Saint Vincent de Paul

CORMAC SAYS: Today the Roman Catholic Church is celebrating the life of Saint Vincent de Paul. Born at Gascony in 1581 he died at Paris in 1660. As a priest, he spent a lifetime working among the poor, and founded two religious orders: The Congregation of the Mission, for priests, and for women, the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity, through which his work for the poor lives on; as it has, in the lay association known as the Society of Satin Vincent de Paul. Living as we do, in an age of relativism: in which one person’s view is deemed as good as another, and the idea of “revealed truth” is dismissed by many, as absurd, what is striking about the passage quoted below (apart from its spiritual content,) is how, in practical terms, it is as fresh and relevant now, as it was when it was written more than three hundred years ago; the exception being, that we have many more disturbing, and global examples, to draw on, than did Saint Vincent de Paul. And how powerful his conclusion: “They [the poor] have been given to us as our masters and patrons.”

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“Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seemed 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 choose to be poor. Although in his passion [His final suffering] 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 choose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went as 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 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 neighbours’ 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 the 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 give to us as our masters and patrons.

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Virtual reality !

Note: Portrush is a peninsuala town on the north coast of Northern Ireland, in close proxcimity to the Giant's Causeway: the consequence of a volcanic eruption that took place some 60 million years ago. This year, in July, this small town will host the oldest golf tournament in the world. The prize, the Claret Jug.
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CORMAC SAYS: Yesterday I went on a virtual tour of Portrush using Google view. I started at the Health Centre, went across station square and down Kerr Street past the harbour with its iconic lifeboat gleaming in the sunlight, and up the hill and down to Lansdowne Crescent car park via the Recreation Grounds. Getting myself in a muddle, I came back around the harbour up Lower Main Street along Main Street and up to the Station and down towards the Coleraine Road, before turning along Croc Na Mac. Interestingly, I travelled along Crock Na Mac on the wrog side of the Road with the result that the car in fron of me kept going backwards until I was able to turn so as to go up Causeway Street. Almost at the top of Causeway Street men in Orange high vis, were spreading fresh tarmac from the back of a tipped up truck. And here's the point. 

Everywhere I went there were men at work, or evidence of work in progress, even if no one was about. At the Recreation Grounds there appeared to be what looked like palets of bricks, or flagstones.  A hole in the Road on Lansdowne car park. Serious workings in front of the Almada Hotel and all the way up Main Street, to say nothing of the rebuilding going on at the Railway Station.

Years ago I complained about the Station Clock GOING! after twenty years of idleness, and lamented the fact that it took a lesser golf tournament to get it going.  Later, I discovered that the people who own the station, don't own the "station Clock."

So why the "spit and polish?" Well for the first time in 68 years, one of the worlds greatest golf tournaments, (the oldest in fact,) is returning to the Royal Portrush Golf Links in July. The competitors will be so busy fighting for the Claret Jug that they won't have time to notice the stunning setting, but the rest of the world will see it, and ho[efully be in awe of it, on TV.

Now one of the splendours of Portrush in the past was Lansdowne Crescent, and 68 years ago when the tournament was last in town, the Edwardian guest houses that faced the sea across an expanse of manacured lawn, were packed with holidaymakers.

On my Google tour I wasn't able to see if anything has changed since I wrote avbout the delapidated and still decaying state of these Edwardian houses, where you could see from the upstairs windows of one house through to the sky, etc, etc, Could it be, that as Lansdowne Crescent, (in the context of the golf) is off the beaten track, the Crescent is still in a state of weeping and lamentation.

I wonder!

And if you want to know, in the context of Portrush, what weeping and lamentation looks like, read my blog ROOTS: In Google, type in Cormac E McCloskey, Blog, Roots, and before you start reading, you will see a lovely picture of the Arcadia at sunrise.

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©  Cormac E McCloskey 
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