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Holy People: St. Vincent de Paul, feast day September 27

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St.VDEP“Go to the poor; you will find God.”
Vincent de Paul 1581-1660
Patron of: Abandoned Children, Charity, Orphans, Nurses, Slaves, Convicts, Prisoners.

Born into a peasant family in Gascony, France, Vincent de Paul was an exceptional student. Assigned by his order to attend to the spiritual needs of French royals, Vincent’s life as a priest would present him with vast contrasts. While on a journey he was unexpectedly taken prisoner by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery. When he converted one of his slave owners, he was released, and on his return to France, founded numerous charitable organizations dedicated to the needs of prisoners, orphans, and the poor. These organizations were the first of their kind and still thrive today. Because he improved the lives of so many of them, he is especially called on to protect children who have been abandoned by their families. Vincent de Paul was ordained a priest at the age of nineteen. Staying in Toulouse, he made a voyage to Marseille to claim an inheritance. Upon his return by sea, he was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Tunis. After being enslaved by three different owners, he returned to France in 1607 upon his last owner’s conversion. As a parish priest in Paris, he came in contact with some of the wealthiest and most influential families in France. In 17th century Europe, the poor, the orphaned and the abandoned were all considered of the same invisible class as convicts. Seeing the face of God in these forgotten people, he used his numerous connections with the upper classes to help tend to their needs. Vincent de Paul introduced a much needed concept of Christian compassion to society by forming the Daughters of Charity. This organization gave pious wealthy women a way of serving the poor. Financial donations poured in, and Vincent started “Servants of the Poor” and “Ladies of the Poor”, each charity devoted to either the sick, the orphaned, or the imprisoned.

Within a few years Vincent’s charities were started in other countries, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, the Hebrides, and Madagascar each had a mission. He never forgot or gave up on the lot of prisoners, and sent missionaries to ransom and spiritually tend those in Tunis and Algeria. He also dedicated much time and money to alleviating the suffering of convicts in France. Living during a time of religious wars, Vincent encouraged peace between Protestants and Catholics. Offering refuge to exiled Catholics from England and Ireland, he also ordered his missionaries in the French countryside to respect and help out any needy Protestants. Though he was frequently welcomed by the King and Queen of France, his first devotion was to the poor and he used his royal audiences to obtain state funds for his many missions and hospitals. Vincent de Paul worked tirelessly until his death and it is said that he did more than any other person to relieve the burden of the poor in the seventeenth century.

Novena

God you were patient with St. Vincent de Paul as you moved him from
self-centeredness to be centered on you. Help me through his intercession
to grant me this petition and to know that you will grant what I desire in
your own time (your intention here) . I thank you God for everything and I
will imitate St. Vincent de Paul in growing in holiness through prayer,
participation in the sacraments and service to my neighbor especially the
poor.
Amen.

Angels: St. Raphael

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St. Raphael Archangele*
St. Raphael the Archangel
Patron of: Travelers, Happy Meetings, To Meet A Life Partner, Blind, The Sciences. Scientific Discovery, Healing, Joy, Consolation, Eye Troubles, Oculists, Guidance.

Of all the seven archangels who sit at the throne of God, Raphael is known as the angel of everyday life. While Michael and Gabriel influence whole nations and predict coming world events and dramatic changes, Raphael accompanies us in our personal daily actions. We pray to him before we take a trip, whenever we are ill or for help in meeting a life partner. The name Raphael means “God heals” and it is said that this was the angel who controlled the healing waters of Probatica, a pond, in ancient times, where desperately ill people would go and wait for the angel to move the waters over them, effecting their healing.
Raphael’s iconography and characteristics are best illustrated by the story in the scriptural Book of Tobit. When Tobit was struck blind he became unable to accompany his son Tobias on a trip across the desert to collect money he had left in the town of Media. He prayed to the archangel for a solution and Raphael appeared to Tobias as a man named Azariah. At the same time, a woman name Sara was invoking the archangel for help in expelling a demon that had killed each one of her seven husbands on their wedding night. The archangel disguised as Azariah made a joyful and happy traveling companion, successfully guiding Tobias and his dog on the long journey. When Tobias and the angel reached the other side of the desert they saw Sara and the archangel insisted that she would make a perfect wife for Tobias. In order to defeat the demon that was plaguing her, he had Tobias catch a large fish, burn the innards and drive out the demon on his wedding night. This resulted in a long and happy marriage for both of them. When Raphael revealed his true identity to Tobias, he ordered him to take the gall from the fish back to his father and heal his eyes with this. In this way, he was able to answer the prayers of the disparate group that petitioned him, bringing a much happier outcome than any one of them would have imagined. He healed a blind man, guided Tobias on his journey, and influenced the happy meeting and joyous marriage between Tobias and Sara.

Raphael is also credited with helping mankind develop scientific knowledge. He helped Noah build his ark and instructed King Solomon on building the great temple of Jerusalem. Intimately involved in the smallest nuance of daily life, he not only delivers us on a safe journey, but also guides us on a more enlightened one.

Prayer

Glorious archangel Saint Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace. You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners.

I beg you, assist me in all my needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as you once helped the young Tobias on his travels. Because you are the “medicine of God”, I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of my soul and the ills that afflict my body. I especially ask of you the favor (your intention here) and the great grace of purity to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.