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' DISCOURSES

DELIVERED AT NOTREDAME DE QUEBEC

DUBINO THB

TRIDUUM

OP TUB

SOCIETY OF ST.-VmCEl^T-DE-PAUL

ON THE 21st, 22nd & 23rd DECEMBER 1863

By the HEV. THO>IASAntE CUA.\DOi\I\'eT.

Translated from the French,

QUEBEC

PRINTED BY LEGER BROUSSEAU, ARCHBISHOPRIC'S PRINTER.

1864

I .

INTRO]:)UCTJOX.

Ilis Loi'ilsliip tlic Adminintrafor of tlie Arcli-Jioocjic of
Quebec was kind eiioui-'h to arrant t(. tlie Society of " St.
Yiiiccnt (le Paul,"' at (Quebec, on the Slst, 22ii(l and L^-}nl
December, a solemn Triduum., in milieu all the associates
and all the friends of the work, were invited to c'ive thanks
to Almi^-hty God for ])ast p^raees and favonrs, and to pray
for the re([nireinents of tlie future.

The Tridmim M'as preached bv the IJcv. Thonias-Aime
Chandonnet.

In his first discourse, the reverend ^^^ntleman referred to
tlie origin of the Society, the most illustrious of its founders
and its establishment in divers countries throughout the
world, more especially in Canada ; in the second, he exhi
bited the Society, first in its constitution, that is to say, in
its object, its means, its members, its organization — then in
the spirit that animates it ; the third discourse pointed out
the advantages offered by the Association of St. Vincent
dc Paul, to its mendjcrs, to the i)oor, to Society itself.

The Pi'esidcnt of the Sujteiior Council fervently prays
that the abundant blessings of ireaven, v.diich have just
been showered upon the Cana<liaii section of the societv of

— 4 —

St. Vincent do Paul, .at Its very centre, may extend to eacli
and every one of its afliliiitions tliron^liout the Conntiy, iind
impart to ail, new strcngtli and expansion. IIo lirndy
trusts tliat tlie onnni)()tent Avord of (iod will insj)ire every
mcmher of the Society with redouhled faith and charity.

Mr. Chandounet having; kindly consented to the jmhllca-
tion of his discourses, wa gladly present them, on hehalf of
the President of the Superior Council, to all tlic Brethren
throughout the Province, to all friends of the work of
Ozanam, to all who desire to know it and to love it.

Quebec, 1st January 18G4.

By order,

C. Narcisse IIamel,

Secretary.

DISCOURSES

DELIVERED AT NOTKE-DAME DE QUlilIiEO,

DURING THE TRIDUUM

of tijc Sociftji l>c 5amUt)incent-l)e-Paul.
FIRST DISCOURSE.

Fllioli mei, non diligamus verbo, neque
linpim, sed opere et veritate.

My little children, let us not love in
word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in
truth.

St John, I. Ep. chap. iii. t. 18,

My Lord,

Scarce thirty years ai,'o, Gi<?lit young students of Paris,
Avliere tlicy uiimber thousands, mot together for the first
time, in an obscure newspaper otlice situated in tlie humblest
street of that vast city. I am see tliem still, gathered round
a little table, and seated on wooden benches. Everything in
their appearance indicates intellectual culture and generosity
of soul. But their brows, despite the gaity natural to youth,
bear unmistakable traces of deep reflection and anxiety,
One of them holds a paper on Avhich lines had been written,
nicchaiiically and, as it were, l>y chance, two or three words,
apparently the expression of their common thought.

But what may that thought be ? For Ave can combine for
evil as well as for good. What idea brings together those
young men, so ardent and so anxious ? Their chief, for they

— n —

liiivc oiip, slmll nti-»wtT : " wo :\yv imiiulutod by a delu;;o of
])hil(trt')j)lii(t;il imd lu'tcrodnx iloctrincs, Ktu-'dnj,' up every
^vIlL'l•t' .'troimd us ; we t'cel tli(i desire and tli'e necessity (tf
stroji'i;llieiiiiii;' uiir Tiii'Ii i»;:;;iiiist tlu' juulti|ilied a.-sii\dts
(!irecl('(l ii<:aitist' us \>v tlie various svsteiiis df false seieuee.
Anumjj^st our i'cllow - students, some are luateriaiisfs,
.soiiK; saiiit-sinioniens, and some fonrieristes ; otlier« atraiii
dei.-ts. )\'lieii we Catliolies, attempt to remind tlie,-to
erring- luellireii of the wonders eli'eeted by Cliri^tianity, tliey
invariahly rei>ly : "■ "^'ou are ri^'lit tiiouiL::li, if yon speak of
tiic pastoidy, ('liristiauity did woinlers formerly; but now
C'hristianity is dead. And, in point of fact, what ai'e you w!ii>
boast of belli;:; Catliolies, doini;- { W'liere an-, the works that
testify to your faith, and eomjiel us to respect and aeknow-
ledii'e it i " 'J'hey are riirbt, he continues, tlie reproaeli is
but too well nicriti'd. I'o the work, then I T.et our acts
be in keepinu" with our faith ! Hut what is our woi-k i How
shall we prove ours . 'Ives true C-'atholies, but by doin^u; what
is Uiost pkasiuf; to (iod 'i Let us derote ourselves to the
relief < if our iiei;^bour, as Jesus Christ did, and place our
faith under the safeguard of Charity I (1)

Catholic Faith anil Charit}' ! Such, beloved l)rethren, 13
the motto adopted by these youn^ crusaders. To preserve,
to nourish mid the corrupt atmosithei'e of a great city, despite
tlie ]i!'ide of science, and the seduction? of the world, the sacred
iiame of faith, the faith of their infancy, the faith of their
youth, the sheet anchor of their mothers' ho[)es ; to sustain
that faith, not by words, not by ejihemeral systems, but b}''
works : by doing' g'ood to their unha[ipy brethren, to the
"poor i)eo]»le, " to suti'ering humanit}' : such is their aim.

" Dut what do you liope to accomplish ? " exclaim their
young companions. You are l)ut eight poor youths ; and
yon underiakc to relieve the swarming wretchedness of
a city like Paris ! And even were you many times more
numentus, you would accomjdish but little after all ! Xow,
"Nve are elaborating ideas and a system destined to reform
the World, and ritl it for ever of all suifcring and misery, we
shall perfonn in one instant for humanity, Avhat you could
nut accomplish in many centuries. " (2)

(1) 0/,anaui. Discourse at conforciV3G of Florence.
(2), Mmi. , . . ,

— 7 -

Poor voutlis! Tliov liail, no doubt, siiu-orc iiiul co.a-

Idi.ssioiiiitc souls, liut iiliis, (It't'oly inilaii'd iti ori'ur. Tlu'V
;nc!\v nut, heloveil Idvtliroii, that ouo sjjnrk »>t' lUitli and
C'liurity, does rrioi-c tliau all ilu; tires ot' the Martli, beciuiso ll
is {ibU|»t'rnutural lire. Vou are hut t'ijL:;lit, lla-y sai«l. IJut they
bad yet to ioarn, that the wicrt'd fin' of Christian charity,
coiiiuuiniiiatcs itnelf from one tu another, more raidilly ttill
than tiiat ilame wliicli, to<» (tfUMi, alas, deva>tate-s our ^i-( at
cities. In vain do tla; founders of this socii'fy, jealousol'liiiir
Ireasure, strive to liide it, like the miser : for it isCJod who
Mita : J)eu3 est inhn </ui opemtin'. ([) They were ei;^ht, ai
first; two months afterwards, they wen.- fifteen; fwoyearrt
afterwards, they were one huiuhv<! : twenty years afterwards,
thty were two tliousaad, in I'aris alone ; visiting live
thousand families, or al»out twenty thousand individuals,
that is to say, one fourth of the poor enclosed within the
walls of that innnenso city. (S"*

JLiw ^hully, if it were possible, beloved brethren, M'ould
I proclaim, in nnisson with their successors, v/ith the [)oor,
with the true liii-nds of hunuinity, the mimes of these lirtst
younijf men, who have become nnwittin<;ly, tin; patriai'chs
of a vast and ])uwerful asstx;iation, which, in the thirtieth
rear of its existence, is already bending' nnder the precious
burden oi' its works.

1 cannot do so. — I kn(;w that the real creator of a W()rk,
is the person who orii^inates the idea of it ; but I know uu
other here than CJod himself How often, beloved brethren,
have you not followed, through t!ie country, enriched and
beautilied by its waters, the course of some ^'reat river,
withont discoverin*^ the source wlience it springs ; (iod
frequently does M'ith the work of his servants, what
he docs with the works of physical nature : he disposes all
things in such wise, that none but himself can, here below,
I mean, be called its author. Tiius it was with the new
creation of Providence.

Nevcrtlieless, I may well say with ]/<icordaire, that *' I
shall not wrong the memory of any of these eight young
men, by asserting thatOzanam, though their fellow student,
was the St. Peter of that humble cenaculum. He never

(1) riiillipp. I. l.-^.

(•2) Oxauuiu. discourse at oonfereuce of Florence.

laiil claim to tliat lionour IIo was of the elnht^ a

liiirticii'ii^ triltute ^o his incinorv ; and if (iod iii.ufo liiiu
tliii tirst among his ])ecrs, he also nuulu him the tiri>t \\\
«lcath."U)

II.

Sinoo it is so, lioloved brothrcti, lot nstnrn our eyes, fur a
moment, on tiiii^ <^uod man, who.su brow is radiant witli tho
twofohl halo of Renins and of virtue'; and who was the soul
of our dear society of St. Vineent of l*aul, next to God ami
the holy ])atroii who protects it.

In iS-iO, the studious youth of France were challenged to
compete at an examination, opened in the venerable
sanctuary of Letters. Amidst the numerous and brillant
eom})etitors, there appeared a youth whose look bespoke
inodcsty, not unmingled with a slight degree of timidity
and cmbarrasment. Tlie struggle began. ,At once, our
young friend calls U]) to his aid the resources at his
♦'ommand, viz : profound science and consummatt! tact. In
vain does grudgmg fortune, which often laughs at the beet
founded hopes, compel tho youthful victor, to prepare, in
twenty four hours, an oral lecture on the most barren
subject within the domain of letters. Fortune herself was
battled. Frederick Ozanam was crowned by the unanimous
voice of the judges, and tho public lavished upon him ita
Bvinpathetic i)laudits.

Every man has amission, beloved brethren, you know it ;
for nothing is made without a purpose. The grain of sand even,
has one, lost though it be amidst tlie waste of the desert.
That mission must vary M'ith the nature of the individual,
and the circumstances in which he is placed; but thero
is infallibly a time Avhen man's mission is being developed,
within him ; a time when it commences and manifests itself, a
time when it completes its work and receives its erown.
Ozanam had his developed in his youth, passed so rapidly in
the calm of his laborious studies. Even there, we are tola, he
astonished liis masters, yet more than his companions,
kaviug to all, together with the example of hia noble

(1) Lacordalre. Biograpliio d'Ozauam.

— —

f|niilitic8, I'Tccioufl rcminisci.'nces of liin lirllliiuit literary
C'ti'urtH: nt tlie n«;o ul" sixtocn he wrote tor tliu Aheille.

I'lit lu; pivi' liimH'lt' iij), with still ;^ronter iirdour tn th<»so
PcriouH studies whi<'h coinph'te the vuiith and ojm'H tor hijn
the ])ortiils ot' inunlmud. Lftcorduiro could 8Jiy of him at
twenty, what it wore (k'nirahlo to Hay of all : — " l*hilosnj>hy
ofal.i^h order, while it oiicucd to him the sairie views of
inaiikiiid aB faith itself, made him feel in IuhhiuI that harmony
lietwei^n revelation and the facidties, that harmony so
omnii)otent in expanding arnl invigorating; the one l>y the
otluir, wliieh makerf ot the christian ft ])hiloso|>her, amloftliQ
philosopher a creature, proof against the j)rido of science as
ny:aiii8t the pride of virtue (4).

At twenty ( )xanam reached Paris.

The period in which a youn^ man makes his firsttrial (»f
unrestrained freedom is ever a critical, and fre(|uently a
fatal moment: I'or he who always does as he wishes, seldom
does as he ou«ijht. (2) And thus it is that then his falls an; nei-
ther few nor slight, for virtue and even for talent. i>ut in
Ozanam's day, yet more perl inps than in ou» own, tlie youtli,
•whose timid eyes opened for the first time on a jtuhlic career,
was confronted by numerous and formidalde enemies.
The civil power erected into a tyranny ; the political tribune
insulting; the sacred pulpit ; the press f^iven up to license in
the nameof liberty ; the professors chair become the workinj;
slave ol falsehood ; the sanctuary of science transformed into
an arsenal of error ; every where a devourinpj im])iety heapin<^
sarcasms and abuse on the past, in order to grasj^ the future
for itself. A yawning abyss whoso turbid waters were
BurgiLfi^ and seethinf;!: for the ruin of Christ.

Ozanam confronted the abyss, contident, but pure, resolute
and true. A soldier destined ifor the fight, he went, as thoui^li
by instinct, to visit the gjenerals who had preceded him on
the battle field. Lacordalre pictur 3 him to us, with deli«;ht,
as he entered liis room, and sat by his firesid". for the first
time ; then, jj^oing on to knock, with a trembling? hand, at
the door of one of the powers of this world ^ as Charles the K,
once styled M. de Chateaubriand. The latter had just
returned from mass, lie received the student, in an

(1) Lacordaire. Biographie d'Ozanam.

