The heart of Saint Vincent
from Echoes of the Company (Mar-Apr 2005, no.2)
On 21st April 1830, Sister Catherine Labouré saw her dearest wish fulfilled when she entered the Seminary of rue du Bac, Paris. Three days later, the body of Saint Vincent was transferred with great solemnity, from Notre-Dame de Paris to Saint-Lazare. The Seminary Sisters took part in the octave of celebrations that lasted from 25th April to 2nd May 1830.
During the time of her formation which followed, Sister Catherine experienced a series of apparitions. The best known of these are the appearances of Our Lady, who revealed the miraculous medal to Sister Catherine and promised great graces to those who wore it. Prior to those apparitions, however, Catherine also experienced visions of the heart of St Vincent and visions of Our Lord in the Blessed Eucharist. In order to understand the founding message given to Catherine Labouré we have to take into account all of these apparitions. Here we will consider some aspects of the vision of the heart of St Vincent. We begin by recalling Saint Catherines own account of her experience.
Vision of the heart
On her return from Saint-Lazare, Sister Catherine went with the other Seminary Sisters to the chapel and prayed in front of the small relics of Saint Vincent. Her own account of what happened shows how deeply she was moved:
I had the consolation, she said, of seeing his heart above the shrine where the small relics of Saint Vincent de Paul are exposed. It appeared to me on three consecutive days and in three different ways: white, the colour of flesh signifying peace, calm, innocence and unity. Then I saw red like fire that must light the flame of charity in people's hearts. It seemed to me that the whole community should renew itself and spread to the farthest points of the world. Finally I saw it as red-black and this brought great sadness to my heart. Waves of sadness washed over me and I found it hard to overcome these feelings. I did not know why, or in what way, this suffering had to do with the change of government. An inner voice told me, 'the heart of Saint Vincent is deeply saddened by the great misfortunes that will fall on France'.
On the final day of the octave she saw the same heart but now it was bright red, and an inner voice said to her: 'Saint Vincent is a little consoled because, through the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin, he has obtained the favour that his two families will not perish in the midst of those great evils and that God will use them to rekindle people's faith'.
Significance of these visions
The 'vision of the heart' which was repeated on three consecutive days, has a tremendously rich significance if we reflect on the symbolism of the colours as explained by the seer herself.
The colour white, according to Catherine, proclaimed peace, tranquillity and calm, innocence and unity. These four words complement one another and not one of them should be overlooked. Biblical theology would lead us to give priority to the first of these words. In both the Old and the New Testament, peace is the essential feature of Messianic times, God's greatest gift to humankind that comes to us through the Risen Christ. The peace God gives to us and which pervades our whole being, moves us to forge links with our brothers and sisters; bonds of dialogue, cooperation and reconciliation. The gospel of Peace, according to the letter to the Ephesians (6:15), is a summary of Revelation.
The concept of fire, according to Saint Catherine, signifies something that should make charity burn in our hearts. Fire is one of the great symbols of God's presence and action in human history (cf. the burning bush of Horeb): the tongues, as it were, of fire, at Pentecost, (Acts 2:3). One of the most striking sayings of Jesus takes up this same image: I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were kindled already. (Lk 12:44)
The visionary understands that it is divine charity that will enlighten people. She is immediately at one with the central message of Gospel Revelation: that God is 'Love'. (1 Jn 4:8) God, who reveals his tender love for mankind in the person of his well-beloved Son who will give his life for the salvation of the world and will make love - love of God and love of one's neighbour - the great commandment he entrusted to his disciples.
This young seer was, with all the ardour of her being, already a Daughter of Saint Vincent de Paul, whom she admired so much that she wanted to follow his example by devoting her life to the service of the poor, and she prayed very fervently to this saint. She realised that the first thing that poor people need is love, that it is only by having a deep love for them that one can give oneself completely to serving them, and that it is from the heart of God that we draw the dynamic love that will make us want to serve them and give us the perseverance we need to do this.
Catherine's thoughts turn specifically to the Company of the Daughters of Charity that she has just joined. She understands that the Company must 'renew itself be converted to a way of life more in keeping with the Gospel, and that it is called to 'spread all over the world' in order to give witness there to that love which should be their guiding principle, particularly in their dealings with the poor, as it was for Saint Vincent. Let us keep in mind this worldwide dimension which will colour the other apparitions. It is one of the essential features of the Message.
The colours red and black obviously symbolise misfortune and suffering. The seer explains: Saint Vincent's heart is deeply afflicted at the sight of the misfortunes that are going to befall France. We might think back to the troubled times of the revolutions in 1830, 1840 and 1871. But should we be thinking only of these times? Sensitivity to people's sufferings and deep compassion for them are also part of the founding message.