Readings for the Feast of St. Vincent De Paul

Readings for the Feast of St. Vincent De Paul
Priest
September 27

Entrance Song
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me. He sent me to bring good news to the poor, and to heal the broken-hearted. - Luke 4:18

Opening Prayer:

God our Father,
you gave Vincent de Paul
the courage and holiness of an apostle
for the well-being of the poor
and the formation of the clergy.
Help us to be zealous in continuing his work.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

First Reading
1 Cor 1:26-31

Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."

Psalm Response:
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord - Psalm 112:1

Gospel Reading
Matthew 9:35-38

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned,like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS

Lord,
you helped St. Vincent
to imitate the love he celebrated in these mysteries.
By the power of this sacrifice
may we also become an acceptable gift to you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Communion Antiphon:
Give praise to the Lord for his kindness, for his wonderful deeds toward us. He was filled the hungry with good things, he has satisfied the thirsty. - Psalm 107:8-9

Prayer after Communion

Lord,
hear the prayers
of those you have renewed with your sacraments from heaven.
May the example and prayers of Saint Vincent
help us to imitate your Son
in preaching the good news to the poor.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Liturgy of the Hours
St. Vincent de Paul, Priest

From the Common of Pastor or of Holy Men: those who work for the underprivileged, except the following:

Office of Readings

SECOND READING

From a writing by Saint Vincent de Paul, pries
(Epist. 2546: Correspondance, entretiens, documents, Paris 1922-1925, 7)

Serving the poor is to be our first preference

Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool by the Gentiles and a stumbling block by the Jews, he showed them that his mission was to preach to the poor: He sent me to preach the good news to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause.

Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to be understanding where they are concerned. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.

It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.

RESPONSORY 1 Corinthians 9:19, 22; Job 29:15-16
Though I am not bound to anyone,
I became a slave to all.
To the weak I became weak. – I became all things to all men
that I might at least save some.

I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame;
I was a father to the poor. – I became all things to all men
that I might at least save some.

PRAYER
God our Father,
you gave Vincent de Paul
the courage and holiness of an apostle
for the well-being of the poor
and the formation of the clergy.
Help us to be zealous in continuing his work.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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