(2) Beauchcsiie. Life of Louis XVII.

. tl
\

— 10 —

amiable and fraternal manner ; and after many questions as
to liis projects, his studies, his tastes, he asked him, while
examinino^ him with a closer look, whether he proposed
going to the play. Ozanam, in surprise, hesitated between
the truth tliat he had promised his mother never to set his
foot within the doors of a theatre, and the dread of appearing
puerile in the eyes of his interlocutor. lie remained silent
for a time under the struggle going on within his soul. M.
de Chuteaiibriand kept his eyes fixed on him the while, as
though he attached great importance to his answer. At
last truth triumphed; and the author of the Genius of
Christianity^ bending down to embrace Ozanam, atfec-
tionately exclaimed : " I conjure you to follow your mother's
counsel ; you w^ould gain nothing by going to the theatre,
and you might lose much. "

This advice remained ^'ividly inpressed on the mind of
Ozanam ; and when any of liis comrades, less scrupulous
than himself, urged him to accompany them to the play, he
met them with the decisive words: " M. de Chateaubriand
told me it was not good to go there. " lie went, for the first
time in 1340, at the age of twenty-seven, to hear Folyeucte.
lie was not very deeply impressed by the performances. He
experienced, like all men of sound taste and vivid imagi-
nation, that nothing can equal the rej^resentation that the
mind forms to itself in a silent and solitary reading of the
great masters. (1).

Allow me to give you, from the same source, another
trait of a different kind, but which betrayed, still more
forcibly, the noble mission marked out for the youthful
Ozanam,

" At Sorbonne and the college of France, there were
certain faculties highly esteemed by the young students,
but which in treating of Christianity w'ere frequently want-
ing in justice and truth. OLanam attended the courses

most highly syoken of.

Knowing

how to appreciate

merit, even in a enemy, he listened to all, but at one time
with a countenance expressing pleasure, at another re-
serve. After taking his notes, he would return home,
seek out the facts at their source, and rectify them \. then
alone, in most instances, sometimes Avith friends, oi even

(1) Lacordaire. Biographie d'Ozanam.

est! on 3 as
m, while
proposed
L between
to set his
ippeariug
led silent
soul. M.
while, as
wer. At
renins of
111, affec-
■ mother's
e theatre,

5 mind of
crupnlous
e play, he
3aubriand
ir the first
Polyeucte.
mces. He
id inia^i-
1 that the
ig of the

!, another

still more

youthful

[lere were
; students,
itly want-
le courses
appreciate
t one time
lother re-
home,
, then

irn
am

01 even

with young men unknown to him, whose signatures he
solicited, he would write a serious and well-reasoned letter
to the profurfsor, pointing out his eriors and conjuring him
in a tone of holy simplicity, to re]>air the injury he had
inllicted on the minds it was his duty to enlighten. jM.
Joulfroy received one day, a letter of the hind, signed
Ozanam., student. lie had felt tlie breath of God in his
childhood ; and in fact, even before dying he was touched
by returns of it, that entitled him, at least, to an honoiable
memory. Ozanam's letter touched liim. It set forth,
that many of the youths who attended his lectures were
Christians ; and that it was extremely painful to them to
see a man like him, eloquent, generous, and no doul)t
sincere, indulge in attacks upon their faith, to which they
could not reply, since respect for order and for his person,
condemned them to utter silence." In the course of the
next lecture, M. Jouffroy informed his audience of the
remonstrance he had received, praised the author for tlie
sense of propriety, the learning he had exhibited ; then.
with a degree of rectitude deserving of commemoration, he
disavowed what he had stated to the prejudice of truth, (1).

But now, at last, your time is come oh! holy truth, sacred
faith of Clirist, to take your revenge ! Ozanam, twice a
doctor, victor at the grand examinations, master of almost
all the modern languages, sits in the chair of science. lie
takes possession thereof at tlic age of twenty seven ; and
for twelve 3'ears, in the very face of learned impiety itself,
he attracted and captivated an imtnense auditory, poured
forth floods of profane science, dissipated the clouds that
obscured the light, proclaimed the honour of faith, and
forced error to expiate its crime and relinquish the glory it
had usurped.

Behold how truth becomes popular in his mouth I
Tlie Easter of 1 S«52 had passed. Ozanam lay in bed of a
fever. lie learns that his auditory are awaiting him at
Sorbonne, and that those eager youths, heedless of the causes
that deprive them of their professor, are calling for him in
agitation and excitement. Instantly, despite the eftbrts of
his friends, the tears of his wife, the commands of his
physician, he rose up and hastened to his. chair, saying : /

(1) Lacordaire. I^iographie d'Ozanam.

12 —

V %

\ ^

mttst do honour to myprofession. When he appeared in
tlie hall of Sorl>oi: le, pale, waste, and more like a corpse
tlian a living man, tlie crowd were seized with remorse and
admiration, and received him with overwhelming and frantic
demonstrations of applause. These transports were repea-
tedly renewed, in the course of the lecture, and reanimating
the unfortunate professor, already sinking undev the fatal
stroke of disease, thus lifted him above himself for one last
effort. The audience seemed to possess the secret known to
'^rod alone, so passionate did their plaudits become when he
clos(3d Ilia address as follows ; " Gentlemen, our age is
" reproached with being an age of egotism, and your
" professors are said to be tainted with the universal
" epidemic of selfishness. Nevertheless, it is here that we
" waste our health, it is here that we consume our strength ;
" I do not complain of this : our life ii? yonr's, your's to the
" very last breath, and you shall have it. For my own part,
" Gentlemen, sliould I dio, it shall be in your service. " Such
was the last farewell of Ozanam, to an auditory who had
loved and applauded him for twelve long years. (1).

A few days afterwards, he wrote with a feeble and
trembling hand the first line of the canticle Ezechias : 1
said in the midst of my days^ I shall go ^o the gates of
death.

Man dies, beloved brethren ! but he does not perish
utterly. Ozanam's works tower above his grave like a
monument. His name alone, remains the symbol of the
successful alliance of science and faith, of genius and
virtue. It is a note of defiance to impiety, enlightened as
it sometimes is, often ignorant, but ever scornful. The
name of Ozanara, side by side with the immortal names of
Descartes, Do Bonald, Do Maistre, Ampere, Donosc Cortes,
B'ot, Cauchy, all learned, pious, and lay-men like hlmBt-lf,
will prove once again to weak Catholics, to blind i.r/aiety,
that true science and true faith, harmonise, that they ennoble
each other ; that genius is not incompatible with virtue,
nor even with devotion itself : that while a smattering of
philosophy leads men away from God j an enlarged
philosophy attaches men to tlim^ or leads them hack to Iiim.

I love to recall, O my God, the names of your learned

(1) Laeordaire. Biographic d'Ozanara.

— 13

reel in
corpse
so and
frantic
repea-
nating
i fatal
ne last
own to
lien he
age is
i youv
iversal
hat we
cngth ;
\ to the
n part,
" Sudi
lio had

lie and
lias : I
ates of

t perish
like a
of the
np and
nod as
The
imes of
Cortes,
Ui'.m3'o-lf,
.npiety,
ennoble
virtue,
ring of
nlarqed
to itim.
learned

and devoted servants. Nevertheless, I know It, you have
no need of examples among men to authorise your Majesty,
But in rhese days of doubt and universal distrust, extending
even tuyour ministers, we need the alluring example of our
fellow men to attract us to your standard. We seem to forgot,
beloved brethren, that the honour of an army depends especi-
ally on the chief and the flag ; that a brave soldier is none
t^e less Ijrave, though he be surrounded by cowards ; none
the loss faithful, though he stand alone in the breach. AV^e
forget, it would seem, that the service of God is ever
honorable, though there remained but ten just men in each
of our guilty cities. "We forget, above all, that contempt
will inevitably fall, in the first place, uj)on the vicious ; for
vice itself will never esteem vice in others ; and next, upon
Ihoso ^\ eak souls that flutter between good and evil ; we
forgot that in the inviolable sanctuary of conscience,
the first place is eve:- awarded to the man who acts from
conviction, openly and fearlessly, free alike from human
respect and ostentation.
But I am not, beloved brethren, and I have no desiiC to
ologist. As a friend of ^he society of St. Yinccnt

oe, an
de P

ap(
aul.

which Ozj\nani '' unded in his vouth, as an

advocate of the poor, I deaire to see in him, and I
can see in him, no other title than that of a pious christian
and a hither in charity ; a pious christian devoting,
eiich morning, half an hour to meditation upon some text
of Holy Scripture, this was the first half hour of his day ;
bending his knees in prayer before entering the lecture hall.
A father in charity, who left the professor's cliair, to seek
out the poor in their wretched garrets, to enter into
secret, noisome vaults, where timid misforame hides its
misery, having with him a loaf, a little crucifix, an image
of Mary ; whose budget of charities, regularly prepared
each year, exceeded one tenth of his 'ncome.

Ihit, let us see him at work. " On the morning of New
'^ Year's day, 1852, " says his illustrious biographer, "' the
" last New Year's day he saw in Paris, and the last but one
" he spent in this world, he told his wife that a certain
'• family were in great distress : that they had been forced
" to pawn tiic clie^it of drawers that licld the marriage
" trousseau, tlieii* last remnant of former comfort and })ros-
" perity ; that he had a mind to redeem it, and present it to
" them as a new year's gift. His wife urged plausible

— u —

•It

" arguments against tlic plan, and lio gave it np. In tlic
" evening, after returning liome from liia offieial visits,
" Ozaiiam seemed sad ; lie cast a sori'owfiil glance upon
" the profusion of toys heaped before his little daughter,
" and would not taste the sweet-meats she offered him. lie
" was evidently grieving for having missed the good work he
" had conceived in the morning. His wife having implored
" him to carry out his first thought, ho sallied forth instantly
" to make the purchase of the chest-of-drawers, and after
" accompanying it himself to the dwelling of the desolate
" family, he returned to his home perfectly happy. "

Like all who occupy themselves in doing good, Ozanam
was deceived sometimes. He had for a long period assisted
un Italian, by purchasing his translations of which he had
no need whatever. This person, for whom he had procured
a situation, betrayed his employers, and when he again felt
the pressure of want, he had recourse to the benefactor
whose heart and whose door had ever been open to him.
For the first time, Ozanam received him harshly, and refused
him an alms. But the infortunate man had hardly left the
house when Ozanam's conscience M'as seized with remorse.
He said within his heart, " it is never right to reduce a man
to despair ; and we have no right to refuse a piece of broad,
even to the vilest of criminals ; perhaps I myself may one
day have need that God should be less inexorable to me,
than I have just shown myself towards a fellow-creature
redeemed by his blood. " Overcome by these thoughts, he
followed the unhr.ppy wretch, running the whole ^vay until he
overtook him, opposite the Luxembourg, and gave him with
an alms, a proof of his repentance and of his charity ". (1)

This glance at the life of Ozanam, beloved brethren, brings
my lips, to a word Avhich is not out of place in the sacred
pulpit, nor foreign to this numerous assembly. It is the
lay apostolate, the a])Ostolate of the man of the world.
You know what I mean, beloved brethren, by lay apos-
tolatCj I understand that Avliich is exercised, not at the altar
but at the holy table ; not in the tribunal of penance, but
in the confessional ; not in the sanr^tuary, but in the midst
of the temple ; not in the sacred pulpit, but in the public
forum : the apostolate of word against word, press against

(1) Lacordaire. Biograpliic d'Ozanam.

— 15

In the
I visits,
io upon
uighter,
m. He
work he
mploretl
nstantly
id after
desolate

Dzanam
assisted
he had
>rocured
^ain felt
nefactor
to him.
1 refused
• left the
remorse,
e a man
f broad,
nay one
to me,
creature
ghts, he
■ until he
lim with
». (1)
I, brings

sacred
It is the

world,
ly apos-
he altar
ice, but
le midst
3 public
against

j>ress, work ngainst work. This apostolate belongs, not to
the priest, it belongs to the world, to each and all of you,
beloved brethren, without a single exception. But, allow
me to insist upon it, this apostolate belongs to you, above
all, who share in the apostolate of evil, ardent youths, and
men in the maturity of age and power. I would address
myself to both classes, but more particularly to the former,
in an discourse devoted to an association of charity, formed
by young men, and T will say, for the honour of youth. And
at the outset, I maintain, despite the reproaches youth may
have earned for itself, and all that Bosaiict may have said of
the youth of his time in particular, I maintain that it is a
truth as certain as it is consoling, youth can and must have
its share in the great mission of good, which is carried on in
the world. For if youthful nature be prolific for vice, it is
also prolific for virtue. The young have the daring, the tire
and the enthusiasm of evil, but they have also the daring,
the fire, and the enthusiasm of good. The young connnit
faults, no doubt ; but if they be not an utter wreck before
reaching manhood, they sometimes have the candour to blush
for them, frequently the frankness to confess them, and
almost invariably, a heart to weep for them. At the opening
of a worldly career, man is surrounded with hopes, assailed by
enchanting illusions ; but with a vigorous and ardent nature,
he is armed for the sacrifice. And is it not in youth that the
painful work of conversion is most frequently accomplished ?
Is it not in youth that man renounces the world, like St.
Bernard, and prostrate at the foot of the altar takes God for
his soul's inheritance? Is it not then that man embraces the
austerity of the cloister, with a Louis or a Stanislas? Do "we
not behold the youthful missionary bidding farewell to
country, mother and sister, and with open arms crying out to
tlie children of the forest: Ye are my brothers and my
sisters ! Oh ! brethren, this is courage, or it is no where
to be found.

