Letters - Direction - Chantal 1

LETTERS OF St. FRANCIS DE SALES

Desire to attain fullness of Christian life

May 3, 1604[1]

Madam,

This letter will assure you again and all the more that I shall very carefully keep the promise I made of writing you as often as I can. The greater the physical distance between us, the closer I feel is our interior bond. I shall never stop praying God to perfect His work in you (cf. Phil. 1:6), that is, to further your excellent desire and plan to attain the fullness of Christian life, a desire which you should cherish and nurture tenderly in your heart; consider it a work of the Holy Spirit and a spark of His divine flame.

I once saw a tree in Rome which had been planted by St. Dominic; people go to see and venerate it out of love for him who planted it. In the same way, having seen the tree of your desire for holiness that Our Lord planted in your soul, I cherish it tenderly and take more pleasure in thinking about it now than I did while I was with you. I beg you to do the same and to say with me: “May God make you grow, O beautiful tree planted by Him; and you, divine and heavenly seed, may God grant that you yield your fruit in due season (cf. Ps. 1:3), and when you have produced it may He protect you from the wind that makes fruit fall to the ground where it will be eaten.”

Madam, this desire of yours should be like orange trees along the seacoast of Genoa which almost all year long are covered with fruit, blossoms and leaves all at the same time. Every day presents occasions for your desire to ripen, so you should bear fruit constantly; yet, you should never stop hoping for further opportunities to advance. Such longings are the blossoms on the tree of your desire; the leaves are the frequent admissions of your weakness, which keeps both your good works and your desires in a healthy condition. You may look upon all this as one of the pillars of your tabernacle.

The other pillar is the love of your widowhood, a love that is holy and desirable for as many reasons as there are stars in the sky, and without which, widowhood is worthless and deceptive. St. Paul commands us to honour widows who are truly widows (1 Tim. 5:3); but those who do not like their widowhood are widows in appearance only, for their hearts are still married. They are not the ones of whom it is said: “Blessing, I will bless the widow” (Ps. 132:15); and elsewhere “God is the judge, the protector, and defender of widows” (Ps. 68:6; 146:9). Praise God who has given you this precious, holy love; help it to grow more and more each day, and your own consolation will increase proportionately, since the whole structure of your happiness rests on these two pillars. At least once a month take a good look to see if one or the other of them might have become loosened; make use of some devout meditation similar to the one of which I am enclosing a copy and which has been helpful to other souls in my care. Nevertheless, do not tie yourself down to this particular meditation, for this is not my reason for sending it. I am sending it simply to give you an idea of the direction your monthly self-examination ought to take in order to be more beneficial to you. If you prefer to use this meditation, it will not be completely useless. But, I say, use it only if you really prefer it, for in everything and at all times I want you to have a holy liberty of spirit in the means you take to attain perfection. As long as the two pillars of your tabernacle are in good condition and stable, it doesn’t matter very much how you do this.

Be on your guard against scruples, and rely entirely on what I told you in person, for I spoke in the Lord. Keep yourself constantly in God’s presence in the manner you already know. Avoid anxiety and worries, for nothing so impedes our progress toward perfection. Place your heart in Our Lord’s wounds gently, and not by force; have the utmost confidence that in His mercy and kindness He will not forsake you; yet, for all that, do not relax your hold on His holy cross.

Next to love of Our Lord, I commend to you love of His Bride, the Church, that dear, gentle dove which alone can rear fledglings for her Bridegroom. Praise God a hundred times a day that you are a “daughter of the Church,” following the example of Mother Teresa who found great consolation in repeating these words often at the hour of her death. Cast your glance frequently on the Bridegroom and the Bride, and say to the Bridegroom: “You are the Spouse of such a beautiful Bride!” and to the Bride: “You are the Spouse of a divine Bridegroom!” Have great compassion for all pastors and preachers in the Church; notice how they are scattered over the whole face of the earth, for there is no corner of the world where you would not find at least a few of them. Pray God for them so that they may obtain the salvation of souls at the same time that they are saving themselves. In this regard I beg you never to forget me, since God has given me such a strong determination never to forget you either.

I am sending you a paper I have written about the perfection of life for all Christians.[2] I didn’t write it for you, but for a number of other persons; still, you can see if there is anything in it for you. Write to me, I beg you, as often as you can and with complete trust; in my great concern for your advancement, I shall be distressed if I do not know how thing are going with you.

Recommend me to Our Lord, for there is no one on earth who needs prayer more than I. I beg Him to grant an abundance of His holy love to you and all who are dear to you.

I am ever, and beg you to look upon me as, your most sincere and devoted servant in Jesus Christ.

-------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Oeuvres, XII, 263-267: Letter CCXVI. Its abrupt beginning reflects this letter’s origin shortly after Jane and Francis first met in Dijon. It followed on the heels of a note Francis has sent while en route back to Annecy: “God, it seems to me, has given me to you; of that I am more convinced every hour. This is all I can tell you; recommend me to your good angel.” Oeuvres, XII, 262: Letter CCXV.

[2] See the memo on Christian Perfection, supra, pp. 101f.

:: Letters to a Wife and Mother :: Letters of Spiritual Direction :: Letters to Persons in the World :: Letters to Person in Religion

LETTERS OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

A Spirituality for Everyone

St. Francis de Sales presents a spirituality that can be practised by everyone in all walks of life