Salesian Literature

LETTERS OF SFS

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Madame Brulart

Principal means of uniting oneself to God and to others

Memo on Christian Perfection

Constancy in Devotion

We must bear ourselves

Do not expect an immediate reward in devotion

Be convinced that God wants you to serve Him just as you are

Do not yield to discouragement on account of frailties

 

Memo on Christian Perfection[1]

[Fragment]

 

Everyone is obliged to strive for the perfection of Christian life, because Our Lord commands that we be perfect and St. Paul says the same (Mt. 5:48; 2 Cor. 13:11).  Perfection of Christian life consists in conforming our wills to that of our good God, who is the sovereign standard and norm for all actions.  So in order to acquire perfection we must always consider and recognize what God’s will is in everything that concerns us, so that we can flee what He wants us to avoid and accomplish what He wants us to do.

 

There are some matters in which it is clear what God’s will is, as in what concerns the commandments or the duties of one’s vocation.  That is why we must always seek to carry out well what God expects of all Christians, as well as what our own vocation requires of us in particular.  Anyone who does not do this much with care can possess nothing but a fraudulent devotion.

 

There are still other matters about which there is no doubt whether God wills them, such as trials, illnesses and chronic conditions.  That is why we should accept them with a good heart, and conform our will to that of God who permits them.  Anyone who can arrive at the point of not only supporting them patiently but even of willing them, that person can be said to have acquired a great conformity.  Thus, the death of relatives, various losses, illnesses, dryness or distractions in prayer – these give us opportunities to grow in perfection.

 

But we must go further and see this will not only in great afflictions but even in little reversals and minor inconveniences that we will always meet with in this unhappy life.

 

In this regard many people make a mistake because they prepare themselves only for major afflictions and remain totally without defence, strength or resistance when it comes to small ones.  Actually it would be more understandable to be less prepared for major afflictions which happen but rarely, and to be prepared for the little ones which come up every day and at every moment.  I will give you an example of what I mean: I prepare myself to suffer death patiently – which can happen to me but once – and I do not prepare myself at all to put up with the inconveniences I encounter from the moods of those I am with, or the pressing spiritual demands which my work brings me and which arise a hundred times a day.  And this is what makes me imperfect.

 

There are many other things I am not obliged to do either by the general commandments of God or by the duties of my own vocation, and with these it is necessary to consider carefully in liberty of spirit what would tend to the greatest glory of God, because that is what God wills.  I said “in liberty of spirit” because this should be done without pressure or anxiety, but by a simple glance at the good which our action can produce, such as, for example, to make a short pilgrimage, to go to confession, to visit a sick person, to give a small sum for the love of God.  if it is not a matter of great importance, then we should not invest a great concern in it, but after a little thought we must decide.  And if afterward the action or the decision doesn’t seem good, and it looks as if I had made a mistake, I should in no way blame or bother myself about it, but rather humble myself and laugh at myself.

 

But if it is a matter of importance, like changing one’s profession, making final vows, undertaking a long voyage, or giving a great sum of money to charity – after having thought about it for a while, we must confer with the spiritual persons to whom we look for direction, and go along with their advice with simplicity, for God will assist them to direct us rightly.  And if through their fault the decision is not the best in itself, that won’t prevent it from being the most useful and meritorious for you, for God will render it fruitful.[2]

 

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[1] Oeuvres, XXVI, 185-187: Francis would occasionally draft short memos on basic topics which could circulate among several of his directees.  This memo, though not complete, is an interesting example of the genre.

[2] The manuscript breaks off in the middle of the next paragraph.  Compare this early text with the Treatise on the Love of God, Book 8 and Book 9, especially Book 8, chapter 14 (Oeuvres, V, 105-107).

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