Kevertheless, I say it to all, to the full grown man, as
well as to the youth, courage is no longer sufficient to
enable you to walk steadfastly in the footsteps of these
noble christians, whose names I have just mentioned
No, in this age of frivolity, of doubt, of egotism and of
apostacy, ho who would not be false to true honour, must
arm himself with the strong convictions resulting from the
union of science and virtue ; and with the generous sword

— 16 -

of sacrifice. Without this, you may earn a reputation for
talent, sometimes, in fact, for sincerity ; but never will you
render virtue, nor even your own name, truly and solidly,
popular. With this firm conviction of the mmd, and tliis
generosity of the heart, you may govern the world ; you
will have good at your command, and confront evil
with an impenetrable and invincible array. With this
conviction ot mind, and this generosity of heart, you, man
of the world, will sometimes do more for the cause of good,
than tlie man of the sanctuary, or the man of the cloister.
Why is this ? It matters little why. It is perhaps because
the spectacle of virtue in the midst of Israel is more rare,
and consequently more striking., No doubt, there is fanatism,
in cheerfully bidding a final farewell to the world, in order to
devote one's self to the pursuit of virtue and perfection, but a
legitimate fanatism, a ^en«row5 fanatism, &8uhlime fanatism,
before which the good young man of the Gospel drew back,
despite the invitation of Jesus Christ himself. Now this it
is, perhaps, that makes virtue in a layman, appear, in some
sort, disinterested and more attractive. Moreover, there is
a contagion of virtue, as there is a contagion of vice, or of
disease ; and in the midst of the world, where the elements
are more similar, and therefore more sympathetic, virtue is
naturally more expansive and more contagious.

III.

When we parted from the little association of Paris
students, in order to follow Ozanam, it had not yet left its
humble cradle ; the thought of a further extension of its
organisation had never been entertained. But ere long,
necessity itself, or rather the hand of God, while preserving
unbroken the link of charity that made them one in heart
and spirit, dispersed abroad these first apostles. And this
was but the exercise of a just right : it was God's own
work. The idea conceived by these eight young students of
Paris, was borne on the wings of charity, from one land to
another, as the seed of the flower is borne on the wings of the
dove, wafted by the wayward breeze, or floats on the bosom
wave that seeks a distant shore. It fell on a fertile soil ; and
nursed by the fostering dew of heaven it budded forth,
struck its roots deep into the earth ; and soon shot high into

17 -

tlio air, and the strong and ample brandies from its stem
nifordod slieltcr, not to tlio birds of the air, bat to tlio poor
of tlie eartli.

Thus it was, beloved brethren, that the society of St.
Vincent of Paul, of Paris, where Ave have seen tlie estab*
lishmcnt of the first conference, spread tliroughout the
whole of France ; paf^3ed into Germany, then into Belgium,
then into Dei marlc ; crossed the Pyrenees and the Alps ;
visited Greece ; crossed the P>ritish channel ; organised its
Confcences in the Ketlierlands, in Switzerland and ia
European Turkey ; trod the sacred soil of Asia ; l)raved the
burning sun of Africa ; explored Oceanica and reached
America. Tlius three fourths of the world were enrolled in
this crusade of chaiity. To-day it may be said of this
charitable association, as was said of the vast dominions of
Charlcs-(2uint : " The sun never sets on this empire. "

() blessed fecunditv of the works of God ! Man and hi3
woi'k pass away together ; and as man succeeds man, so do
the works of man pass away in successioo. But the work
of God is immortal ; for God himself does not pass away :
his grace, whicli is himself, gives to all that it inspires, to
all that it penetrates, to all that it animates, the seeds of
immortality.

But let me hasten to state, beloved brethren, for this h
the characteristic sign of the works of God, that the Church
received, with the affection, nay with the weakness, the
fondness of a mother, this child 'of charity, this offspring of
the purest spirit of cliristianity. In 18-15, prostrate at the
feet of Gregory XVI, the society was loaded with the choicest
blessings from the Sovereign Pontiff. By a brief, dated the
10th of January, of the same year, he signified his appi'oval
of the new society, confirmed it in its special form and
constitution ; thus placing it in the ranks of the regular
institutions working in the great catholic world.

More than one hundred bishops have raised their voices
in its favour. From every episcopal throne and from every
pulpit, words of encouragement have been showered upon it.

In 1852, at the simple request of the societv itself, the
Holy Father granted it a protector in the person of II.
E. Cardinal Fornari.

!N"evertheless, beloved brethren, tlie consecration of the
society of St. Vincent de Paul, wliose birth sounded ttho
death knell of triuraj^haut impiety, would have been in

— 18 —

some sense imperfect, had not PIub IX also imparted to ft,
ftiiiidst the tribuhitions of the times, his paternal benediction.
Surely the society can never forget, how, amid the imposing
cereinonies attending the proclamation of the dogma of
the Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius IX deigned to
remember it, to olfer the holy Sacrifice of the Mass for
the intention of its members, gave them Holy Communion
■with his own ha/ud, and presided in the hall of the
consistory at a general meeting of the Conferences of liome.
You will doubtless recollect with pleasure, beloved
brethren, that the society in Canada, was represented on
that memorable occasion. His Holiness listened with
kindly interest to the report of its humble labors, and
crowned all by addressing the brethren, himself. lie
reminded them of the noble end prbposed to itself by
the society ; urged all the members to labour for
that end with energy and perseverance ; then, in the
outpouring of his heart, involved a divine blessing upon
them all, adding in conclusion : " May this blessing
accompany you, all the days of your life ; may it extend
to those who cooperate in works of charity in Kome, in
Italy, in Europe, and throughout the whole world. "

It would weary you, beloved brethren, to enumerate
the circumstances attending the emigration of tlie successive
colonies of the Society of St. "Vincent de Paul, and their
installation in the various countries I have just mentioned.
But their birth, on the fertile soil of Canada is certainly
entitled to a special commemoration. Happily I am in a
position to give you the very words of the prelate chosen by
Providence to impart a first blessing, and to be the first to
cultivate this precious ofi*shoot of the tree of Charity. His
Lordship the administrator of the diocese, during his visit to
Europe in 1850, when presiding at a general assembly of the
Conferences of Paris, which was attended by an illustrious
friend of the society, P. Lacordaire, spoke as follows :

" A young man, after completing his studies

Paris, brought with him to Canada a copy of your rules.
He called npon a priest of Quebec. That priest was myself,
who now address you. He unfolded to him his plan of
establishing the society in Quebec. The priest encouraged
him, mentioned the matter from the pulpit, called a
meeting ; and that was suflicient in a country so catholic as
Canada. Several conferences were at unce organized.

10 —

How admirable are tlio dispositions of diviiio Providence!
This was in 184(1, when two vast conflagrations had just
dcsfrovod two tliirds of the city. You are aware of tlie
dreadful severity of our winters. Theahnsoftho conferences,
amounting \vitliin one year to 25,0U0 francs (r),(K»0 dollars),
sufficed for every necessity ; and every needy sufferer found
a brother to console In'm.'

Oh ! may it ever be so, beloved brethren. Let us
never allow the tire of Catholic Charity to cool in our
hearts. Like this young ir n of Paris, let us nnite all our
forces, let us associate our hearts in a charitable conspiration
for the relief of our brethren, the suffering members of
Jesns Christ. To the taunts from the lips of the impious, let
us reply with our hearts, with our works. These alone,
now as ever, can give a meet answer to those who ask the
Catholic: where is your Godf These alone can proclaim in
nnmistakable terms : "Their God is in heaven ; and lie doctli
all things Avhatever he wisheth. " And should we, like
Ozanam, be honored with a call to do battle in the front
rank of tlie army of Christ, let us never forget that a
Catholic officer, if he be really worthy of that title, must
take the lead by a scrupulous fidelity in executing the
commands of his general. He will give edification by his
devotion to prayer, his attendance at the Holy Sacrifice,
and by approaching the Holy table. In fine, beloved
brethren, let us have a real love for God, a real love for his
Church, a real love for the good principles that come from
God ; then, in the spirit of the Gospel, combining this
sincere love of God with the sincere love of our neighbour,
we shall not only speak of him, of the people, of the poor ;
but yet more, and above all, we shall do them good ; we
shall not profit of their misery, we shall relieve thuni
Filioli mci, non dUigamus verba, neque lingua, sed opere
ei veritate.

— 20

SECOND DISCOURSE.

Filioli mei, non dilignmns verbo, neqno
lingua sell oj)f ro et voritate.

.Mr little children, let U8 not love in
word, nor in tongue, but iu deed and
in truth.

St. John, I. Ep. Cap. iii. v. 18.

My Lord,

Witli the l)le??in;2r of God, ^vo shall, this evening, examine
the Society of St. Vincent do Paul, 1st. in iti? constitution ;
that is to say, in its end, its means, its memhers, its
organisation ; and, 2ndly. in the e]iirit which animates it.

The Sacred Scrii>tnre lays doAvn a principle for the
exercise of charity, -which has been adopted, in divers
forms, in the peculiar language of every Christian people.
Amongst us it is emhodied in the axiom : Charity begins
at home.

That maxim is a sonnd one, no douht ; hut, as it only
too often happens -with general principles, it is many a
time lost sight of, in the multiplied details of practice, or
in the unaccountable manner our poor minds tind the
means of abusing things, in themselves the most perfect.
Thus, either by a too ^vealv civility, on the one hand, we
sacrifice everything, and give up everything to our fellow
men, under pretext of pleasing, serving and saving him, but
alas, to our mutual destruction ; or, on the other hand,
through an op})Osite excess, we grasp everything for
ourselves, and refuse everything to others, and this under
the name of charity.

Look at the miser, for instance, while he is hoarding up
and increasing his treasure, lamenting his present straighte-
ned circumstances, or casting an uneasy glance into the dark

21 —

fiitni'(\ do you not licir him exclaim i " Tlic tiiix ■< ni'(!
liiird, I must save up, niisciy iri at vvcvy dooi-, I must ward it
otf ill time; alas! !t iri an niucli as I slrnll I>e alile to
a<'(!()tn]>lisii ; let otlicri^ have the ])leasure of ^iviii;; :
C/iarity hgins at home ! Tlio e^^otist devours with his
eovetous eyes all that rtiirrouiKls him. IIi^ tuncies that men
and thiuf^M are ereated for him alone ; everythitif*- is laid
out for his intereHtH. Self* ! self ! i.s hin eternal ery : Citaritii
hegins at home. Aiiother nayn : " 1 am neither a miser nor
an eirolist ; hut I would not he a prodi^d. My nu'ans ai-e
fiufileient fur the reqnirementH of my ])Osition ; I. .41, most
nndouhtedly, the requirements f>f my position are equal to
my means. I cannot strip myself to clothe otlun'S." Such
is tin; language of an easy cool and ala« ! hut too common
indifl'erenee : Charity hegins at home.

Thus it is, my brethren, that charity would become the
abyss, into which man rashly and ho})elcssly ]dun<]::es body
and soul, to serve Ins fellow man ; or else a matter of keen
and interested calculation, beginning invariably with self,
without ever ending in others.

Kow, I tell you, my brethren, tliat the true christian
spirit is equally distant from both these extremes. For it
begins at nome : but thence, or rather without going forth
from thence, it is generously ]>oured forth upon all others.
It is a iirc in its own hearth ; it warms that hearth first,
and then darts its cheerinf' rays upon every one around.
Christian charity is like Divine charity : it is egotistical if
you will ; but, at the same time, essentially diffusive.
Uharitas incinit a semetipso — (Jharitas hcnigna est, nan est
amhitlom.

To this M^ell ordered charity, correspond, as tlie effect to
the cause, several kinds of gO(td, which custom designates as :
one's own good and the good of others, private good and the
public good. It is with these as with charity itself: they are
distinct, but not in reality separable : they go hand in hand,
they are linked together. God is the good of all, and the
world also. To will good aright, is to will it as ic is, and
consequently to will it for all, for ourselves and for others,
for others and for ourselves. By this single and npright
M'illing of a double good, we merit, we acquire the right to
a reward, which we shall certainly receive. Behold here,
our own good resulting alike, from charity to self and.
charity to others.

— 22 —

(Jicntly iiuleod iinMV(Mlcceive(l, beloved ln-etliren, if wo
imagine timt eluirity acta outwftnlly witliout buniinii?
inwardly, or ImriiH inwardly williout acting outwardly ;
that it onn ett'ectually ]»roinoto |>til»lic g(">d, wlulst it
iKiilectrt individual interetits, or advancen private intercstb
while negU'ctin*? the ])ul)lie pM)d ot'otherH.

This 18 not all. Charity has alwnyrt to deal with two
orders of <j;oud : Sj>iritual ^ood ; Moral p»od, — the good of
the Houl, and material good, idiysieal good, tlie good of the
hudy. Charity if it boreal, if it be christian, will make
choice of the better |>art, that is of the sjuritual ; it will
subi>rdinate the less noble, to the more noble, as God
liiniself has rightly done.

