St. Vincent Ferrer
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer. St. Vincent Ferrer was a Dominican preacher who was able to bring thousands of Europeans into the Catholic Church during the same time as a period of political and spiritual crisis in parts that was occurring in Western Europe.
St. Vincent Ferrer was born during the year 1357 in Valencia, Spain. St. Vincent Ferrer was raised by parents who made sure that he completed his religious duties, without missing his school work and they always made sure that St. Vincent Ferrer served the poor.
St. Vincent’s brother Boniface decided to join the Carthusian order, however St. Vincent always felt the calling to become a Dominican and preach the Gospel all over Europe. St. Vincent joined the order during 1374 at the age of 18.
When St. Vincent was studying to be a Dominican preacher he had to study a lot of the Bible, and he also had to study the Church Fathers and philosophy. St. Vincent renowned for his preaching at the age of 28, and St. Vincent also is said to have had the gift of prophecy. Five years later St. Vincent was called by a representative of Pope Clement Vll to preach extensively in France.
St. Vincent had a lot of trouble not getting involved in Political intrigues. During the late 1300s two rival claimants to the papacy had come out. One was located in Rome and the other one was in Avignon which was a French City. Each claimant claimed close to half of Western Europe’s loyalty.
St. Vincent was caught in between both of these claimants, therefore St. Vincent tried his best to persuade the Avignon Pope Benedict Xlll to put an end to the schism. Pope Benedict who was respected as Pope in France and Spain, told St. Vincent that he could consecrate him as a Bishop. However, St. Vincent did not want to become bishop because St. Vincent believed that many bishops during that time were careless leaders who were distracted by luxury and power.
St. Vincent wrote once, “I blush and tremble,” he wrote “when I consider the terrible judgment impending on ecclesiastical superiors who live at their ease in rich palaces, while so many souls redeemed by the blood of Christ are perishing. I pray without ceasing, to the Lord of the harvest, that he send good workmen into his harvest.”
St. Vincent was someone who did not only pray but he would perform a lot of missionary work and he would preach quite often in Avignon and Spain. St. Vincent’s sermons would often have thousands of people attend and many people would convert to Catholicism when they attended his sermons.
Even with all the popularity that St. Vincent endured he never let it distract him from the life of asceticism and poverty that he lived. St. Vincent would completely refrain from meat, St. Vincent would only eat bread and drink water on Wednesday and Friday. St. Vincent would also sleep on a straw mat. St. Vincent is someone who never accepted any donations for himself, and he always gave to the poor and vulnerable. St. Vincent would travel a lot with five other Dominican friars and he would spend countless hours hearing confessions.
For over two decades, St. Vincent would preach in Italy, Spain, and France. When St. Vincent would travel to regions like Germany and other parts of the Mediterranean to preach, it is said that those who did not know the languages he would preach in, could still understand every word St. Vincent spoke.
St. Vincent was a very important saint because he strengthened a lot of believers faith and he converted many people to the Catholic faith.
St. Vincent died on April 5, 1419 in the city of Vannes at the age of 62. St. Vincent’s feast day is celebrated on April 5.
Prayer to St. Vincent:
St. Vincent intercede that we may have the strength and patience we need to guide more people to Christ. St. Vincent help us to strengthen our relationship with Christ so that we may be able to overcome every hard situation we may encounter during our lives. St. Vincent please help us to serve all the poor and vulnerable in our community so that we may spread Christ’s love to everyone we meet.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother in Heaven
Amen
St. Vincent pray for us
St. Joseph pray for us
May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.
Works Cited:
Information (read from, not taken):
Catholic Online. “St. Vincent Ferrer.” St. Vincent Ferrer - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. Accessed 5 April 2021.
Images:
St. Vincent Ferrer. April 5, 2021.
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