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Members of the Vincentian family gathered in St. Peters church, Phibsboro, on Sunday 28 September to celebrate the feast of St. Vincent de Paul. Fr. Stephen Monaghan C.M. was the chief celebrant for this Eucharistic Celebration and he began by welcoming his many fellow Vincentian priests who had come to con-celebrate for this special occasion.
Fr. Stephen was joined by many Irish Vincentian priests but also priests from Africa and the U.S., highlighting he said the international nature of the congregation. He also welcomed the members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Daughters of Charity and gave a special word of welcome to the Micah community.
Mairead Bushnell, the national president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Ireland, gave the homily and focused on the work of the Society which was founded by Blessed Frederic Ozanam in 1833. She said that although Frederic Ozanam founded the Society over 170 years after the death of St. Vincent de Paul, it was from him that Frederic took his inspiration. Frederic like Vincent de Paul was a great organiser. Committed to do more than talk about faith, he, with a small group of friends, formed the first "Conference of Charity," which met weekly to contribute to a secret collection and then visit the poor in their homes.
Frederic and his companions were inspired by Sister Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity, who served the needy, stood at the barricades with the poor, and mentored these young students. Today, the worldwide St. Vincent de Paul Society continues this type of quiet service through its almost one million members. In Ireland today there is a Vincent de Paul Conference in almost every parish, with a total of over 8 million volunteers.
The music for this liturgical celebration was provided by the Micah community who gather every Sunday evening at 6.30pm to celebrate the Eucharist. After the celebration of Mass the congregation was all invited to join the Vincentian community for tea and the Micah community encouraged the younger members to join them for a BBQ and concert given by a live band, Penfold DM, in the garden at the back of the church. Fortunately the weather was dry and a great night was had by all.
Charity must never look back, but always ahead, for the number of its past benefits is always quite small, as the present and future miseries it should alleviate are infinite
Frederic Ozanam
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