St. Francis de Sales

one

Today is the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church because he is one of the most important spiritual guides we should know.

As a young man he was plagued with the question we all struggle with, “What am I to do with my life?” And we think that if we fail, we will die. This question pursues us relentlessly, reasserting itself at every new stage or chapter in our lives. It is agonizing and can easily consume us.

The twenty-year old Francis found peace in the radical and liberating love of God: loving him without asking anything in return and trusting in divine love; no longer asking what will God do with me or what should I do with my life: I simply love him, independently of all that he gives me or does not give me.

Francis no longer sought what he might receive from God; he simply loved God and abandoned himself to his goodness.

And this was the secret of his life which would shine out in his main work The Treatise on the Love of God.

two

The great aim of St. Francis de Sales was to tell everyone they were created for holiness

Now, holiness is first of all a deep friendship with Jesus. Any friendship takes time…talking, listening and just being together. And that is what we mean by Daily Meditation. Francis writes: “Children learn to speak by hearing their mother talk, and stammering forth their childish sounds in imitation; and so if we cleave to the Savior in meditation, listening to His words, watching His actions and intentions, we shall learn in time, through His Grace, to speak, act like Him. Believe me, there is no way to God except through this door of daily meditation.”

We practice the first two steps of meditation in this Rosary: Read or listen to something from the Word of God found in Scripture, the writings or lives of the Saints or the teaching of the Church. Then reflect or think about what struck you. Try to Understand it. Apply it to your life and draw conclusions that fit you. But then every Meditation should end with a concrete resolution - choosing something practical and concrete to remember or do that day based on your meditation.

Listen closely to what De Sales says about the resolution:

The most important thing of all is that you cling firmly to the resolutions you have taken in meditation so as to practice them carefully.  That is the great fruit of meditation, without which it is often not only useless but harmful.  Why so?  Because the virtues upon which we have meditated but not practiced sometimes puff us up so much in mind and heart that we think we are already what we are resolved to be which no doubt is the case if our resolutions are solid and ardent.  But when, on the contrary, they are not practiced, they are useless and dangerous.  (Introduction to the Devout Life, II Chap 8)

three

If we want to become holy, then we’re gonna need some good friends.  

De Sales writes: “Those who aim at a holiness need to be united one with another by a holy friendship…When people are walking on level ground, they don’t need the help of others. But when we are climbing very steep slopes that are slippery, we have to hold one another up – lend each other a hand…No one can deny that our Dear Lord was supported by his special friendship with Martha, Mary Magdalene and Lazarus their brother…” Introduction to the Devout Life, Chapter 19 on True Friendships 

The world, our fallen human nature and the devil make it a steep and slippery climb to holiness. We need good spiritual friendships by which we help one another.

Make the habit of inviting family and friends to share a meal and hang out with you on Sundays. Fight the temptation to sit in front of a screen with them. Share a meal, be interested in their lives, delight in the things they delight in and delight in them. Who doesn’t want to spend time with people who absolutely delight in them?

four

De Sales will tell you that holiness doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient with yourself.

He says: “What good is it becoming angry with ourselves for having been angry?”

We tend to beat ourselves up for our faults not because we love God and are sorry for offending Him, but because we see we are not perfect.

We should be sorry when we sin, but to get angry or to despair and throw in the towel is not only useless, it is a sign of pride. I mean, what did we expect, we are fallen humans who are imperfect and weak. We are going to fall. What is the point of beating yourself up about it? Acknowledge the sin, tell God and the person you offended you were wrong, and you are sorry, and then get up quickly and move on. Be patient, place your hope in God, and keep going!

five

Finally, De Sales insists that everyone needs a regular time and place to reset. We all need a retreat or pilgrimage once a year.

He writes, “There is no clock, however good, that doesn’t need to be continually wound up; and moreover, during the course of each year it will need to be taken apart, to cleanse away the rust which clogs it, to straighten bent works, and replace the ones that are worn. Even so, anyone who really cares for his soul will wind it up to God every morning by meditation and examine its condition each night, correcting and improving it; and at least once a year he will take the works to pieces and examine them carefully…so as to repair whatever may be amiss.”

If we want to become a saint, then we should see ourselves like an old clock, needing to be wound twice daily and then totally broken down and reworked once a year. (Yes, his examples are old school, but the point is clear nonetheless.) The daily “winding” is our meditation and examination, where we refocus and rededicate ourselves to God. The annual total rehabbing of the clock is a yearly pilgrimage or retreat.

Do you desire to get away from everything and focus on God alone without any distractions?