Salesian Literature

LETTERS OF SFS

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Madame de la Flechere

Patiently accept being less than perfect

Do faithfully all the things you have to do

Indifference

We must hate our faults

 

Patiently accept being less than perfect

April 8, 1608[1]

 

Madam,

 

I was particularly pleased with your first letter and see it as a good beginning to the spiritual communication that you and I should have for the advancement of the kingdom of God in our hearts.  May this same God inspire me to say what will be best for your direction.

 

It isn’t possible for you to be so soon mistress of your soul and have it so totally in hand right away.  Be satisfied if now and then you gain some advantage over the tendencies you fight against.  We have to put up with others, but first of all, with ourselves, and patiently accept being less than perfect.  Good heavens, dear daughter, what makes us think we can enter into a state of interior rest without going through normal setbacks and struggles?

 

Observe carefully the points I have mentioned to you.  First thing in the morning, prepare your heart to be at peace; then take great care throughout the day to call it back to that peace frequently, and, as it were, to again take your heart in your hand.  If you happen to do something that you regret, be neither astonished nor upset, but, having acknowledged your failing, humble yourself quietly before God and try to regain your gentle composure.  Say to your soul: “There, we have made a mistake, but let’s go on now and be more careful.”  Every time you fall, do the same.

 

When you are inwardly peaceful, don’t miss the opportunity to perform as many acts of gentleness a s you can – and as frequently as you can – no matter how small these acts may seem; for, as Our Lord says: “To this person who is faithful in little things, greater ones will be given” (cf. Lk. 16:10; Mt. 25:21, 23).

 

But most important, my dear daughter, don’t lose heart, be patient, wait, do all you can to develop a spirit of compassion.  I have no doubt that God is holding you by the hand; if He allows you to stumble, it is only to let you know that if He were not holding your hand, you would fall.  This is how He gets you to take a tighter hold of His hand.  A Dieu, madam – but completely, absolutely, irrevocably His.

 

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[1] Oeuvres, XIV, 1-3: Letter CDXLIV.

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