Saint Vincent de Paul

[pic] Saint Vincent de Paul Alan Pham 11/11/11 Confirmation 1 Table of Contents Family…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Occupation……………………………………………………………………………………...

…2 Virtues…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Aspect That Attracted Me………………………………………………………………………....

4 How this Saint is a Model for Christians…………………………………………………………. 5 What I learned From This Saint…………………………………………………………………... 6 How This Saint’s Life is Related to My Life…………………………………………………….

.. 7 Why I Chose This Saint…………………………………………………………………………..

. 8 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………9 FamilyVincent de Paul lived in a religious pheasant family capable of making ends meet only through hard work and prudence. His father came from a family of famous country people, and his mother was the daughter of the owner of a small rural territory; the countryside was slowly recovering from destruction after the Thirty Years War. A paternal uncle, a canon, worked at a local hospice for travelers and poor pilgrims. His maternal uncles were judges, and his mother’s father owned a noble domain. His parents were very modest, but Vincent never mentioned this aspect of being a peasant.

Saint Vincent’s father seemed to be the person in his family that had the biggest effect on him. Saint Vincent de Paul’s father was part of the reason Saint Vincent de Paul became successful. When Vincent was a child, his father had pushy plans for him. He was sent to the Franciscan School de Dax 5 kilometers away from de Pouy, the farming village of the region.

Although Saint Vincent de Paul’s father helped a lot, Vincent thought of his father as poor, “As a young man, when my father took me to the city I was ashamed of going with him and of recognizing him as my father because he went poorly dressed and limped.I recall on one occasion in the school where I studies I was told my father came to see me, a poor farmer. I refused to go out and see him”. Occupation Before becoming a priest, which would make him a saint later, Saint Vincent de Paul studied humanities, a study that analyzes the human condition, in Dax, France, with the Cordeliers and he graduated in theology at Toulouse. Saint Vincent de Paul was a very intelligent man and asked many questions in this field. He studied this because he wanted to know what humans were capable off, which would help him in the long run to answer many questions like, “Why do people sin? This knowledge would help him as a priest, showing him what is moral or immoral in the world.

Saint Vincent de Paul’s father encouraged and helped him toward the priesthood, to which he was ordained on September 23, 1600, at the age of nineteen or twenty. It was there that he encountered the poor and the disabled of society. He didn’t care about riches anymore and dedicated his life to serving the poor. Saint Vincent de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity, and to this day, both societies are dedicated to ease the sufferings of the poor.One of Saint Vincent de Paul’s main reasons to become a priest was get an office in the Church from which he could obtain enough money to retire early, return home, and provide for his family.

Virtues There are many virtues Saint Vincent de Paul practiced, and one major virtue that Saint Vincent de Paul practiced was humility. Humility, for Saint Vincent de Paul, is the recognition that all good comes from God. He was open to every lesson life brought to him, learning from his mistakes, and was thankful for all the gifts he received, instead of being boastful.He writes to Firmin Get on March 8, 1658: "Let us no longer say: it is I who have done this good work; for every good thing ought to be done in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ ...

" (VU, 98-99) and "Be very much on your guard against attributing anything to yourself. By doing so you would commit robbery and do injury to God, who alone is the author of every good thing," he writes to Jacque Pesnelle on October 15, 1658 (VII, 289). Another major virtue that Saint Vincent de Paul practiced was meekness.Meekness is also friendliness and calmness toward those who approach us. What Saint Vincent teaches about meekness is most explained in a conference given on March 28, 1659.

Saint Vincent also shows meekness in his letters to Louise de Marillac, to whom he often speaks about combining meekness with strength. One example of his meekness was when he was accused of theft by his roommate. Although de Paul was quite aghast that this happened, he did not defend himself, showing himself to be more like the Lord and less interested in his public image.Aspect That Attracted Me One aspect of Saint Vincent de Paul that attracted me was that he was once a tutor. I like saints that are not just religious, but have other qualities as well, like teaching. You see, Saint Vincent isn’t just dedicated to God, but also a genius in Humanities.

It shows that Saint Vincent de Paul has a variety of professions, which would be more helpful to him compared with just one profession. This saint is similar to me; I love science and am very knowledgeable with it, and I am a believer in God simultaneously.Another aspect of Saint Vincent de Paul that really attracted me was that he went through an extremely intense event: Vincent, having returned home after receiving his degree to become a priest, went back to Toulouse to recover by process of law a small legacy which had been left him by an old woman of that city. Going home, he made the trip from Marseilles to Narbonne by water, on board a small coastwise vessel.

The ship was set upon by three brigantines manned by Barbary pirates, who were a threat to all Mediterranean shipping at this time. Three people on board were killed and any people, including Vincent, were wounded. Those who remained alive were put in chains, and sold as a slave in Tunis, Africa. Vincent de Paul was bought by a fisherman, who lectured Vincent de Paul about Mohammedanism for several hours. The young priest, terrified that his faith would be ruined in this foreign location, prayed for divine protection, particularly for the mediation of the Blessed Virgin. I like people that went through this kind of epic event, because it shows that that person is a hero or some character in a fantastic movie.

