Action
By: Jaime Correra, CM
[This is one of the 100 articles found in the publication, Diccionario de Expiritualidad Vicenciana, published by Editorial CEME in 1995. This article has been translated and made available in the on-line Vincentian Encyclopedia with the permission of Editorial CEME].
Introduction
When the young priest, Vincent de Paul, received his degree at the age of twenty-four, he could have considered beginning a career as a professor of theology. He certainly had the ability to be a professor and manifested that talent during his adolescence when he resided in the house of M. Comet and when, as a newly ordained priest, he resided in Buzet and Toulouse. His diploma certified that he had completed his studies and thus had the right (academically guaranteed) to teach the Second Book of Peter Lombard’s Sententiae. Vincent had the intellectual ability as would be demonstrated throughout the many years of his long life. He could have thought of finding the means of an honorable retirement in the teaching of theology. Obtaining an honorable retirement had been one of his great obsessions from the time he was seventeen years old and left home to pursue ecclesiastical studies in philosophy and theology. He could have considered all of those alternatives but there are indications that those thoughts never occurred to him. He wanted to be a pastor and at the age of twenty, as a newly ordained priest and before he had begun his theological studies, he was on the verge of being named a pastor.
Vincent had completed his studies and now with his diploma in his hands, he left Toulouse and traveled to Bordeaux in pursuit of some mysterious and important matter that he himself later classified as one that filled him with temerity (CCD:I:2). Some biographers are of the opinion (and also probably correct) that Vincent, the recent graduate, did not want to teach theology, but at the age of twenty-four, wanted to obtain an Episcopal see. He did not obtain that appointment, even though he wanted it, and he also did not become a professor of theology, even though it is certain that he had the ability for such a position. But the decision to seek the one and leave aside the other outlined his future path. By temperament and because of his own drive Vincent was a person who was destined to have an impact on the world and history, but not through the development of some theory or as the result of some contemplative experience. Frequently Vincent has been defined as a mystic of action. That definition is most adequate in that it brings together, in a mutual relationship, two distinct realities. The mysticism proper to Vincent de Paul is clearly revealed in his activity … and to be truthful, in his boundless activity. That activity was not in any way the mere manifestation of some ambitious person who wanted to reach out and conquer the world. That activity is the vital manifestation of a profound experience of God that gave life to every part of his being. Both realities, mysticism and activity, are inseparably bound together in those well-known and most characteristic words of Vincent: Let us love God, brothers [and sisters], but let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brows (CCD:XI:32).
Which of the two elements, in Saint Vincent’s view, was most important? In sound theology and also in the theoretical opinion of Vincent, there was no doubt that the mystical element gave substance and solidity to the other. But the other, the ability to engage in boundless activity existed before it was informed by grace … it had to exist in order to be informed by grace. From a psychological perspective Vincent viewed these elements as mutually related to one another in some dialectical manner. He revealed a greater mystical depth as, with the passing of years, he engaged he an increased number of activities. He also revealed an increased ability for action as he advanced in holiness. The words of Vincent, that were referred to above, were spoken at a time when Vincent was advanced in years and undoubtedly summarize his experience of progressive and simultaneous growth in holiness and ministry.
Even through Vincent, in accord with his vital, dynamic lifestyle, never attempted to elaborate a systemic theology of his thought and his spiritual convictions, he nevertheless had numerous opportunities (the conferences to the Missionaries and the Daughters of Charity) to explain the ideas that gave life to his activity and that grounded the theology of his daily ministry.
God is action
The phrase (God is action) is perhaps a bold transposition of Goethe’s words, “in the beginning was action” but they are, nevertheless, in the Vincentian vision of reality, closer to the words that could be considered the best “definition” of God that appears in the New Testament, God is love (1 John 4:8). God is, then, that infinite love between the person of the Father, who never ceases to engender love, and the person of the Son; mutual love that eternally begets the Holy Spirit.