Hence, my brethren, a well ordered charity embraces
firpt selfy but without excluding others ; otliers, without
excluding self; the spiritual, the moral, ever taking prece-
dence over the material, over the physical. Such is the
oracle of eternal wisdom, the chriKtian spirit, the catholic
spirit, the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul.

Such also, thank God, is the charitable policy proclaimed
by the eight young students of Paris. To convince yon of
this, let me give you Jzanam's own words : " Our ])rincipal
aim " said he, iu addressing the brethren of Florence, " our
])rincipal aim was not to airbrd helj) to the i)Oor, No. Our
aim was to maintain ourselves lirmly in the faith, and to
propagate it amongst others, through the medium of
charity. AVe also wished to have an ever ready answer
when at any time we should be asked, in tlie words of the
Psalmist : ubi est Deus eoruni ? where is their God.

This, then, is their obiect ; in the first place, their own
good, tlieir own souls, their virtue, their faith, jointly with
the good, the souls, the virtue and the faith of others ;
tlien the exaltation of that faith in the eyes of all. The
means of attaining that end, are all comprised in the word
charity.

The means tliat charity furnishes are many. In this
world, as in eternity, charity can, and really does, accom-
plish all things ; but: the special means that it affords to the
brethren of Ozanam, consist primarily in the association
itself, their spiritual intercourse, that fraternal union, the
intimacy of their social life. For this, once in each week,
the society assembles all its members throughout of its vast
empire. Th(jre, they pray together, they listen to an edifying

— 23 —

Icftnro, and convorse wIMi unroservcd ouiifidt'ncc. It h;i«
ulsii itH iiutiv P'imimI, hut t'<jn)illy intiumte ^'iitluTiiifjs ; tho
f»»ur yt^arly fi'f*tiviilrt and indul^^onccs : the h>ve tVasts <»f
toniu'r (hi\f«. TluTc also tlic poor art- npnUon of, and naincii
an the chcrifihcd fVionds of tho t'aniily, their phurw of ahocU^
arc ctKMiirc'd for, tlic inentlx'rw i'a;^cr\y sharinj^ ainon^ thini-
sulvcs trie duty and tlio pleahure ut* visiting theiii at au
early day.

In fact tlio visiting of tlio poor in their IjovcIh, in tlicir
cellars, in their garrets U ])rvoUo\y the second esneiitiid
nieanH for attaining the ohjoft of the Society. Tiu'se visitK,
ever made, as they are, in the spirit of faith, chtahlinh, in
Boine Hort, l)et\v(?en the diHciple of St. Vincent do Paul and
tho poor, the intimate relations existing hetweon the mem-
Iters thetnt^elvcH : acquaintance;, conversation, prayer in
common, re<nprocal interest and gratitude; the relations of
the mind and of tho heart.

JosuH-Christ tolls us in Holy Scripture, that 7nan liven
not hy bread alone, hut hy every v)ord that fallet It from the
mouth of God (1). Yes, my hrethren, man nndouhtedly
lives by the life of (irace : it is the essential aliment of his
sublime nature, of his soul. And for that reason, it is
rei)ugnant to (iod, repugnant to man, cruel, shameful to
sell or to purehaee tho virtue, tlu; conscience, the honour,
the sublime lift (»f the ])oor man, in exchange for the vile
Bustenance (»f his inferior nature.

Nevertheless, man lives also of bread ; and though the
poor frequently suffer the want of it, they are in tho same
degree as the rich, snbject to this law of onr pc^rishable
nature. But this material bread, far from being an agent
of moral corruption, should, while nourishing the body, be
f.nally subservient to the soul. Hence, the companions of
Ozanam, in the highest inten-.st of man, have wisely madi;
the material bread that nourishes the poor man's body, sub-

serviant to the bread of faith, by which the just liveth. A
charitable, a noble, a consoling policy this !

The visit made to the poor by the disciple of St. Vincent,
in the name of faith, is tlierefore generally accompanied by
a material alms. But, mark it well, my brethren, it is not

(1) Matth. IV. 4.

— 24 —

tlie visit that follows the alms ; but the aims that folIoAvs
the visit.

It may well happen, alas ! that you lack means to assist
your sutibriiig fellow-man ; hut the "'lance of conipassiou^
the eonsoling word, those little attentions that can charm
him and win him to God, arc always at your command.
This is certainly enough to render your visit thoroughly
efficacious for good, which is the main point. Is it not
wortb while making the visit in order to accomplish this ?

Besides, my brethren, no one work of ehririty is foreign
to the {Society of Saint Vincent do Paul, provided only it
can be made subservient to the maintenance, the propagation,
the honour of the Catholic Faith. Take, for instance, the
patronage of orphans. The Society gathers np, in the name
of Providence, these poor little creatures, whom Providence
has adopted by depriving them of their mothers. It places
them in christian hands, provides for their food and
clothing, and never relaxes its supervision, until the child

has

o-ruwn

ui:

3 into the man. In a similar manner, the

Society undertakes, on occasion, the patronage of students,
the patronage of apprentices, the patronage of mechanics,
the patronage of laborers.

I believe I have indicated, my brethren, the true end
and means emj^loyedby the Society of St. Vincent dePaul.
I Avish it were now in my power to imprint them, in
indelible characters, in the mind of every member, of every
friend, of every enemy, if there be any in the world, of
this beneficent society. But it behoves the brethren of the
Society, above all others, to know and to bear in mind,
that the object, the end of their association, is their own
sanctilication in the Catholic Faith, the propaga,tion of that
faith amongst others, especially the poor, the honoring of
that same taith in the eyes of all ; and not merely the
visiting of the poor, or the distributing of alms, as it is but
too often imagined. No : the gatherings of the brethren, the
prayers in common, the festivals, the domiciliary visits to
the poor, ilic alms, whatsoever thev may be, are not in any
sense the object, not in any sense the end, of the Society of
St. Vincent do Paul ; they are but the means, they are
subordinate to the end ; they conduce to the end ; but they
are not the end itself. Therefore, he who confines his intention
to the visit, to the alms, or to the other means of the^
Societyj without directing them, to the maintenance, the-

25 —

tlio
to

pi'opas^atlon, or tlic honour of tlio Catliolic Faitli, fails to
seize tlie essential point of hia duty as a member. In point
of fact, lie is not a member: for in order to be re illy a
member, it is not sufficient to have the name, and then to
seek any end one choscs ; there must be a community of
action for a common purpose, a mutual cctoperation in workinp^
out the real end of the association, and it must i)e worked
out by the means that are appointed : as beinfi; conducive to
that end, for in this consists the essential point of all associa-
tion : where there are two ends, two means, there must be two
societies. If you are ignorant of the end, if you foro-et it,
or if you merely confound it Avitli tlie means ; if worse do
not come if it, you will certainly reap no benefit from the
advantasjes afforded bv the Association, and you will injure
the Society ; with the best intention m the world, you will
spoil everything, or else you will act with the hesitation
and weakness of chance.

Members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, let mc
repeat it to you again : you are members of this Society,
above all for yourselves, to nourish Catholic Faith in
yourselves in the first place, next to nourish it and to
glorify it in others. And, as nothing can be done without
means, you adopt two principal and essential means :
familiar gatherings of your brethren ; and domiciliary visits
of the poor, combined with alms.

I assert that these means are essential : for in this as in
everything else, he icho wills the cnd^ wills the means.

Disci]des of St. Vincent de Paul, l>retliren of Ozanam,
would you be really worthy of the name ? Fix your eyes
upon the triple end laid out by them for themselves and for
you ; your own faith in the faith of others, particularly of
the poor ; the exaltation of the Catholic Faith. Next, adopt
the means of attaining it, but adopt them efi'ectiuiUy.
Attend your meetings, take part in the festivals, take
advantage of the indulgences, visit the poor at their houses,
and let your alms go with you.

Then, the sight, the thought, and the zeal of the end, will
determme, penetrate and aninuite all your words and ail
your proceedings. Let each associate do this, and behold
you are a real army, never scattering, never betraying its
own f>rces, but combining them in a single phalanx,
that will obtain its end with the energy of omni})oteuce.

I need hardly say now, that a member of the Society of

— 26 —

l*v

St. Yinccnt de Paul is in the wronff, when at the hour of
meeting he says to himself : " What need of attending ?
there are no poor to relieve...." But my dear brother,
it is your own virtue, your own faith that are to be restored,
animated by tliat union which is strength, by combined
prayer, by fraternal edification ! The poor have bread, eay

you ? So much the better ! But vou yourself are the

first of the poor : therefore, you must look first to yourself.
Go then, go, my brother, and receive the fire of faith at
the hearth of charity. " But it is useless visiting the poor ;
I have nothing to give them. " So much the worse !
Have vou not even the widow's mite, which Jesus ChriEt
made so much of ? Then you are unfortunate indeed •
more unfortunate in not being able to give, than the poor
in not receiving. "What if it be the visit itself, the visit
alone, that you are called upon to make ? If the alms be
on]/ an accessory ? But the poor are always in need of the
bread of faith ; and they need consolation all the more, from
the fact that you are unable to relieve their poverty. Go
then, go my brother ; and let your presence, your kind
words, your assiduity, at least, help to moderate their
deepest sufferings, the sufferings of the soul. "

But, my brethren, who are those whom the Society of St.
Vincent de Paul, calls upon to enrol themselves under its
banner of Charity ? This banner, with its noble motto,
has been unfolded in the cause of good against evil, in the
midst of the world, in the heart of a great city, where evil
abounds side by side with good ; there, in the midst of the
world, it must remain. This banner, with its noble motto,
has been unfolded, not by an association of men of mature
age, devoted to solitude, prayer and silence, to whom
Jesus Christ, recommends when out of the sanctuary, the
prudqnce of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove. No,
no, it has been unfolded by young men of the world, young
students of the world, brea'ihing, speaking, acting in the
very midst of the struggle, with no other title, no other
mission than that of christians and Catholics, but Catholics
enlightened and sincere. It is for you then. Catholic youth,
for you, in a special manner, to support this banner, to
suround it, to be its guard of honor. It is your right ; why
would you not conclude ; " Then it is our duty. "

You, above all others, can and should shelter, within its
deepest folds, your Catholic faith, your priceless virtue, so

t
r
a

t
i

27 —

)iing
the
)ther
lolics
nith,
to
|why

its
so

M-

freqncntly and so violently assaulted ; and then march
I'onvard to tlie rescue and the defense, of the virtue and the
faitli of others, with a frankness and a courage worthy of so
noble a flag.

Nevertheless, beloved brethren, the Society does not
exclude laymen of a more advanced age. Oh ! no : it
w^eh^oraes them joyfully ; and even "urges them to swell the
ranks of their juniors : they form a large proportion of its
members. And indeed mature age, too, needs to rene^' the
fervour of its faith, by approaching the fireside of fraternal
charity ; and though it may contribute less ardor and
enthusiasm in action, it compensates for that deiicieucy
by a larger share of prudence and discretion.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is no doubt hap})y to
count amongst its ranks, members of the clergy. A submis-
sive child of the Church, since it is essentially Catholic, it
derives its principle, its life, from the very source of Catho-
licity, reposing ever under the protection of the pastoral
Btatt. It enjoys a protector in the ])er6on of a prince of the
Church, a cnaplain in every land where it raises its peaceful
standard ; it ofl'ers to all the members of the clergy the
exceptional title of" honorary members. "

Nevertheless, my brethren, the Society of St. Vincent
de Paul, essentially, practically catholic, is peculiarly a lay
society, lay in its origin, lay in its founders, lay in its*
constitution, lay in its members, in its spirit, in its move-
ments, in all its proceedings, which does not, I repeat,
prevent it from being truly and supremely Catholic.

I do not hesitate, as you see, my brethren, to bring
together and yet distinguish, these three words : Catholic,
priest, layman. At certain periods and in certain parts of
the world, one would fancy that the priest and the layman
"were no longer both catholics. The priest is a priest ; tlie
layman a layman : they are two separate orders ; and the
word catholic no longer unites all the tribes of God's
people ! Oh ! my beloved brethren, the priest, 1 know, is
not a layman ; the layman is not a priest. But both alike
are Christians, both alike are catholics, both are children of
the Cnurch, and in virtue of that title, they differ in
nothing, they cannot differ in any sense, inasmuch as they
are sfainped with the same seal ; and if botli be sincere,
they will have the same rights, the same duties, the same
interests, the same affections, the same sympathy, the same

f i

n ■ '

1 .
1 1

spirit, the same heart. Oh ! let ns learn then, my brethren,
to unite, to distinguisli c^cn, if yon will, but never to
separate, two things so utterly inseparable. Catholics, in
the first i)lace, all ; then catholic priests, catholic laymen.
In a like senpe I say, ])assing from the religious to the civil
order, (bearing in mind the while, that we are citizens of
the Church before becoming citizens of the state, and that
we are ever and always catholics, no matter what may be
our rank in the social scale) I say it frankly, in theory as in
practice : we are citizens, in the first place, all ; then clerical
citizens, then lay citizens. This is the true view, which all do
not adopt, perhaps, but which all ought to adopt. And this
is the view ado})ted by the association formed by the young
students of Paris. Catholics in spirit and in heart, and
catholic laymen, — they undertook a crusade essentially
catholic, but specially secular, wherein, the layman acts
spontaneous!}', undertakes, follows up, and accomplishes
his good Avork in perfect freedom.

