REFLECTION

“There’s a Man Full of Mercy”

by Father Jack Melito, CM

No, that’s not a description of St. Vincent, but it well could be. These are the Saint’s words that he used in describing how observers would view a good, compassionate missioner. It’s a singular compliment for one to receive – mercy indeed is a distinctive quality of God himself – but the virtue should be characteristic of anyone whose vocation is to practice mercy toward the most miserable and the most abandoned.

“When we go to visit poor persons,” the Saint noted, “we have to sympathize with them,” being mindful of St. Paul’s dictum to be all things to all people. Vincent himself, the leader of a Congre gation that promoted mercy for those in need, modeled the virtue for all who served in his name. In his day, he would model for his contemporaries – that is, his Congregation, the Daughters of Charity, and the Ladies of Charity. After his time, his example would serve all disciples who followed the Gospel in his name in what has come to be called the Vincentian Family.

The Saint came naturally to his sensibility toward those in need of mercy. His biographer, Louis Abelly, noted that “the knowledge of the common misery of men made him act with compassion and meekness toward sinners, and even cover their failings with prudence and a marvelous charity.” His motivations for action derived from spiritual parallels. As God is merciful, for instance, so should his children be. As Christ gave his life for us, so should his disciples be willing to sacrifice. As Jesus was poor, so should the members of the Company emulate his poverty. As Jesus was not ashamed to weep over Jerusalem, so should we not be hesitant to shed tears for those in need.

It was especially toward sinners that Vincent’s compassion and tolerance showed. In practice, speaking to a Superior, he said, “Since God grants pardon in the confessional, I would judge that you would do well to act in the same spirit.” Vincent learned from St. Gregory the Great that “the faults of our neighbor ought to arouse our pity more than anger, and...justice [lead] to compassion rather than indignation....” As a step toward making the right moral decisions, the Saint recommended to a Superior a way that anticipates a practice that has a current ring to it: “When there is a question of doing some good work, say to the Son of God, ‘Lord, if you were in my place, what would do on this occasion?’” Shades of WWJD!

Vincent’s display of charity and compassion went beyond the customary services of feeding and clothing the poor and the derelict, attending to the sick, or serving the refugees from the wars and disasters like floods. He was not passive in waiting for the poor to come to him. He was proactive in taking the initiative. There were occasions when he would send members “into the hovels and caves of Paris to those in need, especially the sick.” In addition, he had a certain mind-set about his uses of resources in giving alms to the poor, even at the expense of straining the finances of the local house or of the Congreg tion, about which he heard criticisms from members. Where impossible to feed every group that came to his attention, he had no reservations about giving preference to needy and abandoned children, for they were the least able to help themselves. This action, he remarked, “is in keeping with the sentiments of the Gospel.” Consider the attitude of Jesus, he told his critics.

There was little that Vincent missed in assessing the needs of the poor. At one point he expressed a comprehensive view of practicing what the works of charity entailed: “We must do so all our lives: corporal mercy, spiritual mercy, mercy in the rural areas, and in the missions hastening to meet the needs of our neighbor, mercy when we are at home with regard to the retreatants and with regard to the poor....” If anything was missing, his instinct for charity would fill the breach.