Christmas Charity

 The Little Flowers partnered with St Vincent de Paul Society to carol for the elderly residents at St Agnes Home as well as at our parish and decorate cookies for the homebound. The girls are working toward earning their end of the year St Vincent Charity badge so they learned about the saint.  

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) was a French priest born into poverty who dedicated his life to serving the poor and became a patron of charitable works. He is the founder of the Vincentians (The Congregation of the Mission) and the Daughters of Charity as well as many hospitals, orphanages, and schools for the poor. He also established banks that helped the poor become self sufficient. St Vincent de Paul also loved to garden and said, “It is not enough to love the poor, one must also love the soil that feeds them.” He was once captured by pirates and sold into slavery. His feast day is September 27. 
The Society of St Vincent de Paul began in 1833 in Paris and is now present in countries all over the world. Vincentians strive to grow spiritually by personally serving the needs of their neighbors. They are known for providing individualized assistance, food pantries, thrift stores, disaster response, and advocacy. 
Charity is the greatest of the theological virtues, the others being faith and hope. Charity is also sometimes referred to as love of neighbor. When we act with charity, we are working for the good of the other.