregation Our inheritance, gentlemen and my brothers, is the poor, the poor; pauperibus evangelizare misit me. What happiness, gentlemen, what happiness! To do what our Lord came from heaven to earth to do, and by means of which we too shall go from earth to heaven, to continue the work of God....
The Place of the Gospels Each one must strive, above all else, to ground himself in this truth: the teaching of Christ can never deceive, while that of the world is always false, since Christ himself declares that the latter is like a house built upon sand, whereas he compares his own to a building founded upon solid rock. For this reason the Congregation shall always make claim to act according to the maxims of Christ, never according to those of the world.
Service of the Poor Let us love God, my brothers, let us love God, but let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brow. For it often happens that the various affective acts of the love of God and the interior motions of a humble heart--even if they are good and desirable--are nonetheless suspect if they do not result in effective love. Our Lord himself says: "In this is my Father glorified: that you bring forth very much fruit."
Simplicity Jesus, the Lord, expects us to have the simplicity of a dove. This means giving a straightforward opinion about things in the way we honestly see them, without needless reservations. It also means doing things without any double-dealing or manipulation, our intention being focused solely on God. Each of us, then, should take care to behave always in this spirit of simplicity, remembering that God likes to deal with the simple, and that he conceals the secrets of heaven from the wise and prudent of this world and reveals them to little ones.
But while Christ recommends the simplicity of a dove he tells us to have the prudence of a serpent as well. What he means is that we should speak and behave with discretion. We ought, therefore, to keep quiet about matters which should not be made known, especially if they are unsuitable or unlawful...In actual practice this virtue is about choosing the right way to do things. We should make it a sacred principle, then, admitting of no exceptions, that since we are working for God we will always choose God-related ways for carrying out our work, and see and judge things from Christ's point of view and not from a worldly-wise one; and not accounting to the feeble reasoning of our own mind either. That is how we can be prudent as serpents and simple as doves.
God is simple. Wherever you discover Christian simplicity, walk with confidence, whereas they that use craftiness and duplicity are in constant fear lest their cunning be detected, and lest in consequence other people cease to have confidence in them.
For my part--as I can affirm--long experience has demonstrated to my satisfaction, that a strong and practical faith, and a true spirit of religion, are more commonly found among poor and simple people. God is pleased to enrich them with fervent faith. They believe and relish the words of everlasting life that Christ has left us in his gospel. As a general rule, they bear illness patiently, privations, too, and other afflictions. Such things they endure without murmuring or complaining, except for a little and rarely. Moreover, everyone feels an attraction for persons who are simple and candid, persons who refuse to employ cunning or deceit. They are popular because they act ingenuously, and speak sincerely; their lips are ever in accord with their hearts. They are esteemed and loved everywhere....
Humility Each one shall also show great diligence in learning this lesson taught by Christ. "Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart." By it we are reminded, as he himself affirms, that the earth is possessed through meekness, because by the exercise of this virtue men's hearts are well disposed to be turned back to the Lord, something which is not accomplished by those who deal harshly and roughly with the neighbor. Moreover, heaven is acquired by humility, for the love of self-abasement is wont to raise us up, leading us step by step from virtue to virtue, until we arrive at our goal.
Humility is basic to gospel spirituality. The kingdom of God belongs to the poor in spirit. God resists the proud; he raises up the humble. St. Vincent knew these things well. In fact, he was convinced that humility is "the foundation of evangelical perfection and the core of the spiritual life."
How does it happen then that so few try to practice it and still fewer possess it? It is because it is ravishing to speculate on, but its practice is disagreeable to nature; its very appearance is disagreeable to nature. To practice it means that we should always choose the lowest place, put ourselves below others, even the least, bear with calumnies, seek after contempt, love abjection; and to all these things we are naturally adverse. Yet it is essential for us to overcome this repugnance; it is essential for each of us to make strong efforts to arrive at the actual exercise of this virtue. Otherwise, we shall never acquire it.
