ICONOGRAPHIE CHRÉTIENNE

SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110302_fr.html

BENOÎT XVI

AUDIENCE GÉNÉRALE

Salle Paul VI

Mercredi 2 mars 2011

Saint François de Sales

Chers frères et sœurs,

«Dieu est le Dieu du cœur humain» (Traité de l’Amour de Dieu, I, XV): dans ces paroles apparemment simples, nous percevons l’empreinte de la spiritualité d’un grand maître, dont je voudrais vous parler aujourd’hui, saint François de Sale, évêque et docteur de l’Eglise. Né en 1567 dans une région frontalière de France, il était le fils du Seigneur de Boisy, antique et noble famille de Savoie. Ayant vécu à cheval entre deux siècles, le XVIe et le XVIIe, il rassemblait en lui le meilleur des enseignements et des conquêtes culturelles du siècle qui s’achevait, réconciliant l’héritage de l’humanisme et la tension vers l’absolu propre aux courants mystiques. Sa formation fut très complète; à Paris, il suivit ses études supérieures, se consacrant également à la théologie, et à l’Université de Padoue celles de droit, suivant le désir de son père, qu’il conclut brillamment par une maîtrise in utroque iure, droit canonique et droit civil. Dans sa jeunesse équilibrée, réfléchissant sur la pensée de saint Augustin et de saint Thomas d’Aquin, il traversa une crise profonde qui le conduisit à s’interroger sur son salut éternel et sur la prédestination de Dieu à son égard, vivant avec souffrance comme un véritable drame spirituel les questions théologiques de son époque. Il priait intensément, mais le doute le tourmenta si fort que pendant plusieurs semaines, il ne réussit presque plus à manger et à dormir. Au comble de l’épreuve, il se rendit dans l’église des dominicains à Paris, ouvrit son cœur et pria ainsi: «Quoi qu’il advienne, Seigneur, toi qui détiens tout entre tes mains, et dont les voies sont justice et vérité; quoi que tu aies établi à mon égard...; toi qui es toujours un juge équitable et un Père miséricordieux, je t’aimerai Seigneur (...) je j’aimerai ici, ô mon Dieu, et j’espérerai toujours en ta miséricorde, et je répéterai toujours tes louanges... O Seigneur Jésus, tu seras toujours mon espérance et mon salut dans la terre des vivants» (I Proc. Canon., vol. I, art. 4). François, âgé de vingt ans, trouva la paix dans la réalité radicale et libératrice de l’amour de Dieu: l’aimer sans rien attendre en retour et placer sa confiance dans l’amour divin; ne plus demander ce que Dieu fera de moi: moi je l’aime simplement, indépendamment de ce qu’il me donne ou pas. Ainsi, il trouva la paix, et la question de la prédestination — sur laquelle on débattait à cette époque — s’en trouva résolue, car il ne cherchait pas plus que ce qu’il pouvait avoir de Dieu; il l’aimait simplement, il s’abandonnait à sa bonté. Et cela sera le secret de sa vie, qui transparaîtra dans son œuvre principale: le Traité de l’amour de Dieu.

En vainquant les résistances de son père, François suivit l’appel du Seigneur et, le 18 décembre 1593, fut ordonné prêtre. En 1602, il devint évêque de Genève, à une époque où la ville était un bastion du calvinisme, au point que le siège épiscopal se trouvait «en exil» à Annecy. Pasteur d’un diocèse pauvre et tourmenté, dans un paysage de montagne dont il connaissait aussi bien la dureté que la beauté, il écrivit: «[Dieu] je l’ai rencontré dans toute sa douceur et sa délicatesse dans nos plus hautes et rudes montagnes, où de nombreuses âmes simples l’aimaient et l’adoraient en toute vérité et sincérité; et les chevreuils et les chamois sautillaient ici et là entre les glaciers terrifiants pour chanter ses louanges» (Lettre à la Mère de Chantal, octobre 1606, in Œuvres, éd. Mackey, t. XIII, p. 223). Et toutefois, l’influence de sa vie et de son enseignement sur l’Europe de l’époque et des siècles successifs apparaît immense. C’est un apôtre, un prédicateur, un homme d’action et de prière; engagé dans la réalisation des idéaux du Concile de Trente; participant à la controverse et au dialogue avec les protestants, faisant toujours plus l’expérience, au-delà de la confrontation théologique nécessaire, de l’importance de la relation personnelle et de la charité; chargé de missions diplomatiques au niveau européen, et de fonctions sociales de médiation et de réconciliation. Mais saint François de Sales est surtout un guide des âmes: de sa rencontre avec une jeune femme, madame de Charmoisy, il tirera l’inspiration pour écrire l’un des livres les plus lus à l’époque moderne, l’Introduction à la vie dévote; de sa profonde communion spirituelle avec une personnalité d’exception, sainte Jeanne Françoise de Chantal, naîtra une nouvelle famille religieuse, l’Ordre de la Visitation, caractérisé — comme le voulut le saint — par une consécration totale à Dieu vécue dans la simplicité et l’humilité, en accomplissant extraordinairement bien les choses ordinaires: «... Je veux que mes Filles — écrit-il — n’aient pas d’autre idéal que celui de glorifier [Notre Seigneur] par leur humilité» (Lettre à Mgr de Marquemond, juin 1615). Il meurt en 1622, à cinquante-cinq ans, après une existence marquée par la dureté des temps et par le labeur apostolique.

La vie de saint François de Sales a été une vie relativement brève, mais vécue avec une grande intensité. De la figure de ce saint émane une impression de rare plénitude, démontrée dans la sérénité de sa recherche intellectuelle, mais également dans la richesse de ses sentiments, dans la «douceur» de ses enseignements qui ont eu une grande influence sur la conscience chrétienne. De la parole «humanité», il a incarné les diverses acceptions que, aujourd’hui comme hier, ce terme peut prendre: culture et courtoisie, liberté et tendresse, noblesse et solidarité. Il avait dans son aspect quelque chose de la majesté du paysage dans lequel il a vécu, conservant également sa simplicité et son naturel. Les antiques paroles et les images avec lesquelles il s’exprimait résonnent de manière inattendue, également à l’oreille de l’homme d’aujourd’hui, comme une langue natale et familière.

François de Sales adresse à Philotée, le destinataire imaginaire de son Introduction à la vie dévote (1607) une invitation qui, à l’époque, dut sembler révolutionnaire. Il s’agit de l’invitation à appartenir complètement à Dieu, en vivant en plénitude la présence dans le monde et les devoirs de son propre état. «Mon intention est d'instruire ceux qui vivent en villes, en ménages, en la cour [...]» (Préface de l’Introduction à la vie dévote). Le document par lequel le Pape Pie ix, plus de deux siècles après, le proclamera docteur de l’Eglise insistera sur cet élargissement de l’appel à la perfection, à la sainteté. Il y est écrit: «[la véritable piété] a pénétré jusqu’au trône des rois, dans la tente des chefs des armées, dans le prétoire des juges, dans les bureaux, dans les boutiques et même dans les cabanes de pasteurs [...]» (Bref Dives in misericordia, 16 novembre 1877). C’est ainsi que naissait cet appel aux laïcs, ce soin pour la consécration des choses temporelles et pour la sanctification du quotidien sur lesquels insisteront le Concile Vatican ii et la spiritualité de notre temps. L’idéal d’une humanité réconciliée se manifestait, dans l’harmonie entre action dans le monde et prière, entre condition séculière et recherche de perfection, avec l’aide de la grâce de Dieu qui imprègne l’homme et, sans le détruire, le purifie, en l’élevant aux hauteurs divines. Saint François de Sales offre une leçon plus complexe à Théotime, le chrétien adulte, spirituellement mûr, auquel il adresse quelques années plus tard son Traité de l’amour de Dieu (1616). Cette leçon suppose, au début, une vision précise de l’être humain, une anthropologie: la «raison» de l’homme, ou plutôt l’«âme raisonnable», y est vue comme une architecture harmonieuse, un temple, articulé en plusieurs espaces, autour d’un centre, qu’il appelle, avec les grands mystiques, «cime», «pointe» de l’esprit, ou «fond» de l’âme. C’est le point où la raison, une fois parcourus tous ses degrés, «ferme les yeux» et la connaissance ne fait plus qu’un avec l’amour (cf. livre I, chap. XII). Que l’amour, dans sa dimension théologale, divine, soit la raison d’être de toutes les choses, selon une échelle ascendante qui ne semble pas connaître de fractures et d’abîmes. Saint François de Sales l’a résumé dans une phrase célèbre: «L’homme est la perfection de l’univers; l’esprit est la perfection de l’homme; l’amour, celle de l’esprit; et la charité, celle de l’amour» (ibid., livre X, chap. I).

Dans une saison d'intense floraison mystique, le Traité de l'amour de Dieu est une véritable somme, en même temps qu'une fascinante œuvre littéraire. Sa description de l'itinéraire vers Dieu part de la reconnaissance de l'«inclination naturelle» (ibid., livre I, chap. XVI), inscrite dans le cœur de l'homme bien qu'il soit pécheur, à aimer Dieu par dessus toute chose. Selon le modèle de la Sainte Ecriture, saint François de Sales parle de l'union entre Dieu et l'homme en développant toute une série d'images de relation interpersonnelle. Son Dieu est père et seigneur, époux et ami, il a des caractéristiques maternelles et d’une nourrice, il est le soleil dont même la nuit est une mystérieuse révélation. Un tel Dieu attire l'homme à lui avec les liens de l'amour, c'est-à-dire de la vraie liberté: «Car l’amour n’a point de forçats ni d’esclaves, [mais] réduit toutes choses à son obéissance avec une force si délicieuse, que comme rien n’est si fort que l’amour, aussi rien n’est si aimable que sa force» (ibid., livre I, chap. VI). Nous trouvons dans le traité de notre saint une méditation profonde sur la volonté humaine et la description de son flux, son passage, sa mort, pour vivre (cf. ibid., livre IX, chap. XIII) dans l’abandon total non seulement à la volonté de Dieu, mais à ce qui Lui plaît, à son «bon plaisir» (cf. ibid., livre IX, chap. I). Au sommet de l'union avec Dieu, outre les ravissements de l'extase contemplative, se place ce reflux de charité concrète, qui se fait attentive à tous les besoins des autres et qu'il appelle «l’extase de l’œuvre et de la vie» (ibid., livre VII, chap. VI).

On perçoit bien, en lisant le livre sur l'amour de Dieu et plus encore les si nombreuses lettres de direction et d'amitié spirituelle, quel connaisseur du cœur humain a été saint François de Sales. A sainte Jeanne de Chantal, à qui il écrit: «[…] car voici la règle générale de notre obéissance écrite en grosses lettres: il faut tout faire par amour, et rien par force; il faut plus aimer l'obéissance que craindre la désobéissance. Je vous laisse l'esprit de liberté, non pas celui qui forclos [exclut] l'obéissance, car c'est la liberté de la chair; mais celui qui forclos la contrainte et le scrupule, ou empressement» (Lettre du 14 octobre 1604). Ce n'est pas par hasard qu'à l'origine de nombreux parcours de la pédagogie et de la spiritualité de notre époque nous retrouvons la trace de ce maître, sans lequel n'auraient pas existé saint Jean Bosco ni l'héroïque «petite voie» de sainte Thérèse de Lisieux.

Chers frères et sœurs, à une époque comme la nôtre qui recherche la liberté, parfois par la violence et l'inquiétude, ne doit pas échapper l'actualité de ce grand maître de spiritualité et de paix, qui remet à ses disciples l'«esprit de liberté», la vraie, au sommet d'un enseignement fascinant et complet sur la réalité de l'amour. Saint François de Sales est un témoin exemplaire de l'humanisme chrétien avec son style familier, avec des paraboles qui volent parfois sur les ailes de la poésie, il rappelle que l'homme porte inscrite en lui la nostalgie de Dieu et que ce n'est qu'en Lui que se trouve la vraie joie et sa réalisation la plus totale.

* * *

Je salue cordialement les pèlerins de langue française! À l’école de saint François de Sales, puissiez-vous apprendre que la vraie liberté inclut l’obéissance et culmine dans la réalité de l’amour. N’ayez pas peur d’aimer Dieu par-dessus tout! Vous trouverez en Lui seul la vraie joie et la pleine réalisation de votre vie! Avec ma bénédiction!

Saint François de Sales

Évêque et Docteur de l'Église

(1567-1622)

Saint François de Sales naquit au château de Sales, en Savoie, de parents plus recommandables encore par leur piété que par la noblesse de leur sang. Nommer ce saint, c'est personnifier la vertu de douceur; il fut le saint aimable par excellence et, sous ce rapport particulièrement, le parfait imitateur de Celui qui a dit: "Apprenez de Moi que Je suis doux et humble de coeur." Ce sera là toujours le cachet et la gloire de François de Sales.

Toutes les vertus, du reste, lui étaient chères, et sa vie, depuis son enfance, nous en montre le développement progressif, constant et complet. Jeune enfant, au collège, il était le modèle de ses condisciples, et dès qu'ils le voyaient arriver, ils disaient: "Soyons sages, voilà le saint!"

Jeune homme, il mena la vie des anges. Prêtre, il se montra digne émule des plus grands apôtres, par ses travaux et par les innombrables conversions qu'il opéra parmi les protestants. Évêque, il fut le rempart de la foi, le père de son peuple, le docteur de la piété chrétienne, un Pontife incomparable.

