Spiritual Characteristics

Last week our twin granddaughters were over to celebrate their first birthday. They are not identical twins. At that age you can see some distinct physical characteristics. One of the girls looks a lot like her dad. The other looks more like her mother and has a dimple on her chin like I do. Physical characteristics comes from our genes passed on from generation to generation.
I have often been told that I look like my dad.

Our spiritual characteristics can also be “passed down”. Sometimes it comes from family members, a parent or an uncle. Sometimes it comes from someone we read about that lived long ago. It might be your favorite priest or a saint. You may have chosen their name as your confirmation name. We need to learn about their lives and how they can draw us to Christ.

This month Vincentians remember two of their spiritual ancestors, St Vincent de Paul and Blessed Frederic Ozanam. Let’s look at Blessed Frederic Ozanam for a moment. He lived in the mid 1800’s. He is recognized as the founder of The Saint Vincent de Paul Society. He was a literary scholar, lawyer, journalist and equal rights advocate. He founded with several students the Conference of Charity which later became known as the Society of St Vincent de Paul. His feast day is Sept 9.

While at university, Ozanam started a discussion group called “Society of Good Studies”. Large discussion groups were held and the topic was often the social teachings of the Gospel. Ozanam tried to say that the Catholic faith is the true faith because it was founded by Christ. His opponents argued that the church of today was failing. They asked “What is your church doing now? What is she doing for the poor in Paris? Show us your works and we will believe you.”

So, in May 1833 Ozanam formed The Society of St Vincent de Paul. It soon grew to over 2,000 members. Today there are members throughout the world. Frederic’s first act of charity was to bring his own supply of winter firewood and take it to a widow whose husband had died of cholera. Serving the poor taught Frederic something about God that he could not have learned elsewhere.

As Vincentians we are to be like Frederic, to go to the poor in our own back yard. When we call upon blessed Frederic for help, we should ask that our lives as men and women, as young people, be invigorated by his example and his witness.

He is no longer with us but his character lives on in us. Just like the dimple on my granddaughter’s chin reminds people of me, so also through our works of mercy and love to the poor others will see that we come from the line started by Blessed Frederic Ozanam.

Deacon John Girolami