Letters - Direction - Brulart 4

LETTERS OF St. FRANCIS DE SALES

We must bear ourselves

[March] 1605[1]

I am very happy with your letter of January 20 because it seems to me that despite all the troubles you describe, you have made progress in the spiritual life and have profited by these troubles. I shall be more brief in answering you than in had intended, as I have less leisure and more work than I realized; nevertheless, I shall say enough to keep you going until I have occasion to write you a longer letter.

You tell me that it bothers you that you are not perfectly open with me, or so it seems to you. And I tell you that even though I don’t know what you are doing in my absence – for I am not a prophet – I still believe that even from the few conversations I have had with you, there are few secret places in your heart where I do not have access. However little you have opened the doors of your heart to me, I feel that I can look right in it and see all that is hidden there. This is a great advantage for you, since you want to use me for your salvation.

You complain that there is quite an admixture of faults and imperfections in your life in spite of your great desire to attain perfection and the pure love of God. I answer that it is not possible to empty ourselves completely ourselves. While we are here below, and until such time as God bears us up to heaven we must always bear with ourselves; and as long as we are bearing with ourselves we won’t be bearing much of real value. So we must be patient and not think that we can overcome in a day all the bad habits we have acquired through the poor care we have taken of our spiritual health. God did cure some people instantly, without leaving in them a trace of their former illness, as in the case of Mary Magdalene whom He transformed in an instant from a quagmire of corruption into a clear fountain of perfection; and from that moment, she was never again troubled. On the other hand, this same God left in several of His dear disciples many marks of their evil inclinations for some time after their conversion. All for their greater good: for example, blessed St. Peter who stumbled many times after his initial calling and who on one occasion failed totally and miserably by denying the Lord (Mt. 26:69-75).

Solomon said the maidservant who suddenly becomes the lady of the house can be very insolent (Prov. 30:21-23). There is a great danger that the soul which has catered to its own passions and affections over a long period of time might become proud and vain if in a moment it could master them completely. We must, little by little and step by step, acquire that self-mastery which the saints took years to acquire. Please, be patient with everyone, but, first of all, with yourself.

You tell me you do nothing at all in prayer. But what would you want to do that you are not already doing, that is, presenting and re-presenting your nothingness and your misery to God. The most eloquent appeal that beggars make is to show us their sores and their neediness. But sometimes, you tell me, you can’t even do that much and just stay there like a shadow or a statue. Well, that in itself is no small achievement. In the palaces of princes and kings there are statues that serve only to please the eye of the prince; be satisfied then to serve the same purpose in the presence of God. He will bring the statue to life when He chooses.

Trees bear fruit only because of the presence of the sun, some sooner, some later, some every year, and others every three years, not all of them always yielding equal harvests. We are very fortunate to be able to remain in the presence of God; so let us be content that He will make us bear our fruit sooner or later, every day or only occasionally, according to His good pleasure to which we should be fully resigned.

What a marvellous thing you tell me: “so long as I am serving God, He may put me in whatever sauce He likes; it’s all the same to me.” But take care to savour this sauce; let it melt in your mouth, and do not gulp it down. Mother Teresa, whom you love so much – I am delighted about this – says somewhere that we often repeat such sayings from habit and from a rather superficial grasp of their meaning.[2] We think we are uttering them from the depths of our soul, but that’s not the case at all, as we find out later when we try to put them into practice. You say it’s all the same to you, whatever the sauce God puts you, in what state and condition of life; tell me, is it all the same to you? You are not unaware either that He wants you to satisfy that daily duty about which you write me; still, it is not all the same to you. Oh! How subtly self-love insinuates itself into our feelings, however devout these appear to be!

Here is the most important point: find out what God wants, and when you know, try to carry it out cheerfully or at least courageously; not only that, but we must love this will of God and the obligations it entails, even if it means herding swine the rest of our lives and performing the most menial tasks in the world, because whatever sauce God chooses for us, it should be all the same to us. Therein lies the very bull’s eye of perfection, at which we must all aim, and whoever comes nearest to it wins the prize.

But be of good heart, I beg you; little by little train your will to follow God’s will, wherever it may lead you; see that your will is strongly roused when your conscience says: God wants this. Gradually the resistance you feel so strongly will become weaker and soon disappear altogether. But especially, you must try to stop acting out your inner struggle or, at least, to do so in moderation. There are persons who when angry or annoyed, show their displeasure by simply saying: “What’s all this?”; but there are others who speak sharply and show, not only displeasure, but a certain arrogance and spite. What I mean is that you should gradually correct such outbursts, moderating them every day.

As for your desire to see your dear ones make progress in the service of God and in their longing for Christian perfection, I praise this desire of yours tremendously and, since you wish it, shall add my poor prayers to your supplications to God for this intention. But to tell you the truth, I am always afraid that in these desires which are not of the essence of our salvation and perfection, there may be a trace of self-love and self-will; for example, we may indulge so much in these desires which are not really essential that we may not leave enough room in our hearts for those that are: humility, resignation, gentleness of heart, and the like. Or else the intensity of these desires may bring about anxiety and over-eagerness, and in the end we do not submit ourselves to God’s will as perfectly as we should.

This is what I fear in such desires. That’s why I beg you to be very careful to avoid these dangers and to pursue your aim gently and quietly, that is to say, without upsetting those with whom you would like to share your desire for perfection. Do not even tell them what you hope for, because, believe me, this would do more harm than good. But what you say and do you must gently sow seeds which might sway them to your views; without pretending to want to teach them or win them over, gradually plant holy inspirations and reflections in their minds. In this way, especially if you pray about it too, you will do more good than you would in any other way…

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[1] Oeuvres, XIII, 18-22: Letter CCLXXVII.

[2] Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, chapter 38.

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