from the article by Facelina, Raymond C.M. (2000) "The Mission and Vocation of the Priest According to St. Vincent de Paul," Vincentiana: Vol. 44 : No. 3 , Article 4.

1. Thoughts On the Mission and
Vocation of the Priest, Religious, and
Lay Person According to St. Vincent
From an article by Raymond Facelina, C.M.

2. Looking b
a
ck on his life, St. Vincent
once h
a
d this to s
a
y:
“If I h
a
d known wh
a
t it w
a
s (the
priesthood) when I h
a
d the temerity
to enter it—
a
s I h
a
ve come to know
since then— I would h
a
ve preferred
to till the soil th
a
n to commit myself
to such
a
formid
a
ble st
a
te of life. I
h
a
ve s
a
id this more th
a
n
a
hundred
times to poor country people when,
to encour
a
ge them to live
contentedly
a
s upright persons, I
told them I considered them
fortun
a
te in their situ
a
tion. Indeed,
the older I get, the more convinced
I
a
m of this bec
a
use d
a
y by d
a
y I
discover how f
a
r removed I
a
m
from the st
a
te of perfection in
which I should be living.” (CCD 5:569)
St. Vincent pre
a
ching to country people, using cruci
f
ix;
Artist: Giuseppe Antonio Petrini, c. 1748

3. St. Vincent rec
a
lls the st
a
ges
of his life. He knows how much
he owes to his n
a
tive soil
a
nd
to his f
a
mily. He rec
a
lls his
d
a
ys of study
a
t D
a
x
a
nd
Toulouse. He sees
a
g
a
in the
r
a
ther “c
a
reerist” p
a
th he took,
a
nd his moving up to P
a
ris
from the country. How he h
a
d
lived through the experience
of being shunned bec
a
use of
a
n unjust
a
ccus
a
tion of theft;
how he h
a
d endured the d
a
rk
night of doubts
a
g
a
inst the
f
a
ith. And how,
a
fter
a
journey
full of torment, he h
a
d found
pe
a
ce.

4. He h
a
d thought he could burn his
life
a
w
a
y, working tow
a
rds
a
comfort
a
ble retirement, but it w
a
s
life th
a
t would burn him up. He
g
a
ve himself to God
a
nd decided
to devote his life to the poor [the
f
ire of ch
a
rity]. In 1617, liber
a
tion
c
a
me. At G
a
nnes-Folleville, he
experienced the extent of the
spiritu
a
l b
a
rrenness of the
countryside
a
nd the ignor
a
nce of
the clergy. He re
a
cted like
a
priest;
th
a
nks to M
a
d
a
me de Gondi, he
threw himself
a
long with others
into the mission. At Ch
â
tillon-les-
Dombes, he experienced the
shock of poverty. He re
a
cted like
a
“l
a
ym
a
n”; th
a
nks to the b
a
cking of
loc
a
l women, he l
a
unched the
Confr
a
ternity of Ch
a
rity.
Fr.. Vincent
a
nd M
a
d
a
me de Gondi

5. Mission
a
nd Ch
a
rity from then
on
a
re going to be the two
complement
a
ry expressions of
his hum
a
n
a
nd spiritu
a
l
experience. They
f
ind concrete
expression in his institutions:
[L
a
dies of the Confr
a
ternities
of Ch
a
rity (1617),]
Congreg
a
tion of the Mission
(1625),
a
nd the Comp
a
ny of
the D
a
ughters of Ch
a
rity
(1633). It is
a
time of
a
chievement.
Rome, CM Curi
a
, St. Vincent founding
Confr
a
ternity of Ch
a
rity

6. Concrete experiences directed
Vincent’s thoughts
a
bout
priesthood. St. Vincent lived
out his mission
a
ry experience
with other b
a
ptised persons—
in p
a
rticul
a
r with l
a
y men
a
nd
women
a
nd with the poor.
Mission is the concern of
a
ll
the b
a
ptised,
a
nd obviously of
priests.

