{"id":2307,"date":"2006-09-27T10:57:17","date_gmt":"2006-09-27T10:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2006\/09\/the-mission\/"},"modified":"2014-07-01T17:53:50","modified_gmt":"2014-07-01T16:53:50","slug":"the-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2006\/09\/the-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"0927st-vincent-de-paul-1-sized.jpg\"<\/a>WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY\u2013FIFTH WEEK OF THE YEAR II
\nMEMORIAL OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL, PRIEST<\/p>\n

Proverbs 30:5\u20139
\nPsalm 118:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163 (R. 105a)
\nLuke 9:1\u20136<\/em><\/p>\n

Live Wisely<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Book of Proverbs that we began reading on Monday is a practical guide to wise living. The wise person is one who orders his whole life \u2014 both the little things and the great \u2014 to the pursuit of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s passage we are told that \u201c every word of God proves true,\u201d and that God \u201cis a shield to those who take refuge in Him\u201d (Pr 30:5). What are the implications of these sayings? The first assures us that one can rely on the Word of God, that one can depend on it, anchor one\u2019s hope in it, and stake one\u2019s life on it. The second tell us that in the midst of life\u2019s tribulations and temptations the only safe place is in God. In both sayings we find the wisdom of Saint Vincent de Paul whom we remember today, and of all the saints.<\/p>\n

Toward the Lord\u2019s Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The last few lines of today\u2019s passage are addressed not to us, but to God. We are given a prayer of petition. It asks for two things: \u201cRemove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, \u2018Who is the Lord\u2019 or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God\u201d (Pr 30:8\u20139). The Lord Jesus brings this prayer to perfection in His own prayer, teaching us to say: \u201cGive us this day our daily bread\u201d (Mt 6:11) and \u201cDeliver us from evil\u201d (Mt 6:13). Here again we are at the wellspring of the wisdom of the saints.<\/p>\n

Coming Together and Going Forth<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Gospel Saint Luke relates the sending forth of the Twelve: \u201cAt that time Jesus called the Twelve together\u201d (Lk 9:1). Mission \u2014 or apostleship \u2014 begins not with being sent forth but with being called together. Mission springs from having remained together in the company of Jesus. He who calls us together in His company is He who sends us forth.<\/p>\n

Missa<\/strong><\/p>\n

We touch here on one of the meanings of the word Mass. In the West we call the Eucharistic Sacrifice Missa, Mass: a form of the Latin word for sending. In every Mass, the Father sends us Christ, the Victim, the Lamb of the Sacrifice. Through the same Christ, also our Priest, we send our thanksgiving and our supplications to God. Out of this two\u2013fold sending, from heaven to earth, and from earth to heaven, emerges a third: our being sent forth into the world. All of this is implicit in the word Mass.<\/p>\n

To Preach the Kingdom and to Heal<\/strong><\/p>\n

In sending forth the Twelve, Our Lord instructs them to do two things. \u201cHe sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal\u201d (Lk 9:2). In that one line we are given a summary of what every mission is and of what every missionary does. With time, these two simple mandates: to preach the Kingdom, and to heal, found expression in the Seven Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, so wonderfully illustrated for us in the life of Saint Vincent de Paul.<\/p>\n

The Spiritual Works of Mercy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Spiritual Works of Mercy present us with seven ways of preaching the Kingdom of God. What are they?
\n1. Counsel the doubtful.
\n2. Instruct the ignorant.
\n3. Admonish sinners.
\n4. Comfort the afflicted.
\n5. Forgive offenses.
\n6. Bear wrongs patiently.
\n7. Pray for the living and the dead.
\nEach of these seven works is a way of preaching the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

The Corporal Works of Mercy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Corporal Works of Mercy present us with seven ways of healing. To heal is to restore wholeness; it is to redress the fallen, to set right what is wrong, and release the power of life where death is at work. What are the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy?
\n1. Feed the hungry.
\n2. Give drink to the thirsty.
\n3. Clothe the naked.
\n4. Shelter the homeless.
\n5. Visit the sick.
\n6. Visit the imprisoned.
\n7. Bury the dead.
\nEach of these seven works is directed to some form of healing.<\/p>\n

Saint Vincent de Paul<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saint Vincent de Paul\u2019s particular gift was to inspire and motivate men and women for the work of the mission. He called his community of priests the Congregation of the Mission. Here again is a reflection of today\u2019s Gospel; the many must be gathered together (Congregation) before being sent forth (Mission).<\/p>\n

The accomplishments of Saint Vincent de Paul were phenomenal: the Ladies of Charity, the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity, the reform of the clergy, the work of foundlings, the spiritual direction of the Visitation Nuns after the death of his friend, Saint Francis de Sales, and the organization of relief programs. All Saint Vincent\u2019s works were a direct response to the mandate of Our Lord in today\u2019s Gospel \u201cto preach the Kingdom of God and to heal\u201d (Lk 9:2). At the saint\u2019s funeral Mass, the preacher declared that Monsieur Vincent had \u201cchanged the face of the Church in France.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Face of the Church<\/strong><\/p>\n

We do well to seek his intercession today that, in our own day, the face of the Church may be changed to reflect more faithfully the Face of Christ, and to reveal his Holy Face to the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY\u2013FIFTH WEEK OF THE YEAR II MEMORIAL OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL, PRIEST Proverbs 30:5\u20139 Psalm 118:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163 (R. 105a) Luke 9:1\u20136 Live Wisely The Book of Proverbs that we began reading on Monday is a practical guide to wise living. The wise person is one who orders <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homilies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paVypq-Bd","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2307"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7575,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2307\/revisions\/7575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}