Revenons à sa douceur; elle était si étonnante que saint Vincent de Paul pouvait dire: "Que Dieu doit être bon, puisque l'évêque de Genève, Son ministre est si bon!" Un jour ses familiers s'indignaient des injures qu'un misérable lui adressait, et se plaignaient de le voir garder le silence: "Eh quoi! dit-il, voulez-vous que je perde en un instant le peu de douceur que j'ai pu acquérir par vingt ans d'efforts?"

"On disait communément, écrit sainte Jeanne de Chantal, qu'il n'y avait pas de meilleur moyen de gagner sa faveur que de lui faire du mal, et que c'était la seule vengeance qu'il sût exercer." -- "Il avait un coeur tout à fait innocent, dit la même sainte; jamais il ne fit aucun acte par malice ou amertume de coeur. Jamais on n'a vu un coeur si doux, si humble, si débonnaire, si gracieux et si affable qu'était le sien."

Citons quelques paroles de François lui-même: "Soyez, disait-il, le plus doux que vous pourrez, et souvenez-vous que l'on prend plus de mouches avec une cuillerée de miel qu'avec cent barils de vinaigre. S'il faut donner en quelque excès, que ce soit du côté de la douceur." -- "Je le veux tant aimer, ce cher prochain, je le veux tant aimer! Il a plu à Dieu de faire ainsi mon coeur! Oh! Quand est-ce que nous serons tout détrempés en douceur et en charité!"

Saint François de Sales mourut à Lyon, le jour des saints Innocents.

Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950

SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_francois_de_sales.html

Francisco Ignacio Ruiz de la Iglesia (1649–1704). San Francisco de Sales (1567-1622), doctor de la Iglesia, Ca. 1691-1700, 138 x 105, Museo Nacional de San Gregorio (National Museum of Sculpture ; National Sculpture Museum), Valladolid,

Saint François de Sales

Évêque d’un diocèse savoyard, la sainteté de François de Sales fit de lui un modèle de l’épiscopat, et la vénération générale l’entoura. Les nécessités de l’apostolat et de la direction le déterminèrent non seulement à fonder l’ordre de la Visitation, mais surtout à devenir l’un des premiers grands auteurs spirituels de langue française. De plus, il manifeste des dons littéraires remarquables. À tous ces titres, Saint François de Sales demeure l’une des hautes figures du catholicisme européen de la période moderne.

Né de François de Boisy et de Françoise de Sionnaz, François reçut à sa naissance le nom de Sales, du lieu de sa naissance, le château de Sales près de Thorens: il appartenait à la bonne noblesse savoyarde. L’aîné de neuf frères et sœurs, il eut comme premier précepteur le chapelain du château, Jean Déage, qu’il garda auprès de lui jusqu’à la mort de celui-ci en 1610. Élève au collège de La Roche en 1574, puis à celui d’Annecy en 1576, il vint en 1582 terminer ses études à Paris, chez les jésuites du Collège de Clermont. C’est là qu’à la fin de 1586 il traversa une terrible tentation de désespoir, due à l’incertitude au sujet de sa prédestination; il en sortit par un acte de total abandon à Dieu qu’il fit devant Notre Dame de Bonne Délivrance à Paris.

Après qu’il eut achevé sa philosophie, son père l’envoya, durant l’été 1588, à Padoue où il étudia le droit et commença en outre, par goût personnel, des études de théologie. Il était dès lors attiré par le sacerdoce et, à son retour en Savoie, au printemps 1592, il obtint de son père l’autorisation d’entrer dans les ordres. Nommé prévôt de l’église Saint-Pierre de Genève, prébende qui fait de lui le deuxième personnage du diocèse, il reçoit la prêtrise le 18 décembre 1593. L’évêque de Genève résidant à Annecy, Claude de Granier, l’entoure d’amitié et d’estime, et lui confie d’abord une difficile mission de conversion des protestants dans la région de Chablais. Pendant quatre ans, François s’adonne à la controverse, et même rencontre trois fois à Genève le fameux Théodore de Bèze. Il obtient quelques succès, mais comprend progressivement combien il importe de placer le combat sur un terrain plus intérieur, et il commence à se vouer avec passion à la direction de quelques âmes choisies. En octobre 1597, il devient le coadjuteur de son évêque. Celui-ci lui confie diverses missions délicates, d’abord à Rome, où Clément VIII le nomme coadjuteur de Genève (mars 1599), puis en janvier 1602, à Paris, auprès d’Henri IV. Il y fréquente le milieu dévot groupé autour de Mme Acarie et de Bérulle, et déjà il jouit d’un grand crédit. Au cours de son voyage de retour, en septembre 1602, il apprend la mort de Claude de Granier et il est sacré à son tour évêque de Genève, le 8 décembre, dans l’église où il avait été baptisé, à Thorens.

Il s’absorbe dès lors tout entier dans sa charge pastorale, parcourant inlassablement son vaste diocèse, visitant les paroisses, donnant la confirmation, prêchant et confessant, se préoccupant de la réforme des maisons religieuses. Son zèle et son dévouement font l’admiration de toute la France où on le considère bientôt comme le modèle de la sainteté épiscopale. La direction des âmes demeure au premier plan de ses activités et l’oblige à tenir une abondante correspondance spirituelle. En outre, il accepte volontiers de donner des prédications en d’autres diocèses. Au cours d’un carême prêché à Dijon en 1604, il fait la connaissance d’une jeune veuve, sœur de l’évêque du lieu, Jeanne de Chantal. Il ne tarde pas à reconnaître en elle une âme exceptionnelle, et elle devient sa fille spirituelle d’élection, liée à lui par une affection intime et profonde. C’est grâce à Mme de Chantal qu’il peut réaliser, en juin 1610, l’un de ses vœux les plus ardents en fondant, à Annecy, la Visitation dont elle est la première supérieure: cet ordre féminin contemplatif est conçu pour accueillir même les personnes âgées ou de santé fragile auxquelles les autres ordres sont interdits. Par la suite, le gouvernement et la direction des visitandines deviennent l’une de ses charges les plus chères. La réputation de François de Sales, en lui attirant la confiance de Charles-Emmanuel, duc de Savoie, l’obligea à assumer diverses missions diplomatiques. L’une d’elles lui procura, en 1618, l’occasion d’un troisième séjour à Paris, au cours duquel il se lia avec Richelieu et Vincent de Paul et devint le directeur de la mère Angélique Arnauld, abbesse de Port-Royal. Sentant sa santé décliner, il prit, en 1620, comme coadjuteur, son frère Jean-François qu’il forma pour être son successeur. Au retour d’un voyage à Avignon avec le duc de Savoie, il mourut à la Visitation de Lyon, le 28 décembre 1622. Béatifié en 1662 et canonisé en 1665, Saint François de Sales fut déclaré docteur de l’Église en 1877.

Spiritualité

Saint François de Sales n’a jamais cherché à faire une carrière d’écrivain. Écrits dans les rares instants de loisir que lui laissait une existence surchargée d’occupations, ses ouvrages ont un caractère occasionnel. Il n’en a pas moins produit une œuvre relativement considérable. Ses premiers livres sont consacrés à la controverse avec les protestants. Dès le temps des missions du Chablais, il avait fait imprimer des tracts destinés à être distribués aux protestants, mais c’est longtemps après sa mort qu’ils furent réunis en un volume intitulé Controverses (1672); en revanche, pour défendre contre les pasteurs calvinistes le culte de la Croix, il avait publié lui-même la Défense de l’étendard de la sainte Croix (Lyon, 1600). En mars 1608, le Père Jean Fourier, jésuite de Chambéry, ayant eu connaissance des lettres écrites par Saint François à sa cousine Mme de Charmoisy, le pressa d’en tirer un traité spirituel. L’évêque y consentit et en fit l’Introduction à la vie dévote , qui parut à Lyon en décembre 1608, et dont il donna la version définitive en 1619. À cette date, d’innombrables éditions et traductions avaient attesté l’extraordinaire succès de l’ouvrage. Les expériences mystiques de Mme de Chantal, et aussi les siennes, l’avaient amené, dès 1607, à songer à écrire un Traité de l’amour de Dieu, mais il ne put y travailler que très lentement et reprit plusieurs fois sa rédaction, si bien que l’œuvre parut seulement en juillet 1616, à Lyon. D’autres ouvrages furent publiés à titre posthume, dont spécialement les Épîtres (1626) et les Entretiens (1629). Dès 1637, Jeanne de Chantal fit donner une édition des Œuvres complètes reprise et augmentée en 1641. Une excellente édition critique a été faite de 1892 à 1964 par les visitandines d’Annecy. On y trouve en particulier tout ce qui reste de l’abondante correspondance du saint, soit 2100 lettres ou fragments.

La dévotion dans la vie quotidienne

Les préoccupations de Saint François de Sales sont au départ surtout pratiques et ascétiques et elles visent l’ensemble des chrétiens. Il cherche à conduire le fidèle à un engagement total de sa personne dans la vie religieuse qui constitue à ses yeux la "dévotion". Cet engagement s’impose à tous comme une exigence générale, quelle que soit la situation où l’on se trouve placé; mais, en même temps, il ouvre à chacun la voie de la sainteté qui n’est plus désormais l’apanage de ceux qui se sont retirés du monde: de cette manière. Pour y parvenir, il propose à ses lecteurs, dans l’Introduction , un certain nombre d’attitudes concrètes, extérieures et intérieures, qui rendent la perfection à la fois accessible et compatible avec les exigences de la vie ordinaire. Il le fait avec une souplesse, une pénétration et un sens de l’humain dont ses contemporains ont été tellement frappés qu’ils lui ont reproché parfois de sacrifier l’austérité du christianisme; reproche injuste, car, dans les faits, le saint se montrait souvent très sévère, comme en ont témoigné tous ses dirigés. Mais il est sans cesse préoccupé de s’en tenir aux limites des possibilités de l’être humain, d’où la grande importance, dans ses œuvres comme dans sa correspondance, accordée à l’analyse intérieure réelle et concrète: à ce titre, il a fortement contribué à accréditer le psychologisme dans les cadres de la spiritualité chrétienne, et à inaugurer un type de direction qui met au premier plan l’adaptation au cas individuel. Servi par des qualités littéraires peu communes, il a, dans l’Introduction, donné à la littérature spirituelle d’inoubliables pages, par exemple sur la prière, les obligations familiales, la vie conjugale, où la solidité du fond se joint à la beauté et à la poésie de la forme, créant ainsi une spiritualité de la vie quotidienne et du devoir d’état qui est demeurée une constante de la pensée chrétienne.

Écrite pour un très vaste public, l’Introduction s’en tient aux formes habituelles de la vie intérieure et aux problèmes immédiatement pratiques. Pourtant, dès cette date, à travers les expériences mystiques de Mme de Chantal, et aussi à cause de sa propre évolution spirituelle, le saint découvrait des horizons plus vastes, et cet enrichissement se manifeste dans le Traité de l’amour de Dieu. Avec beaucoup de ses contemporains, Saint François de Sales considère la volonté comme la faculté essentielle de l’esprit humain, celle dans laquelle, pour ainsi dire, l’homme se résume. Tout le problème est donc, selon lui, de parvenir à la parfaite conformité de la volonté humaine à la volonté divine. D’autre part, sa formation humaniste se retrouve dans la vision délibérément optimiste qu’il veut garder de la nature humaine, que la chute n’a point entièrement viciée et pervertie. Même déchue, la créature garde encore une orientation spirituelle qui fait de Dieu le terme même de sa faculté de connaître et d’aimer, de telle sorte que Dieu est d’abord Dieu du cœur humain, que les affections se tournent spontanément vers lui, et que, malgré la faute originelle, l’homme a gardé la sainte inclination de l’aimer par-dessus toutes choses. Cependant, Saint François évite le reproche de pélagianisme en insistant sur le fait que le péché interdit désormais tout exercice naturel de cette inclination et qu’il faut nécessairement que la grâce intervienne. On doit reconnaître que, sur ce point, il se sépare du pessimisme augustinien, alors que par ailleurs sa pensée doit beaucoup à l’évêque d’Hippone.

Les voies de la contemplation

Fidèle au schéma volontariste commun à son époque, Saint François de Sales identifie amour et volonté. En situant la perfection de la vie spirituelle dans le plein développement de la charité, il est conduit à conclure que l’âme aime Dieu parfaitement lorsqu’elle a renoncé à toute volonté propre et qu’elle ne veut rien d’autre que ce que Dieu veut, et c’est là ce qu’elle doit atteindre. D’autre part, Dieu intervient pour la purifier passivement par les épreuves et les sécheresses. Ainsi, l’âme est conduite à un état que François désigne par le terme de "sainte indifférence", et qui correspond à la renonciation à tout désir. Cette "indifférence" doit s’étendre non seulement aux circonstances de la vie extérieure, mais aussi au développement de la vie intérieure, voire au salut qui ne doit pas être désiré pour lui-même.

À ce stade, ses vues sur la prière s’intériorisent. Dans l’Introduction, il s’en tenait à la prière vocale et à la méditation discursive. Dans le Traité, il ouvre à son disciple les voies de la contemplation, d’une contemplation éminemment affective, tout imprégnée de charité, et qui transcende le niveau notionnel et discursif. Sur ce point, le saint a été certainement influencé par les mystiques rhéno-flamands auxquels, tout en déplorant leur obscurité, il a emprunté quelques idées. Comme eux, il pense que la structure de l’âme est organisée autour d’un point central qu’il nomme "suprême pointe", lequel est le lieu de résidence des vertus théologales et le domaine privilégié de l’action divine. La "suprême pointe", qui se situe bien au-dessus de l’intelligence, a donc son exercice dans une contemplation amoureuse qui transcende toute conceptualisation, et qui, en même temps, amène l’âme au repos en Dieu et au parfait abandon.

