Salesian Literature

2.   A Sense of Proportion

 

Dear Francis de Sales,

 

Thank you for answering my letter; your advice was a great help.  I’ve been trying to begin each day in a peaceful frame of mind, as you suggest.  It does make a great difference; I feel better for it already.  But, although I try hard, I still make a lot of mistakes.  I hope you will continue to help me.

 

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. A. Christine

 

 

Dear Mrs. Christine,

 

I’m delighted to see from your letter that our Lord has given you a little taste of that peace of soul.  With the help of his grace, we must try to preserve it amid the pressure of the many activities demanded by our state in life.

 

I have high hopes for you.  I’ve gained the impression that you have a deeply-rooted resolve to serve God, and it makes me confident that you will be faithful to your spiritual exercises.

 

Don’t be surprised at your many failures; they come from human frailty.  Deeply regret the fact that you have offended God, but cultivate that cheerful humility which is perfectly willing to feel and accept the weakness of human nature.

 

As often as you can throughout the day make sure that you don’t become too deeply engrossed in what you are doing and so lose your sense of proportion; make sure, too, that you have one hand firmly in the grasp of our blessed Lord.

 

If you find that you’re slipping, calm yourself; try to regain your peace of soul.  Imagine that you are quietly working with one hand, while holding on to our Lord with the other, as our blessed Lady must so often have done during his childhood.  How recollected she must have been!

 

When you are at peace inside, increase your efforts to meet things calmly and gently.  In this way you’ll train yourself to become serene and self-possessed.

 

Don’t stop to argue with the little temptations you may meet.  Simply turn to Jesus crucified as though you were about to imprint a loving kiss upon his sacred feet or side.

 

With great goodwill I devote myself to your spiritual service.  For the future your soul will be as dear to me as my own.  May our Lord be ever the Master of our hearts, as I am in him.

 

Your servant,

Francis de Sales

(Source:  Annecy, April-May 1608.  Annecy Edition, XIV, 7- 8)

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