Vincent de Paul, Priest, 1660 and Louise de Marillac, Vowed Religious, 1660

The Collect:

Rite I: Most Gracious God, who hast bidden us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before thee; Teach us, like thy servants Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, to see and to serve Christ by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rite II:
Most Gracious God, who has bidden us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before you; Teach us, like your servants Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, to see and to serve Christ by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

First Lesson: Philippians 2:12–15

¹²Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.

Psalm: Psalm 37:19–42

¹⁹ The Lord cares for the lives of the godly, *
       and their inheritance shall last for ever.
²⁰ They shall not be ashamed in bad times, *
       and in days of famine they shall have enough.
²¹ As for the wicked, they shall perish, *
       and the enemies of the Lord, like the glory of
                                   the meadows, shall vanish;
       they shall vanish like smoke.
²² The wicked borrow and do not repay, *
       but the righteous are generous in giving.
²³ Those who are blessed by God shall possess the land, *
       but those who are cursed by him shall be destroyed.
²⁴ Our steps are directed by the Lord; *
       he strengthens those in whose way he delights.
²⁵ If they stumble, they shall not fall headlong, *
       for the Lord holds them by the hand.
²⁶ I have been young and now I am old, *
       but never have I seen the righteous forsaken,
       or their children begging bread.
²⁷ The righteous are always generous in their lending, *
       and their children shall be a blessing.
²⁸ Turn from evil, and do good, *
       and dwell in the land for ever.
²⁹ For the Lord loves justice; *
       he does not forsake his faithful ones.
³⁰ They shall be kept safe for ever, *
       but the offspring of the wicked shall be destroyed.
³¹ The righteous shall possess the land *
       and dwell in it for ever.
³² The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, *
       and their tongue speaks what is right.
³³ The law of their God is in their heart, *
       and their footsteps shall not falter.
³⁴ The wicked spy on the righteous *
       and seek occasion to kill them.
³⁵ The Lord will not abandon them to their hand, *
       nor let them be found guilty when brought to trial.
³⁶ Wait upon the Lord and keep his way; *
       he will raise you up to possess the land,
       and when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
³⁷ I have seen the wicked in their arrogance, *
       flourishing like a tree in full leaf.
³⁸ I went by, and behold, they were not there; *
       I searched for them, but they could not be found.
³⁹ Mark those who are honest;
    observe the upright; *
       for there is a future for the peaceable.
⁴⁰ Transgressors shall be destroyed, one and all; *
       the future of the wicked is cut off.
⁴¹ But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord; *
       he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴² The Lord will help them and rescue them; *
       he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them,
       because they seek refuge in him.

Gospel: Luke 12:12–27

¹²for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’

¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ ¹⁴But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ ¹⁵And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ ¹⁶Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” ¹⁸Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ²⁰But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” ²¹So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

²²He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁶If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

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