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

 

Do not expect an immediate reward in devotion

[June], 1607[1]

 

[…] I approve of the idea that in your prayer your remain with the beginner’s method a little longer, preparing your mind by reading and arranging the points, using your imagination only as needed in order to focus your thoughts.  Now I know very well that when we are so fortunate as to find God, it is good to just look at Him and to rest in Him; but, my dear daughter, to expect that we are always going to meet Him so spontaneously, without preparation, would not, I think, be good for us who are still beginners and need to meditate on the virtues of the Crucified Lord one after the other, rather than to admire them collectively, as a whole.  Now if after having applied our mind to this humble preparation, God still does not give us any delight or consolation, then we must go on patiently, eating our dry crust and doing our duty without any immediate reward.  […]

 

Persevere in overcoming yourself in the little everyday frustrations that bother you; let your best efforts be directed there.  God wishes nothing else of you at present, so don’t waste time doing anything else.  Don’t sow your desires in someone else’s garden; just cultivate your own as best you can; don’t long to be other than what you are, but desire to be thoroughly what you are.  Direct your thoughts to being very good at that and to bearing your crosses, little or great, that you will find there.  Believe me, this is the most important and the least understood point in the spiritual life.  We all love what is according to our taste; few people like what is according to their duty or to God’s liking.

 

What is the use of building castles in Spain when we have to live in France?  This is my old lesson, and you grasp it well; but tell me, my dear, whether you are putting it into practice.

 

I beg you, moderate your spiritual exercises, and in this regard give a good deal of weight to how your husband feels about them.  Just laugh at these silly temptations in which the enemy depicts the world as a place to which you are obliged to return; laugh at these temptations, I say, as at something ridiculous.  The only response to give them is that of Our Lord, “Get behind me, Satan, you shall not tempt the Lord your God” (cf. Mt. 4:7,10).  My dear daughter, we are walking in the footsteps of the saints; let us go on courageously in spite of the difficulties we find there.  […]

 

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[1] Oeuvres, XIII, 289-292: Letter CD.

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