How This Saint is a Model for Christians Saint Vincent de Paul is a model for Christians because he is meek and accepts problems in his life and handles them without any argument. In this world, there are people who are too boastful of the luxuries that they have, like their electronic devices, and all the money they have. Also, there are people who are too rude and crazy when someone accuses them of wrongdoing, when they didn’t actually commit a sinful act. Well, if everybody in the world met Saint Vincent de Paul, they would know that they are at fault.Looking up to Saint Vincent de Paul as a role model, they would enjoy what they have and not brag about their belongings, and remain perfectly calm when someone accuses them of offense. They would look up to him in times of despair when their snobbishness and rudeness to other people finally slaps them in the face.

Additionally, Saint Vincent de Paul is a model for Christians because of his life story. He was captured by pirates, made a slave, taught Mohammedanism, but still was very faithful to God. This shows that he is very committed to what he believes in.Any body in the world can look up to him as a model. If they are in times of distress, when someone or something comes in your way and tries to rid you of what you believe, you can look up to Saint Vincent de Paul as a role model and feel more motivated and strong to fight that obstacle, still believing in what you believed in the first place. What I Learned From This Saint Vincent de Paul is a very meek and modest saint, clearly showing his goodness in his actions and in his letters mailed to certain people.

After researching and writing about Saint Vincent de Paul, I learned many things.One of the things I learned was to be meek and modest, like Saint Vincent de Paul. Learning these virtues, my life improves because I can handle things in the world the way God wants them to be handled. If I receive a fabulous gift, like an iPod or a lot of money, I won’t boast, thanks to Vincent de Paul, and when somebody tells me that I did something wrong, I won’t argue back, but just accept the fault, learning from my mistakes. Saint Vincent de Paul also taught me to believe in myself, knowing that through harsh occasions, I can still do what I want.Last week, I applied Saint Vincent de Paul’s teaching to the real world.

I was biking home with my flash drive hanging on my neck, when I got hit by a car. It hurt a lot, and my flash drive wasn’t on my neck anymore. I then got up from the floor, realizing that I was one hundred percent pain free, and went to look for my flash drive. I then found it on the ground and picked it up, hoping that it wasn’t broken. When I came home, I plugged the flash drive in my computer and figured out that it wasn’t broken.I was happy, for I applied Saint Vincent de Paul’s teaching: never give up, and always stick to what you believe, which in this case, was not abandoning my flash drive, still having hope that it might still work.

How this Saint’s Life is Related to My Life Saint Vincent de Paul’s life is a very exciting one, and I can easily tell that it is similar to mines. First, let me give you a brief summary of Saint Vincent’s life. Saint Vincent de Paul came from a poor family but benefited from schooling by the Franciscan friars who recognized that he was highly gifted and intelligent.Due to his excellent education he was able to work as the tutor of wealthy nobles. He managed to secure a place at the University of Toulouse for studying theology and was kidnapped by pirates shortly after and was sold as a slave, being a big consequence for de Paul. After he escaped the clutches of his owner, he was ordained a priest.

Saint Vincent de Paul is greatly revered in France for the many good works that her performed. He established many hospitals for deserted children, and established the celebrated La Madeleine Hospital at Paris.Like wise, I was picked for a G. A. T.

E. club in elementary, which stood for Gifted and Talented Education. Also, I was picked for Math Mania, a math tournament between all the schools in the state, which is similar to Saint Vincent de Paul being picked as the tutor of wealthy nobles. I also helped people during my math class during my Algebra 2/Trigonometry class, helping people 2-3 grades above from me. I am greatly known in my math class for the all the people I helped. As you can see, my life is very alike to Saint Vincent de Paul’s life.

Why I Chose This Saint I chose this saint because it was the saint name for my Grandfather and for most of the boys and men of my family. I enjoy the important things that my elders had, and like to possess it, to carry the saint name of Vincent de Paul. I want all the males of my entire family to have the Saint name of Saint Vincent de Paul just because I don’t really want a mixture of Saint names; one is enough for me, which would avoid confusion when I come to a time when I need to know someone’s saint name.Another reason why I chose Saint Vincent de Paul as my saint name is because this saint has many good characteristics and is strong at hard.

Saint Vincent de Paul has many virtues, such as simplicity, humility, meekness, mortification, and zeal. Also, he doesn’t just a priest, but also studies humanities and tutors students for a living. I love variety in people. Also, I like the events Saint Vincent de Paul had to go through, which shows his courage and his willingness to keep his relationship with God, despite the consequences thrown at him.

Bibliography "Life of St. Vincent de Paul. " Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. 26 Nov.

2011 . "Life of St. Vincent de Paul. " St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Richboro, PA Homepage.

27 Nov. 2011 . "St. Vincent de Paul. " NEW ADVENT: Home. 2009.

26 Nov. 2011 . "St. Vincent de Paul.

" SSVP. 2 Mar. 2009. 26 Nov. 2011 .

"The way of Vincent de Paul: five characteristic virtues. " DePaul University. 31 Dec. 1991. 27 Nov. 2011 .

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