Salesian Literature

Letters on:

Loving and Serving God in Your Daily Life

1. Marriage is an exercise in mortification   ::   2. As far as possible, make your devotion attractive  ::   3. Have patience with everyone, including yourself

4. Keep yourself gentle amid household troubles  ::   5. Do what you see can be done with love  ::   6. Parents can demand more than God Himself

7. Avoid making your devotion troublesome  ::   8. Have contempt for contempt  ::   9. Lord, what would You have me to do?  ::   10. Take Jesus as your patron

11. Remain innocent among the hissing of serpents  ::   12. Never speak evil of your neighbour  ::   13. Extravagant recreations may be blameworthy

14. We must not ask of ourselves what we don't have  ::   15. If you get tired of kneeling, sit down  ::   16. You will not lack mortification

17. We must always walk faithfully  ::   18. Illness can make you agreeable to God  ::   19. You are being crowned with His crown of thorns

20. Often the world calls evil what is good  ::   21. Rest in the arms of Providence  ::   22. In confidence, lift up your heart to our Redeemer

23. We must slowly withdraw from the world  ::   24. This dear child was more God's than yours  ::   25. Think of no other place than Paradise or Purgatory

26. How tenderly I loved her!  ::   27. Calm your mind, lift up your heart  ::   28. Miserable beggars receive the greatest mercy

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11. Remain innocent among the hissing of serpents

To a woman, on dealing with improper conversations

 

My dearest daughter,

 

Never thing that geographical distance can ever separate souls whom God has united by the ties of His love.  The children of the world are separated one from another because their hearts are in different places; but the children of God, having their hearts where treasure is (cf. Lk. 12:34), and sharing only one treasure – which is the same God – are consequently always united and joined together.

 

We must thus console our spirits in the necessity that keeps you away from this town, and which will soon force me to set out to return to my charge.  We shall see one another very often again in prayer before our holy crucifix if we keep the promises we have made to one another; and it is there alone that our interviews are profitable.

 

Meanwhile, my dearest daughter, I will commence by telling you that you must fortify your spirit by all possible means against these vain apprehensions that generally agitate and torment you.  And for this purpose regulate, in the first place, your spiritual exercises in such a way that their length may not weary your soul, nor trouble the souls of those with whom God makes you live…

 

In a word, I wish you to be just Philothea, and no more than that: namely, what I describe in the book of the Introduction to the Devout Life[1], which is written for you and for those in a similar state.

 

As to conversations, my dearest daughter, be at peace regarding what is said or done in them: for if they are good, you have something to praise God for, and if they are bad, you have something in which to serve God by turning your heart away from them.  Do not appear either shocked or displeased by bad conversations, since you cannot prevent them, and have not authority enough to hinder the bad words of those who will say them, and who will say worse if you seem to wish to hinder them.  For acting thus you will remain innocent among the hissing of the serpents, and like a sweet strawberry you will receive no venom from the contact of venomous tongues.

 

I cannot understand how you can admit these immoderate sadness into your heart.  Being a child of God, long ago placed in the bosom of His mercy and consecrated to His love, you should comfort yourself, despising all these sad and melancholy suggestions.  The enemy makes them to you, simply with the design of tiring and troubling you.

 

Take great pains to practise well the humble meekness that you owe to your dear husband and to everybody; for it is the virtue of virtues which Our Lord has so much recommended to us.  But if you happen to fail in it, do not distress yourself; simply with all confidence get up again on your feet to walk henceforward in peace and sweetness as before.

 

I send you a little method for uniting yourself to God, in the morning and all through the day.  So much, my dear daughter, I have thought good to tell you for your comfort at present.  It remains that I pray you not to make any ceremony with me, who have neither the leisure nor the will to make any with you.  Write to me when you like, quite freely; for I shall always gladly receive news of your soul, which mine cherishes entirely, as in truth, my dearest daughter, I am

 

Your most humble servant in Our Lord,

Francis

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[1] Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 2, Chapter 10

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