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Church of SVDP
A beautiful church in Paris named after the saint who inspired Frederick Ozanam to found the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
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REFLECTION
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Mike

MUSIC
-Lead Me Lord

-They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love

NOTES
-

PRAYER OF LETTING GO
To You do I belong, O God,
into Your hands I surrender my life.
Pour out Your Spirit upon me
that I may love You perfectly,
and serve You faithfully
until my soul rests in You.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_04 0:31

In 1833, a college student in Paris, France, Frederick Ozenem, was challenged during a public debate regarding what the Catholic Church was actively doing to help the poor and to better society. Spurred by this challenge, Ozenem and six of his college companions formed the first Conference of Charity to personally visit and aid impoverished families in their homes. The group chose St. Vincent de Paul, known as the Apostle of Charity, as their model and namesake, officially renaming the organization the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Today they number over 800,000, serving roughly 155 countries, and one of them is with us today. Welcome to prayer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

How great is your goodness, Lord, stored up for those who trust you. You display it for those who trust in the sight of the children of Adam.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from scheming enemies. You conceal them in your tent, away from the strife of tongues.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Blessed be the Lord marvelously he showed to me his mercy in a fortified city.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Though I had said in my alarm, I am cut off from your eyes, yet you heard my voice, my cry for mercy, when I pleaded with you for help.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

Love the Lord, all you who are faithful to him. The Lord protects the loyal. Be strong and take heart all who hope in the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_03 3:11

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Hi, Mike Carason here from St. Vincent of Paul and Seven Holy Founders. In celebration of St. Vincent of Paul's feast day this week, I'd like to offer my thoughts why he has made such an impact on my life. One of my favorite quotes by St. Vincent of Paul is to live by charity is the cement which binds communities to God and persons to one another. Upon my retirement, I knew I couldn't put around the house or yard and play golf the rest of my life. Besides sharing my time with family and friends, I needed to do more. I needed to become engaged in something I felt was helpful to others. I needed to volunteer my time for a worthy cause. I found the St. Vincent Apollo Society by chance to help me achieve my wanting to be a volunteer. In less than a year of learning from my fellow Vincentians and working with our neighbors in need, this volunteering situation started changing my life. So much so that I found myself working at the local food pantry that we would send our neighbors to. I wanted to do more. Not only for our neighbors in need, but also my fellow Vincentians. I heard different people talking about their vocation. I thought to myself, hmm, could this volunteering thing with St. Vincent of Paul actually be my vocation? As it turns out, my friends, yes, St. Vincent of Paul is my vocation. As part of this vocation, the funny thing is, I never thought of myself as an evangelizer for St. Vincent Nepal. But it turned out to be rather easy. Wearing my St. Vincent of Paul hat in the Kenricks meat market, the cashier asked, Do I work at the thrift store? No, I said, I help beat people that are hungry. I assist folks in keeping their utilities on, and I try to help folks maintain their dignity by staying in their homes when they have a financial bump in the road. Would you like to do something like that? I asked her. She just smiled and handed me my receipt. Last winter I wore my St. Vincent of Paul sweatshirt into Home Depot, and a couple of guys walking towards me, speaking with slight accents, when one of them points the St. Vincent of Paul logo and said, Thank you, in his broken English. That stopped me in my tracks. At our 7 a.m. Saturday morning men's prayer group, everyone knows I'm going to speak on the merits of St. Vincent of Paul at some point. So they allow me to do my PSA before we get down to prayers and discussion. I let everyone know they are welcome to attend our meetings to see what goes on and see the joy that transpires during these meetings and to consider joining us. I've learned a big difference between being a volunteer and having a vocation. Is that a volunteer is something you do for a set period of time and then walk away until the next time. When it comes to a vocation, it is something you have in your mind, in your heart, and especially your soul. You wear it on your hat or your sweatshirt, or you may not wear it at all, but you know it's there. It doesn't go away when the sun goes down, you fall asleep with it, you wake to it. It's part of you and your psyche. That, my friends, is my take on the difference between being a volunteer and having a vocation in life. I am very blessed to have found my vocational inspiration through St. Vincent de Paul Society. St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

SPEAKER_04 7:47

Let us now bring our intercessions before the Lord. With confidence we pray.

SPEAKER_02 8:04

On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 8:23

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, continue to bless the work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and all Levin Censions, who like your Son and Saint Vincent Himself are a shining example of what it means to live a life in service to others. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

SPEAKER_03 8:51

To you do I belong, O God.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

Into your hands I surrender my life. Pour out your Spirit upon me, that I may love you perfectly and serve you faithfully until my soul rests in you.

SPEAKER_04 9:10

Thank you for joining us today, and a special thank you to our reflector, Mike, for sharing his insights into his vocation as a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. And may Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.