THE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 12, 25 March 1909, Page 452

THE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

(By a Wellington Brother.)

The St. Vincent de .Paul Society, which was established about two years ago in the Archdiocese of Wellington, has grown and flourished in a manner quite beyond the expectation of , the founders.. Instead of one conference there are now, four in the city, and there is a prospect of still further extension. The present time is most opportune for bringing before your readers the objects and advantages of this society, with the hope that it may be. extended to every parish in the Dominion. ' The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a society of men, who band themselves together to perform works of mercy, particularly to visit and assist the poor, to perfect themselves in a Christian life, an,d to edify one another by good example. The objects of the society are very often misunderstood. Many people consider our conferences exist for the sole purpose of doling out relief, but this is not the case-. The main object of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is the personal sanctification of the members by the practice of charity towards their neighbor for the love of God. If there are no poor to visit, other work can engage the attention of the members. In every district, no matter how prosperous, there are sick to be comforted, bad and indifferent Catholics to be brought back to their duties, neglected children to be cared for, Sunday schools to be maintained, and despondent hearts to be cheered. In the larger centres the hospitals can lo visited; also the homes for the aged and needy, the gaols and orphanages. No good work is foreign to the Brothers of St. Vincent de Paul, and when, notwithstanding their efforts, they accomplish 'little in the way of relieving distress, they have, at least, the consolation of knowing that they have advanced their own spiritual interests. There is to-day, as there was in the time of Ozanam, our revered founder, a spirit of indifference towards re-

ligion, a growing tendency towards materialism, and even, as we have lately seen, open blasphemy is tolerated. It was to combat these evils that the first conference was formed in Paris in the year 1833. When Ozanam advocated a return to the practice of Christianity as a means of remedying the social evils, he was laughed at. l Christianity,'" his opponents said, ' was a grand thing in the past, but to-day it is a de» 1 tree, which. -bears no fruit.' ' Show us your works ; what are you doing for your fellow-men ?' . It was to meet this line of argument that our society was established. "When the first conference, consisting of: but eighth-members, was formed, rt was ridiculed. ' Wh.it; can you poor fellows hope to accomplish?' said the StyX Simonians. 'If you were rich you could do very little in a city like Paris. We, on the contrary, are elaborating ideas and a new system which will reform the world and' banish misery from it altogether.' Twenty years later the St. Simonians and their grand schemes were dead, while the eight members of the St. Vincent, de Paul Society had increased to 2000 in Paris alone, whilst many, con--ferenees were flourishing all over France and in several-; other countries.

One of the great works undertaken by the St. Vincent de Paul Society is the establishment of parish libraries and the dissemination of Catholic literature, particularly the publication of Catholic Truth Societies. Our clergy are continually deploring the fact that Catholics do not read the proper kind of books. Our conferences in the cities are remedying this evil. In most of the churches book-cases are erected, whore the best of controversial and devotional works can be obtained practically free. It would ba a great advantage "if the country churches were similarly equipped.* Our young men, then, instead of being attracted by every plausible theory put forth, would know what to accept and what to reject, and would at the same time "be able to instruct others.

And surely every parish priest in the Dominion would . rejoice to have in his district a body of men ever ready and willing to help him in his projects. It is sometimes suggested that a conference may not work in harmony with the clergy, but this is quite a mistake. The basis of - the society is humility. No preferment is given to any member; all are equal. There are no heated discussions. The conferences begin and end with prayer, and members > realise from the beginning that they must sink all personal aims and feelings. Nothing whatever -justifies a conference of St. Vincent de Paul in having differences with the clergy.

It is a common mistake to judge of the success of the society by the strength of its finances and the amount of relief granted. These, however, as stated above, are quite secondary considerations. The true indication of the success of a conference is the increase in zeal and' personal sanctity of its members. As to the good done to others, there are thousands in need of help which involves no expenditure whatsoever. Thus the unemployed can be helped to obtain work, a cordial welcome can be given to the stranger. In seaport towns like "Wellington, where there is a Catholic Seamen's Conference, the ships can be visited and the Catholic seaman made aware that there are friends interested in his welfare. The spiritual work of mercy can hardly be shown by statistics. The Brothers of St. Vincent de Paul exercise a kind of lay apostolate, and we have known of several cases where they have beeir the means, through God, of reclaiming sinners and making careless Catholics more fervent.

Tlie question is sometimes asked, Why cannot charitably inclined men work by themselves privately without _ joining a society, where their good works must necessarily be known to others? The answer is that by working together as a society the work is more fruitful, and better results are obtained. Each member has the benefit of others' experience, and there is less danger of acting imprudently. The society has been approved of by tho_. Church, and numerous spiritual advantages are gained by the members. The Brothers of St. Vincent de Paul have a kind of authority to visit the poor in their homes. The members, too, edify and encourage each other by their example. Neither is there any publicity outside the meetings. Our society , works in silence ; no self-advertise-ment is permitted ; and if, occasionally, it is necessary to mention o"ur work or to give a report, the object is not to obtain praise, but to extend the society. The advantages of the society to the Church, to the clergy, and to humanity have been mentioned above, but the advantages derived by the members themselves are more nnmerous and of a far higher order than those deceived by others through their instrumentality. It is-^remarkable how the members, who attend a sufficient number of meetings to understand the work, become fascinated with it, •and afterwards find their greatest pleasure in furthering the interests of the society. In visiting the sick and thoso in distress they learn, perhaps for the first time, how much better' off they are than those around, them, and the

realising of this fact- causes a cheerfulness of spirit and contentment of mind hitherto' unknown. It is certain that no active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society can be unhappy.

Such, then, are the objects and advantages of our society. What a grand thing it would be if there were a conference in active operation in every parish in the Dominion ! There is really no reason" why this should not be;-- as only five or six earnest men are needed to start one. ' In the cities where they are already established the holdiug of a rotreat on the lines of the one just concluded in Wellington would be the means of reviving interest and zeal in this the most useful and practical of all societies.