Be not astonished, therefore, brethren of Ozanam, if in this
crusade ot charity, the clergy abandon to you the vast field
of good, and the blessed freedom of well doing. The clergy
have their own high mission, at home first, then on foreign
shores, and even in the wild depths of the forests ; l)ut
beneath thf> standard of Ozanam is your's. Under
Ozanara's fiag, your's be the glory of the onset, of the
strategy, of the fight, the victory and the crown.

But, what is needed in order to be a truo disciple of
St. Vincent de Paul ? Every disciple of St. Yincenl Je Paul
must, above all be a Catholic ; for how can it be possible
when one does not possess the faith, to undertake to nourish
it in oneself or in others ? For a similar reason, I would
willingly divid-^ all Catholics, in relation to this society into
two classes : its friends, and its members. Its friends can
be, and ought to be as numerous as the Catholics themselves.
"VVe every one of us, without exception, owe to this Society,
which labours for our faith under the banner of Christian
Charity, our esteem, our love, and our jirotection. "We
ongiii to esteem it, for it is good ; to love it, for it is
; to protect it, for it labours for good. If these
sentiments be real, they will exhibit themselves in
their efi'ects. "VVe i^hall then speak well of this work, we
shall encourage it. And moreover, though not being
members of the association, simply as friends of the Society,

generous
good

29 —

can
lives.

itian
We

it is
Ihese

!S in
we

)ing

iW*

and of the poor, it is in onr power, find in fact we .ire invited
to add, each year, a special ahns to those of its mcinibers,
that is to say, to become subscribers to tlie fund it maintains
for the l)enelit of tlie ])Oor ; in tliis way we sliall sliare
larfjely in the _G;ood it effects, and in the spiritual advantaLi'cs
which the Church bestows abuiidautly upon the members
themselves.

The members of the Society, on the other liand, are
required, to do far more than its friends or its subscribers.
As disciples of St. Yincent de Paul, and intimate friends of
Ozanam, they must be imbued with the Christian spirit
that aidmated those tM'o heroes of faith and charity ; they
must be pratical Catholics. It is not necessary to be perfect,
certainly, in order to be of the brotherhood of Ozanam,
but it is indispensably necessary to possess a real and ardent
love for one's own soul, an esteem for virtue, the care of
one's faith, and a zeal for the faith of others. Without this,
it is impossible to do honour to the title of member, and to
the ilag of the Society. A man who will neither keep nor
acquire money has no business enterint!; into a commercial
association, or financial speculation, lie has no zeal for
attaining the end ; consequently he has no zeal for adaptini^'
the means to that end : he is feeble, he is dead.

But every man who is really and sincerely Catholic, or
who is, at least, really anxious to become so, who is
in a position to comply ■\^ ith the other essential require-
ments of the Society, namely, attending the meetings and
visiting the poor, and able to set aside a part for their
benefit, not a large sum, but even the mite ennobled by Jesus
Christ in the Gospel, is invited to enrol himself under the
noble banner of Ozanam, and to mark upon his breast the
sacred sign of charity. He will find in that association,
special facilities for labouring more effectually for the good
of his own. soul, and for the good of the souls of others.

The Soeietv of St. Vincent de Paul has its honorarv
members, and its active members ; but, as regards
Catholicity and virtue, I nuikc no distinction betvreen these
two classes of members. They must have the same love,
the same zeal for this common end, and consequently the
same love, the same zeal for the means whereby it is to be
attained. For they are all in reality members of the same
society. The honorary members are not required to assist at
the little weekly meetings, culled covfermces, nor to visit

— 30 —

the poor at their houses ; but they make up for being
unable to labour in person, by contributing more liberally
towards the funds of the Society. This is an essentiel
condition.

But, they are in precisely the same position as the active
members, as to attending the general meetings held every
three months, sharing in the observance of festivals, and
gaining the indulgences of the Society.

Every association, whatsoever may be its end, its means,
or its members, needs a hand of union to combine the
scattered actions of its associates, in order to apply them to
its means, and to bring them to bear effectually upon
the object of the Society. Without this moral bond, you
may have meetings, gatherings, crowds ; but a society I
never. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, like every
other, comes under this moral law. It requires an authority,
a hierarchy, not necessarily despotic, not absolute, bat
capable of governing the social body. This hierarchical
authority it does in fact possess, as we shall this see more
clearly by taking a rapid glance at il-o organisation.

In the first place, as the basis of all, is the little weekly
assembly, styled the Conference ; for this was the title
adopted, after the example of other societies its contem-
pories whether for good or evil, by the association of Paris
students. These meetings, which must be held at least
once a fortnight, are really the seat of the active life of
the Society. It is in the conference that the members unite
in prayer and edifying lectures ; that they incourage one
another to labour in the good work ; that the wants, of the
poor are discussed ; that the duty of visiting them is
apportioned ; that the alms afforded by the little treasury
are regulated. Then, in the interval of the cmiferences, each
member visits the families entrusted tt him, thus sowing
and gathering in his share of good, for the love feast of the
following week. The conferences are established wherever
the society exists. In Quebec alone, there are eighteen,
each of them holding regular w^eekly meetings.

In order to unite them, and give them all an uniform
direction, each central position has its council, called the
Particular Council.

The several Particular Councils of each province, with
their respective groups of conferences, centre in another
council, called the Superior Council. The Superior Council

— 31 — .

of Canada meets, as you are aware, in Quebec. In fine, all
tlie provincial sections, that is to say, the entire society,
obey the supreme direction of tlie General Council, which
meets in Paris, the birtli-place of the Society.

M. Billault in one of his able discourses in the French
Senate, said, with reference to the organisation of tlie
Society of St. Vincent de Paul : " Its organisation, it
" cannot be denied, is extremely powerful, and the more
" so from the fact that by means of the very benefits it ren-
" ders, the Society exercises its influence in every direction,
" over all classes : over the upper classes by its prayers, by
" the as'-istance it obtains ; over the lower classes, by its
" counsels, by the practice of its charitable workb, which
" are multiplied under every form, and which place in its
" hands, the apprentice, the work man, the soldier. Else-
" where, he says : At the head of an organisation displaying
" immense energy, was found a hierarchy possessed of
" extraordinary vitality and activity. "

There is something of truth, my brethren, in these words :
the organisation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul ia
powertui ; and how can this be made a subject of reproach
m an association exclusively devoted to doing good '< But
the able minister, despite his high sagacity, did not seize the
real secret ol' that strength.

II.

torm
the

iwith
)ther
iincil

The strength of an organised body, of what nature soever
that body may be, whether ])hysical or moral, resides in ita
soul far rather than in its organs. It is the life that
aniui^^.tes a body, that moves it, that makes it act ; and the
life of a body is its soul, its spirit. It is therefore in its soul
that we must seek for the strength of the Society of St.
Vincent de Paul.

Now, my brethren, the triple spirit that animates that
Society and renders it so powerful, is the spirit of fraternity,
of humility, and above all the spirit ot action.

A spirit of fraternity, that animates its very authority
itself. In the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, there exi^t3
no doubt an authority, which directs, which governs :
without this, there could be no Society ; but which does not
command. Head the circulars issued by the General

— 32 —

-T

' ',

Council to the whole Society", or by the inferior Council
^vit]lin this rcRpective jurisdictions, you will never find a
word of command, but simply a counsel, an exhortation, a
prayer.

As to the members themselves, they are styled brethren,
and in truth, the word is well applied. " llow I am
overwhelmed with joy, " cried Ozanam, at a meeting of the
conferences of Florence, " to meet, at this distance from my
country, so many brothers loving one another with a
common attection, and forming but one family ! Once on
tlie occasion already have I experienced a similar emotion
in England, and quite recently again in Castile, where a
small number of friends received me in a little room. But
I can assure you, tiiat, though small the room, great was
the charity that warmed the hearts of its occupants ! It
found expression in looks, in words, and in tlie grasp of the
hand ! 1 am deeply touched at the fraternal spirit that
animates and imparts life to the ccnferenoe of the Society
of St. Vincent de Paul, every where alike, even in countries
the most dissimilar and the most remote. Aucf I am
powerless to express to you, how sweet it is to me to find it
here as I found it at Genova, at Livourne and in the other
parts of Italy."

There arc in this world, my brethren, two sorts of
hypocrisy i the hypocrisy of good, and the hypocrisy of
evil. It is hypocrisy to dress ourselves up in a virtue of
which we possess little or noching, as it is hypocrisy to
boast of a vice to which we are little, if at all, addicted ; it is
as hypocritical to boast fiilsely of evil deeds, as to boast
falsely of good actions. These two species of hypocris;;, are
from pride, though the wicked, through a secret hatred for
real virtue pretend to entertain a special contempt for the
hypocrisy of virtue. But whatever may be said of it, these
two kinds of boastful lying, are equally hypocritical, hypo-
crisy is the off-spring of pride, pride itself, is ever a hypo-
crite. The opposite of pride is humility. I do not mean
servility, much less, baseness ; I mean humility. Humility
is truth. Humility does not raise a man up ; nor does it
lower him. It keeps him in his place before God and before
man.

Now, this is the second spirit that anirftates the Society of
St. Vincent de Paul. No room here for pride ; the alms
are collected secretly in the conferences, the gr .^^ount

33 —

are

il for

tlie

lese

po-

ipo-

ean

of
rims

kiut

tiloiic l)em<:: known to any one; set ppccclic- are inadmis-
sible ; eloi^'it's and encominins are out of i)la('e ; tliero is no '
such tiling as tiicnriiig in puldic on tlio i)art of tlie members ;
the indivi(hial and his namu are lost in tlie body. The ijjood
is neither hidden nor secret ; but it is stripped of all the
trapj>ings of pride and i»laeed under the guardianshi[) of
humility.

In Hne, a third spirit that animates the society of St.
Vincent de Paul, is the spirit of action. It was the reproach
of inertness that erected the first conference of Paris.
" Christianity is dead, " it was said, " you boast of beinr>;
Catholics, and what do yon do i where are the works
that exhibit your faiih, and recommend it to our resi)ect and
submission 'i "' Then it was that eight young Catholics
exclaimed : Well then ! let us go to work !

The society of St. Vincent de Paul is therefore essentially
a society of fiction, of works, of prayei's. It advances
towards its end ; it acts within its own ])roper means ; these
very means are acts ; meetings, visits to the poor, almsgiving.
And, in truth, my brethren, the Charity that does not act
when it can act, is not charit}' ; it is not the angel that
consoles, bnt a cruel genius that mocks. It is therefore by
its M'orks that charity is known, as you woidd judge of the
heat of a fire by the brightness and the height of its flames ;
and works of charity are inspired and nourished by God
alone : Dctis c/iaritas cat : God is Charity !

When Ozanani and his companions held their first
conference, under the protection of St. Vincent do Paul,
that apostle of active charity, they were surrounded by four
classes of men, devoted, it Avas said, to the discovery of the
highest happiness of humanity : the Materialists, the Deists,
the SaintSimonians aiul the Fourierites. The Materialists
and the Deists, are simply and solely propounders of false
d jctrines ; and thus it is that they have been able to do
nothing beyond demolishing, in the souls of others, convic-
tions, dear both to reason and to faith. And, in as much as
luorals depend on dogma, practice on theory, as the conse-
quence depends on the princijde, in practice, also, instead
of edifving, they have demolished ; they have not remedied
evil, they have destroyed good ; and yet good is the
aliment of man's haiipiness.

The SaintSimonians and the Fourierites profess to act
effectivel""^ for the highest good of liumanity. " "We are

„l;^--

■ I

t Si

— 34 —

eIal)oriitiiif^, said one of tliuni, a friend of Ozanam's, " wc
"lire dalx^ratini:; ideas and a pysteui whieli Mill reform tlie
trorld, and rid it for ever of niisery. We shs.U do more ill
fih instant, for liunianity tlian you eonld aecompliuli in
jnany eeiituiies. "

A fen' years later, Ozanani was enabled to say to the
brethren of riorenec, in accents of C(ini|ia8si«»nate friend-
6hi}» : '' Vou are aware, gentlemen, of the ret>nlt of the
theories that delndcd my poor friend. " Yon know it
yonrsolve?, my brethren. The Saint-fc^inr nians and the
Fourierites nimed at proj^^ross, not an indefinite, nor aji ideal
progress ; for indefinite progress and ideal progress are very
i)Ossible, here belov\', and very real. They consist in fact,
m a closer and closer apprehension of trnth and of good.
And so Ions as the intellect and the lieart of man do' not
possess the infinite, they will ever seek to advance, and
will really ever advance ; nnless they place ?>nd seek their
progress or hap])iness where it is not ; bnt then, it is no
longer an indefinite progress, an ideal pi'ogress : it is an
imaginary progress.

The Saint-Simonians and the Fonricrites, then, in search
of an imaginary progress, did indeed elaborate systems and
create associations or phalansteries. The associates lived
together ' i the most perfect communion. What good haa
resulted from all this, for humanity i llie oldest community
lived fi few months at most, and the initiated, returned,
covered with confusion, to the drama of I'eal life.