Infinite love that, through the action of the Holy Spirit in the world, is continually poured forth in the creation and preservation of this great universe … in the productions of land and sea … in all the beautiful order we observe in nature which would be destroyed and return to nothingness if God was not constantly guiding it … God toils with each individual: with the craftsman in his shop, with the woman in her household, with the ant and bee… (CCD:IX:384).
The action of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, is neither motivated by nor is expressed primarily in beauty, the object of platonic contemplation of the perfect cosmos. The action of God is an expression of pure love for us, only for us, to preserve our lives and to procure for us everything we need (CCD:IX:384). God made the human person in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and through the earthly activity of the incarnate Son, destined men and women to an eternal life of union with God. When people act in accord with Jesus Christ their actions become submerged in that overflowing current of love and become divine action: When our Lord gives us, so to speak, the sap of his Spirit and grace, uniting us to him like the vine branches to the vine stock, we do the same as he did on earth, I mean we carry out divine actions (CCD:XI:311). The actions of men and women become the action of God when they are done in God and through God (CCD:151-152). Such actions are a prolongation of God’s action in nature and in history. With God’s grace we are able to do God’s work; without that grace, we can do nothing; for of ourselves we can do nothing but spoil everything (CCD:XII:139). Action is a vital projection of the human will. In order for that action to have the quality of divine action men and women ought to eternally submit their wills to the will of God: We do God’s will actively when we do it in all the ways that we have mentioned. We are doing it passively as well, by assenting to God when he does his will in us … when Our Lord meditated in the Garden of Olives on the torments he had to suffer, he looked upon them as willed by his Father, and we must say as he did, “O Lord, not my will but yours be done” (CCD:XII:134).
The steps of Providence
Holiness in the mature Vincent did not limit his ability to act and initiate activities, a characteristic of the young Vincent. Rather that holiness became a control system that guaranteed the righteousness of his activity. The true motivating factor of his activity was God: the things of God come about by themselves, and wisdom consists in following Providence step by step (CCD:II:521). At the age of sixty Vincent wrote: I have a particular devotion to following the adorable Providence of God step by step (CCD:II:237). Grace has its moments. Let us abandon ourselves to the Providence of God and be on guard against anticipating it (CCD:II:499). At the age of forty-four Vincent had to confront a critical situation in his life and the manner in which he resolved that situation marked the remainder of his years until he died at the age of eighty. For six years Vincent had dedicated himself to giving popular missions on the lands of the de Gondi estate. At the suggestion of Madame de Gondi, Vincent considered establishing a congregation of priests who would dedicate themselves to that same ministry, giving popular missions in a systematic and permanent manner. From all angles the idea seemed to be a good one and had to be an idea that was inspired by God. Vincent was now mature and filled with vigor. There was nothing is this project that was beyond his ability. Vincent felt an almost irresistible desire to carry out this plan, and thus Vincent immediately became a Founder. But at that age, even though he was as vigorous and as capable as he was as a young man, nevertheless, the depth of his holiness had made him different from the man he was at twenty years of age. Yes, he became a founder; that was the first in a series of activities that, when viewed together, are amazing because of their variety and their importance. Vincent, however, did not decide to become a founder until he allowed himself to calm his enthusiasm. This allowed him to see more clearly if this was something that God wanted or if this was the result of his ambition: In the early stages of the project of the Mission [it was] constantly on my mind. That made me wonder whether the affair sprang from nature or from the evil spirit, and I purposely made a retreat in Soissons so that God might be pleased to remove from my mind the pleasure and eagerness I was experiencing in this matter. God was pleased to answer my prayer in such a manner that, by his mercy, he took them both away (CCD:II:278). As a result of that experience he learned that he did not have to cease to act nor did he have to put restraints on his ability to act, rather he wanted to remain in that practice of neither concluding nor undertaking anything while he was caught up in those ardent hopes at the prospect of great benefits (CCD:II:278). Thus Vincent continued to act as long as he was able to verify that they were actions that were being pointed out by God’s providence.