La synthèse salésienne n’en a pas moins eu une influence décisive et permanente sur la spiritualité chrétienne. N’ayant pas fondé de congrégation masculine qui eût continué le développement de sa pensée, on ne saurait dire que François de Sales soit à l’origine d’un courant particulier; il n’existe pas, à proprement parler, d’école salésienne de spiritualité, comparable, par exemple, aux écoles bérullienne ou ignacienne. Mais, en fait, tous les auteurs religieux postérieurs ont subi, et en général profondément, son action, et tous ont été unanimes à le recommander comme un maître: à ce titre, il a réellement modelé la piété catholique à partir du premier tiers du XVIIe siècle.

SOURCE : http://www.icrsp.org/Saints-Patrons/Saint-Francois-de-Sales/ST-FR-DE-SALES.htm

L’esprit de joie

Réveillez souventes fois en vous l’esprit de joie et de suavité, et croyez fermement que c’est le vrai esprit de dévotion ; et si parfois vous vous sentez attaquée du contraire esprit de tristesse et d’amertume, élancez à vive force votre cœur en Dieu et le lui recommandez ; puis tout soudainement, divertissez-vous à des exercices contraires, comme de vous mettre à quelque conversation sainte, mais de celles qui vous peuvent réjouir. Sortez à vous promener, lisez quelque livre de ceux que vous goûterez le plus, et comme le dit le saint Apôtre, chantez quelque chanson dévote. Et ceci, vous le devez faire souvent, car, outre que cela recrée, Dieu en est servi. Que si vous usez de ces moyens, vous rompez petit à petit le chemin à toute amertume et mélancolie spirituelles.

St François de Sales

Grand prédicateur, François de Sales († 1622) accéda au siège d’évêque de Genève et fonda l’ordre religieux de la Visitation. Il exerça une influence marquante au sein de l’Église mais également envers les détenteurs du pouvoir temporel. / À Madame de Rié, cité dans Henri Chaumont, Discernement et animation spirituelle, Paris, Société des Prêtres de Saint-François-de-Sales, 1970, p. 87.

SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/daily-prayer/jeudi-6-mai/meditation-de-ce-jour-1/

SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/daily-prayer/mercredi-24-novembre/meditation-de-ce-jour-1/

Achever ce qui est commencé

Souvent l’ennemi tâche de nous faire entreprendre et commencer plusieurs desseins, afin, qu’accablés de trop de besogne, nous n’achevions rien et laissions tout imparfait. Quelquefois mêmement, il nous suggère la volonté d’entreprendre, de commencer quelque excellente besogne, laquelle il prévoit que nous n’accomplirons pas, pour nous détourner d’en poursuivre une moins excellente que nous eussions aisément achevée ; car il ne se soucie point qu’on fasse force desseins et commencements, pourvu qu’on n’achève rien. Mieux vaut la possession d’un petit trésor trouvé que la prétention d’un plus grand qu’il faut aller chercher. Ainsi donc, qu’un chacun ayant trouvé la très sainte volonté de Dieu, en sa vocation demeure saintement et amoureusement en celle-ci, y pratiquant les exercices convenables selon l’ordre de la discrétion, et avec le zèle de la perfection.

St François de Sales

Évêque de Genève, exilé à Annecy, François de Sales († 1622) est le fondateur, avec sainte Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, de l’ordre de la Visitation. Auteur de nombreux écrits, il est le patron des journalistes. / Traité de l’amour de Dieu, 8, 11, dans œuvres de saint François de Sales, Paris, Ed. de Béthune, 1836, p. 315-316.

Quitter pour avancer

L’Introduction à la vie dévote est adressée par saint François de Sales à « Philothée », allégorie du chrétien.

Tous les Israélites sortirent de la terre d’Égypte, mais ils n’en sortirent pas tous d’affection ; c’est pourquoi dans le désert plusieurs d’entre eux regrettaient de n’avoir pas les oignons et les chairs d’Égypte. Ainsi il y a des pénitents qui sortent en effet du péché et n’en quittent pourtant pas l’affection : c’est-à-dire, ils proposent de ne plus pécher, mas c’est avec un certain contre-cœur qu’ils ont de se priver et abstenir des malheureuses délectations du péché ; leur cœur renonce au péché et s’en éloigne, mais il ne laisse pas pour cela de se retourner souvent de ce côté-là, comme fit la femme de Loth du côté de Sodome. Ils s’abstiennent du péché comme les malades font des melons, lesquels ils ne mangent pas parce que le médecin les menace de mort s’ils en mangent ; mais ils s’inquiètent de s’en abstenir, ils en parlent et marchandent s’il se pourrait faire, ils les veulent au moins sentir, et estiment bien heureux ceux qui en peuvent manger. Ô Philothée, puisque vous voulez entreprendre la vie dévote, il ne vous faut pas seulement quitter le péché, mais il faut tout à fait émonder votre cœur de toutes les affections qui dépendent du péché ; car, outre le danger qu’il y aurait de faire rechute, ces misérables affections alanguiraient perpétuellement votre esprit, et l’appesantiraient en telle sorte qu’il ne pourrait pas faire les bonnes œuvres promptement, diligemment et fréquemment.

St François de Sales

Évêque de Genève, exilé à Annecy, François de Sales († 1622) est le fondateur, avec sainte Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, de l’ordre de la Visitation. Auteur de nombreux écrits, il est le patron des journalistes. / Introduction à la vie dévote, in Œuvres, Paris, Gallimard, 1969, p. 44-45.

SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/daily-prayer/lundi-2-aout/meditation-de-ce-jour-1/

SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/2023/01/23/pourquoi-un-saint-dil-y-a-400-ans-est-lantidote-dont-nous-avons-besoin/?utm_campaign=Web_Notifications&utm_medium=notifications&utm_source=onesignal

SaintFrançois de Sales, Basilique de la Visitation, Annecy.

Le long chemin de la perfection

Sachez que la vertu de patience est celle qui nous assure le plus de la perfection, et s’il la faut avoir avec les autres, il faut aussi l’avoir avec soi-même. Il faut souffrir notre propre imperfection pour avoir la perfection ; je dis souffrir avec patience, et non pas aimer ou caresser : l’humilité se nourrit en cette souffrance. Je ne veux pas dire qu’il ne faille se mettre au chemin du côté de la perfection, mais il ne faut pas désirer d’y arriver en un jour, c’est-à-dire en un jour de cette mortalité, car ce désir nous tourmenterait, et pour néant. Il faut, pour bien cheminer, nous appliquer à bien faire le chemin que nous avons le plus près de nous et la première journée, et non pas s’amuser à désirer de faire la dernière pendant qu’il faut faire et dévider la première. Je vous dirai ce mot, mais retenez-le bien : nous nous amusons quelquefois tant à être bons anges, que nous en laissons d’être bons hommes et bonnes femmes. Notre imperfection nous doit accompagner jusqu’au cercueil. Nous ne pouvons aller sans toucher terre ; il ne faut pas s’y coucher ni vautrer, mais aussi ne faut-il pas penser voler ; car nous sommes des petits poussins qui n’avons pas encore nos ailes. Nous mourons petit à petit ; il faut aussi faire mourir nos imperfections avec nous de jour en jour.

St François de Sales

Évêque de Genève, exilé à Annecy, François de Sales († 1622) est le fondateur, avec Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, de l’ordre de la Visitation. Auteur de nombreux écrits, il est le patron des journalistes. / Œuvres, Annecy, Niérat, 1894, vol. XIII, p. 203s.

SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/daily-prayer/lundi-24-janvier/meditation-de-ce-jour-1/

Pourquoi un saint d’il y a 400 ans est l’antidote dont nous avons besoin

Peter Cameron - publié le 23/01/23

Le pape François pense que saint François de Sales, fêté le 24 janvier, peut donner des solutions pour lutter contre l’individualisme et écouter la voix de Dieu au quotidien.

Le pape François a publié la lettre apostolique Totum Amoris Est pour commémorer le 400e anniversaire de la mort de saint François de Sales (1567-1622), évêque et Docteur de l’Église. Par cette encyclique, le Saint-Père désire nous faire revisiter le 2e paragraphe de son exhortation apostolique Evangelii Gaudium (I – Une joie qui se renouvelle et se communique) :

Le grand risque du monde d’aujourd’hui, avec son offre de consommation multiple et écrasante, est une tristesse individualiste qui vient du cœur bien installé et avare, de la recherche malade de plaisirs superficiels, de la conscience isolée. Quand la vie intérieure se ferme sur ses propres intérêts, il n’y a plus de place pour les autres, les pauvres n’entrent plus, on n’écoute plus la voix de Dieu, on ne jouit plus de la douce joie de son amour, l’enthousiasme de faire le bien ne palpite plus. Même les croyants courent ce risque, certain et permanent. Beaucoup y succombent et se transforment en personnes vexées, mécontentes, sans vie.

Le pape François considère saint François de Sales comme un exemple et un antidote idéal contre le repli sur soi et l’individualisme.

Un homme d’expérience

Le pape François dans sa lettre apostolique Totum Amoris Est souligne que saint François de Sales a reconnu « comme indispensable le soin de tout ce qui est humain ». En effet, tout l’enseignement de ce saint est né d’une observation attentive de l’expérience.

Cette sensibilité était accrue par son expérience personnelle avec « deux crises intérieures consécutives qui marqueront sa vie de manière indélébile […] cette expérience, avec ses inquiétudes et ses questions, restera toujours éclairante pour lui et lui donnera une façon unique d’accéder au mystère de la relation entre Dieu et l’homme ». Le pape François admire saint François de Sales pour « sa souplesse et sa capacité de vision » qui ont beaucoup à nous apprendre et qui semblent être le résultat direct des luttes personnelles du saint contre la souffrance. François de Sales reste une figure profondément humaine qui peut nous amener à redécouvrir et à vivre notre propre humanité.

Un homme de perception

Le Saint-Père note que François de Sales « avait eu la nette perception d’un changement d’époque » et que « Lui-même n’aurait jamais imaginé y reconnaître une telle opportunité pour l’annonce de l’Évangile. La Parole […] était capable de faire son chemin, ouvrant des horizons nouveaux et imprévisibles, dans un monde en transition rapide ». Puis le pape François fait un parallèle avec la situation difficile dans laquelle nous vivons : « C’est ce qui nous attend aussi comme tâche essentielle pour le changement d’époque que nous vivons : une Église non autoréférentielle, libre de toute mondanité mais capable d’habiter le monde. »

Le Saint-Père présente François de Sales – que Jean Paul II avait surnommé le « Docteur de l’amour divin » – comme un exemple exceptionnel à suivre :

C’est pourquoi [saint François de Sales] nous invite à sortir d’une préoccupation excessive de nous-mêmes, des structures, de l’image que nous donnons dans la société et à nous demander plutôt quels sont les besoins concrets et les attentes spirituelles de notre peuple.

Un homme de dévotion

Pour faire cela, saint François de Sales, auteur d’Introduction à la vie dévote, explique l’importance de la dévotion, en disant que c’est « la douceur des douceurs et la reine des vertus, car c’est la perfection de la charité. Si la charité est un lait, la dévotion en est la crème ; si elle est une plante, la dévotion en est la fleur […] l’odeur de suavité qui conforte les hommes et réjouit les Anges ».

Le pape François aussi souligne l’importance de la dévotion, autrement dit la vie spirituelle vivante, en expliquant qu’elle est destinée à devenir « un style de vie, une façon d’être dans le concret de l’existence quotidienne » qui « donne un sens aux petites choses de tous les jours ». Car la dévotion fait jaillir « l’extase de la vie » que le pape François définit comme « l’heureuse surabondance de la vie chrétienne, élevée bien au-dessus de la médiocrité de la simple observance », tout en nous faisant redécouvrir « les sources de la joie » et pour éviter « la tentation du repli sur soi ».

Pour conclure, la lettre apostolique nous encourage à :

Traverser la cité terrestre en préservant l’intériorité, allier le désir de perfection à chaque état de vie, en retrouvant un centre qui ne se sépare pas du monde mais apprend à l’habiter, à l’apprécier, en apprenant aussi à prendre ses distances. Telle était son intention, et cela continue d’être une leçon précieuse pour chaque homme et chaque femme de notre temps.

Découvrez aussi les plus belles citations de François de Sales :

Démarrer le diaporama

SOURCE : https://archive.org/stream/PhysionomiesDeSaintsParErnestHello/physionomies%20de%20saints_djvu.txt

Saint François de Sales et Sainte Jeanne de Chantal, médaille du XIXe siècle, 34mm

SAINT FRANÇOIS DE SALES

Les littérateurs français ont un programme ! Ce programme n’est pas infini : au contraire, il ressemble à une limite. Ce programme contient un certain nombre d’admirations obligatoires, et implique l’oubli du reste des choses. L’homme du monde, français et littérateur, se promène dans un cercle restreint de livres à son usage, et il ignore les autres avec une bonne foi singulière. Il ne soupçonne pas leur existence ; s’il la soupçonnait, il la regarderait comme la preuve criante de ce fait historique : tout le monde a été barbare, excepté quelques auteurs français du dix-septième siècle, et quelques auteurs françis du dix huitième siècle, excepté aussi quelques Grecs et quelques Romains, sur lesquels se sont modelés les auteurs qu’il a lus. Quant à la haute antiquité, quant à l’Asie, quant à l’Inde, quant, au genre humain tout entier, il regarde les travaux qui viennent de là comme la spécialité de quelques érudits, lesquels se livrent par curiosité à des études techniques, et ont perdu dans la fréquentation des barbares le sentiment délicat de l’élégance. Le littérateur français ne se borne pas à ignorer l’antiquité (sauf quelques Grecs et quelques Romains), il ne se borne pas á ignorer singulièrement tout ce qui, dans les temps modernes, est écrit en langues étrangères (excepté Milton et Dante) ; il ignore remarquablement aussi, parmi les auteurs français, ceux que l’habitude n’a pas inscrits sur le programme de ses lectures. Il a lu Buffon avec conscience, mais il n’a pas lu saint François de Sales.

