During the 18th and 19th centuries, Italy was blessed with incredibly energetic, devoted, and generous priests. Such heroes included men like St. John Bosco, St. Joseph Caffasso, St. Vincent Strambi, St. Joseph Cottolengo, and St. Vincent Pallotti, not to mention Fr. Joseph Sarto, who became Pope St. Pius X!

These saints all poured themselves out, doing a great deal to improve the spiritual and temporal welfare of Italy.

Like his holy companions, Saint Vincent Pallotti was known to care for the souls of people of all kinds. He was devoted to the parishioners put in his care. But beyond that, he made time for soldiers, laborers, prisoners, and the sick.

One day, Saint Vincent and a young priest went together to the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. They brought with them a box of crackers, bought with money they had just earned in an unusual way.

Earlier that day, the young priest had finished reading a letter. He was about to throw it away, when Father Vincent stopped him. He told the young priest to tear off the blank areas of paper and put them in a basket.

The young priest grudgingly obeyed the strange request. It seemed ridiculous to take such pains to save scraps. The pieces were too small to write anything substantial. So what good could these bits of paper do anyone?

As it turned out, the basket was full of paper by the time he was done. These scraps were sold for about 10 cents to a man who collected such things.

That being done, the two priests set out to visit the Hospital of the Holy Spirit to aid the sick and the dying. Before reaching the hospital, Father Vincent spent the 10 cents on a box of crackers.

At the hospital, they were warned of an unfortunate dying man, who lay in bed no. 15 of a particular ward. If a priest even came near him, the dying man foamed at the mouth and ranted blasphemies.

Hearing this, the two priests went to the chapel to pray for the unfortunate man. Saint Vincent said encouragingly his young companion,

"God is all-powerful and wishes the salvation of this man more than we do ourselves."

Having prayed, the two priests tended to the other patients in that ward. The man in bed 15 shouted blasphemously at the sight of the priests. But everyone just ignored him. So he finally quieted down and closed his eyes.

Father Vincent hurried quietly to the blasphemer’s bedside. A moment later, the man opened his eyes again. Not only did he see a priest, but the priest was blessing him! The miserable sinner began furiously to insult God yet again.

He had barely begun to rave when Father Vincent unexpectedly slipped a cracker into the unhappy man’s mouth, saying patiently,

"Eat, my son. It will do you good."

In the time it took the man to eat the cracker, Father Vincent finished his prayer and said a few words of inspiration to him. Once the man had swallowed it, he resumed his cursing. Father Vincent immediately gave him another cracker with the same encouragement, while he then continued to speak a little to him. This amusing remedy was applied over and over until God’s grace triumphed over the poor sinner.

The man who just before was an obstinate blasphemer now wept, and made an act of true contrition. Then he made his confession to the loving Father Vincent.

Extreme Unction was then given to the dying penitent. The young priest assisted, touched to hear the man say over and over,

"My Jesus, mercy! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony!"

He died, with true remorse for his former evil. It was a wonderful example of the power and mercy of God.

Saint Vincent also saw in it an example of how God arranges every circumstance of our life to bring about good, if we do not waste it. Turning to his young companion, Saint Vincent said,

"There is a soul saved and gone to Purgatory… you see, my friend, of what use were those little scraps of paper?"