At this moment thci-e is no longer a single community
of Fourierites in existence, not even in the clas&.cal land
that saw the first of them spring up ; and there are
more than four thousand conferences made to the likeness o-f
the little conference of Paris. Kot a single saint-Simonian, a
single Fourierites, can be found ; and the brethren of Ozanam
number one hundi'ed thousaiid. The ephemeral, existence
of the phalanstery is spoken of only in ^me special works,
as matter for anecdote rather than history, as an extrara-
gance rather than an idea ; and each day throughout the
world more than t\vo hundred and fifty thousand families,
that is to say, more than a million of individuals, know,
love and bless, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Ozanam's associates never spoke like the inventors of

stems ; but they acted. Xor did they ever cry out

boards of a theatre, amidst the plaudits of eager

false
from

sys
the

— 35 —

ilies,
InoWr

Irs of

out

lager

ppectfttors : / a?n a man ! and nothing that interests
h(tin(in'dij is a matter of indiffereiice to me / " but in tliuir
ex])ansive cliurity thoy really and frankly oinhracu all men.
Truly those acclamations of an infatuated crowd have never
found an echo within the obscure dwellings of the wretched,
nor has the poor man ever heard of the poet who sang so
feelingly of his woes ; but ho luw seen the disciple of
St. Vincent de Paul in his hovel, by his bed-side, and even
by the grave in wliich his miseries are hidden for ever.
I trust, my brethren, that you now see the Society of
St. Vincent de Paul in its true light : its ends, its means,
its members, its organisation, the spirit that animates it.

Oh ! when we take in, in one coni[)rehensive glance, this
vast host of well-doers, pressing forward its irresistible
battalions throughout all parts of the world ; its leaders ;
its noble banner flattering in the genial bree/e of charity,
in the midst of enemies and the tribulations of war, one is
animated, ins])ired, (diarnied, like the prophet of old, when
from the mountain-top lie viewed, with delight, the tents of
Israel encamped in multitudes upon the plain. O army of
the faith 1 noble soldiers, banded together in the glorious
cause of Charity ! the order and discipline maintained in
your ranks, and above all, the perfume of youi" charit} that
ascends in incense to Heaven, transport us with admiration.
Who could refrain from blessing you with the prophet !
Yes glorious society, we bless thee from this moment !
To-morrow we bhall see you at your work, we shall trace
your toot-steps in the blessings you lavish on your members,
on the poor, on humanity.

so —

- /

THIRD DISCOURSE.

• '/

Filioli mri, non dilifjanuis verbo, nequo
lingtiii seel opcro et veritute.

My little childrfn, kt us not lore in
woril, nor in tongue, but in deed and
in trutli.

St. John, 1 Ep. Cap. in. v. 18.

"hly Lord,

Tlaviiicj seen tliG origin and the development of the
Society of St, \Mneent do Paul, its constitution, its interior

life ; in order to complete this rapid snrvey, we have still to
consider the good it does : first to its menihers, then to the
poor and to society in general.

This good, as "sve may judge by the essential charac-
teristics of the association, has for its final objects, the
)ersecntion, the propagation, and the honour of the Catho-
Jc faith. Jjnt in as much as faith, as St. Vincent do Paul
tells ns, is the aliment of justice, thatis to^cvj, the plenitiulo
of every virtue ; and as it is impossible but that each
means, each action of the society, should inimediatelv
engender good, under every variety of foim, we will
examine, without distinctitjn, the divers fruits that grow,
as it were by enchantment, out of tlie soil, watered by the
sweat of christian charity.

The grace of God, say the Holy Scriptnres, assumes an
infinite variety of forms ; vivltiformis gratJa Dei. In
truth, this grace or the favor of God presents itself in the
gifts of nature ; such as genius, talent, the precious qualities
of the mind and the heart ; in the perfection and health of
the body ; in the things which the paternal hand of God
lias supplic' for our Avants, our tastes, our legitimate
aiiections ; in the benevolence, the charity of our fellow-
beings : for we must not foi-get it, my brethren, this
geuerosity conies in the first place from God. Grace exhibits

— 3^

the

litics

li of

iGod

mate

llow-

thia

liLits

itrfcjlf to MS cliiclly in tliose 8n])rrnatiinil */\['tA wliicli
.Iwus ('hrist Hw urduntly wishes ii.< to apj»rcci»to. The siin
of <^rH(!0 jtoiwri ilH ravH u|i(»ii all human hoings and it ia
eifc'ctual \\ itli all who do not harden thoir In-artH ai;'ainst it.

iSuvertliL'luss, in the ordor of ^raoo m in the order of
nature, in the world as in cttsniify, there are iirl\ il('<j;i'd
spotii where heavdi is more i)ro[)itious, the atnioyphei'e nu»ro
favorahle to life, tlio dew more i)enuricent, the isoil more
fertile, tiie liarvest more bounteouB.

N(»w, I believe it to be thus, my brethren, in the (h)main
of faith, and pracftleal charity selected by the ei^-ht
students of Paris, and within which the ^rcat Society of
St. Vincent do Paul coi»tinues to live and move.

I saitl that thei'e, heaven is more |>roj)itioU8, (Jod himself,
Ave have his own word for it, is present in the midht (»f those
who are assembled, associated in his name; and this Soctiety
of 8t. Vin(!ent du Paul, is founded in the name of Faith,
in the mime of (charity, which is(iod ; Deuscharltas cd : (lod
is Charity. lEencc, (iod is in the very heart of the Society
of St. Vincent de Paul, sup])lyin^' jvery member of that
vast moral body with life and motion. JJlessed is he, and
blessed according to (iod's own heart, who taketh thoui;-lit
for the i)oor, who makes poverty his study, M'ho i;ives
ji wlllijiij; car to the tale of misery, who is ever ready to
jL^ive, who does not weary in doiui; f^ood. Happier still
those whose task it is to nourish, to propa<jjate and to ^loiity
the Faith ; wlio arc, in their own way, tlie evani^elists of
})eaee, the evan(j;eliots of i^ood. Xow, are not these the
bpecial cluiracterisiics of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul ;
and is it not, therefore, entitled to expect from the
muMiiicent bounty uf God, the special graces lie has
promiseil i

The Church, dispensatrix of the treasures of Heaven
itself, has poured them forth profusely on this Society,
on each of its members, on each of its works. Ajjjain and
ai;-ain, she lovingly reiterates her first blessings. The S')ve-
rei.gu Pontiifs have bestowed U])on it their most signal
favours ; and this day again, he who blessed it ii' its cradle,
in our own land, is now about to raise his beneticent hand,
enriched w'irh the treasures of the Church, in order to invoke
upon that Society, grown u[) inro vigorous manhood, upon
th(7se who lovo it, and upon you all, my brethren, the
choicesl benedictions of Heaven.

Here also the atmosphere is more favorable to life ; its

38 —

>'j(

elements more pnre and sympathetic. On this soil of
charity there are none of those distinctions that chill and
divide, no hoarse tempests, no fierce struggles of contending
interests : all tumult is hushed in the unity of faith, and
tliere his nought to rob the ear of the ravishing harmonies of
charity. " ()n entering our peaceful conference, " said
Ozanam to the brethren of Paris, in 1848, " all political
passions are forgotten ; here, for once, we meet not in
contention, not for nmtual distinction, but to hear one
another and to regard one another in the better traits of
our nature, and for divers matters of charity, calculated by
their very nature, to sooth for the moment, all feelings of
irritation, and to obliterate all heart burnings.

Oh ! how grateful must it not be to all to be there, my
brethren, were it but as the traveller who rests his weary
limbs for a moment in some oasis of the desert, or as the
worn-out combatant who sfiatches a precious hour of rest
in the intervals of battle.

Allow me then to transport you thither in thought for an
instant. Let us enter together one of those little c«>nferences,
which are held every hour in some part or other of the
world, and daily in some part or other of onr good city.
At the appointed hour, the brethren assemble ; it may be
that they are not numerous, but you will find them of every
age and of almost every condition in life. They recognise
and salute one another, for in the eyes of charity, tney know
they are friends, they are equals, they are brothers. They
take their places without distinction of any kind on the
benches used by the children of the school or the catechism
class : the old man seats himself beside the youth ; the rich
trader, the man of wealtli and position, beside the struggling
citizen, whose daily toil hardly keeps him above want. The
president who is often but one of the youngest members, for
the domain of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is the
patrimony of youth, — o])ens the conference wuth the usual
invocation to the IIolv Ghost. Then a member commences
an edifying lecture, having for its subject as far as possible,
faith or charity. After the lecture, each member in turn
communicates to his assembled brethren, his burden of
intelligence, interesting to a disciple of St. Vincent de Paul.
He has, it may be, to tell of the extreme destitution of some
pof^'r family, of the courage, the resignation, at times also,
unhappily, of despair, accompanying misfortune ; of the
death, of some poor client, of the return of another to his

— 39 —

rerimons dntios. Each memhcr then contributes aeeordhii;
to liis means, in secrecy, to the common purse the alms that
are to o:hid(lon the hearts of the poor. The confVreneo
concludes Tiith two invocations for itself and one for tlie
benefactors of tl\e poor. Tlien, all unite in the touching
prayer we have twice repeated together.

Then it is, my brethren, that the soul has had time to
breathe at ease, and all separate editied and better disposed
for good, and strengthened against evil.

Union is stretigth ! The proverb is as true in the moral as
it is in the physical order. What is more, nature demands
that we should assist one another in onr souls more than iu
oiir bodies, for the reciprocal action of the foi-mer is far
greater and more varied. Moral union combines the force
of example, of sjieech, of counsel, of exhortation, of
fiuthority. ITiiion is strength, in all the virtues, in faith as
well as in char! t v. Union furnishes strength to destroy
evil, to effect good purposes, to overcome the greatest
obstacles.

Above all, union furnishes strength to overcome that
•cowardly enemy of virtue that never attacks a man but
when he is alone : human refipect. Referring one day to
the period of the iirst establishment of the association,
Ozanam said : " Tlicre was tlien but very little relii2;ion in
Paris ; and young men, ev-en those who Avere Christiaus,
had not the courage to ii;o to Mass, because thev were
pointed at as hypocrites, and people said they made a
pretence of piety in order to obtain advanceniont or place.
To-day this is no longer the case. And, thank God, we
can truly say, that the wisest and the most learned, are also
the most religious of our youth. lam convinced that this
result is, in great part, due to our society ; and in this sense
it may be said, that it has glorified God in its Avorks. "

Thank God, my brethren, on this soil still moist with the
blood of our martyrs, in this atmosphere still fragrant with
the Catholic virtues of our fathers, tlie hideois phantom of
impiety, with its feet of clay and its brow singularly stamped
with ignorance, ]n'ide, and disdain, has never seduced the
enlighthened and sincere Christian from a faithful compliance
with his duties. True it is that, from time to time, some
silly mimics have essayed to strut the boards, before
a deserted house, playing like children with the broken
fragments of the sce]itre of A'^oltaire, and wreathing their
harmless brows with the withered flowers of Lis crown.

h ■' I-

t ■
I.- < • i

' y,

P)Ut tlio role of tiic great play-king has been ])Iayetl-ont, ami
the feeble attempts of his iiripnideiit imitators, have never
been fostered by the breath of applause.

^Nevertheless, my brethren, here as elsewhere, virtue
is ever a AMirfare. Here as elsewhere, human respect bears
a certain sway. Virtue wlien it is isolated, is ever timid,
fearful, difHdent ; a look, a word, a harmless jest, suffice to
raise its fears ; its very isolation is for it a cause of terror.
In the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, virtue is not alone :
it combats under the ])rotection of a hero. True that hero
is a saint ; but a saint to whom in the fatal days of 1793.
it was proposed to erect a 8tf»tue as to the greatest benefactor
«if humanity ; a saint to whom, as Ozanam said, " impiety
itself, in return for all he had done for humanity, had
forgiven the crime of having loved God." It marches in
the footsteps of Ozanam and his companions, whose name
and whose courage, recall at once the glory and the
generosity of faith; it marches mid the serried ranks of
soldiers of every age and of every condition, beneath the
folds of a banner, adorned with that motto honoured and
respected in every age and even when corruption reigned
su])reme : For the good ofliamanity.

It is good, my brethren, to meet the poor on the high
wa}', better to meet them at one's door, better still to receive
them within one's own house. Ozanam did this, and gave
them the place of honor as his distinguished guests.

Nevertheless, if this be all you have seen of the poor,
believe me, poverty, that bosom friend of so many unfortu-
nate human beings, has never fully opened its heart to you,
nor enriched your soul with its choicest favours. Society is
like any other friend : its visits and its affection must need
be returned ; its attentions must be reciprocated. He
who is exempt from poverty has other woes of his own ;
and where thir-- enterchauge of kind otSces exists, I maintain,
v.'ith Ozanam, " that by visiting the ]ioor, we gain mom
than thev t!o, for the si^i^ht of their sutferinirs will serve to
make n^' better. We shall then feel for those children
of misiortune, a sentiment of gratitude^, that must soon
ripen into love. Many and many a time, when over-
whelmed with mental suffering and the anxiety caused by
my declining health, had 1 entered, with a sad heart, the
dwelling of some poor family confided to my care; there,
the sio'ht of wretchedness to which mv own siifferinj^s were
but a trifle, made me ashamed of mv discourai^emcnt.