S’il s’agissait seulement de réparer une injustice littéraire, la chose n’en vaudrait pas la peine, car le mot littérature s’emploie dans un sens misérable, et s’entend de l’arrangement des mots. Mais il s’agit d’autre chose. Il s’agit de savoir si une mine inconnue de richesses naturelles et surnaturelles n’est pas cachée dans la langue française, sous un terrain ignoré, au fond d’un pays perdu. Or, cette mine existe dans saint François de Sales et ailleurs. IIl n’est pas nécessaire de le démontrer. Il suffit de le montrer. Elle existe ailleurs aussi. Les études savantes de M. Gautier ne sont pas des rêves. Si la littérature est chose puérile, en tant qu’elle est l’alignement étudié des phrases, languet circa quaestiones et pugnas verborum ; la parole est chose grave, en tant qu’elle est l’expression de la pensée et le miroir où l’idée se voit.

Le style de l’homme est la forme que la vérité prend dans le moule d’une créature déterminée. Saint François de Sales a du style, et il est peut- être bon de le montrer à tous ceux qui, appartenant à la même famille par le caractère de leur âme, recevraient de lui la lumière plus facilement que d’un autre, à cause de la parenté.

Quelle est la couleur du style de saint François de Sales ? C’est la couleur de la nature, vue à la lumière surnaturelle. Quand on se promène dans les champs, il se fait dans l’oeil et dans l’oreille une harmonie douce et profonde à laquelle concourent, dans un repos admirable, beaucoup de couleurs et beaucoup de musiques. Les feuilles des arbres, les fleurs des prairies, les oiseaux avec leurs mouvements et avec leurs chants, le bourdonnement confus de mille petits êtres qu’on ne voit pas, le murmure des ruisseaux, l’ondulation des rayons du soleil sur les collines odorantes, qui semblent presque onduler elles-mêmes et suivre les jeux de la lumière, la courbure naïve du tronc des arbres et leurs branches non taillées, toutes ces choses se réunissent en une seule mélodie très grave, très simple, et les nombreux musiciens qui la composent en la jouant s’accordent si bien ensemble, que jamais le concert n’est troublé par une fausse note. Il y a un concert de l’après-midi, un concert du soir.

Le style de saint François de Sales, c’est le concert de l’après-midi.

Ne cherchez là ni les splendeurs du soleil levant, ni les splendeurs du soleil couchant, ni les hauteurs de la montagne, ni l’aigle qui déchire sa proie, ni le bruit des torrents, ni les neiges éternelles, ni la foudre, ni les violences de la créature, qui pousse vers l’éternité les gémissements de l’immense désir.

Il y a, dans la création, place pour tous les vivants. Les prairies ont un charme singulier, non-seulement pour ceux qui les aiment spécialement, mais aussi et surtout peut-être pour les habitués de la montagne et les habitués de l’Océan. Les prairies ont pour ceux-ci un charme admirable, le charme de la variété aimée, de la variété qui, loin d’être la contradiction, vous présente le même nom écrit en d’autres caractères et la même lumière offerte sous un autre angle.

La parole de saint François de Sales a la valeur et le parfum des prairies. Ce n’est pas l’automne ; ce n’est pas non plus tout à fait le printemps ; ce n’est jamais l’hiver. C’est l’été, et l’été vers midi. Il fait très chaud dans ses ouvrages.

Le symbolisme n’est pas, dans saint François de Sales, un accident littéraire. Il est la forme de sa parole et la tournure de sa conversation; car cet homme charmant n’écrit jamais, il cause toujours.

« On ne peut enter une greffe de chêne sur un poirier, nous dit-il, tant ces deux arbres sont de contraire humeur l’un à l’autre ; on ne saurait certes non plus enter l’ire, ni la colère, ni le désespoir sur la charité ; au moins serait-il très difficile... Et quant à la tristesse, comment peut-elle être utile à la sainte charité, puisqu’entre les fruits du Saint-Esprit, la joie est mise en rang, joignant la charité?

« Les rossignols se complaisent tant en leur chant, au rapport de Pline, que, pour cette complaisance, quinze jours et quinze nuits durant ils ne cessent jamais de gazouiller, s’efforçant toujours de mieux chanter en l’envi des uns des autres : de sorte que, lorsqu’ils se dégoisent le mieux, ils y ont plus de complaisance, et cet accroissement de complaisance les porte à faire les plus grands efforts de mieux gringotter, augmentant tellement leur complaisance par leur chant et leur chant par leur complaisance, que maintes fois on les voit mourir et leur gosier se dilater à force de chanter. Oiseaux dignes du beau nom de Philomèle, puisqu’ils meurent ainsi en l’amour et pour l’amour de la mélodie.

« O Dieu, mon Théotime, que le coeur ardemment pressé de l’affection de louer son Dieu reçoit une douleur grandement délicieuse et une douceur grandement douloureuse, quand après mille efforts de louanges il se trouve si court. Hélas ! il voudrait, ce pauvre rossignol, toujours plus hautement lancer ses accents et perfectionner sa mélodie pour mieux chanter les bénédictions de son cher bien-aimé. A mesure qu’il loue, il se plaît à louer ; il se déplaît de ne pouvoir encore mieux louer, et pour se contenter au mieux qu’il peut en cette passion, il fait toutes sortes d’efforts entre lesquels il tombe en langueur, comme il advenait au très glorieux saint François qui, malgré les plaisirs qu’il prenait à louer Dieu et chanter ses cantiques d’amour, jetait une grande affluence de larmes et laissait souvent tomber de faiblesse ce que pour lors il tenait à la main, demeurant comme un sacré Philomèle à coeur failli… »

L’intention littéraire est absente de ce tableau, et cette parole a une grâce singulière, exquise, naïve, qui échappe à ceux qui la cherchent. Le sens de la nature est charmant pour saint François de Sales, et charmant pour cette raison même que la nature est pour lui, ce qu’elle est en effet, un moyen et non un but. Elle est l’instrument sur lequel il s'accompagne pour chanter. Elle n’est jamais, comme il arrive aux faux poètes, la beauté même vers laquelle vont les chants. L’amour de saint François la trouve sur sa route; il la trouve sans la chercher, tout simplement parce qu’elle est là, et, sans jamais s’arrêter à elle, il la traverse et l’emporte sur ses ailes vers le ciel où il va.

Ainsi vue, à la clarté d’en haut, la création prend un goût exquis qu’elle n’a jamais chez les hommes qui l’aiment pour elle-même et la fêtent, au lieu de fêter Dieu. La création est une barrière quand elle n’est pas un marchepied ; elle apparaît comme une limite, chez le faux poète qui s’embourbe au milieu d’elle; pour saint François, elle est une harpe, et ses doigts, promenés sur les cordes, lancent des sons qui montent toujours. Le style de saint François de Sales ressemble beaucoup à une promenade. Il est plein de hasards, d’accidents, de rencontres ; il miroite ; il regarde ; il se détourne à chaque instant, attiré à droite et à gauche par les objets avoisinants. Il plait, mais il n’écrase pas. Presque toujours charmant, il n’est jamais sublime. Ce n’est pas que le charmant et le sublime soient incompatibles en eux-mêmes ; mais c’est que la nature de saint François de Sales comportait le premier et ne comportait pas le second. Cet homme cause toujours de près avec le lecteur. Il ne lui échappe pas par ces excursions, ces ascensions ou ces absorptions qui séparent pour un moment celui qui parle de celui qui écoute. Il ne perd pas de vue son auditeur. Il n’est jamais anéanti sous le poids de sa pensée ; ce qu’il dit ne succombe pas sous ce qu’il voudrait dire.

Il parle en vieux français. On pourrait croire que ceci est seulement une affaire de date, que le fait de parler en vieux français tient au temps où l’on parle et non à l’homme qui parle. Malgré la très grande vraisemblance, le vieux français ne tient pas seulement à la date où il est parlé : il tient au caractère de celui qui parle. Jeanne de Chantal est contemporaine de saint François de Sales. Elle ne parle pas en vieux français. Elle emploie des mots qui appartiennent au vieux français, parce que ce fait résulte de la nature des choses et de l’état de la langue au moment où elle écrivait. Mais ces mots, qui, sous la plume de saint François de Sales, forment le vieux français, ne constituent pas la même langue chez Jeanne de Chantal. C’est que le vieux français est un style; donc il est un secret. Il ne suffit pas pour l’avoir parlé d’être né à une certaine époque, il faut avoir possédé un certain esprit. Cet esprit, quel est-il ? Quel est le caractère de cette langue ? - C'est la naïveté.

La naïveté n’est pas la simplicité. Elle est un genre à part de simplicité, une simplicité particulière qui a un tempérament à elle. Elle a des oublis et des audaces qui étonneraient ailleurs et qui de sa part n’étonnent pas. Elle a le secret de faire tout pardonner. Ce secret rare, elle le partage avec les enfants, qui sont dans l’heureuse impossibilité d’irriter sérieusement. Cette impossibilité, que possèdent les enfants dans l’ordre moral, les écrivains naïfs la possèdent dans l’ordre intellectuel. Elle est un des privilèges et un des dangers de La Fontaine, privilège quant à lui, danger quant aux lecteurs. Dans ses fables, l’égoïsme du renard est à couvert derrière la naïveté de l'écrivain.

Mais le charme qui, chez La Fontaine, peut servir l’erreur, sert, chez saint François de Sales, la vérité. Il a le droit de parler comme il pense. Il agit en chrétien et en prêtre. La pensée de produire un effet quelconque est si loin de lui, qu’on oublie de le remarquer : autre ressemblance avec les enfants. Il est vrai qu’à l’heure présente ceux-ci sont occupés á perdre la naïveté, et je me sers à dessein du mot occupés, car c’est de leur part un rude travail : la naïveté, chassée de l’enfance, se réfugie dans la campagne. Les villages ont une langue à part qui ressemble beaucoup au vieux français, et par une rencontre qui n’est pas fortuite, le vieux français parle toujours de la campagne et lui demande toujours des comparaisons. Un des caractères qui distinguent le vieux français, la langue des villages, et le style de Saint François de Sales, c’est l’absence d’ironie. L’ironie, qui est excellente à sa place, et, par cela même qu’elle est excellente à sa place, est détestable et funeste dès qu’elle arrive mal à propos, et elle arrive souvent mal à propos, 1’ironie est due au mal, à l’erreur, au péché. L’ironie est la gaieté de l’indignation, qui, ne trouvant plus de parole directe à la hauteur de sa colère, se réfugie, pour éclater, au-dessous du silence, dans la parole détournée. L’ironie est naturellement terrible et facilement sublime. Elle est le refuge de la fureur qui a dépassé les hauteurs de la parole et les hauteurs du silence. Mais cette arme puissante et redoutable a été empoisonnée par la corruption de l’homme. L’ironie a trahi la vérité : au lieu d’écraser le mal, elle s’est tournée contre les choses simples, naïves, innocentes, dans le sens sérieux de ce mot trop souvent rabaissé. L’ironie alors est devenue la moquerie. La moquerie est une chose basse ; c’est le ricanement de l’amour-propre. Hé bien ! cette moquerie, employée très souvent par l’écrivain qui la suppose chez le lecteur, devient pour l’un et pour l’autre une gêne singulière. Elle détruit leur confiance réciproque et la naïveté de leurs relations. Car la moquerie, qui est myope, prend la naïveté pour la niaiserie, pendant que la sottise prend la niaiserie pour la naïveté. Entre la niaiserie et la naïveté la différence est radicale. Dans la niaiserie la pensée est faible, le sentiment mollasse, et l’expression langoureuse. Dans la naïveté la pensée est précise, le sentiment vigoureux et l’expression imprévue. La moquerie, qui les confond, ôte à l’écrivain la liberté des choses intimes, qui ne veulent être montrées qu’à des regards purs. Cette contrainte domine toute la littérature moderne, qui ne s’en doute pas. Cette littérature, qui se croit très libre, est esclave du lecteur, qu’elle méprise. Elle craint la moquerie. Or, l’absence de cette crainte est un des caractères du vieux français, et particulièrement un des caractères de saint François de Sales. Cet homme parle comme il pense, et le peuple chrétien est pour lui un confident. Il peut dire : mes frères, quand il s’adresse aux hommes, car il leur parle comme il se parle : sa parole extérieure n’interrompt pas, chose rare ! sa parole intérieure.

La familiarité avec tous les hommes se trouve aux deux extrémités de l’échelle morale; le littérateur ne la possède pas; le philosophe vulgaire en est tout à fait privé ; le débauché la trouve et le saint l’a trouvée. Le premier la trouve, parce qu’il a perdu le respect ; le second, parce qu’il a perdu l’amour-propre. Le droit de causer avec l’humanité est un des attributs de la grandeur. L’habitude de bavarder avec elle est un des caractères de la honte. Saint François de Sales n’a pas tous les attributs de la grandeur ; aussi n’est-ce pas avec l’humanité qu’il cause, mais avec une fraction de l’humanité.

