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Mary

 

Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Our Lady

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Annunciation

Sermon for a religious Profession on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1621, concerning Our Lady as the spouse described in the Song of Songs, God as the only true satisfaction for the heart of man, perfect dedication to God, the intimacy with God enjoyed by religious, Mary as the perfect religious, the excellence of Our Lady's virginity, virginity and humility, charity and humility, Our Lady's drawing of young girls to the life of virginity, the difference between the religious life as practiced by men and by women, and Our Lady as exemplar of religious.

 

Assumption

Sermon for the Feast of the Assumption, August 15,1602,concerning Our Lady's life on earth after Our Lord's Ascension, Our Lady's death, … 

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1618, concerning Our Lady's fulfillment of the roles of both Martha and Mary, Our Lady's glorious death and reception into Heaven…

 

Immaculate Conception

Sermon for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1622, concerning feasts, the essence of our Faith, Lucifer's sin, the fall of Adam and Original Sin, the transmission of Original Sin, miracles performed for Jeremiah and St. John the Baptist, the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, and what Our Lady truly desires of us. 

 

Nativity

Sermon during the octave of the Feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin, September 08, 1620, regarding renunciation of the world, the flesh and self-will; Mary as "captainess" of the female sex in the warfare of renunciation, Mary as model of complete renunciation in the religious life, the perfect renunciation practiced by Our Lady from her infancy, and the renunciation practiced by St. Nicholas of Tolentino. 

 

Our Lady of the Snow

Sermon for the Feast of Our Lady of the Snow, August 5, 1617, concerning the origin of this feast, the way to respond to the inspirations of God, imperfect offering of oneself to God, perfect offering of oneself to God by means of the religious life, the way in which snow represents the purity and obedience and fruitfulness of souls in the religious life, and the source of one's happiness in the religious life.

 

Presentation

Sermon for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, November 21, 1617, concerning Our Lady's childhood, the journey of Mary to Jerusalem with St. Anne and St. Joachim for Mary's Presentation, the renewal of religious vows. God's grace and our cooperation, the total gift of self to God in the religious life, Cain and Abel, and the overcoming of self-will. 

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, November 21, 1619, concerning Our Lady's continual obedience to the will of God, her offering of herself to God in the Temple, the giving of one's whole self to God through the religious vows, regular renewal of good purposes and vows, and total obedience to God's word. 

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, November 21, 1620, concerning the significance of the Old Testament laver (water basin) between the two tabernacles: Baptism, penance, evangelical doctrine; the body and the soul, Mary's infancy and childhood, the blessedness of Mary's Divine Motherhood and of having heard the word of God and kept it, religious vocation, partial and total giving of self to God, the two conditions of true obedience, and continual renewal of vows. 

 

Purification

Sermon for the Feast of the Purification, February 2. 1620, concerning the voluntary subjection of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother to the laws of presentation and purification, their practice of humility, various sins of pride, the perfect obedience of Our Lord and His Mother, how we should practice humility and obedience, and the four conditions for praying well, in imitation of the prophet Simeon who held the Divine Infant in his arms.

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Purification, February 2, 1622, concerning the three names of this feast, the Mystery of the Incarnation and the union of the Divine and human natures in Our Lord. Our Lady as the "new Eve," how Satan induced Eve to hate God's commandment, our temptations to hatred of God's commandments (which is the first degree of disobedience).

 

Our Lady's love for God's commandments and for God who gave the commandment, the "heresy" of choosing which commandments we shall obey, and the happiness of "carrying" Our Lord and of being "carried" by Him. 

 

Visitation

Sermon for the Feast of the Visitation, July 2, 1618, concerning Our Lady's motives for visiting St. Elizabeth, Our Lady's charity, her humility and how this humility pleased God, the blessings which came to the house of Zechariah at Mary's visitation, St. Elizabeth's prophecy and Mary's response, and the imitation of Our Lady by the Sisters of the Visitation. 

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Visitation, July 2, 1621, concerning the admirable unions of contraries effected by God, especially the union of charity and humility as practiced by Our Lady at the Annunciation and Visitation, the pride and frivolity of human beings (especially of women), St. Elizabeth's reception of the Holy Spirit at the Visitation and what this teaches us about our reception of the Holy Spirit, our relationship to the angels and saints and what we should ask them for, and the visits of Our Lady to us and in what way we should desire and respond to them.

 

Our Lady’s intercessory role

Sermon for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 17, 1621, … Our Lady's way of ad­dressing her Son regarding the shortage of wine, how we should make the proper intentions in our prayers, the error of praying for the feelings of the virtues rather than for the virtues themselves, the true meaning of Our Lord's seemingly harsh response to His Mother, Our Lady's confidence that He would grant a favorable response, the way in which Our Lord advanced His "hour" in re­sponse to Our Lady's prayer, the Holy Eucharist, and how we should follow Our Lady's advice to do whatever her Son tells us—by faithfully fulfill­ing the duties of today so that He may change the tepid water of our repentance into the wine of divine love. 

 

Our Lady as the Star of the Sea

Sermon for Christmas Eve, December 24, 1613, concerning vigils, the manna in the desert, the mystery of the Incarnation, Our Lady as Star of the Sea and Morning Star and how she produced Our Lord virginally as stars produce light, the three tastes of the manna—flour, honey and oil—and what they represent in the Divine Infant… 

 

St. Francis de Sales and Mary

Studies in Salesian Spirituality: No.7

 

St. Francis de Sales and Mary

Studies in Salesian Spirituality: No.7 [Midathada Mariadas]. Regarding the Marian devotion of our celestial patron, the following observations can be made for our concrete reflection: first of all Francis de Sales was a beloved Son of God and beloved child of Mary.

 

Mary in the life of St. Francis de Sales

Studies in Salesian Spirituality: No.7 [Antony Kolencherry]

 

St. Francis de Sales on Mary

Studies in Salesian Spirituality: No.7 [Edward J. Carney]

 

Mary in the sermons of St. Francis de Sales

Studies in Salesian Spirituality: No.7 [Mathew Kalathungal]

 

St. Francis de Sales and Our Lady of Compassion

Studies in Salesian Spirituality: No.7 [Agnelo Fernandes]

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