Saint Francis de Sales was born in 1567 near Annecy, of noble and pious parents, and studied with brilliant success at Paris and Padua. On his return from Italy he gave up the grand career which his father had destined for him in the service of the state, and became a priest.
When the duke of Savoy resolved to restore the shattered Church in the Chablais, Francis offered himself for the work and set out on foot with his Bible and breviary, accompanied by one companion, his cousin Louis of Sales. It was a work of toil, privation and danger. Every door and every heart was closed against him. He was rejected with insult and threatened with death, but nothing could daunt him or resist him indefinitely. And before long the Church blossomed into a second spring. It is said that he converted 72,000 Calvinists.
Dom Gueranger says of the saint who converted 72,000 Calvinists:
God gave him to the Church at the very time that heresy was holding her out to the world as a worn-out system, that had no influence over men's minds. He raised up this true minister of the Gospel in the very country where the harsh doctrines of Calvin were most in vogue, that the ardent charity of Francis might counteract the sad influence of that heresy. "If you want heretics to be convinced of their errors", said the leaned Cardinal du Perron, "you may send them to me; but if you want them to be converted, send them to the Bishop of Geneva."
He was compelled by the Pope to become Coadjutor Bishop of Geneva, and succeeded to that see in 1602. Saint Vincent de Paul said of him, in praise of his gentleness, "How good God must be, since the bishop of Geneva, His minister, is so good!" At times the great meekness with which he received heretics and sinners almost scandalized his friends, and they protested when he received insults in silence. One of them said to him, "Francis of Sales will go to Paradise, of course; but I am not so sure about the Bishop of Geneva: I am almost afraid his gentleness will play him a shrewd turn!" "Ah," said the Saint, "you would have me lose in one instant all the meekness I have been able to acquire by twenty years of efforts? I would rather account to God for too great gentleness than for too great severity. God the Father is the Father of mercy; God the Son is a Lamb; God the Holy Ghost is a Dove; are you wiser than God?" When a hostile visitor said to him one day, "If I were to strike you on the cheek, what would you do?" Saint Francis answered, with his customary humility, "Ah! I know what I should do, but I cannot be sure of what I would do."
"You will catch more flies," Saint Francis used to say, "with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar. If there were anything better or more beautiful on earth than gentleness, Jesus Christ would have taught it to us; and yet He has given us only two lessons to learn of Him - meekness and humility of heart."
He writes to another Saint, Jane Francis de Chantal often, and offers her some inspiration concerning the Divine Birth:
"Oh! the sweetness of this night! The Church has been singing these words--honey has dropped from the heavens.
I thought to myself, that the Angels not only come down on our earth to sing their admirable Gloria in excelsis
, but to gaze also on this sweet Babe, this Honey of heaven resting on two beautiful Lilies, for sometimes he is in Mary's arms, and sometimes it is Joseph that caresses him."
Let us try to imitate him.
On January 29, 1959, during a Mass celebrated for some journalists in Rome, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, Secretary of the Congregation of the Holy Office, pronounced these words:
" Providence has placed a weapon in your hands: the pen, arma veritatis [the weapon of truth]. All this in edification [for the purpose of edifying]. And this spiritual edification will be accomplished especially if you keep constantly in mind the image of Jesus, the reflection in a way of the countless faces of your readers…. The face of Jesus who, again on the Cross, expresses by His words of love and forgiveness the supreme law of the redeemed world and will teach you how to speak to your adversaries….
Speak the truth, but speak it with love. Only in this way will you make the meaning of Christian peace prevail in the enraged hearts of men that have been poisoned by erroneous, hateful propaganda; only in this way will you honor and imitate your Patron who wrote: ‘He who preaches with love preaches also against the heretics, even though he utters not a single word to dispute with them.’ And to speak with love does not mean to fail to speak forcefully. Love is a force which no other force can resist; it conquers all and influences all.”
St. Francis de Sales, pray for “all those who, by the publication of newspapers or other writings, explain, propagate and defend Christian doctrine.” By your example, may they be able “to maintain always, in discussion, firmness combined with a spirit of moderation and charity” (Pius XI, encyclical Rerum omnium perturbationem, January 26, 1923).
A reflection from Divine Intimacy quotes from St. Francis de Sales:
"O Lord Jesus, when You died on the Cross Your heart was so filled with kindness toward us and You loved us so tenderly, even though we ourselves were the cause of Your death, that You had but one thought: to obtain pardon for Your executioners, even while they tortured You and cruelly insulted You. Help me, I beg You, to endure my neighbors' faults and imperfections with kindness.
"To those who despise me or murmur against me, teach me to reply with humility, mildness, and a steadfast kindness of heart, never defending myself in any way. For love of You, I desire to let everyone say what he wishes, because words are not of value but love is, and he who loves more will be more loved and glorified. Help me, then, my Jesus, to love You; help me to love creatures for love of You, especially those who despise me, without letting myself be disturbed by their contempt, but applying myself to the practice of humility and mildness; then You will be my reward.
"Teach me to comport myself always with mildness and sweetness, and never to disrupt peace with anyone. All that I can do and obtain with love I will do, but what I cannot do or procure without a dispute, I will let be. Help me to make use of the repugnances and aversions I encounter in my contacts with others to practice the virtue of mildness, and to show myself loving with all, even with those who are opposed to me, or who are a cause of aversion.
"Finally, I purpose with Your help, O most lovable God, to apply myself to acquire kindness of heart toward my neighbor by thinking of him as Your creature, destined to enjoy You some day in Paradise. Those whom You tolerate, O Lord God, it is but just that I, too, tolerate them tenderly and with great compassion for their spiritual infirmities."
St. Francis de Sales, please pray for me, and for all who are passing the Eternal Truth on to those who might not know it.
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