Presque personne n’a parlé le français comme lui; c’est pourquoi, si ces sortes de choses étaient étonnantes, il faudrait s’étonner de l’oubli où l’ont laissé les littérateurs. Ils ont eu, à propos de lui, une distraction qui s’explique par leurs nombreux et importants travaux.

L’étymologie nous rappelle, même malgré nous, que la langue française réclame par-dessus toutes les autres langues la franchise. Saint François de Sales est franc comme peu d’hommes l’ont été. Le soupçon même d’une arrière-pensée est exclu par la nature de sa parole. Et quelle originalité ! quel sentiment actuel des pensées qu’il exprime ! Le danger de parler morale par habitude et par souvenir ne le menace pas. Il pense ce qu’il dit au moment où il le dit ; il ne le pense pas par procuration comme tant d’autres ; il le pense lui-même ; il le pense à l’heure où il cause avec vous, et, s’il l’a pensé la veille, il vous le dit. Il vous fait assister à la génération intérieure des pensées et des sentiments qu’il vous communique; il les donne pour ce qu’ils sont, il se donne pour ce qu’il est, il vous prend comme vous êtes. Quand vous êtes dans sa société, ne craignez pas de voir approcher de vous l’ombre de Mentor ; vous êtes avec un ami qui vous dit tout et à qui vous pouvez tout dire. Il y a dans cet homme charmant une force vive et gaie, qui provoque la confiance, sans avoir l’air de penser à elle. Et, très souvent, quelle profondeur ! Peut-être la bonhomie du style nous dissimule quelquefois la réalité sévère des choses ; mais quelle profondeur sous cette apparence enfantine ! Tant de gens prennent l’air solennel pour dire peu de chose, ou pour ne dire rien ! Il faut bien que quelquefois le contraire arrive. Ainsi saint François de Sales développe de temps en temps des vérités mystérieuses avec la profondeur réelle d’un docteur et d’un saint, mais avec la bonhomie et la naïveté d’un vieillard qui raconterait une histoire à des enfants. Je vais citer pour indiquer et pour prouver.

« Entre les perdrix, il arrive souvent que les unes dérobent les oeufs des autres, afin de les couver, soit pour l’avidité qu’elles ont d’estre mères, soit par leur stupidité, qui leur fait méconnaître leurs oeufs propres. Et voicy, chose étrange, mais néanmoins bien témoignée, car le perdreau qui aura été esclos et nourry sous les ailes d’une perdrix étrangère, au premier réclame qu’il soit de sa vraie mère, qui avait pondu l’oeuf duquel il est procédé, il quitte la perdrix laronesse, se rend à sa première mère et se met à sa suite, par la correspondance toutefois, qui ne paraissait point, ainsi fut demeurée secrète, cachée, et comme dormante au fond de la nature, jusques à la rencontre de son objet, que soudain excitée et comme réveillée, elle fait son coup, et pousse l’appétit du perdreau à son premier devoir.

« Il en est de même, Théotime, de notre cœur ; car quoiqu’il soit couvé, nourry et élevé comme les choses corporelles, belles et transitoires, et, par manière de dire, sous les ailes de la nature ; néanmoins, au premier regard qu’il jette en Dieu, à la première connaissance qu’il en reçoit, la naturelle et première inclination d’aimer Dieu qui était comme assoupie et imperceptible, se réveille en un instant, et à l’impourvue paraist, comme étincelle qui sort d’entre les cendres, laquelle touchant notre volonté, luy donne un eslan de l’amour suprême, due au souverain et premier principe de toutes choses. »

L'appétit du perdreau poussé à son premier devoir n’enseigne-t-il pas les hommes avec une grande douceur et une grande naïveté ; et cette parole exquise, qui aime les animaux sans jamais arrêter sur eux son amour, ne contient-elle pas, dans sa forme charmante, une austère réalité que le nid de perdrix et le voisinage des blés en fleurs adoucit, sans la cacher ?

Le symbolisme de l’Écriture et le but mystérieux des créatures fournit quelquefois à saint François de Sales des aperçus ingénieux ou profonds.

Son Introduction à la vie dévote étant connue du public, je parle de ses autres ouvrages qui ne le sont pas, et, relativement à la signification cachée des personnes et des choses, je trouve dans ses sermons ce rapprochement entre deux hommes qu’on oublie ordinairement de rapprocher ; saint Jean-Baptiste et saint Pierre.

« Nous lisons qu’il y avait autour du propitiatoire deux chérubins, lesquels s’entre-regardaient. Le propitiatoire, mes chers auditeurs, c’est Notre-Seigneur, lequel le Père Éternel nous a donné pour être la propitiation de nos péchés, Ipse propitiatio est pro peccatis nostris et ipsum proposuit Deus propitiationem. Ces deux chérubins sont, comme j’estime, saint Jean et saint Pierre, lesquels s’entre-regardaient l’un comme prophète et l’autre comme apôtre. Hé ! ne pensez-vous pas qu’ils s’entre-regardaient, quand l’un disait : Ecce Agnus Dei. Voici l’Agneau de Dieu, et que l’autre disait : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei viví, Tu es le Christ, Fils du Dieu vivant ? IL est vrai que la confession de saint Jean ressent encore quelque chose de la nuict de l’ancienne loy, quand il appelle Notre-Seigneur Agneau, car il parle de sa figure : mais celle de saint Pierre ne ressent rien que le jour : Quia Joannes proeerat nocti, et Petrus diei : parce que saint Jean était le luminaire de la nuit et saint Pierre celui du jour.

« Au commencement du monde on trouve que l’esprit de Dieu était porté sur les eaux, Spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas. La naïveté du texte en sa source veut dire fecundabat, vegetabat, qu’il fécondait les eaux. Ainsi me semble-t-il qu’en la réformation du monde, Notre-Seigneur fécondait les eaux lorsqu’il cheminait sur le bord de la mer de Galilée, Ambulabat juxta mare Galileae, et avec la parole qu’il dit à saint Pierre et à saint André : Venite post me, venez après moi, il fit esclore parmi les coquilles maritimes saint Pierre et saint André : en quoi saint Jean a encore quelque similitude avec saint Pierre, puisque ce fut au bord de l’eau où saint Jean eut pour la première fois l’honneur de voir celui qu’il annonçait, comme saint Pierre auprès de l’eau reconnut son divin maître et le suivit... La nativité de saint Jean a été prédite par l’Ange: Et multi in nativitate ejus gaudebunt. « Plusieurs, dit-il à Zacharie, se réjouiront en sa nativité. » Celle de saint Pierre a été pareillement prédite ; mais il y a cette grande différence que l’Ange prédit celle de saint Jean, et celle de saint Pierre fut prédite par Notre-Seigneur. Saint Jean naquit pour finir la loi mosaïque; saint Pierre mourut pour commencer l’Église catholique, non que saint Pierre fût le commencement fondamental de l’Église, ni saint Jean la fin de la Synagogue, car c’est Notre-Seigneur, lequel mit fin à la loi de Moyse, disant sur la croix : « Tout est consommé et ressuscitant, il commmença l’Église nouvelle. »

Ces connaissances simples, ces vues sur l’origine des choses, ces rapports des êtres entre eux, ces ressemblances entre la création et la rédemption, toutes ces lumières sont fréquentes dans les auteurs anciens, et rares dans les auteurs modernes. Le rapprochement de la source est pour l’âme une joie inconnue de la plupart des hommes ; ce voisinage admirable, bien qu’il ne soit pas le caractère le plus habituel de saint François de Sales, ne lui fut pas étranger. Il trouva dans la sainteté le jour et l’air. Écoutons-le encore parler de la mort de saint Pierre ; il vient de la comparer à la naissance de Jean-Baptiste, il va la comparer à la naissance d’Adam ; l’Humanité naissante et l’Église naissante vont entendre la même parole sortir de la bouche de Dieu. Ceci est véritablement beau.

« Quand Dieu créa cet univers, voulant faire l’homme, il dit: Faciamus hominem adimaginem et similitudinem nostram, ut proesit piscibus maris, volatilibus et coeli et bestiis terrae ; faisons l’homme à notre image et ressemblance afin qu’il préside et aye domination sur les poissons de la mer, sur les oiseaux du ciel et sur les bestes de la terre. Ainsi me semble-t-il qu’il aye fait en sa réformation ; car voulant que saint Pierre fut le président et gouverneur de son Église, et qu’il commandât tout à ceux qui se retirent en la religion pour voler en l’air de la perfection, il le voulut rendre semblable à lui, et me semble qu’il dit : Faciamus eum ad imaginem nostram, faisons-le à notre image, c’est-à-dire semblable à Jésus crucifié ; c’est pourquoi il lui dit : Sequere me, suis-moi ».

La vie de saint François de Sales est trop connue pour qu’il soit nécessaire d’insister sur les faits qui la composent. Il eut l’esprit de douceur et le don de convertir. Sa parole était féconde.

Il ne suffisait pas, pour faire son ceuvre, de parler comme il parla. Il fallait vivre comme il vécut. Il était fécond, parce qu’il était saint. Le style dont j’ai parlé n’est que le reflet de son auréole, projeté sur ses oeuvres. Il vécut dans la familiarité divine, non pas sur le Sinaï, mais à la place qui était la sienne, et que lui avait préparée Dieu. Sa douceur pénétra la nature, la nature pénétra sa parole. Son originalité fut d’étre doux. Il était si doux, que la campagne lui a dit ses secrets. Il était si doux, que l’Égyptienne Agar est devenue transparente à ses yeux.

« Cette préférence de Dieu à toutes choses est le cher enfant de la charité, dit-il quelque part. Que si Agar, qui n’était qu’une Égyptienne, voyant son fils en danger de mourir, n’eut pas le courage de demeurer auprès de lui, ainsi le voulut quitter, disant : Ah ! je ne saurais voir mourir cet enfant, quelle merveille y a-t-il que la charité, fille de douceur et de suavité céleste, ne puisse voir mourir son enfant, qui est le propos de ne jamais offenser Dieu ? Si qu’à mesure que notre franc arbitre se résolut de consentir au péché, donnant par le même moyen la mort à ce sacré propos, la charité meurt avec iceluy et dit en son dernier soupir : Hé ! non, jamais je ne verrai mourir cet enfant. »

Un rayon de sa douceur éclaire ainsi la chambre d’Holopherne :

« Ne lisons-nous pas de Judith, lorsqu'elle alla trouver Holopherne, prince de l’armée des Assyriens, que nonobstant qu’elle fut extrêmement bien parée, et que son visage fut doué de la plus rare beauté qui se peut voir, ayant les yeux étincelants avec une douceur charmante, les lèvres pourprées et les cheveux crespés flottant sur ses épaules, toutefois Holopherne ne fut point touché ni par les beaux habits, ni par les yeux, ni par les lèvres, ni par les cheveux de Judith, ni d’aucune autre chose qui fust en elle ; mais seulement quand il jeta les yeux sur ses sandales, ou sa chaussure, qui, comme nous pouvons penser, était récamée d’or d’une fort bonne grâce, il demeura tout espris d’amour pour elle. Ainsi pouvons-nous dire que le Père Éternel, considérant la variété des vertus qui étaient en Notre-Dame, il la trouva sans doute extrêmement belle : mais lorsqu’il jeta les yeux sur ses sandales ou souliers, il en receut tant de complaisance et en fut tellement espris qu’il se laissa gagner et lui envoya son Fils, lequel s’incarna en ses très chastes entrailles. Mais qu’est-ce, je vous prie, mes chères âmes, que ces sandales et ces chaussures de la sacrée Vierge nous représentent, sinon l’humilité ? »

Il était si doux que, parlant à ses filles, aux religieuses Visitandines, il leur montra cette scène sublime à la clarté de ce rayon.

Saint François de Sales

Mort à Lyon le 28 décembre 1622. Canonisé en 1665, fête en 1666, docteur en 1877.

Leçons des Matines avant 1960

AU DEUXIÈME NOCTURNE.

Quatrième leçon. François naquit au château de Sales (d’où sa famille tire son nom), de parents nobles et vertueux, et donna dès ses plus tendres années, par son innocence et sa gravité, des indices de sa sainteté future. Encore adolescent, il fut instruit dans les sciences libérales ; bientôt après, il se rendit à Paris où il se livra à l’étude de la philosophie et de la théologie, et afin que rien ne manquât à la culture de son esprit, il obtint à Padoue, avec les plus grands éloges, les honneurs du doctorat en l’un et l’autre droit. François renouvela dans le sanctuaire de Lorette le vœu de perpétuelle virginité par lequel il s’était lié à Paris ; et il ne put jamais être détourné de la résolution qu’il avait prise au sujet de cette vertu, ni par aucun des artifices du démon, ni par les attraits des sens.

Cinquième leçon. Ayant refusé une grande dignité dans le sénat de Savoie, il s’enrôla dans la milice de la cléricature. Initié au sacerdoce et fait prévôt de l’Église de Genève, François remplit si parfaitement les devoirs de cette charge que Mgr de Granier, son Évêque, le destina pour travailler comme un héraut de la parole divine, à la conversion des calvinistes du Chablais et des autres confins du territoire de Genève. Il entreprit cette campagne d’un cœur joyeux, mais il eut à souffrir les plus dures épreuves ; souvent les hérétiques cherchèrent à lui donner la mort, ils le poursuivirent de diverses calomnies et lui dressèrent beaucoup d’embûches. Au milieu de tant de périls et de combats, on vit toujours briller son insurmontable constance ; et l’on rapporte qu’aidé du secours de Dieu, il ramena à la foi catholique soixante-douze mille hérétiques, parmi lesquels il y en avait beaucoup de distingués par leur noblesse et leur science.

