Salesian Literature

Preface   

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It is a joy to welcome the English translation of the Sermons on Our Lady by Saint Francis de Sales. It is especially through his masterpiece, Introduction to the Devout Life, that the Doctor of the Church is known throughout the Christian world. The role of Our Lady as the Mother of God is not sufficiently appreciated. The publication of these thirteen Marian sermons will help all to see that Mary is an essential element of his spirituality.

 

It is especially as "model" of the devout life that Our Lady is depicted by Saint Francis de Sales. With his typical gentleness and contemplative spirit, the saint stresses several times in these sermons the basic beatitude of Our Lady: She hears the Word of God and keeps it. He exhorts us to do the same. To be more precise, it is Mary, the meek and humble Virgin, always obedient to the Word, whom this master of spirituality describes for our imitation. Because the Mother of God is the exemplar of the Christian life, the majority of these "Marian" sermons deal more with the Christian virtues than with Mary herself. His purpose, then, is not to compose a scholarly Mariological treatise. Rather, in his evangelically childlike manner, he preaches on the basic qualities of our life in Christ — especially humility — which so beautifully radiate through Mary. Although these sermons are for the most part directed to his Visitation Nuns, for whom Mary is the "Mother," the "Abbess," they are profitable for all Christians.

 

If one were to examine these sermons according to the criteria stipulated by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI, in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (On the Right Ordering of Devotion to Mary), their beauty becomes clearer. For although the sermons antedate the Apostolic Exhortation by approximately three and a half centuries, these works fulfill the requirements of Paul VI for solid devotion to the Mother of God.

 

The first two guidelines given to us by Marialis Cultus can be summarized by declaring that the ultimate source of all devotion to Mary must be Scripture as lived, prayed and taught by Holy Mother Church. Nothing characterizes these sermons more than their scriptural and liturgical foundations. Fidelity to the Word of God as preached by the Catholic Church is the very spirit of this Bishop of Geneva who tended his flock during the upheavals of the post-reformation era. He therefore constantly quotes Scripture, betraying his predilection for a mystical interpretation of the Song of Songs. The teachings of the Church are his constant guide.

 

Saint Francis de Sales' allegorical, mystical use of Scripture — typical of many of the Fathers of the Church — seems foreign to contemporary scientific studies. Also, the teachings of the Church concerning Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, have been further developed and clarified during the centuries since these sermons were delivered. However, one is not to search for modern scriptural interpretations or a contemporary Mariology in these conferences which date from the early part of the seventeenth century. It is their solid, contemplative insight into Mary as model of Christian life which has lasting value.

 

The second pair of guidelines given to us by Paul VI is especially important in understanding the thought of Saint Francis de Sales. Marialis Cultus calls for a Mariology which is ecumenical and anthropological; ecumenical in the sense that the truth must be proclaimed in a way that will attract, and not unnecessarily offend, our separated brethren: anthropological in the sense that the preaching must be in accord with the culture and needs of the people addressed — always, however, remaining within the ambit of the Catholic Faith.

 

Some may deny that these Marian sermons are ecumenical. There are expressions (e.g., the divine Mary), opinions (e.g., endowed with the use of reason from the first moment of her conception, Mary is from the beginning of her existence a true contemplative), which some contemporary scholars would classify as offensive to many non-Catholics and Catholics alike. However, it must never be forgotten when reading these sermons that this mild-mannered seventeenth-century Bishop of Geneva is boldly preaching in the language of his age, expressing the opinions of his time. How could it be otherwise? Saints too are children of their times.

 

Moreover, Saint Francis de Sales attracted untold numbers to "the Church by observing the primary rule of ecumenical dialogue: Never dilute the truths of the Faith in order to achieve a facade of unity. Although he espouses opinions of his time which some today would term "extravagant," he does differentiate between what is necessary for the profession of the Catholic faith and what is not, These sermons are intended not for a theological convocation nor for an ecumenical gathering, but primarily for the contemplative Order he founded with Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, the Visitation Nuns.

 

These sermons admirably fulfill, therefore, the criterion of "anthropological": Their expressions and style mesh with the culture of the times, they speak to the mindset of the audience, they address the needs of his people, primarily his Visitation Nuns. To expect to find in these works the concise style of contemporary preaching, the insights of modern theological studies, is not only unrealistic but does no honor to this Bishop of Geneva who had the difficult task of proclaiming the Gospel amidst the turmoil of the early 1600's. That the sermons of this Doctor of the Church spoke powerfully to the hearts of his people is beyond doubt, since so many lapsed Catholics returned to the faith because of his preaching.

 

What proves the importance of these sermons is the fact that they are, as Marialis Cultus demands of all Marian devotion, centered on Christ, the Incarnate Second Person, of the Trinity, the Head of His Body, the Church. These works of Saint Francis de Sales are distinctly Christocentric. Mary, explains this Doctor of the Church, receives all her gifts from the Father through the Son so that she may praise God and be a living example of total surrender to Christ Jesus. Mary is never taken out of this necessary Christological context. She is the model who leads all of us to a deeper life in Christ. Nothing demonstrates this thought of Francis de Sales better than the final words of his sermon on the Immaculate Conception: "... if you ask her: 'Mother, what do you wish us to do for you?' no doubt she will answer that she desires and wishes that you do what she asked to be done at the celebrated marriage feast of Cana in Galilee when the wine gave out. She said to those who came to tell her of their need: Do whatever my Son tells you. If then you listen faithfully, you will hear in your heart those very words addressed to you: Do whatever my Son tells you. May God give us the grace to listen to her in this life and in the other. Amen."

 

Surely a debt of gratitude is owed to the Visitation Nuns for making these Marian sermons available to the English-speaking world. The quiet contemplative soul will readily experience their beauty. All readers will be led by their peaceful pace and depth of personal insight to a more intense union with the Lord.

 

John Joseph Cardinal Carberry

Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Louis

May 31, 1985

Feast of the Visitation

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