Understand this well, gentlemen and my brothers: we shall never be fit to do the work of God if we have not profound humility and self-contempt. No, if the Company of the Mission is not humble, if it has not the belief and conviction that it can do no good, that it is more apt to spoil everything than otherwise, it will never accomplish anything great; but where it possesses and lives in the spirit of which I have just spoken, then, rest assured, gentlemen, it will be fit to do the work of God, because God makes use of such subjects for his great works.
Meekness There are no persons more constant nor firm in well-doing than those who are meek and gracious. While on the contrary those who allow themselves to yield to anger and the passions of the irascible appetite are mostly inconstant, because they only act by fits and starts. They are like torrents, which are strong and impetuous only when in full flood but which dry up immediately afterwards, while rivers, which represent the gentle and gracious, flow on noiselessly, tranquilly and unfailingly.
Mortification Since Christ has said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily"; and since St. Paul in the same spirit has added: "If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live," everyone shall devote himself to a continual denial of his own will and judgment, also the mortification of all his senses.
Zeal If love of God is a fire, then zeal is its flame.
Behold the beautiful field which God is opening up to us in Madagascar, the Hebrides and elsewhere! Let us beg him to enkindle in our hearts a desire to serve him. Let us give ourselves to him to do whatever he pleases with us. St. Vincent Ferrer encouraged himself by the thought that one day priests would come who by the fervor of their zeal, would set the whole world on fire. If we do not deserve that God should give us the grace to be those priests, let us at least beg him to make us their exemplars and forerunners. But, however that may be, let us hold it as certain that we shall not be true Christians until we are ready to lose all and to give even our life for the love and glory of Jesus Christ, resolving, with the holy Apostle, to desire tortures and even death itself rather than be separated from the charity of the divine Savior.
As for myself, my age notwithstanding, I do not consider that I am excused from the obligation of laboring in the service of the poor; what is there to prevent me from so doing? If I am unable to preach every day, I will preach twice a week; and if I lack sufficient strength to make myself heard in large churches, I will speak in small ones; and if even that should prove impracticable,what will hinder me from gathering those good people around me, and speaking to them simply and familiarly just as I am now talking to you!
Trust in Providence If divine providence ever allows a house or member of the Congregation, or the Congregation itself, to be subjected to, and tested by, slander or persecution, we are to be extra careful to avoid any retaliation, verbal abuse, or complaint against the persecutors or slanderers. We should even praise and bless God, and joyfully thank him for it as an opportunity for great good, coming down from the Father of lights. We should even pray sincerely to him for those who harm us and, if the opportunity and possibility present themselves, should willingly help them, remembering that Christ commanded us, and all the faithful to do this: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for persecutors and slanderers." And to get us to do this more willingly and more easily he said that we would be blessed in doing so and that we should be joyful and glad about it since our reward is great in heaven. and, more importantly, he was gracious enough to be the first to act in this way towards others so as to be a model for us. Afterwards, the apostles, disciples, and numberless Christians followed his example.
Christ said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all those things which you need will be given to you as well." That is the basis for each of us having the following set of priorities: matters involving our relationship with God are more important than temporal affairs; spiritual health is more important than physical; God's glory is more important than human approval. Each one should, moreover, be determined to prefer, like St. Paul to do without necessities, to be slandered or tortured, or even killed, rather than lose Christ's love. In practice, then, we should not worry too much about temporal affairs. We ought to have confidence in God that he will look after us since we know for certain that as long as we are grounded in that sort of love and trust we will be always under the protection of God in heaven, we will remain unaffected by evil and never lack what we need even when everything we possess seems headed for disaster.
Do not worry yourself overmuch....Grace has its moments. Let us abandon ourselves to the providence of God and be very careful not to run ahead of it. If it pleases God to give us some consolation in our calling, it is this: that....we have tried to follow his great providence in everything.
But what are we going to do, you say? We will do what our Lord wills which is to keep ourselves always in dependence on his Providence.
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