Sixième leçon. Après la mort de Mgr de Granier, qui avait eu soin de se le faire donner pour coadjuteur, François, consacré Évêque, répandit tout autour de lui les rayons de sa sainteté, par son zèle pour la discipline ecclésiastique, son amour de la paix, sa miséricorde envers les pauvres, et se rendit remarquable en toutes sortes de vertus. Pour l’accroissement du culte divin, il institua un nouvel Ordre de religieuses, sous le nom de la Visitation de la bienheureuse Vierge Marie et sous la règle de saint Augustin, à laquelle il ajouta des constitutions admirables de sagesse, de discrétion et de douceur. Il a aussi illustré l’Église par des écrits remplis d’une doctrine céleste, où il indique un chemin sûr et facile pour arriver à la perfection chrétienne. Enfin, âgé de cinquante-cinq ans, comme il retournait de France à Annecy, le jour de saint Jean l’Évangéliste, après avoir célébré la Messe à Lyon, il fut atteint d’une maladie grave, et, le lendemain, partit pour le ciel, l’an du Seigneur mil six cent vingt-deux. Son corps fut transporté à Annecy, et enseveli honorablement dans l’église dudit Ordre. Son tombeau commença aussitôt à être illustré par des miracles, dont le souverain Pontife Alexandre VII constata la vérité selon les règles. Il mit donc François au nombre des Saints en assignant pour sa Fête le vingt-neuvième jour de janvier, et le souverain Pontife Pie IX, après avoir pris l’avis de la Congrégation des Rites sacrés, l’a déclaré Docteur de l’Église universelle.

Valentin Metzinger (1699–). Sv. Frančišek Saleški in Ivana Frančiška Šantalska, 1753, 211 x 122, National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana.

Dom Guéranger, l’Année Liturgique

Voici venir au berceau du doux Fils de Marie l’angélique évêque François de Sales, digne d’y occuper une place distinguée pour la suavité de sa vertu, l’aimable enfance de son cœur, l’humilité et la tendresse de son amour. Il arrive escorté de ses brillantes conquêtes : soixante-douze mille hérétiques soumis à l’Église par l’ascendant de sa charité ; un Ordre entier de servantes du Seigneur, conçu dans son amour, réalisé par son génie céleste ; tant de milliers d’âmes conquises à la piété par ses enseignements aussi sûrs que miséricordieux, qui lui ont mérité le titre de Docteur.

Dieu le donna à son Église pour la consoler des blasphèmes de l’hérésie qui allait prêchant que la foi romaine était stérile pour la charité ; il plaça ce vrai ministre évangélique en face des âpres sectateurs de Calvin ; et l’ardeur de la charité de François de Sales fondit la glace de ces cœurs obstinés. Si vous avez des hérétiques à convaincre, disait le savant cardinal du Perron, vous pouvez me les envoyer ; si vous en avez à convertir, adressez-les à M. de Genève.

François de Sales parut donc, au milieu de son siècle, comme une vivante image du Christ ouvrant ses bras et convoquant les pécheurs à la pénitence, les errants à la vérité, les justes au progrès vers Dieu, tous à la confiance et à l’amour. L’Esprit divin s’était reposé sur lui dans sa force et dans sa douceur : c’est pourquoi, en ces jours où nous avons célébré la descente de cet Esprit sur le Verbe incarné au milieu des eaux du Jourdain, nous ne saurions oublier une relation touchante de notre admirable Pontife avec son divin Chef. Un jour de la Pentecôte, à Annecy, François était debout à l’autel, offrant l’auguste Sacrifice ; tout à coup une colombe qu’on avait introduite dans la Cathédrale, effrayée des chants et de la multitude du peuple, après avoir voltigé longtemps, vint, à la grande émotion des fidèles, se reposer sur la tête du saint Évêque : symbole touchant de la douceur de l’amour de François, comme le globe de feu qui parut, au milieu des Mystères sacrés, au-dessus de la tête du grand saint Martin, désignait l’ardeur du feu qui dévorait le cœur de l’Apôtre des Gaules.

Une autre fois, en la Fête de la Nativité de Notre-Dame, François officiait aux Vêpres, dans la Collégiale d’Annecy. Il était assis sur un trône dont les sculptures représentaient cet Arbre prophétique de Jessé, qui a produit, selon l’oracle d’Isaïe, la branche virginale, d’où est sortie la fleur divine sur laquelle s’est reposé l’Esprit d’amour. On était occupé au chant des Psaumes, lorsque, par une fente du vitrail du chœur, du côté de l’Épître, une colombe pénètre dans l’Église. Après avoir voleté quelque temps, de l’historien, elle vint se poser sur l’épaule du saint Évêque, et de là sur ses genoux, d’où les ministres assistants la prirent. Après les Vêpres, François, jaloux d’écarter de lui l’application favorable que ce symbole inspirait naturellement à son peuple, monta en chaire, et s’empressa d’éloigner toute idée d’une faveur céleste qui lui eût été personnelle, en célébrant Marie qui, pleine de la grâce de l’Esprit-Saint, a mérité d’être appelée la colombe toute belle, en laquelle il n’y a pas une tache.

Quand on cherche parmi les disciples du Sauveur le type de sainteté qui fut départi à notre admirable Prélat, l’esprit et le cœur ont tout aussitôt nommé Jean, le disciple bien-aimé. François de Sales est comme lui l’Apôtre de la charité ; et la simplesse du grand Évangéliste pressant un innocent oiseau dans ses mains vénérables, est la mère de cette gracieuse innocence qui reposait au cœur de l’Évêque de Genève. Jean, par sa seule vue, par le seul accent de sa voix, faisait aimer Jésus ; et les contemporains de François disaient : O Dieu ! si telle est la bonté de l’Évêque de Genève, quelle ne doit pas être la vôtre !

Ce rapport merveilleux entre l’ami du Christ et François de Sales se révéla encore au moment suprême, lorsque le jour même de saint Jean, après avoir célébré la sainte Messe et communié de sa main ses chères filles de la Visitation, il sentit cette défaillance qui devait amener pour son âme la délivrance des liens du corps. On s’empressa autour de lui ; mais déjà sa conversation n’était plus que dans le ciel. Ce fut le lendemain qu’il s’envola vers sa patrie, en la fête des saints Innocents, au milieu desquels il avait droit de reposer éternellement, pour la candeur et la simplicité de son âme. La place de François de Sales, sur le Cycle, était donc marquée en la compagnie de l’Ami du Sauveur, et de ces tendres victimes que l’Église compare à un gracieux bouquet d’innocentes roses ; et s’il a été impossible de placer sa mémoire à l’anniversaire de sa sortie de ce monde, parce que ces deux jours sont occupés par la solennité de saint Jean et celle des Enfants de Bethlehem, du moins la sainte Église a-t-elle pu encore placer sa fête dans l’intervalle des quarante jours consacrés à honorer la Naissance de l’Emmanuel.

C’est donc à cet amant du Roi nouveau-né qu’il appartient de nous révéler les charmes de l’Enfant de la crèche. Nous chercherons la pensée de son cœur, pour en nourrir le nôtre, dans son admirable correspondance, où il rend avec tant de suavité les sentiments pieux qui débordaient de son cœur, en présence des mystères que nous célébrons.

Vers la fin de l’Avent 1619, il écrivait à une religieuse de la Visitation, pour l’engager à préparer son cœur à la venue de l’Époux céleste : « Ma très chère fille, voilà le tant petit aimable Jésus qui va naître en notre commémoration, ces fêtes-ci prochaines ; et puisqu’il naît pour nous visiter de la part de son Père éternel, et que les pasteurs et les rois le viendront réciproquement visiter au berceau, je crois, qu’il est le Père et l’Enfant tout ensemble de cette Sainte Marie de la Visitation.

« Or sus, caressez-le bien ; faites-lui bien l’hospitalité avec toutes nos sœurs, chantez-lui bien de beaux cantiques, et surtout adorez-le bien fortement et doucement, et en lui sa pauvreté, son humilité, son obéissance et sa douceur, à l’imitation de sa très sainte Mère et de saint Joseph ; et prenez-lui une de ses chères larmes, douce rosée du ciel, et la mettez sur votre cœur, afin qu’il n’ait jamais de tristesse que celle qui réjouit ce doux Enfant ; et quand vous lui recommanderez votre âme, recommandez-lui quant et quant la mienne, qui est certes toute vôtre.

« Je salue chèrement la chère troupe de nos sœurs, que je regarde comme de simples bergères veillant sur leurs troupeaux, c’est-à-dire sur leurs affections ; qui, averties par l’Ange, vont faire l’hommage au divin Enfant, et pour gage de leur éternelle servitude, lui offrent le plus beau de leurs agneaux, qui est leur amour, sans réserve ni exception. »

La veille de la Naissance du Sauveur, saisi par avance des joies de la nuit qui va donner son Rédempteur à la terre, François s’épanche déjà avec sa fille de prédilection, Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, et la convie à goûter avec lui les charmes de l’Enfant divin et à profiter de sa visite.

« Le grand petit Enfant de Bethlehem soit à jamais les délices et les amours de notre cœur, ma très chère mère, ma fille ! Hélas ! Comme il est beau, ce pauvre petit poupon ! Il me semble que je vois Salomon sur son grand trône d’ivoire, doré et ouvragé, qui n’eut point d’égal es royaumes, comme dit l’Écriture : et ce roi n’eut point de pair en gloire ni en magnificence. Mais j’aime cent fois mieux voir le cher enfançon en la crèche, que de voir tous les rois en leurs trônes.

« Mais si je le vois sur les genoux de sa sacrée Mère ou entre ses bras, ayant sa petite bouchette, comme un petit bouton de rose, attachée au lis de ses saintes mamelles, ô Dieu ! je le trouve plus magnifique en ce trône, non seulement que Salomon dans le sien d’ivoire, mais que jamais même ce Fils éternel du Père ne le fut au ciel ; car si bien le ciel a plus d’être visible, la Sainte Vierge a plus de perfections invisibles ; et une goutte du lait qui flue virginalement de ses sacrés sucherons, vaut mieux que toutes les affluences des cieux. Le grand saint Joseph nous fasse part de sa consolation, la souveraine Mère de son amour : et l’Enfant veuille à jamais répandre dans nos cœurs ses mérites !

« Je vous prie, reposez le plus doucement que vous pourrez auprès du petit céleste enfant : il ne laissera pas d’aimer votre cœur bien-aimé tel que vous l’avez, sans tendreté et sans sentiment. Voyez-vous pas qu’il reçoit l’haleine de ce gros bœuf et de cet âne qui n’ont sentiment ni mouvement quelconque ? Comment ne recevra-t-il pas les aspirations de notre pauvre cœur, lequel, quoique non tendrement pour le présent, solidement néanmoins et fermement, se sacrifie à ses pieds pour être à jamais serviteur inviolable du sien, et de celui de sa sainte Mère, et du grand gouverneur du petit Roi ? »

La nuit sacrée s’est écoulée, apportant avec elle la Paix aux hommes de bonne volonté ; François cherche encore le cœur de la fille que Jésus lui a confiée, pour y verser toutes les douceurs qu’il a goûtées dans la contemplation du mystère d’amour.

« Hé, vrai Jésus ! que cette nuit est douce, ma très chère fille ! Les cieux, chante l’Église, distillent de toutes parts le miel ; et moi, je pense que ces divins Anges, qui résonnent en l’air leur admirable cantique, viennent pour recueillir ce miel céleste sur les lis où il se trouve, sur la poitrine de la très douce Vierge et de saint Joseph. J’ai peur, ma chère fille, que ces divins Esprits ne se méprennent entre le lait qui sort des mamelles virginales, et le miel du ciel qui est abouché sur ces mamelles. Quelle douceur de voir le miel sucer le lait !

« Mais je vous prie, ma chère fille, ne suis-je pas si ambitieux que de penser que nos bons Anges, de vous et de moi, se trouvèrent en la chère troupe de musiciens célestes qui chantèrent en cette nuit ? O Dieu ! s’il leur plaisait d’entonner derechef, aux oreilles de notre cœur, cette même céleste chanson, quelle joie ! quelle jubilation ! Je les en supplie, afin que gloire soit au ciel, et en terre paix aux cœurs de bonne volonté.

« Revenant donc d’entre les sacrés Mystères, je donne ainsi le bonjour à ma chère fille : car je crois que les pasteurs encore, après avoir adoré le céleste poupon que le ciel même leur avait annoncé, se reposèrent un peu. Mais, ô Dieu ! que de suavité, comme je pense, à leur sommeil ! Il leur était avis qu’ils oyaient toujours la sacrée mélodie des Anges qui les avaient salués si excellemment de leur cantique, et qu’ils voyaient toujours le cher Enfant et la Mère qu’ils avaient visités.