■■%A

41 —

high

I felt myself inspired Avilli ncv>' strength to bear my grief,
and my heart overflowed witli gratitude, to the ai^icted
beiii":s the sicjht of whose miseries liad atlbrded me so irmcli

-r

f'ourage and consolation. And henceforward liow could I
help loving them with an increased atfection '( "

On entering the poor man's dwelling, Ozanani invariably
nncovered his head and gave them that aifectiunato
salutation which he so loved to give. " At your service. "
I believe that all his companions do the same. But the
poor man, as you arc aware, my brethren, has also his own
mode of salutation, and who shall tell of the good thoughts,
the good desires, the good wishes he ])ours forth from the
treasury of his heart in behalf of the rich man who seeks
him out to do him good. How often, in the poor man's
family, as in that of Jacob, have they thought of sharing
"svitli their consoling angel the only riches they pof-ses ;
their love and their prayers I !Now, my biethren, whatever
may be tlie value of the rich man's prayers, I think those of
the poor are better still. Lacorclaire somewhere says :
" If you wish to know what is passing in the heart of God,
listen to the beatings of your own. " "Well ! there is not
perhaps a man in the world, who would not feel better
disposed towards another, even were that other man his
enemy, were some poor wretch, exhibiting the loaf that
nourished him and the cloak that sheltered him from the
bhist to exclaim : that man is my benefactor. Why then
should not the heart of God experience a like emotion ? Yes,
and in a far higher degree, he himself expressly said that the
])()or are his members, and he considers as done to himself,
whatever is done for them. Happy then, my brethren,
happy he who taketh thought for the poor : God will
deliver him in the evil day.

Meml)er8 of the Society of St. Yircent de Paul, behold
your sliare of the rich harvest it promises. The blessing of
God, the blessing of the Church, the blessin*^ of fraternal
charity, the blessing of the poor. You have indeed chosen
the better part ; and it sliall not be taken from you,
because these are the riches that neither thieves, nor rust
can reach.

11.

Let ns now follow the Society of St. Yiucent de Paul to
the dwellings of the poor.

When the brethren go to visit the poor, they find .nem-

42 —

• )'

selves face to face with two species of misery, the material
and the moral. To make them known to you, my brethren-
I will neither draw on your imagination nor on the
memory of yonr heart ; but I will invite you to follow in
thought this double misery, not in one of those foreign
countries where war or famine reigns, but in the heart of
our good citA^^ of Quebec, for instance in some of the streets
of our suburbs : St. John, St. Roch, St. Sauveur. Let ns
enter one of those wretjhed dwellings. Tlie door will
only lialf shut ; on all sides are large chinks through which
the storm passes ; the stove is cold ; there is not always
even black bread on the table ; the chiVJreii are suffering
and sick, but there is no means of relief at hand ; and the
mother concentrates within her heart the grief of all. Put
at the head of this family, sometimes a father who is
a debauched drunkard, and you have all the parts of the
real scene.

Once more, I do no exaggerate : I do not even attempt
a picture of the painful reality ; I only mention it. I
speak of what I have seen, what others have seen lately,
and what any one may see at ten steps from his own well
furnished and well warmed rooms. Oh ! what singular
indifference is our ; we say to ourselves, returning fr(>m a
visit to this poor dwelling ! Man suffers unrelieved beside
his fellow-man ; Lazarus is still writhing in agony at the
gate of the rich Israelite, the Christian at the door of his
telloM'-Christian.

This is not all. Within a house, close in front of which
the tide of a heedless population incessantly ebbs and flows,
and perhaps in an apartement still bearing faint traces of
by-gone splendour, or in a dark corner of some damp
cella: with its single pane closely shaded to exclude the
faint gleams of light, a woman is seated ; with both hands
she hides her wasted cheeks furrowed with long weeping.
She is deeply agitated, and there is evidently going on
within her a tierce struggle betw^een the pangs of poverty
and the degradation of beggary.

Such is tlie true picture of what men sometimes heedlessly
call shamefaced poverty. That woman could give with a
far better grace than she could ask : she knows by
experience the truth of Our Lord's words, it is sweeter to
give than to receive. So much for material poverty.

Why is it, my brethren, that material poverty and moral

poverty.

though

not sisters, should be nevertheless so

— 43 —

on
rty

Ibv
to

ral

ISO

intimate ? Wliy is it that the poor make an ahuse of
poverty itself ; that tlie being wlio is disinlieritod by liis
motlier earth docs not always appeal to the justice and to the
generosity of Heaven ? Wliy are the poor wicked ? Real
poverty is nevertheless a grace, which renders salvation
and, therefore, virtue more easy, as we learn from the
testimony of Christ himself This is true, no doubt, my
brethren, but let us remember that every grace is liable
to abuse ; and that the greater the grace, the more
culpable the abuse. Wealth is also a grace, though inferior
to the grace of povert/ and the rich man abuses it. It
remains to be seen, my brethren, whether the poor man
in his ignorance exasperation, and guilt, pushes his n-.alice
to the same degree of refinement as the rich man reaches
in his ; and whether the conversion that eti'aces all, is not
more frequent among the poor than among their brethren
enslaved by wealth.

However this may be, the moral, as well as the material
misery of the poor are ever but too great. And this is a
further reason to urge us to seek a remedy for both alike.
For I take it for granted that no Christian will admit that
it is right to give way before evil, or to refuse an alms to
a hungry fellow-being, however vicious he may be. We
every one of us agree with Ozanam, " that yon must never
drive men to despair, and that one has no right to refuse
a piece of bread to the vilest criminal on earth. " There is
but one exception, namely, when, without inflicting any
excessive suffering on the poor themselves, the refusal of
an ahns is calculated bring about a moral improvement.
And this one exception is itself prompted by charity : it is
the charity of the body giving way to the charity of the
soul.

But even then, wc cannot divest ouryelves of charity, we
have not performed our duty to the poor man, by a ]n'ompt
refusal of aid, we must still have our eyes on him, to n)ark
the result, as a good physician watches the effects of his
medecine.

But then, my brethren, what, I ask yon, can the isolated
charity of individuals, indifferent as we find it in some, and
ardent, this it may be, in others, accomplish, in the face of
this double wretchedness: that of the soul and that of the
body ? In order to relieve this wretchedness you must
know it ; but this knowledge cannot be obtained by meeting
the poor in the highway, they must be in their own houses.

^ u —

I >

, I

]^<jw, Avlio is to do this, if not lie ^vllo lias in ntlvanco
fonniilly niiderrakeu it as a special duty, appointed a time
i\>v liis vi.>;it, and who, under the charitable eye of a fellow
la! 'airer, is guarded against the indifference and inconstancy
eo nataral to tlie li'inian heart ? Who will troat this ever
I'unniiig sore of poverty with the resources and the constancy
of the associate, for Mhoni charity is a career i AVho is to
take charge of tlie child who is too poor to go to school,
belonging to a fninily, not a member of which is able to
read, and in wliicli the most sacred duties are either
uidcnown or for.f,'otten ? who is to send tliat poor child to a
christian school, who is to clothe hiiii, who is to lead him by
the hiuid until he is old enough to begin an apprenticeship
or labour for his own maintenance ? who is to take in
hands the youthful apprentice, and watch over him with
the vigilant and assiduous charity he needs so much ? who
is to provide him with good books ? who will entice him to
that charitable association calculated to afford a vent to the
energy of his buoyant youth, where his virtue shall be placed
under the safeguard of charity ? Wlio will penetrate
tlie secret of the poor who are still " ashamed to beg ? " To
whom but to a disciple of St. Yincent de Paul will the poor
victims of want and misfortune, who dread ev^n the eye of
indifference, open their hearts with freedom ? who will
apply a moral remedy to a moral evil : good advice,
exhortation, prayer, unless he whose profession it is to devote
himself assiduously to the poor, and who has already gained
their hearts and acquired in some sort a beneficent right to
correct them ? Do you fancy for a moment, my brethren,
that the diseased soul of the poor man will yield to the
isolated, fluctuating and heartless mite thrown to him by a
mercenary hand ?

In fact, without that union which is strength, an appointed
and, well calculated means, a strong organisation, a
provision of charity, in fine, a charitable crusade, you can
never encounter tlie multiplied and powerful enemies of
man's happiness, whether physical or moral, with the
certainty of victory.

But, in this way we can accomplish every thing. Oh !
Avould it were possible to sum ^p all the alms, both material
and spiritual, all the good effected by the hundred thousand
disL^^jies of St. Vincent de Paul, amongst the million of
poor, tlie thousands of children, of apprentices, of artisans,
that have succeeded one another since the society commenced

— 45 —

to
en,
the

l>y a

its liciieficcnt work, as man succeeds man ! Tlio calcu-
lation ■svoii Id, in truth, bo vast, the onunicration cndlesg.

A glance at any one of the monthly reports of thu society
will att'ord a slight idea of the truth. " Among the thousand
facts therein related, ard supported hy unquestionahle
testimonies, you will read of men, of whole families savt'd
from destitution ; of several associates uniting to repair
with ^he labour of their own hands the ruined dwelling of
the poor, a spectacle which has several times been witnessed
in Quebec ; of appeals made to the rich, in periods of
distress ; of innocence snatched from the countless jsnares
the demon is ever setting for its destruction. 1 shall cite
hut a single incident taken at random from the bulletin of
the society.

A tamily in Dunkerqne had been visited by a conference
during three years or there about. Not asini^leencournirinir
symptom had resulted. The father would continually, by
an adroit diversion, exclude all reference to matters of
religion. The mother even, exhibited that indifference of
which Jesus Christ seems to despair of in the Gospel. Many
a time, when leaving the cellar that held this wretched
family, the visitors despaired of ever succeeding in their
benevolent efforts. However, the father who was suffering
from a cancer in the foot, had for some time been in the habit
of invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin in the
hope of being restored to health. A physician, who was an
honorary member of the association, conceived the hajjpy
thought of making him a few visits. On one of tluse
occasions he said to the sufferer ; " My good friend, God is
merciful, and I feel convinced, that if you were to return to
him with a sincere heart, he would cure you. Be it so,
then, " exclaimed the patient in a tone of energetic
determination, " J. will go to confession. '' He kept his word,
and thanks to the special mercy Ahnighty God afiords
even to our very weakness, the remedies which had for so
many years been adminis!ered fruitlessly, now produced
their effect, and the father of this unfortunate household
was restored to perfect health. The whole family, as was
naturally to Im expected^ soon followed the ediliying
example of its head.

ied

— 4G —

It <

■i

['i

III.

Tlie l)lessiii»ij3 wliicli tlio society of St. Vincent do Paul
followers upon the iiidividual and iii)on the family, are
diffused abroad upon luunan society in general : for society
is not in reality a matter apart from the individuals of
whom it is composed. The good done to any portion,
interest therefore the whole of tlie society, and re-acts ,with
benign influences for the \\ell being of the great social body.

But, on the otluT hand, from the disease that attacks
])aitiaLly any individual member, there spring fortli diseases
that soon afftict the svlu)le body : social disoases. Then the
whole of society languishes and suffers ; it is seized with a
general restlessness and fever that spread theinselves
everywhere and yet have their seat nowhere. Sometimes
it is seized with frightful convulsions that presage its resto-
ration to a healtliy life, or its final destruction.

Tliese great social maladies spring from three sources :
from material misery, from moral misery, and from the
antagonism of the social elements which is but the result of
the other two combined.

Let us examine, consecutively and in detail, each of those
three social evils, that by an exact knowledge ofthe danger,
we may be able to point out that sura and • etlicaeioua
remedy which such a danger demands.

Material poverty. In a social aspect, the evil of poverty
becomes a vast and hideous sore. We sometimes hear it called
pauperism. I detest the expression ; it savours of ambition,
it exhibits the frigid accuracy of science rather than the
picture of a bleeding wound. Let it pass, however, for the
name is of little moment after all. But those who look upon
poverty either as a social cancer, that must yield to resour-
ces of art, or as a problem which true science has declared
itself powerless to solve, are mistaken as to the real essence
of the matter.

Pauperism is neither a car ier nor a problem, as they
fancy. 'In the order '"f nature, since the first sin, poverty is
a necessary consequence of the diversity, and variety of the
talents, capacity, qualities, defects, and even ofthe chances,
that Providence distributea ..t will. Man must serve man,
and be served by man ; and without the promptings of
want, the painful but iiulispensable task of social service
would never be carried out. In the supernatural order,
pauperism is neither a cancer nor a problem ; it is a grace,

— 47 —

it is a gratuitous favour, a gift from God : a

grace

for tlic

is
le

*5
')

genuine

individual and for Focitty. Poverty of spirit,
detacliement from riclie», is a grace, a prcciuus, a necessary
virtue. ]iut .eal poverty, the privation of tlie gifts of
fortune, is also a grace, which is occasionally superadded
to the former, and which facilitates poverty of spirit, gives
a free scope to virtue, and a greater assurance of salvation.

with

It is a grace which brings men into closer proximity wiin
Jesus Christ ; and I believe that among the close followers
of Jesus Christ, there will ever be men who shall not have
M'hereou to lay their heads : for God never leji' "s his grace
unemployed ; and Jesus Christ loves to ^liare ,iie particles
of his cross.

Pauperism is therefore a permanent effect of the sovereign
will of God. Hence, to attempt its utter extirpation is not
merely a Utopian scheme, it is a crime.

But does it follow from this, that we cannot mitigate its
liorrors ? Undoubtedly not. It is in our power, nay it is
our duty, to pour oil upon this wound, in order to prevent
it from festering and proving fatal to the sufterer ; for
Almighty God, in all the dispositions of his Providence,
in allliis corrections, in all his paternal favours, has counted
upon the charity and fraternal aftection of every one of his
children.

