September 27 2023 - St. Vincent de Paul - "His heart was moved with pity"

 “His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd”. Our Gospel this morning gives us a glimpse into the very heart of Christ. 

Our Lord, Man and God, sees the crowds coming to him; lost, broken, hurting, and crying out for their shepherd, and his heart is moved to “pity” over their troubled, wretched condition. Yet, his pity was not simply because of their physical ills, but their spiritual condition. They did not know how close God was to them, they did not know that God had become one of them to shepherd them to eternal pastures. 

The vocation of the Christian, my task and yours, is to imitate the Lord in drawing close to those who suffer, and through compassion, to remind them—to reveal to them that God is close to them.

The saints, like St. Vincent de Paul, are so revered and honored by the Church, because they remind us of that great vocation. For they have so decreased their egos and their selfishness, through prayer, self-forgetfulness and charitable works, that they become great instruments of God’s compassion.

In Paris, St. Vincent de Paul ministered to the homeless, war refugees, neglected elderly men, women, and children, and those who had been spiritually abandoned. He set up many houses for the poor, crippled and sick and personally cared for the patients who had the most contagious diseases. He would dress their wounds and nurse them back to health.

St. Vincent explained, “It is not sufficient for me to love God if I do not love my neighbor…I belong to God and to the poor.”    

We pray that we may respond generously to those in need for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That all Christians may grow in charitable attentiveness to the needs of the poor in our midst.

That all those searching and longing for Christ may find him through the witness of His Holy Church.

That the work and ministry of all Vincentian organizations and charitable institutions may bear fruit for the spread of the Gospel.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord