November 28—St. Catherine Labouré, Religious

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Many Catholics have a profound devotion to the Blessed Mother. We say rosaries, Memorares, and so forth, beseeching her intercession. One of those devotions is the Miraculous Medal, developed and promoted by today’s saint, St. Catherine Labouré. St. Catherine was born May 2, 1806 in the Burgundy region of France as the ninth of eleven children. She entered the novitiate of the Daughters of Charity, a religious order founded by St. Vincent de Paul in 1830.

Very soon after entering the convent, “she woke up after hearing the voice of a child calling her to the chapel, where she heard the Virgin Mary say to her, ‘God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world.’” Later that year, she reported that Mary “displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe; rays of light came out of her hands in the direction of a globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words ‘O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.’” She was told to take the images she saw to her confessor so they could be imprinted on medallions and given to the faithful. The medal became popular and is worn by millions of faithful Catholics. It became an important role in the declaration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary because of its declaration about Mary, “conceived without sin”. She died in 1876 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1947. Let us wear this medal as a sign of our devotion to our Blessed Mother and her efforts to bring the world to her Son.

*https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Catherine_Laboure.jpg  Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

September 27--St. Vincent de Paul, Priest

Today’s saint was actually something of a slacker when he first became a priest. He was in it for a Church office in order to earn money for his family, who were peasants. He could then retire early and return home. But it wasn’t to happen. St. Vincent de Paul became a good priest. With his desire to help the poor and guide them with good priests he founded the Congregation of the Mission, or Vincentians. Further he guided some women to help the poor. He cofounded the Daughters of Charity with St. Louise de Marillac. Instead of living in a convent, they lived in houses and “gave their lives to visiting the sick in the homes, ministering in hospitals, caring for prisoners, orphans, the mentally ill, and the homeless of Paris.” They were the first missionary order of sisters. St. Vincent de Paul also collected money to provide relief in time of war. He was named the patron saint of charitable societies by Pope Leo XIII.

St. Vincent de Paul gives his name to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul founded by Bl. Frédéric Ozanam. “The Society numbers about 800,000 members in some 140 countries worldwide.” The number in the United States is over 97,000. They run thrift shops, housing assistance, disaster relief, visits to homes, prisons, and hospitals, food pantries, and more.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” These are the corporal works of mercy, which Jesus defined as the key to salvation in Mt. 25:31-46. We are grateful for the work of the Societies of St. Vincent de Paul for their ministry. God bless you.