Salesian Literature

LETTERS OF SFS

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Madame de Cornillon

 

Gasparde, one of Francis de Sales’s younger sisters and sixth child of his parents, married Melchior de Cornillon in 1595.  the couple had many children and, it seems, many and varied difficulties as well.  Francis brought comfort and support to his “most beloved” little sister in these trials and was, moreover, her spiritual director.  The tone of his letters to her – tender, yet firm – gives some indication of how it is possible to achieve deep spiritual growth in the midst of a full and difficult life.

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Let us all belong to God

 

Let us all belong to God

[August 6, 1610][1]

 

My dear Sister,

 

I am writing to say good-night and to assure you that I never stop wishing you and my dear brother-in-law countless blessings from heaven, especially that of always being transfigured in Our Lord.  How beautiful is His face, how kind and amazingly gentle His eyes, and how good it is to be near Him, on the glorious mountain! (cf. Mt. 17:4).  It is there, my dear sister, my daughter, that we must place all our affections, and not on this earth where there is only vain beauty and beautiful vanity.

 

So, thanks to our Saviour, we are climbing Mount Tabor, since we are firmly resolved to serve Him well and to love His divine Goodness.  We must encourage one another in holy hope.  Let us climb always, my dear sister, let us climb, without growing weary, toward this heavenly vision of our Saviour.  Little by little, let us leave behind us affections for the low things of earth and aspire to the happiness that has been prepared for us.

 

I beg you, my dear sister, to pray earnest to Our Lord for me, that from now on He will keep me in the pathways of His will so that I may serve Him sincerely and faithfully.  You see, dearest daughter, I want either to die or to love God – death or love – because a life devoid of this love would be absolutely worse than death.  My dear sister, how happy we shall be if we love this divine Goodness that has prepared such favours and blessings for us!  Let us all belong to God, my daughter, in the midst of so much busyness brought on by the diversity of worldly things.  Where could we give better witness to our fidelity than in the midst of things going wrong?  Ah, dearest daughter, my sister, solitude has its assaults, the world its busyness; in either place we must be courageous, since in either place divine help is available to those who trust in God and who humbly and gently beg for His fatherly assistance.

 

I’m sure you are advancing always along the way of your good resolutions.  Don’t be upset by these little attacks of anxiety and sadness that are brought on by the multiplicity of your household cares.  No, my dear daughter, for this give you the opportunity of practising the dearest and best virtues that Our Lord recommended to us (cf. Mt. 11:29)[2].  Take my word for it, true virtue is not produced by outward repose, any more than healthy fish are raised in the stagnant waters of swamps.

 

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[1] Oeuvres, XIV, 338-339: Letter DCXIV.  The date of this letter is inferred from the content; the sixth of August is the feast of the Transfiguration.  The year is less certain, though it could not have been earlier than 1610.

[2] Francis’s favourite scripture passage, the source of his love for gentleness and humility.

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