« Que donnerions-nous à notre petit Roi, que nous n’ayons reçu de lui et de sa divine libérait lité ? Or sus, je lui donnerai donc, à la sainte Grand’Messe, la très uniquement fille bien-aimée qu’il m’a donnée. Hé ! Sauveur de nos âmes, rendez-la toute d’or en charité, toute de myrrhe en mortification, toute d’encens en oraison ; et puis recevez-la entre les bras de votre sainte protection ; et que votre cœur dise au sien : Je suis ton salut aux siècles des siècles. »

Parlant ailleurs à une autre épouse du Christ, il l’exhorte, en ces termes, à se nourrir de la douceur du nouveau-né :

« Que jamais votre âme, comme une abeille mystique, n’abandonne ce cher petit Roi, et qu’elle fasse son miel autour de lui, en lui, et pour lui ; et qu’elle le prenne sur lui, duquel les lèvres sont toutes détrempées de grâce, et sur lesquelles, bien plus heureusement que l’on ne vit sur celles de saint Ambroise, les saintes avettes, amassées en essaim, font leurs doux et gracieux ouvrages. »

Mais il faut bien s’arrêter ; écoutons cependant encore une dernière fois notre séraphique Pontife nous raconter les charmes du très saint Nom de Jésus, imposé au Sauveur dans les douleurs de la Circoncision ; il écrit encore à sa sainte coopératrice : « O Jésus, remplissez notre cœur du baume sacré de votre Nom divin, afin que la suavité de son odeur se dilate en tous nos sens, et se répande en toutes nos actions. Mais pour rendre ce cœur capable de recevoir une si douce liqueur, circoncisez-le, et retranchez d’icelui tout ce qui peut être désagréable à vos saints yeux. O Nom glorieux ! que la bouche du Père céleste a nommé éternellement, soyez à jamais la superscription de notre âme, afin que, comme vous êtes Sauveur, elle soit éternellement sauvée ! O Vierge sainte, qui, la première de toute la nature humaine, avez prononcé ce Nom de salut, inspirez-nous la façon de le prononcer ainsi qu’il est convenable, afin que tout respire en nous le salut que votre ventre nous a porté.

« Ma très chère fille, il fallait écrire la première lettre de cette année à Notre-Seigneur et à Notre-Dame ; et voici la seconde par laquelle, ô ma fille, je vous donne le bon an, et dédie notre cœur à la divine bonté. Que puissions-nous tellement vivre cette année, qu’elle nous serve de fondement pour l’année éternelle ! Du moins ce matin, sur le réveil, j’ai crié à vos oreilles : vive Jésus ! et eusse bien voulu épandre cette huile sacrée sur toute la face de la terre.

« Quand un baume est bien fermé dans une fiole, nul ne sait discerner quelle liqueur c’est, sinon celui qui l’y a mise ; mais quand on a ouvert la fiole, et qu’on en a répandu quelques gouttes, chacun dit : C’est du baume. Ma chère fille, notre cher petit Jésus était tout plein du baume de salut ; mais on ne le connaissait pas jusqu’à tant qu’avec ce couteau doucement cruel on a ouvert sa divine chair ; et lors on a connu qu’il est tout baume et huile répandue, et que c’est le baume de salut. C’est pourquoi saint Joseph et Notre-Dame, puis tout le voisinage, commencent à crier : Jésus, qui signifie Sauveur.

« Plaise à ce divin poupon de tremper nos cœurs dans son sang, et les parfumer de son saint Nom, afin que les roses .des bons désirs que nous avons conçus, soient toutes pourprées de sa teinture, et toutes odorantes de son onguent ! »

Le Pape Alexandre VII voulut composer lui-même la Collecte pour l’Office et la Messe du saint Prélat [2].

Conquérant pacifique des âmes, Pontife aimé de Dieu et des hommes, nous célébrons en vous la douceur de notre Emmanuel. Ayant appris de lui à être doux et humble de cœur, vous avez, selon sa promesse, possédé la terre [3]. Rien ne vous a résisté : les sectaires les plus obstinés, les pécheurs les plus endurcis, les âmes les plus tièdes, tout a cédé aux charmes de votre parole et de vos exemples. Que nous aimons à vous contempler, auprès du berceau de l’Enfant qui vient nous aimer, mêlant votre gloire avec celle de Jean et des Innocents : Apôtre comme le premier, simple comme les fils de Rachel ! Fixez pour jamais notre cœur dans cette heureuse compagnie ; qu’il apprenne enfin que le joug de l’Emmanuel est doux, et son fardeau léger.

Réchauffez nos âmes au feu de votre charité ; soutenez en elles le désir de la perfection. Docteur des voies spirituelles, introduisez-nous dans cette Vie sainte dont vous avez tracé les lois ; ranimez dans nos cœurs l’amour du prochain, sans lequel nous ne pourrions espérer de posséder l’amour de Dieu ; initiez-nous au zèle que vous avez eu pour le salut des âmes ; enseignez-nous la patience et le pardon des injures, afin que nous nous aimions tous, non seulement de bouche et de parole, comme parle Jean votre modèle, mais en œuvre et en vérité [4]. Bénissez l’Église de la terre, au sein de laquelle votre souvenir est encore aussi présent que si vous veniez de la quitter pour celle du ciel ; car vous n’êtes plus seulement l’Évêque de Genève, mais l’objet de l’amour et de la confiance de l’univers entier.

Hâtez la conversion générale des sectateurs de l’hérésie Calviniste. Déjà vos prières ont avancé l’œuvre du retour ; et le Sacrifice de l’Agneau s’offre publiquement au sein même de Genève. Consommez au plus tôt le triomphe de l’Église-Mère. Extirpez du milieu de nous lès derniers restes de l’hérésie Jansénienne, qui se préparait à semer son ivraie dans la France, aux jours mêmes où le Seigneur vous retirait de ce monde. Purgez nos contrées des maximes et des habitudes dangereuses qu’elles ont héritées des temps malheureux où cette secte perverse triomphait dans son audace.

Bénissez de toute la tendresse de votre cœur paternel le saint Ordre que vous avez fondé, et que vous avez donné à Marie sous le titre de sa Visitation. Conservez-le dans l’état où il fait l’édification de l’Église ; donnez-lui accroissement, dirigez-le, afin que votre esprit se maintienne dans la famille dont vous êtes le père. Protégez l’Épiscopat dont vous êtes l’ornement et le modèle ; demandez à Dieu, pour son Église, des Pasteurs formés à votre école, embrasés de votre zèle, émules de votre sainteté. Enfin, souvenez-vous de la France, avec laquelle vous avez contracté des liens si étroits. Elle s’émut au bruit de vos vertus, elle convoita votre Apostolat, elle vous a donné votre plus fidèle coopératrice ; vous avez enrichi sa langue de vos admirables écrits ; c’est de son sein même que vous êtes parti pour aller à Dieu : du haut du ciel, regardez-la aussi comme votre patrie.

[2] Cette attribution au pape de la rédaction de l’oraison de St François de Sales est erronée. Dans les papiers du cistercien Hilarion Rancati (2 septembre 1594 -17 avril 1663), soigneusement classes et conservés à l’Ambrosienne de Milan, on trouve traces de ses nombreuses activités comme Qualificateur du Saint Office, consulteur de la S. G. de Propaganda Fide et de la S. Congrégation des Rites.

A ce dernier titre (au ms. B 238 p. 431-432) on trouve des essais de composition d’une oraison liturgique pour le bienheureux François de Sales qui, décédé à Lyon, en l’aumônerie de la Visitation le 28 décembre 1622, sur les 8 heures du- soir, venait d’être béatifié à Saint-Pierre de Rome le 8 janvier 1662.

[3] Matth. 5, 4.

[4] I Johan. 3, 18.

Bertrand François (1756-1805). Saint François de Sales remet la règle à sainte Jeanne de Chantal, Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toulouse - Chapelle Saint Roch

Bhx Cardinal Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum

Le grand saint de la mansuétude, de l’amabilité et de l’amour de Dieu, mourut à Lyon le 28 décembre 1622, mais ce jour étant déjà consacré au natale des Innocents à qui le saint était très dévot, sa mémoire fut retardée jusqu’aujourd’hui, anniversaire de la translation de son corps à Annecy.

La messe est celle du Commun des docteurs ; mais comme pour la fête de saint Hilaire, la première collecte est propre ; elle fut composée par Alexandre VII, à qui le saint avait prédit la vocation ecclésiastique et le suprême Pontificat. Deux florissants instituts religieux représentent actuellement dans l’Église la postérité spirituelle de saint François de Sales ; ce sont les religieuses de la Visitation, directement instituées par lui ; et la congrégation salésienne, que le bienheureux Don Bosco tira du cœur même et de l’esprit du saint évêque de Genève.

La caractéristique du saint évêque de Genève fut la douceur et l’humilité du cœur, vertus au moyen desquelles il convertit environ soixante-dix mille hérétiques à la foi catholique, et guida une foule d’âmes vers les sommets les plus élevés de la perfection. La rudesse des manières, le zèle impétueux et l’impatience ne sont pas toujours les meilleurs moyens pour conduire les âmes à Jésus-Christ, car la vertu, pour être aimée, doit se montrer aimable et se rendre accessible à tous les cœurs. Quel est le secret d’une telle abnégation ? La plénitude de l’amour de Dieu, parce que, comme le dit l’Apôtre, Charitas non quaerit quae sua sunt.

Saint François de Sales prêchant à Fontainebleau devant Henri IV. Chapelle des Pénitents bleus de Béziers

Dom Pius Parsch, le Guide dans l’année liturgique

« On prend plus de mouches avec une cuillerée de miel, qu’avec cent tonneaux de vinaigre ».

Saint François. — Jour de mort : 28 décembre 1622, à Lyon (29 janvier, translation de ses reliques). Tombeau : église de la Visitation à Annecy (Savoie). Sa vie : François naquit le 21 août 1567 ; il fut ordonné prêtre en 1593 ; de 1593 à 1598, il fut chargé de la mission du Chablais qui se termina par la conversion de 70.000 protestants ; en 1602, il devint évêque de Genève. La douceur et l’amabilité résument toute sa vie, mais constituent aussi le secret de sa sainteté et de son influence. De ses nombreux écrits, où se reflètent la bonté et le charme de sa personne, le plus répandu, aujourd’hui encore, est l’ »Introduction à la vie dévote ». Ce livre est, avec l’ »Imitation de Jésus-Christ », le meilleur manuel de la perfection chrétienne. Ce petit livre prouve au monde que la piété est aimable et doit rendre les hommes aimables. Son amitié sainte avec sainte Françoise de Chantal est aussi très célèbre. Son « Introduction à la vie dévote » et ses autres écrits lui valurent d’être proclamé docteur de l’Église.

Son amabilité et sa douceur ont aussi leur histoire. Il ne les avait pas trouvées dans son berceau. Au contraire, il avait un tempérament violent et ardent, un esprit excessivement vif et impétueux. Il lui fallut de nombreuses années pour dompter son tempérament emporté et violent. Durant son épiscopat, ce tempérament l’emporta encore une fois, parce que, pendant un de ses sermons, on sonna avant qu’il eût terminé. Il arriva cependant à se dominer en « prenant toujours vite la colère au collet ». Faisons de même nous aussi.

La messe (In medio). — La messe est empruntée au commun des docteurs (cf. 14 janvier). L’Oraison seule est propre, elle caractérise très bien notre saint : elle parle d’abord du pasteur des âmes, qui a fait sienne la devise de saint Paul : je me suis fait tout à tous pour les sauver tous (1. Cor. X, 22) ; elle parle ensuite de sa douceur et la demande pour nous, comme fruit de Rédemption, en ce jour : « afin que, pénétrés de la douceur de ta charité, dirigés par ses avis et soutenus par ses mérites, nous obtenions les joies éternelles. »

Quand le saint du jour possède une vertu caractéristique ou une grâce spéciale (comme c’est le cas aujourd’hui), il faut en faire, non seulement à la messe et au bréviaire, mais pendant toute la journée, l’objet de nos méditations et le principe de nos résolutions. Le saint doit être notre maître. A l’Offrande de la messe, nous apporterons notre volonté de pratiquer cette vertu ; à la communion, nous recevrons la force et la grâce de la pratiquer. Aux heures de l’Office, notre prière et notre intention doivent avoir cette vertu pour objet. Lisons aujourd’hui, dans l’« Introduction », précisément le chapitre qui traite de la mansuétude et de la douceur. Ainsi le saint du jour nous deviendra plus familier, il sera notre maître et notre professeur de vertu.

La douceur d’après l’Introduction à la vie dévote. « Cette misérable vie n’est qu’un cheminement à la bienheureuse. Ne nous courrouçons donc point en chemin les uns avec les autres, marchons avec la troupe de nos frères et compagnons doucement et amiablement. Mais je vous dit nettement et sans exception, ne vous courroucez point du tout s’il est possible et ne recevez aucun prétexte quel qu’il soit pour ouvrir la porte de votre cœur au courroux, car saint Jacques dit tout court et sans réserve que « l’ire de l’homme n’opère point la justice de Dieu ». Il faut vraiment résister au mal et réprimer les vices de ceux que nous avons en charge, constamment et vaillamment, mais doucement et paisiblement. Rien ne mâte tant l’éléphant courroucé que la vue d’un agnelet et rien ne rompt si aisément la force des canonnades que la laine. On ne prise pas tant la correction qui sort de la passion, quoique accompagnée de raison que celle qui n’a aucune autre origine que la raison seule ; car l’âme raisonnable étant naturellement sujette à la raison, elle n’est sujette à la passion que par tyrannie ; et partant, quand la raison est accompagnée de passion, elle se rend odieuse, sa juste domination étant avilie par la société de la tyrannie... » Il est mieux, dit saint Augustin, de refuser l’entrée à l’ire juste et équitable que de la recevoir pour petite qu’elle soit, parce que, étant reçue, il est malaisé de la faire sortir. » Que si une fois elle peut gagner la nuit et que le soleil couche sur notre ire (ce que l’Apôtre défend) se convertissant en haine, il n’y a plus moyen de s’en défaire. »

SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/Saint-Francois-de-Sales#nh2

Saint François de Sales

Évêque et docteur de l'Eglise

Introduction à la vie dévote (I. 3)

Dieu commanda en la création aux plantes de porter leurs fruits, chacune selon son genre : ainsi commande-t-il aux Chrétiens, qui sont les plantes vivantes de son Église, qu'ils produisent des fruits de dévotion, un chacun selon sa qualité et vacation. La dévotion doit être différemment exercée par le gentilhomme, par l'artisan, par le valet, par le prince, par la veuve, par la fille, par la mariée ; et non seulement cela, mais il faut accommoder la pratique de la dévotion aux forces, aux affaires et aux devoirs de chaque particulier. Je vous prie, Philothée, serait-il à propos que l'Évêque voulût être solitaire comme les Chartreux ? Et si les mariés ne voulaient rien amasser non plus que les Capucins, si l'artisan était tout le jour à l'église comme le religieux, et le religieux toujours exposé à toutes sortes de rencontres pour le service du prochain comme l'Évêque, cette dévotion ne serait-elle pas ridicule, déréglée et insupportable ? Cette faute néanmoins arrive bien souvent.

