A most wonderful Christian hero of Spain was St. Vincent Ferrer. He had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother. Whenever anyone spoke of her, it made him very happy.
When he was eighteen, Vincent entered the Order of St. Dominic. He was a very intelligent man, but because he was also very humble, he never boasted about his intelligence. He was not interested in learning a lot of useless things. After he finished his studies, he read nothing for three years but the Holy Bible, and he knew it by heart.
First Vincent taught at different colleges. Then he became a great preacher. For twenty years he preached all through Spain and France. Many people were converted by listening to him. Among them were Moslems, pagans and heretics. Although there were no microphones in those days, his voice could be heard from great distance. Everywhere he went, orphanages and hospitals were established, but Vincent remained as humble as ever.
St. Vincent counted on God to make his preaching successful. That is why he prayed before every sermon. But one time, when he knew that a very important person was going to listen to him, he worked harder than usual on his sermon and did not pray. This sermon which he had prepared so carefully did not affect the nobleman much at all. God let that happen to teach Vincent not to count on himself. Another time, this same important person came to listen to the Saint preach, but the Saint did not know it. He prayed and counted on God, as usual. This time the nobleman was greatly impressed by what he heard. When Vincent was told, he said: “In the first sermon it was Vincent who preached. In the second sermon, it was Jesus Christ.”
Let us never brag about our good marks or any other success that comes our way. God will keep helping us all our lives if we pray to Him and not count only on ourselves.
