The founder
St. Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales was a master of the heart. He understood people and how they work. He grasped the depths of love and the width of sorrow. His timeless wisdom is more timely than ever in busy modern life.
As a boy Francis was well-educated, well-connected and naturally smart. His dad envisioned a prestigious law career, securing for his son several important positions and a wealthy heiress to be his bride. But the French boy yearned to serve the church as a priest. Once he was ordained, he quickly developed a following of nobles and peasants alike. They were drawn to his gentle nature and revolutionary message: all Christians, he insisted -- not just priests, monks and nuns -- are called to holiness. He rendered that path accessible to lay people, providing spiritual direction for ordinary lives. It is possible, Francis suggested, to experience the divine and the mundane.
In lieu of Latin, Francis used the vernacular language in his letters. They had a profound impact, and his correspondents grew in number, but he never let a heap of unanswered letters unhinge him. "I have more than 50 letters to answer," Francis noted one day. "If I tried to hurry over it, I would be lost. So I intend neither to hurry nor to worry. This evening I shall answer as many as I can. Tomorrow I shall do the same and so I shall go on until I have finished."
He encouraged others to take a similar approach, to "deal gently and lovingly with your heart, raising it up when it falls and longing ardently for its perfection."
The power and influence Francis experienced as Bishop of Geneva never altered his vision of a diverse communion of saints. Francis broadened religious life, founding the groundbreaking Visitation order with his dear friend Jane. It prohibited the conventional, restrictive monastic practices of sleeping on boards, vigil keeping and lengthy fasts, shifting the focus instead to interiority. In doing so, it created a home for many older and weaker women yearning for religious life.
"Be who you are," he once said, "and be that well."
Francis de Sales was a master of the heart. He understood people and how they work. He grasped the depths of love and the width of sorrow. His timeless wisdom is more timely than ever in busy modern life.
As a boy Francis was well-educated, well-connected and naturally smart. His dad envisioned a prestigious law career, securing for his son several important positions and a wealthy heiress to be his bride. But the French boy yearned to serve the church as a priest. Once he was ordained, he quickly developed a following of nobles and peasants alike. They were drawn to his gentle nature and revolutionary message: all Christians, he insisted -- not just priests, monks and nuns -- are called to holiness. He rendered that path accessible to lay people, providing spiritual direction for ordinary lives. It is possible, Francis suggested, to experience the divine and the mundane.In lieu of Latin, Francis used the vernacular language in his letters. They had a profound impact, and his correspondents grew in number, but he never let a heap of unanswered letters unhinge him. "I have more than 50 letters to answer," Francis noted one day. "If I tried to hurry over it, I would be lost. So I intend neither to hurry nor to worry. This evening I shall answer as many as I can. Tomorrow I shall do the same and so I shall go on until I have finished."
He encouraged others to take a similar approach, to "deal gently and lovingly with your heart, raising it up when it falls and longing ardently for its perfection."
The power and influence Francis experienced as Bishop of Geneva never altered his vision of a diverse communion of saints. Francis broadened religious life, founding the groundbreaking Visitation order with his dear friend Jane. It prohibited the conventional, restrictive monastic practices of sleeping on boards, vigil keeping and lengthy fasts, shifting the focus instead to interiority. In doing so, it created a home for many older and weaker women yearning for religious life.
"Be who you are," he once said, "and be that well."
posted by Christina at
4:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home