But in human society as in the individual, the worst evila
are moral evils. So long as the soul remains good, the
principle of strength acts, and acts effectually for good : the
power of the soul, corrects and controls the inferior nature ;
it is in fact the wealth of the poor. But where the soul is
corrupt, the whole man falls into corruption and degradation,
and his fortunes above all. It is therefore a very short
sighted policy to neglect the moral regeneration of man, in
order to labour at the amelioration of his physical condition ;
still more iinwise to sacrifice the one to the other : to place
the necessity of wealth above the necessity of the knowledge
and love of God ; man's fickle self-interest, above every
sacred principle ; industry above morality and religion.

The moral miseries of the poor classes of society are
traceable chiefly to ignorance, the parent of error ; and to
the neglect of religion : the sole moral wealth of the poor.

Ozanam somewhere says that the spirit of the conference
of St. Vincent de Paul is specially requisite in countries
where the Church is actually militant. Now, in our
days, where is the land in which this is not the case ? In

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!• I

1 1

mir own conntrv, havo wo with notliirifj^ to fear, iiotlnii<jf to
Hti-n«>'i;lu !i_j:;;iin.st i Alas ! side; by sich; with our Catholic
reli^'ioii, siro living and ^Towiiii; iij) numerous furei^n sects,
whorto princi|do.s, views, tastcB and ail'ections, Matter
nature ati<l restrict faitli : a dan<i^erous niini^lini^ of the
tares and tlie p,'ood <:;rain in the Held of the luisbandnian.

But this is not the time to mote this dancrorous wound,
there is another which is daily assuming more alarmin<;
])ro]>ortions, and which moro especially calls for the
elHcaeious intervention of our organised charity.

In the suburbs of our city, in the very midst of our poor
and sufVering fellow-Catholics, the salaried emissaries of an
iuijiious sect have made themselves a den. Like their
Diaster, referred to by St. Peter, they come forth often
during the night, to [>rowl like wolves around the shecpfidd
of the good shepherd ; not unfroquently too, during the day,
fur ni)W, Judas has lost his sense of shame, he no longer
casts away from him the iilthy bribe of the synagogue,
/le feeds on it ! The thought of his apostacy uo longer
overwhelms him with liori'or ; Judas of our day docs not
hang himself in despair, he openly looks about for other
ajw.'itates.

The evil is perhaps greater than you thiidc. Individuals,
Avhule families have yielded to the seductions of the fallen
angel. Yes, Canadian families, catholic families, have
already sold their consciences, their lionour and their faith
and enrolled themselves in feome of the thousand and one
sects, wi''. all the fanaiicism of your new apostate.

My brethren, I promised to point out the whole evil
before indicating the remedy. i3ut at the first sight of this
peril, I cannot refrain from giving the alarm. The souls of
our fellow-canadians, our fellow eatholics, are losing the life
of faith, thanks to their material indigence. These souls do
not go through a process of enlightenment, nor of direction,
but one of deception ; they are only being bought and sold.
The wolves are active and vigilant. We need a crusade,
we need disciples of St. Vincent de Paul ; we need a
phalanx of enlightened, fearless, fervent apostles, but they
must be lav men, whose name and M'hose habit have never
been execrated by the father and by the children ; prepared
to l)ear relief to these unfortunates, in their comfortless
homos, and thus to remove the temptation that is the cau«e
q'C their ruin, to forestal the enemy, and by one blow, save

41) -

t'rom (It'slriictioii tin; t'atliir, tin; iiii»tlii.T ami the Iiclpli'ss
cliiKlrc'ii.

Antuijoiiisiu hotwccn the .eocliil I'lcmoiits. Tlic ricli uiid
tho poor irM'ct : CJod is tl'(» father ot' hdth alike, kuvs a holv
father. Yes th(>y meet ; they meet in our houses, in our
streets, in ]>nl)lie phic's, on tliis same earth, ami nmler tlu;
same sun. ])nt(Jo(l i.s the father of hoth alike: thev are
brothers ; this the rieh man i.s not aware of, or fei_i:;n8 not t*)
know ; but the poor man knows it well, and eiiiii^s to iliis
us Ji precious ri_i;'ht. And when his eyes fall upon ihe rieh
man, he says within his heart : that man is mn hrotlwr.

But the look of iiidifrerenec and contempt lie receives
from his more fortunate hiother, astounds him. And what,
think you, are the thou<:;hts that must then spriui^np within
a soul already driven to desparation by want ^ lie nmst
take tho lowest place everywhere ; everywhere crowded
back and disdained : in the last j)lace in our houses, he
compares his dry crust with the succulents joints uj)on his
brotlier's tahle ; in the street, his tattered and threadbare
rags, with the ma^-nificent clothing, the rich and nseless
ornaments of the other ; on the public i)laces he contrasts
his own isolation or tlie contemptuous glances he receives,
with the honours and triumphs of the rich. Oh ! what,
think you, must then be the thoughts of his heart ? lias
he not the heart of a num within his shrunken frame i
Does not that heart contain the latent seeds of envy, of
hatred, of vengeance, of rage ^ Doubtless, my brethren;
and hence it is that the rich and the poor meet also npon a
neutral ground, face to face, and uf)on a field that places
them upon an equality, not in charity but in brute force,
and which drinks up impartially the Idood of both alike.

Material misery, moral misery, and the antagonism
between the wealthy classes and the poor : such are the
three great wounds that are e'or exhausting the generous
life-blood of our ";reat human s ^cietv.

Now, my brethren, for social maladies, isolated remedies
are insufficient ; for it is utterly impossible that the effect
shoidd be more potent than the cause. When a whole
class is suffering, it is by a class that it must be relieved ;
and in order that this difficult object may i)e eftectually
carried out, there must be a connnon organisation of the
whole body. Charity, like self interest, properly under-
stood, becomes the pursuit of a life time. 1 speak there of
organised charity, not of self-interest : charity that gives,

- :>o —

■» .

tliiit. ('(iiii]»!issic»riafi-!S, tliiit siifl'tTs, tlint licwrs t-olii, tliiit hums
limiifiT, tliiit \vo('iM, h'n!(fn diiirity. In priJHonce of the
evils \vhi<'h tuitiirullv iitllict oiii' portion ot' society, (lisinlitiritcd
ol'iill carlhly wi.'iilth, we iici'd ii chi^s that will «;iv(! without
rt.'ci'iviii^j,' tiny ivtiii'ii, who will iiivost, thuir capitiil tor
lioiivt'ii iiloiK!. iV charity jHTsistaiit lis loll dis 'uso : stroii<jf
as (l«'uth, or rather as (rod hiinscll', who is its pi'iiuriplu ;
a charity whos^^ oiicruy is (U'livcd from a faith in i^tcruity :
for tills alone can make it endure and hold out to the very
end.

Ozanam said the same to his brethren : " INirely
]»hilantrojiic associations d(» not possess the same elements
ot" strength or (»f durahility, liecanse they are based upon
liuman inti rests alone. V(MI see them pour forth nutnt^y
but there is no heart in tlio <jjilT. The charity that min^lert
its tears with the t(.'ars of the wretched whom it caniujt
otherwis(! console, that ^-athers up and ^aresses the naked
and ahandoiii'd infant, that seeks out the youu^ and timid
to enrich them with iViendly counsel, that seats itself
lovini:;ly by the btid-side of the sick, that listens unwearied
to the Ioml:; and plaintive tah; of tlio Avi-etcihcd, . . . that
ciuirity, my frii'iids, can bi; inspired by (rod alone. "

And n^-ain, my brethren, a spirit whicli is not tliat of
Catholic charity Juis invented, as a remedy fur tlie evils of
society, a tax for the su])port of the i)oor. A tax! Jiow
chillinii;ly does not the word fall upon the car of tlie rich
and the poor i () Christ ! source of burning charity tins
cbillinjir thoun'ht was never inspired by you. A tax for the
poor ! IJut by what ri<;'bt, in the lirst j)lace, doc ^ tlie public
ofhcer demand of me, and com[)el me to contribute in the
name ol' Justice what I owe to charity alone ^ A tax fur
the poor ! I'ut, where it has b(!en ad(Jt)ted, does it obviate
thescourijje of poveity, does it })revent tli • poor from dying
of hunger 'I Does it do away with misery i No : it hides it,
it ftcrcens it, it stijles itn cries. ILow is it that in certain
countries where all interests boast of being represented in
public, the supreme interest of the poor is proscribed, and
the poor themselves f(jrced to seak concealment ^ AVliy are
they not allowd to exhibit to the com])assionate eyes of
those whom Providence may bring in tlieir way, the gnaw-
ing evils that plead so elo(|ueiitly for relief I The poor
tax ! But in dealing with the heart, it is ntterly impotent
and oven fatal. Ilow can the othcial who earns his own
bread by distributing the bread of others, find the time, the

- M —

fhou^lit, tliu cDiinip', tin* <^r:ic(', to Ktlnrd tlu; p'Kjr wIk.ih
he roliovL'H, tlio counsel, or tlu! i('|)riimiii(l ciilcnliiti'd to
ciili^ditcn file soul, or to licul its evils i cvcrv tliiii|L; about
your piildic, oiriciiii, is Ininl uiul t'hillin;^' : lii.- look, lii> toin.',
ir'tS licart, uro cold as the coin lie eliaiii^es. This is hut
i.utinv. ill tact, it is almost u necessity : Now the heart
ulone, inllMiiied w ijli charity, can do n-nod to the soul of
anotli(!r ; it is not the hody that eoiiuiiuiies with the sou)
of its fellow-man ; that intliieiices it ; lliat chaii<;es it ; it
is tiic sctiil : God looks to the heart : it is the heart that
moves II im ; and it is with man also, and witli the poor
man, (|iiite as much as with the rich.

How insutUcieiit are all human means, tor the hoalinf^ of
man's evils ! Ye champions of tlio systems invented by
human reason tliat loses itself in error when once its ceases
to be illumined by the li_<i:lit of faith, and of which dece]ition
itself is a radical vice ; of philaiitropic societies, all tainted
M'ilh self-interest ; of t:i\es for the su])port of the jioor, be
frank for once, and acknowledge the imj)otence of your
efforts.

Soul of ()/anam, genius of St. Vincent de Paul, spirit of
God, hover over ns in tlie abyss of our miseries. To the
very principle of all strength itself we must look for a remedy
in our utter feebleness and frailty.

JMy brethren, my task is ended, and yours now com-
mences, I have endeavoured to nndci; the society of St.
Vincent de Paul better known, and to win for it your love.
If I have succeeded, permit me, ere we part, to give yon
as a practical fruit and remembrance of our three thiys
intercourse, a single thought, a single word : actum. In
the name of Jeso^' Christ and of liis snlfering members,
I leave it to all my brethren of ihat dear soctiety, and to
tnoso whom the grace of God lias gathered around the
pulpit during the 'JViduum, now about to close ; and to all I
repciat again : action. I dwell upon the word, for without
works reducing to action our ideas, tlu; vei'V remembrance
of them dies; and I would urge it upon each and every
one of you, my brethren; for when an cH'ort is required
from all, every individual should an.-'Wer rapidly to the call.

Young men ; my last thought is due to you, in more
respects than one. My last words shall be an appeal to
your Catholic faith, to your charity, to your courage, to
your generosity, to your burning energ} for good. And
here, I cannot more aptly express myself than in the words

l<!:

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of one wlio loved you iimcli, and tVoni wliom tliey were eli-
cited by the speetnele of t!ie active charity of the youths
wlio liave preceeded you in the same career : " Charity is
admirable at all times and by -whomsoever it may be prifc-
tised ; it is admirable in the man of mature ai^e, who
Buatciies an hour from business in behalf of his snlierinj^-
fellow-man: it is admirable in the mother, who sacrifices,
for a brief space, the hai)pi!ie^s of loving and being loved,
in order to be the bearer of love, to those who have long
known of it but the name ; it is admirable in the poor-man,
who still linds where withul to console and relieve a poorer
than himself ; but it is in the young man that it exhibits
itself in all its ful"*.'ss, such as God sees it in himself in the
spring time of Hi.- eternity, such as Jtsus saw it in the day
of his pilgrimage, on the brow of St. John." (^'•j

My Lord, we do not forget that God alone gives the
increase in every field ; and imparts to all Iteings their life
and activity. Kneeling prostrated, all together, in the K-ni-
ple of prayer, we await from Him alone, the graces He has
denositedin your hands. Impart to us, then, the ble-sings
of heaven. Bless the seed of the World. Bh'ss these souls
in whom it has found a fertile soil. Bless the Society of
Saint Vincent de Paul. Impart to all its members the love
and zeal of the Faith, the resistless ardour of charity.
Cherished in the hearts of ardent apostles, that blessing will
bear to the sull'ering members ot Jesus-ChriL5t, the good
tidings that sooth every grief. It will penetrate the home
of the wetched, it will wipe away tears, pour balm upon
wounds, appease the cravings of hungei" and thirst, and
imi)art warmth and covering to shivi;'-ing nakedness. Send
it forth to console the widow, to gaiher U}) and shelter the
orphan, to protect the trade?man, and visit the workman
who wants a friend ; to heal the wounded soul and enli<^liteu
the miud and the heart of the indigent, and soften the lieait
of the rich. Let it go forth to reconcile God's children and
unite them in mutual love for time and for eternity.
Filioli raei^ non diligamus verho, ncque lingua, sed oj>ere
et veritatc. .

(*) Lacordairc. Biographic d'Ozanani.

Printed atLsGER Broussbau's Steam Printing Establisliment, Quebec.