Letters - Direction - Chantal 5

LETTERS OF St. FRANCIS DE SALES

Humility and charity are the master ropes; all others are attached to them

February 11, 1607[1]

I was ten whole weeks without a word from you, my dear, my very dear daughter, and your last letters were written early last November. But one good thing is that my patience had almost given out and I think it would have given out entirely if I hadn’t remembered that I must preserve it in order to be free to preach it to others. But at last, my dearest daughter, yesterday a bundle arrived, like a fleet from India, full of letters and spiritual songs.[2] Oh, how welcome it was and how I loved it! There was a letter dated November 22, another, December 30 of last year, and the third, written early this year. If all the letters I wrote you during that time were put in one packet, they would be more numerous than that, for as much as I could, I always wrote via Lyons and Dijon. I say this to ease my conscience, which would bother me greatly if it were not responsive to the heart of a specially loved daughter.

I am going to write you many things, about this and that topic, following the content of your letters. You do very well to entrust to the hands of divine Providence your wish to leave the world so that this desire does not preoccupy you needlessly, as it undoubtedly would if you allowed it to run things according to its own fancy.

I shall give the matter serious thought and will offer several Masses, asking for the light of the Holy Spirit in order to make the right decision, for you see, my dear daughter, this is a decisive step and should be weighed in the scales of the sanctuary.[3] Let us pray God to make His will known to us and dispose our will to want nothing except by and through His, then let us remain at peace, without hurry or agitation in our hearts. The next time we see each other, God will, if He wishes, be merciful to us.

[…] I see that all the seasons of the year converge in your soul: at times you experience all the dryness, distraction, disgust, and boredom of winter; at other times, all the dew and fragrance of the little flowers of Maytime; and again, the warmth of a desire to please God. all that remains is autumn, and you say that you do not see much of its fruit. Yet it often happens that in threshing the wheat and pressing the grapes we discover more than the harvest or vintage promised. You would like it to be always spring or summer; but no, my dear daughter, we have to experience interior as well as exterior changes. Only in heaven will everything be springtime as to beauty, autumn as to enjoyment, and summer as to love. There will be no winter there; but here below we need winter so that we may practise self-denial and the countless small but beautiful virtues that can be practised during a barren season. Let us go on our little way; so long as we mean well and hold to our resolve, we can only be on the right track.

No, my very dear daughter, it is not necessary to be always and at every moment attentive to all the virtues in order to practise them; that would twist and encumber your thoughts and feelings too much. Humility and charity are the master ropes; all the others are attached to them. We need only hold on to these two: one is at the very bottom and the other at the very top. The preservation of the whole building depends on its foundation and its roof. We do not encounter much difficulty in practising other virtues if we keep our heart bound to the practice of these two. They are the mother virtues, and the others follow them the way little chicks follow the mother hen. […]

I praise God that you wish to settle your lawsuits. Since my return from visiting the diocese, I have been so pressured and busy settling differences between litigating parties that my house has been full of clients who, on the whole, by the grace of God, have gone home in peace. I must admit, however, that it has taken much of my time. But there is no remedy for it; we must yield to the need of our neighbour.

I am happy to hear of the healing of that good person who had been caught up in illicit love or false friendship. Such maladies are like mild fevers: after they pass, we are left in a state of good health.

I shall go now to the altar and speak to Our Lord about our affairs. I shall write the rest afterward.

No, you are not going against obedience by not raising your heart to God as often or by not following the recommendations I gave you as precisely as you would like. They were recommendations for you, but not commands; when we give orders, we use terms that make our meaning very clear. Do you know what our recommendations require? They require to be loved and not scorned – that is quite sufficient – but in no way do they bind. Courage, my sister, my daughter; enkindle your heart during this Lent.

[…] What more can I tell you? I have just come from teaching a catechism lesson where I played the comedian with the children and made the audience laugh a bit by making fun of masks and balls. I was in high spirits, and a big audience encouraged me by its applause to continue to play with the children. They said the role suited me well, and I believe it! Would that go might make me really childlike in innocence and simplicity! But am I not a true simpleton to be telling you all this? It can’t be helped; I let you see my heart such as it is and in its various moods so that, as the apostle says, you may not think more of me than what I really am (cf. 2 Cor. 12:6).

Live joyously and courageously, my dear daughter. We must not doubt that Jesus Christ is ours. “Yes,” a little girl once answered me, “He belongs to me more than I belong to Him, and more than I belong to myself.”

[…] Goodbye, my very dear, my truly very dear sister and daughter. May Jesus always be in our hearts and live and rule there for all eternity; may His holy name and that of His glorious mother be ever blessed. Amen. Live Jesus, and may the world perish if it does not wish to live for Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Oeuvres, XIII, 260-267: Letter CCCLXXXV.

[2] In a postscript to his letter of June 6, 1606, Francis asked Jane to send him some spiritual songs available in Dijon.

[3] Cf. supra, note 27.

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A Spirituality for Everyone

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