Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (9: 51-56) in which Jesus, ‘as the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely took the road for Jerusalem, sending messengers ahead of him’. After reading the Gospel, Fr Paul shares a little about the life of St Vincent de Paul whose memorial we celebrate today.Fr Paul notes, Vincent de Paul was born in Aquitaine in the year 1581 and he became a priest and when that occurred, he devoted the whole of his life to the service of the poor. He founded a congregation of priests for missionary work. He established groups of laymen to help paupers and galley-slaves, and, with St Louise de Marillac, they founded the Sisters of Charity. Vincent de Paul died in 1660 aged 79.And so today Fr Paul invites us to pray, ‘St Vincent de Paul……pray for us!’.