Jesus Christ, the model of action
Near the end of his life, when Vincent, in the Common Rules, placed before the Missionaries Jesus Christ as the only model of their activity (Common Rules II:1), he was providing them with the model that he had used in his own life: When there is a question of doing some good work, say to the Son of God, “Lord, if you were in my place, how would you act on this occasion? How would you instruct these people? How would you console this person sick in mind or body? (CCD:XI:314). For Vincent, Christ is the absolute and final criterion of any right action. He also viewed the Daughters of Charity as continuing what Jesus did when he was on earth and therefore, they ought to act in the spirit of Jesus Christ (CCD:IX:466).
Furthermore in his understanding, Christ is above all the redeemer of humankind and the model for people’s lives because of the manner in which he acted. He is also the redeemer and model for people’s lives as a result of his teachings.
Thus, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, sent on earth for the salvation of the human race, did not begin by teaching, he began by doing (Common Rules I:1). This vision is rooted in Scripture and especially in the Johannine writings (John 4:34, 5:36, 10:25, 38). Even though Vincent’s personal vocation as a Missionary (and that of his followers) was revealed over the course of many years through their verbal proclamation of the gospel, Vincent did not, however, view the gospel as a set of ideas that had to be proclaimed. Rather he saw the gospel as a program that had to be lived … to make the gospel effective (CCD:XII:75), those words are a brilliant formula and an original expression in the history of Christianity. Vincent used those words to express his dynamic vision of the manner in which salvation was to be proclaimed. The humble activity of the Daughter of Charity is also a continuation of the evangelizing ministry that was initiated by Jesus Christ. In the ministry of making the gospel effective, the Daughters of Charity do with their hands what we cannot do [with] our own hands (CCD:VIII:278). Despite the number of incredible works that Vincent engaged in, he was not obsessed with action in the dizzying and somewhat insane manner that is so common today. Vincent was first of all an imitator of Christ and he learned from Christ the human and the divine value of honoring the inactivity and unknown condition of the Son of God (CCD:I:54) who remained thirty years on earth as a poor artisan before he manifested himself (CCD:II:315). Inactivity is imposed on the followers of Christ as they discern God’s will (CCD:I:24) and no good is accomplished by anticipating God’s will or by acting in accord with one’s own will. Inactivity is also imposed on individuals by external (CCD:VII:46-47) or internal circumstances, for example, illness … and those circumstances force people to wait for God’s time. Our Lord and the saints accomplished more by suffering than by acting (CCD:II:6) … those words reveal Vincent’s profound mystical understanding of his faith and, at the same time, provide a qualifying perspective to the whole of his ministry: Monsieur P, by his inactivity and by his suffering alone, is doing more for God and for the house than I and our whole Company are doing by constant activity and work (CCD:II:373).
Let’s work, let’s work …. (CCD:XI:391)
Vincent de Paul learned from André Duval, the great doctor at the Sorbonne (CCD:XI:140), dean of the faculty of theology and from 1618 the spiritual director of Vincent, that a priest must have more work that he can do (CC:XI:191). Vincent reminded the Missionaries that a lazy life is the enemy of virtues, a vice that should be avoided and therefore we should always make good use of our time (Common Rules, IV:5). Vincent was able to give this advice because he himself, near the end of his life, dedicated between ten and fourteen hours to some type of activity. Besides the occasional work that was entrusted to him by some civil or ecclesiastical authority, Vincent was responsible for the functioning of the parish Confraternities of Charity (from 1617), the Congregation of the Mission (1625), the Tuesday Conferences the Daughters of Charity (1633), and the Ladies of Charity (1634) … all of which were established by him. He was also involved with the Visitation Order (from 1622) and the Company of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Those institutions give us some vague idea with regard to Vincent’s daily activity. A reading of Vincent’s voluminous correspondence (he wrote about 30,000 letters) will draw one closer to the rhythm of the almost frenetic activity of this man.
