The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-03-25
zlsaCENT De PAUL SOCIETY
asresent Day Needs of the Society
Are Clearly Set Forth by Rev.
James Donahue, City Mis-
sionary of ST. Paul.

We need more ST. Vincent de Paul
Society workers. We want young
we'll informed in matters of faith to
concern themselves about the eternal
welfare of the recipients of charity.
We cannot increase our active men,
bership unless we point out work to
lie done. We shah fail to gather
round us enthusiastic helpers if we do
not tell our people of the aims Of
the society, make known the grand
work done by its truly representative
members and call attention to the
many opportunities of doing good that
present themselves in every city.
Aim Of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
The st. Vincent de Paul Society
was founded by a young man who
wished to strengthen the faith of his
associates and silence scoffing infideIs
who said that our religion was merely
faith without good works The pri-
mary object Frederic Ozanam had in
view was to make every member a
defender of the faith and teach him
how to use to best advantage the
weapons most effective in repelling
the enemies of Christ Article of
the General Rule says: when sew
erai members of the Society are found
| in any locality they meet to encourage
one another in the practice of virtue.
This meeting is called Conference,
the name originally given TO the So
ciety itself" In the explanatory
notes of the Rules of the Society Of
the St. Vincent de Paul, published by
the Superior Council, New York, we
read that "The aim of the Confer
ences is not, in the first place, the
elleviation-very praiseWorthy but
purely human-of the sufferings Of
the poor. Their aim is zeal for the
salvation of souls, and in particular
/ for the souls of the members them
selves"
Before setting about to unite his CO
religionists into society intended to
keep young men to the moorings Of
their faith Ozanam had surveyed the
himself of the condition of the poorer
classes and had gazed into the wide
gulf that separated the rich from the
POOR. He longed with his whole heart
to assuage the pangs of hunger and
lessen the miseries of all the unfortu-
nate but saw that it was beyond his
rower to afford them the relief they
I~I
remediable conditions that made more
bitter the taunts of the enemies of
| his Church. "A1as!" he exclaimed,
eve see the division that exists in So
cjety growing deeper and wider every
day. 1t is not political opinions that
divide men; it is something less than
their opinions that sunders them.
Here is the camp of the rich, there
the camp of the poor. One only means
of salvation remains to us, that is,
that Christians in the name of love
interpose between the two camps col
lecting abundant aims from the rich,
carrying gifts to the poor and words
of gratitude to the rich, teaching them
on both sides to look upon each other
as brothers, and communicating mu-
tual charity to all until this charity
will bring them to mingle together
in peace and good will"
Relief Work.
And now we come to the second
aim of the society-the feeding of
the hungry, the clothing of the naked,
and the housing of the homeless. We
find in the life of st. Vincent de Paul
the patron saint of charity-that he
dispensed charity to the aggregate
amount of sixty millions of dollars.
This must impress upon our minds the
Importance of the material relief of
well-informed Catholics know little
about the amount of distress to be
found in any large city. Again, there
are those who are aware of the large
number receiving charity and after an
individual study of applicants for aid
come to conclusions far from compli-
mentary to the majority of those who
live wholly or in part on the bounty
of others. We are conversant with
the TACT that poverty arises from mis-
conduct and misfortune. The writer
has had considerable experience and
will admit that great share of pow
erty arises from the former. We
might follow rules that exclude the
unworthy from eating idle bread were
it not that rules strictly followed
sometimes work hardship to the inno-
cent. We pity the starving wife as
much we do the hungry widow and
don't wish to permit any child to
suffer on account of the sins of its
parents.
Dispensers OF Charity.
Sympathetic interest is aroused in
the breasts Of all respectable citizens
/ by beholding evidences of want or
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