A introduction to Vincentian spirituality. The main principles. Saint Vincent, his conversion and his work. It all flows from Saint Vincent’s extraordinary discovery: Christ is hidden in the poor person. Serving the poor person, I am serving Christ himself, I am touching him... And it this spiritual current from which the new work of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul flowed. Powerpoint from the International Council General

1. SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT
DE PAUL INTERNATIONAL
COUNCIL GENERAL
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN
SPIRITUALITY

2. SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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Give me a man of prayer
and he will be capable of
everything …
SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

3. SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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CONTENTS
THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL1
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND OF THE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
3
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

4. SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

5. SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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Touched by the spiritual sadness of a dying man
• At the bedside of a dying man for a general
confession
• Revealing the spiritual deprivation of country people
• He was overcome, and decided to change his life He
was 36 years old
THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL1
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY
MEETING AND CONVERSION

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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CHANGING HIS LIFE
AND TAKING CHRIST AS
HIS MODEL
Saint Vincent abandoned his
previous life, and devoted
himself to prayer for 3 hours
every day
THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL1
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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CONTEMPLATING AND IMITATING CHRIST,
SERVANT AND EVANGELISER OF THE POOR
Christ, whom Saint Vincent contemplates and imitates, is:
o Poor
o Missionary, “announcing the Good News to the poor” (Lk 4, 18)
o Servant, “come not to be served, but to serve” (Mt 20, 27)
o Close to the poor and the little ones
THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL1
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE VINCENTIAN VOCATION:
CONTINUING THE MISSION OF CHRIST,
SERVANT AND EVANGELISER OF THE POOR
• Serve the poor
• Relieve their sufferings
• Bring them the Good News
THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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CONTENTS
2
THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL1
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND OF THE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
3
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

10. SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE POOR,
SACRAMENT OF THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST
“Know that, when you leave your prayers and the Holy
Mass to go to the service of the poor, you will lose
nothing, since to serve the poor is to go to God; and you
must see God in the poor”
Saint Vincent de Paul
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALIY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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ALLOW THE POOR PERSON TO EVANGELISE YOU
Great respect for the poor person, who is greater than we are,
since he or she suffers what we could not tolerate
The poor person changes the way we look at life and encourages
us to be converted
“Support is honourable when it treats the poor person with
respect, not just as an equal, but as a superior, because he suffers
what perhaps we will not suffer, since he is among us as a
messenger from God to test our justice and our charity, and save us
through our works” – which allow Jesus himself to live and love through
us.
Blessed Frédéric OZANAM, 1848
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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HOW DO WE RECOGNISE CHRIST HIDDEN
IN THE POOR PERSON?
“He had no beauty, no majesty to attract us,
nothing in his appearance to please us”
Isaiah 53, 2
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE POWER OF PRAYER
“It is through prayer that we gain strength to serve
God and our neighbour” Saint Vincent de Paul
Pray to
o Change our “hearts of stone”
o Learn to love as God loves
o Pass on a spark of the Charity of God
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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PRAY AND ALSO WORK
“ORARE ET LABORARE”
“We must love God by the work of our hands and
the sweat of our brow” Saint Vincent de Paul
Vincentian spirituality is an incarnate spirituality
o Beyond grand feelings and good intentions
o Attentive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
o Working from realities that we cannot escape
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE 5 VIRTUES PRACTISED BY SAINT VINCENT
Simplicity
Humility
Gentleness
Selflessness
Zeal
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE SPIRIT OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
 Making very different social groups work together
 Organising the Charity: the “Vincentian Family”
- Congregation of the Mission (1625)
- Daughters of Charity (1633)
- Ladies of Charity, now AIC (1633)
 Restoration of the French clergy
- creation of seminaries,
- organisation of retreats
- conferences for priests
 Meeting needs
- rescued children
- help in time of war, etc.
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY2
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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CONTENTS
2
THE FOUNDING EXPERIENCE OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL1
KEY ELEMENTS OF VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY
3
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND OF THE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND OF THE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
3
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL,
IN THE VINCENTIAN TRADITION
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
3
SPIRITUALITY OF SAINT
VINCENT DE PAUL
Serve the poor
Relieve suffering
Bring the Good News
to the poor
RULE OF THE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
Follow Christ by serving those in need
(Art. 1,2)
The Society’s work, aims to relieve
suffering or poverty (Art 1.3)
Bear witness to the compassionate and
liberating love of Christ (Art 1.2)
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE INNOVATIVE ASPECTS OF THE SOCIETY OF
SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
1. Forming communities of lay people to carry out
works of Charity
2. Speaking out against structures of sin, causes of
poverty and social injustice
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
3
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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FORMING COMMUNITIES OF LAY PEOPLE TO
CARRY OUT WORKS OF CHARITY
• The Conference is a community of lay people
committed to serving the poor, to:
‾ Live the Gospel
‾ in friendship, sharing and enthusiasm
‾ Finding solutions to fight against the causes of poverty
(now called systemic change)
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
3
• Present in public life like a yeast of charity
For Ozanam: in the student world, in the family, at university, in politics
For us: in school, in the fields and the factory...
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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SPEAK OUT AGAINST SOCIAL SIN,
THE CAUSE OF POVERTY
“Structures of sin”
‾ Unjust laws
‾ Economic relationships based on power
‾ Inequalities
Work to change the system in which poor people live, and offer
self-development.
“The causes of evils, and not merely their effects, should be eliminated. The aid
contributed should be organised in such a way that the beneficiaries are gradually
freed from their dependence on others and become self-supporting”
(Vatican II, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, 8)
•
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
3
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE PARABLE OFTHE GOOD SAMARITAN, AN IMAGE OF
THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
“Tending to injuries” (combating poverty)
But also:
Making the road from Jerusalem to Jericho safer for
travellers (acting on causes)
THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
3
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY

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INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL GENERAL
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THE CONTRIBUTION OF OZANAM
AND THE SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
3
GLOBAL TRAINING
VINCENTIAN SPIRITUALITY