I seem drawn to our Patron—Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) around his feast day of September 27. St. Vincent was the founder of the Daughters of Charity. Their sisters established Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in 1925. The last sisters left Binghamton in 2017. And the secular Guthrie Health Care System purchased Lourdes earlier this year. As they took over, Guthrie removed and donated many religious articles. A sketch of Jesus that was given in the 1980s by Blessed Sacrament Church was returned here.
The parish was also given 7 volumes of an 8-volume set of St. Vincent’s letters. Each book is hundreds of pages long. While the missives are sometimes simple correspondence, others include advice and support.
Today, I found a letter some 372 years old to the day I write this, September 25. St. Vincent wrote to Marc Coglee, a superior in Seden. He expressed concerns about someone’s behavior. He called “M” good at heart, though he may be “too agitated and undisciplined.”
St. Vincent wrote (above) that if you don’t see good in a person, stay quiet. But he also added this:
“If you do see some, speak about it to honor God because all good proceeds from Him.”
St. Vincent de Paul, please pray for us!
Peace,
Deacon Tom
We have wheelchair accessible entrances to the church, social hall, and education center, and reserved pews, as well as fully accessible restrooms.
We are