At the age of seventy-eight Vincent commented on the text of Matthew 6:33, Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice and there he revealed the story of his own life with regard to his concern for action and with regard to the profound and mystical roots of his activity: Seek, seek, implies care and action. Seek God in yourselves … seek God in your own soul … the interior life is essential … if we lack that, we lack everything … but Monsieur [someone might say] there are so many things to do, so many house duties, so many ministries in town and country; there’s work everywhere; must we, then, leave all that to think only of God? No, but we have to sanctify those activities by seeking God in them and to do them in order to find God in them rather than to see that they get done (CCD:XII:111-112). Vincent found God in action and not in some ecstatic experience … Give me a man who loves God alone, a soul elevated in contemplation … [such a person] stops at savoring this infinite source of sweetness … [and] does not think of his sisters and brothers (CCD:XII:214). On the authority of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Vincent stated his preference for a love of God that is revealed in an active love on behalf of the neighbor (Vincent referred to effective love and not just affective love [CCD:IX:373]): to go into the heart of God, to confine all one’s love to that place, is not the most perfect because the perfection of the Law consists in loving God and the neighbor (CCD:XII:214). If we are mindful of that reality then we will understand and not distort Vincent’s bold words which he attributes to Saint Thomas: leave God for God (CCD:IX:252), in other words, to leave some specific act of prayer, of direct dialogue with God in order to once again meet God in the ministry with the neighbor who is in need. Vincent was not a stranger to the contemplative experience and certainly not opposed to it. What Vincent did not understand, what he felt was not helpful for him and for his followers was a life of exclusive dedication to contemplation: although the contemplative life is more perfect than the active life, it is not, however, more so than that one which embraces at the same time contemplation and action, as does [ours], by God’s grace (CCD:III:173, 344). What appears to have worried Vincent with regard to this theme was the appearance of lofty language and refined spiritual experiences that situated such believers on the outer peripheries (CCD:XI:104) where they could become solely focused on their own personal holiness and on “their” experience, including “their” experience of God. There is, then, the risk that those individuals will forget about the urgency of ministry for the redemption of the world. The search for personal perfection, a phrase that for centuries expressed the essence of religious life, was viewed by Vincent in his usual dynamic manner as a means to help others (CCD:XII:70). Vincent did not like or, at the very least, he was not convinced of the adequacy of the traditional formulation of the “state of perfection” as applied to religious life. Vincent viewed his own state in life and that of his followers as a state of charity because we are constantly engaged in the actual practice of love or are disposed to be so (CCD:XII:224). Could there be any more precise definition of the place that action held in the unique spirituality of Vincent de Paul?
Bibliography and References:
The theme of this article has been often dealt with by the biographers of Vincent and by those who know Vincent’s spirituality. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there is only one work expressly dedicated to the study of this theme:
G. Coluccia, CM, Spiritualità vincenciana, spiritualità dell’azione, M. Spanda edirore, Rome, 1978. Translated into Spanish and published under the title: Espiritualidad vicenciana, espiritualidad de la acción, CEME, Salamanca, 1979.
All references to the writings of Vincent de Paul are taken from: VINCENT DE PAUL, Correspondence, Conferences, Documents, translators: Helen Marie Law, DC (Vol. 1), Marie Poole, DC (Vol. 1-14), James King, CM (Vol. 1-2), Francis Germovnik, CM (Vol. 1-8, 13a-13b [Latin]), Esther Cavanagh, DC (Vol. 2), Ann Mary Dougherty, DC (Vol. 12); Evelyne Franc, DC (Vol. 13a-13b), Thomas Davitt, CM (Vol. 13a-13b [Latin]), Glennon E. Figge, CM (Vol. 13a-13b [Latin]), John G. Nugent, CM (Vol. 13a-13b [Latin]), Andrew Spellman, CM (Vol. 13a-13b [Latin]); edited: Jacqueline Kilar, DC (Vol. 1-2), Marie Poole, DC (Vol. 2-14), Julia Denton, DC [editor-in-chief] (Vol. 3-10, 13a-13b), Paule Freeburg, DC (Vol. 3), Mirian Hamway, DC (Vol. 3), Elinor Hartman, DC (Vol. 4-10, 13a-13b), Ellen Van Zandt, DC (Vol. 9-13b), Ann Mary Dougherty (Vol. 11, 12 and 14).
Translated: Charles T. Plock, CM
