St. Vincent de Paul Church

The theme for the parish’s Feast of St. Vincent celebration this year is “Find Your Inner St. Vincent!”  This slightly hippy-dippy theme statement might seem simplistic, even flighty, at first glance.  That is until you ask yourself what “finding your inner St. Vincent” might look like, which was directly inspired by the life of St. Vincent de Paul’s life.

See more about our Feast Day Celebration Events.

Born into rural poverty in 16th-century France, St. Vincent thought his path out of poverty and into a comfortable “middle class” life might be the priesthood.  This was fairly common in those days.  There were a few bumps along the way (such as being kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery!), but all in all, he landed a pretty sweet gig ministering to rich folks. (See more of St. Vincent’s story on the reverse page.)

End of story, right?  Mission accomplished?  Pension and a high yield investment portfolio?  He probably just packed it in and put his life on cruise control.  Not St. Vincent!  After an encounter with the servant of one of his wealthy patrons, his eyes were opened to the spiritual and physical needs of the poor. The rest is history.

Finding your inner St. Vincent means getting uncomfortable, unsettled, and unsatisfied with status quo in our lives.  This will look different for different folks, and each of us will find this inspiration in a different place.

In this community there is any number of opportunities to take that step—meeting the people who visit and stay in St. Vincent’s Park, serving dinner at Breaking Bread With the Hungry in our undercroft on Friday evenings. We also might stop to look up from the frantic pace of our busy lives to see those in need around us—an elderly neighbor in need of company or assistance, a child struggling in school who could use a tutor.  We ask God to help us follow St. Vincent’s trajectory from comfort to discomfort in the service of all people. —Lee Krempel

Each month, St. V produces a monthly issue (pictured) that features at least one longer article as well as general information about the parish. Weekly a one-page insert focuses on news and information for the current week.

Deadline for Submissions: Weekly issue is Wednesdays by 10 PM; monthly bulletin is the third Sunday of the month.

St. Vincent September 2016
St. V This Week 9/4/2016

Previous bulletins:

• St. Vincent August 2016
• St. V This Week 8/7/2016
• St. V This Week 8/14/2016
• St V This Week 8/21/2016
• St V This Week 8/28/2016

Say goodbye to this old, worn look.

Starting Monday (June 20)  our exterior restoration continues. We have been so pleased with the renewal of the west and south sides of the church, and now work will begin on the front side. It will conclude in July.

Be assured that on Sundays the accessibility ramp door and another will always be open. Weekday Mass entrance will be through the rectory (Ring the bell). After the façade is complete, the steps will be refurbished with new mortar and a good cleaning. All work will be finished summer’s end in time for our 175th anniversary celebration in the fall.

Special thanks to the Baltimore National Heritage Area which awarded us $14,000 toward the project.

Every Friday for more than a decade, St. V in partnership with Our Lady of the Fields (OLF) parish has hosted a huge dinner for all comers in our undercroft. Usually aroud 200-300 people show up. OLF organizes the food, and St. V provides the space.

While all involved would agree this ministry has been a wonderful success, there has been little agreement on its name. People have called it everything from the undignified “Friday Night Feeding” to the undescriptive “Friday Night Ministry.”

This month the organizers have officially named it “Breaking Bread With the Hungry.” This reflects the true nature of the event. As Deacon Ed Stoops of OLF says:

The term breaking bread is used in Acts to refer to the Eucharist. Our mission statement explicitly says our mission flows from the Eucharist.

The term the hungry excludes no one. We are all hungry. We are born hungry. In addition to hunger for food, we all hunger for acceptance and love. The term also includes Jesus who said, “I was hungry and you gave me to eat.” Whether we prepare the food, serve it or eat it, we are all the hungry.

Father Ronchi in his retreat for the Pope and others in the Vatican, recently said “Some people are so hungry that for them God cannot but have the form of a loaf of bread.”

For both volunteers and diners, the meal is typically a joyful commotion, where the ups and downs of the lives of our guests surface as they enjoy dinner out after a long week. Every week has a little different vibe. OLF has produced a video for its website that captures the essence of Breaking Bread With the Hungry. Check it out.

This week Pope Francis released his apostolic exhortation, which draws on the Synod of the Family in 2015. The document  is intended as “an aid to reflection, dialogue and pastoral practice, and as a help and encouragement to families in their daily commitments and challenges.”

Though the exhortation is aimed at the clergy, lay people will certainly find much of interest in the Pope’s words. Here at St. Vincent will have hard copies when they become available. In the meantime,  you can find it online here.