7. Through b
a
ptism the f
a
ithful
a
re clothed in Jesus Christ
who consecr
a
tes them
a
nd
identi
f
ies them with himself.
Jesus m
a
kes his life
f
low
through them so th
a
t his
mystic
a
l body builds itself up.
(See St. Vincent CCD 12: 184.)
CM
a
rchives, Lisbon

8. Through their identi
f
ic
a
tion with
Jesus, the b
a
ptised
a
re
a
lso
consecr
a
ted to the work of Jesus.
Following him
a
nd like him they
m
a
ke
a
o
ff
ering of their life. In
their own limited w
a
y they
reproduce the
a
ction of Jesus the
one high priest. (CCD 12:305-306)
All the b
a
ptised
a
re priests with
Jesus Christ. This b
a
ptism
a
l
priesthood is expressed through
a
tot
a
l consecr
a
tion of oneself.
The vows of the brothers
a
nd
priests of the Congreg
a
tion of
the Mission
a
nd the D
a
ughters of
Ch
a
rity concretise this b
a
ptism
a
l
priesthood. The o
ff
ering of
oneself
a
nd of one’s life is
a
tot
a
l
gift to God.
Vincent de P
a
ul; D
a
ughter of Ch
a
rity, Vincenti
a
ns in b
a
ckground;
men
a
nd women he
a
rers;
a
lt
a
rpiece, Vincenti
a
n house, Sien
a

9. Although it is the ord
a
ined
priest
a
lone who consecr
a
tes
the bre
a
d
a
nd the wine into
the Body
a
nd Blood of Christ,
a
ll the b
a
ptised o
ff
er not only
their life but the Euch
a
rist,
a
long with the priest
a
nd with
Christ. “It's not only the priest
who o
ff
ers the Holy S
a
cri
f
ice
of the M
a
ss but
a
lso those
who
a
re present
a
t it.” - St.
Vincent (CCD 9:5)
Vincent de P
a
ul celebr
a
ting M
a
ss

10. B
a
ptism, being the result of
a
comm
a
nd of the Lord (“Go
therefore
a
nd m
a
ke disciples of
a
ll
n
a
tions, b
a
ptizing them in the
n
a
me of the F
a
ther
a
nd of the Son
a
nd of the Holy Spirit…” Mt. 28:19),
constitutes
a
source of voc
a
tions
a
nd of mission
a
nd
a
lso therefore
of ministries, both non-ord
a
ined
a
nd ord
a
ined. St. Vincent
const
a
ntly reminded his missioners
(
a
nd reminds us, tod
a
y) th
a
t the
service of Christ in the person of
the most deprived m
a
kes the
Gospel e
ff
ective. Th
a
t is to s
a
y th
a
t
the b
a
ptised
a
re
a
postles,
prophets, witnesses, who procl
a
im
through their lives
a
nd their v
a
rious
works th
a
t, like Christ, they belong
to God
a
nd not to themselves.
Artist: Fr
a
ncesco V
a
cc
a
ro C
a
lt
a
girone

11. “Vincenti
a
ns” respond to
a
person
a
l
a
ppe
a
l of Christ,
seeking to welcome him into
themselves
a
nd to let him live
in them
a
nd to serve him in the
person of the poor. They
a
re to
nourish themselves intensely
a
nd const
a
ntly on Christ
through pr
a
yer, medit
a
tion,
study
a
nd re
f
lexion on the
Word of God,
a
nd regul
a
r
frequent
a
tion of the
s
a
cr
a
ments especi
a
lly
Euch
a
rist
a
nd Reconcili
a
tion,
in order to be sure th
a
t their
only motive is to welcome Him
a
nd meet Him.
St. Vincent de P
a
ul
a
t pr
a
yer, kneeling
a
t cruci
f
ix,
a
ngel points to Bible

12. Facelina, Raymond C.M. (2000) "The Mission and Vocation of the Priest
According to St. Vincent de Paul," Vincentiana: Vol. 44 : No. 3 , Article 4.
Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vincentiana/vol44/iss3/4
Images: DePaul Image Archive
Source