On April 24th, the DePaul community will celebrate the birthday of St. Vincent de Paul, for whom DePaul is named.  Vincent founded the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians) and, with St. Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity. 

Above all,
Vincent,
I appreciate
what I have come to know of
as your “simplicity,”
that virtue which
you said you desired most.
I translate this quality
for myself
as integrity,
transparency,
or consistency in character.
And, what makes me love
this quality
about you
is when I can imagine you
in your day
talking,
relating with,
loving,
advising,
and appreciating
all people just the same,
whether they were
the richest of the nobles,
the poor galley slaves,
or the most needy people
on the streets of Paris.

I respect the fact that
you did not seem
to try too hard
for the well-to-do
or for those who would bring you benefit,
nor too little
for the poor and the outcast.
To all
you spoke your truth
and brought your best intentions and care.
You were yourself, and
they were to you
all God’s children,
gifts unto themselves,
potential bearers of Providence.
And so, it became your mission,
to see the other side of the scarred coin,
and to become
a humble servant to all
who needed your care.
You did what you could do
and invited others
by name
to do the same.
You did not waste time
nor energy
on that which was illusory.
You took steady, forward steps
with what was given or revealed to you
and towards what was possible.

Simplicity,
that virtue you admired most,
is the one I love most in you,
and the one I most desire in myself,
for I believe
(as I imagine you did as well)
that as we become more fully
who we truly are –
authentically, humbly –
the more often and more clearly
we reflect
Jesus,
Emmanuel,
God-with-us,
and the more
we allow
the care that
our God
desires to bestow
on all people
to be born
in us.

Mark Laboe serves as DePaul’s Associate Vice President for University Ministry.  He wrote this poem in 2014 in honor of Vincent’s birthday and shares it again this week to commemorate Vincent’s upcoming birthday.

Interested in celebrating Vincent’s birthday with the DePaul community?  Join the Office of Mission and Values on Friday, April 24th at 2:30pm as they hold a celebration for St. Vincent’s birthday in Catholic Campus Ministry (Suite 104 of the Lincoln Park Student Center).