Feast of St

Feast of St. Vincent de Paul 2003

and launch of Vincentian Lay Missionaries

Homily by Fr. Brian Moore, CM
This weekend 27th September the Vincentian Family celebrate the Feast of their Founder/Patron St. Vincent de Paul.

As part of the recent St. Peter’s Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes we visited the birthplace of Vincent de Paul, which is near Dax and about a 90 minute drive from Lourdes. From the humble beginnings of a peasant farming family grew a prophetic person who had a profound influence both in France and beyond through his missionary endeavours. Those humble beginnings of Le Berceau (birthplace of Vincent) continues to give us a direction in life for the 21st Century.

There were two strands to Vincent’s plan for mission: develop a caring and supportive local community and develop a missionary trust to new areas or countries. Underlying these dual strands of action was the primacy of serving and experiencing the poor person.

This weekend we launch the Vincentian Lay Missionaries ( V.L.M.) who embrace the charism of St. Vincent. This group of young people want to live out their Baptismal calling through encountering Christ in experiencing the situation of the poor. Already the V.L.M. are living out these dual strands of building community at home and mission abroad. (Please see the photographic display at the main entrance to the Church. or visit www.vincentians.ie/vincentian_lay_missionaries.htm

The V.L.M. invites other young people to join them where you will experience the support of peer ministry, the sharing of life’s journey and the opportunity of making new and caring friends.

We pray for these young lay Vincentians that their solidarity with the poor will lead them to a mission of justice and liberation.

Fr. Brian Moore, CM.

27th September 2003

With thanks to our Guest Speakers Mr. Nigel Mulligan and Ms. Katie McGrath.
Nigel began the liturgy by welcoming everyone and spoke of his involvement with the 'St. Peter's Group', a group of young adults who have been meeting since last January. Nigel is also a part of our new music group for our Sunday Eucharist at 6.30 pm. "Our mission at home is a mission of 'like to like' young adults ministering to each other and sharing the Christian journey together - that is what we are doing here at St. Peter's."

Kate McGrath is from Cork and is studying psychology in University College Dublin. She has just returned from her second missionary experience in Ethiopia this summer where she worked alongside the Daughters of Charity in a teacher-training college for Montessori teachers. She shared very powerfully what that experience meant to her own life and faith.

Read Katie's account of her time in Ethiopia

Our theme for the celebration of our Feast Day this year was inspired by Fr. Robert Maloney, Superior General who encouraged us to take the theme of the wider Vincentian Family. We put the emphasis on the role of young adults in the Vincentian Family and so we express our thanks to the many representatives who joined with us from the the many Vincentian Family organistions working with young people...

Youth conferences of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Our new choir at Sunday evening Mass 6.30 pm St.Peter's
SUAS (Educational Volunteers for India and Kenya)
Parish of the Travelling People - in particular the Bridge Programme, a programme for Travellers and Refugees
Our Altar Servers
Representatives of De Paul Trust, working with Homeless Young People in Dublin
Representatives from The Vincentian Refugee Centre
Representatives from Rendu Apartments, also known as the Vincentian Housing Partnership
Representatives from the Daughters of Charity Family Services
Representatives from Vincentian Lay Missionaries

Prayer of Blessing
During our liturgy the young people representing these Vincentian Family organisations came forward and the congregation extended a blessing to them as they continue their caring ministries:

Lord, we recall that St. Vincent took as his motto, your call to bring the good news to the poor, and following St. Louise and Blessed Frederic we realise that this call in love, leaves us no option. We ask you, to bless all our young people in caring ministries; bless all those who minister to each other. We ask you to bless those who are forming our new music group for ministry in this parish, and those who are members of the Vincentian Lay Missionary movement for mission overseas which is being launched tonight. We make this our prayer through Christ our Lord.

An Exhibition of Vincentian Family Work with Young People continues this week at St. Peter's Church, Phibsboro.

Thank you for celebrating our Feast Day with us and continued blessings on the many members of the Vincentian Family who minister to each other and to the poor.