Non, Philothée, la dévotion ne gâte rien quand elle est vraie, ainsi elle perfectionne tout, et lorsqu'elle se rend contraire à la légitime vacation de quelqu'un, elle est sans doute fausse. L'abeille, dit Aristote, tire son miel des fleurs sans les intéresser, les laissant entières et fraîches comme elle les a trouvées ; mais la vraie dévotion fait encore mieux, car non seulement elle ne gâte nulle sorte de vocation ni d'affaires, ainsi au contraire elle les orne et embellit. Toutes sortes de pierreries jetées dedans le miel en deviennent plus éclatantes, chacune selon sa couleur et chacun devient plus agréable en sa vocation la conjoignant à la dévotion : le soin de la famille en est rendu paisible, l'amour du mari et de la femme plus sincère, le service du prince plus fidèle, et toutes sortes d'occupations plus suaves et amiables.

C'est une erreur ainsi une hérésie, de vouloir bannir la vie dévote de la compagnie des soldats, de la boutique des artisans, de la cour des princes, du ménage des gens mariés. Il est vrai, Philothée, que la dévotion purement contemplative, monastique et religieuse ne peut être exercée en ces vacations-là mais aussi, outre ces trois sortes de dévotion, il y en a plusieurs autres, propres à perfectionner ceux de dévotion, il y en a plusieurs autres, propres à perfectionner ceux qui vivent des états séculiers. Où que nous soyons, nous pouvons et devons aspirer à la vie parfaite.

Litanies de Saint François de Sales

Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous

O Christ, ayez pitié de nous O Christ, ayez pitié de nous

Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous

Jésus, écoutez-nous Jésus, écoutez-nous

Jésus, exaucez-nous Jésus, exaucez-nous

Père du Ciel qui êtes Dieu, ayez pitié de nous

Fils, Rédempteur du monde qui êtes Dieu, ayez pitié de nous

Saint-Esprit qui êtes Dieu, ayez pitié de nous

Sainte Trinité qui êtes un seul Dieu, ayez pitié de nous

Sainte Marie, sainte Vierge des Vierges, Mère du Sauveur, priez pour nous

Saint François de Sales, très digne pontife, chéri de Dieu et des hommes, priez pour nous

Saint François de Sales, fidèle disciple et imitateur de Jésus-Christ, priez pour nous

Saint François de Sales, enfant bien-aimé de Marie, priez pour nous

Saint François de Sales, qui avez miraculeusement recouvré la paix et l'espérance par l'intercession de la Mère de Dieu, priez pour nous

Saint François de Sales, guide et modèle de la vraie piété, priez pour nous

Saint François de Sales, parfait exemple de prudence et de charité, dans la conduite des âmes, priez pour nous

qui avez eu la science pour enseigner les hommes, et l'onction pour les toucher, priez pour nous

qui avez su joindre la force pour corriger les vices et la douceur pour gagner les cœurs, priez pour nous

pasteur charitable qui avez exposé votre vie pour le salut de vos ouailles, priez pour nous

qui étiez le soutien de la veuve et le père de l'orphelin, priez pour nous

qui étiez le protecteur des pauvres et des opprimés, priez pour nous

dont l'extérieur bon et affable, grave et modeste, rappelait Jésus-Christ conversant parmi les hommes, priez pour nous

tout embrasé d'amour pour la croix du Sauveur, priez pour nous

vrai miroir de douceur et d'humilité, priez pour nous

qui, par votre zèle et votre douceur, avez gagné à l'Eglise plus de soixante-dix mille hérétiques, priez pour nous

dont la patience et la sérénité n'ont jamais été altérées par les injures, les calomnies et les contradictions, priez pour nous

qui voyiez en toutes choses le bon plaisir de Dieu, et qui mettiez votre bonheur à vous y conformer avec amour, priez pour nous

qui avez pour principe de ne rien demander et de ne rien refuser priez pour nous

qui vous reposiez dans le sein de la divine Providence, comme un enfant dans les bras de sa mère, priez pour nous

qui aviez pris pour devise ou mourir ou aimer, parce que la vie sans amour de Dieu vous semblait pire que la mort, priez pour nous

dont la vie, au milieu des plus grand travaux, était une oraison continuelle, priez pour nous

imitateur de la pureté des anges, priez pour nous

le plus dévot et le plus aimable des saints, priez pour nous

fondateur d'une congrégation des vierges destinée à répandre en tous lieux la bonne odeur de Jésus-Christ, priez pour nous

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde, pardonnez-nous, Seigneur

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde, exaucez-nous, Seigneur!

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde, ayez pitié de nous, Seigneur!

Jésus, écoutez-nous Jésus, exaucez-nous

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde,

pardonnez-nous, Seigneur

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde,

exaucez-nous, Seigneur

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde,

Jésus-Christ, écoutez-nous

Jésus-Christ, exaucez-nous

Priez pour nous, saint François de Sales ;

- Afin que nous travaillions comme vous à imiter Jésus doux et humble de cœur.

Prions. Mon Dieu, qui, pour l'édification et le salut des âmes, nous avez présenté dans saint François de Sales le modèle le plus parfait de la douceur et de la piété, mettez dans nos âmes toute l'onction de sa religieuse amabilité, toute l'ardeur de sa charité et toute la profondeur de son humilité, afin que nous puissions partager un jour sa gloire dans le Ciel, et vous aimer avec lui dans tous les siècles. - Amen.

Prière de Saint François de Sales composée pour une future mère.

Dieu éternel, Père d'infinie bonté, qui avez ordonné le mariage pour accroître la race humaine et repeupler la Cité céleste et qui avez dévolu à la femme le rôle principal en cette tâche, c'est votre volonté que la fécondité apporte la preuve de votre bénédiction.

Jetez maintenant un regard sur moi, prosternée dans l'adoration devant la face de votre Majesté, afin de vous remercier pour la conception de l'enfant, don que avez fait à mon corps. Mais, Seigneur, puisque Vous avez agi ainsi dans votre bonté, étendez les bras de votre Providence et menez à la perfection l'œuvre que Vous avez commencée. Communiquez à ma gestation quelque chose de Votre divine excellence, et par votre assistance indéfectible, aidez-moi à porter cet enfant, fruit de votre pouvoir créateur, jusqu'à l'heure de l'enfantement. Dieu de ma vie, venez à mon aide, soutenez de votre main sacrée ma faiblesse et recevez ce fruit de mes entrailles ; préservez le nouveau-né qui vous appartient, jusqu'à ce que le sacrement du baptême le dépose dans le sein de votre épouse, l'Eglise, faites-le vôtre également par la Rédemption.

Sauveur de mon âme, vous qui sur la terre montrâtes tant de tendresse à l'égard des petits enfants assemblés autour de vous, recevez-en encore un autre, je vous prie, et adoptez-le parmi vos fils. Lorsqu'il vous appartiendra et pourra vous appeler Père, alors Votre nom sera sanctifié en lui et votre règne arrivera. C'est pourquoi, ô Rédempteur du monde, je voue, dédie et consacre mon enfant, de tout mon cœur, à Votre loi, à l'amour de Votre service et au service de Votre amour. Etant donné que Votre juste colère a assujetti la mère de la race humaine ainsi que sa postérité pécheresse à beaucoup de souffrances et de peines dans l'enfantement, j'accepte de vos mains, Seigneur, toutes les douleurs qui seront les miennes à cette heure. Je vous fais pourtant une prière : Au nom de la Sainte joie avec laquelle votre innocente Mère a enfanté, soyez miséricordieux à l'heure de ma délivrance envers la pauvre pécheresse que je suis et bénissez-moi, ainsi que l'enfant que Vous m'avez donné, de la bénédiction de votre amour éternel. Avec une complète confiance en votre bonté, je demande ce don en toute humilité.

Et vous, très sainte Vierge-Mère, incomparable souveraine, gloire sans pareille de toutes les femmes, ouvrez largement vos bras protecteurs et recevez dans le sein maternel de votre infinie délicatesse mes désirs et mes supplications, de sorte que votre Fils, dans Sa miséricorde, puisse daigner accueillir ma prière. O vous, la plus aimable de toutes les créatures, au nom de l'amour virginal dont Vous avez chéri saint Joseph, votre très cher époux, au nom des mérites infinis de la naissance de votre Fils, des entrailles sacrées qui L'ont porté, des mamelles qui L'ont allaité, je vous supplie d'obtenir pour moi ce que je demande.

Saints anges de Dieu, désignés pour me garder, moi et l'enfant que je porte, défendez-nous, gouvernez-nous, afin que, sous votre protection, nous puissions un jour atteindre à la gloire qui fait vos délices et en votre compagnie, louer et bénir le Seigneur et Maître de nous tous, qui vit et règne éternellement.

SOURCE : http://www.paroisse-saint-aygulf.fr/index.php/prieres-et-liturgie/saints-par-mois/icalrepeat.detail/2015/01/24/1815/-/saint-francois-de-sales-eveque-et-docteur-de-l-eglise

Frère Joseph Carignano, Saint François de Sales,1890

ENCYCLIQUE " RERUM OMNIUM "

sur saint François de Sales

adressée à tous les évêques

à l'occasion du troisième centenaire de sa mort

par sa Sainteté PIE XI

SA VIE ET SES VERTUS

Si on examine avec attention la vie de François de Sales, on voit qu'il fut dès ses premières années un modèle de sainteté, modèle non point froid et triste, mais aimable et accessible à tous, de sorte qu'on peut en toute vérité lui appliquer cette parole : Son commerce n'a point d'amertume, et sa compagnie n'est point ennuyeuse, mais procure joie et plaisir. (Sap. VIII,16)

La douceur, vertu distinctive de saint François

De fait, s'il a brillé de l'éclat de toutes les vertus, saint François s'est distingué par une exquise douceur d'âme qu'on est fondé à considérer comme sa note particulière et caractéristique. Sa douceur toutefois n'avait rien de commun avec cette amabilité affectée qui se dépense en civilités raffinées et s'étale en prévenances excessives ; elle était aux antipodes aussi bien d'une torpeur ou apathie que rien n'émeut, que d'une timidité qui n'a pas la force, même quand c'est nécessaire, de manifester une indignation.

Cette vertu prédominante, jaillie des profondeurs de l'âme de François de Sales comme une délicieuse fleur de charité puisqu'elle était faite surtout de compassion et d'indulgence, atténuait de suavité la gravité de son visage, se reflétait dans sa démarche et dans sa voix, et lui gagnait les égards empressés de tous.

Douceur compatissante du prêtre

Les historiens attestent que notre Saint avait accoutumé de recevoir sans la moindre difficulté et d'accueillir avec tendresse tous ceux, et plus spécialement les pécheurs et apostats, qui se pressaient à sa porte pour recevoir le pardon de leurs fautes et amender leur conduite ; s'occuper des condamnés détenus en prison était sa joie, et il les réconfortait, au cours de fréquentes visites, par les mille industries de sa charité ; il ne montrait pas moins d'indulgence dans ses rapports avec ses serviteurs, supportant avec une patience exemplaire leurs négligences et leurs manques de respect.

Douceur conquérante de l'apôtre du Chablais

S'étendant à tous, la mansuétude de François de Sales ne se démentit jamais à l'endroit de qui que ce fût, pas plus dans le malheur que dans la prospérité : ainsi, malgré leurs avanies, les hérétiques ne le trouvèrent jamais moins bienveillant ni moins affable.

L'année qui suit son ordination, il s'offre spontanément, sans l'assentiment et contre le gré de son père, à Granier, évêque de Genève, pour ramener à l'Église la population du Chablais ; bien volontiers l'évêque lui confie cette province étendue et inhospitalière ; saint François s'y dévoue avec tant de zèle qu'il ne recule devant aucune fatigue et ne se laisse même arrêter par aucun danger de mort.

Or, l'extrême étendue de sa science, la force et les ressources de son éloquence firent moins, pour procurer le salut à tant de milliers d'âmes, que la bonté souriante dont jamais il ne se départit dans l'exercice du saint ministère.

Il aimait à redire fréquemment cet adage qui mérite d'être retenu : Les Apôtres ne combattent qu'en souffrant et ne triomphent qu'en mourant ; et l'on a peine à croire avec quelle ardeur et quelle persévérance il soutint la cause de Jésus-Christ parmi ses chères populations du Chablais.

Pour leur porter les lumières de la foi et les consolations de l'espérance chrétienne, notre Saint allait par le fond des vallées et se glissait en rampant à travers les gorges étroites. Si les âmes fuient, il se met à leur poursuite, les appelant à grands cris : brutalement repoussé, il ne se décourage point ; assailli de menaces, il se remet à l'œuvre ; expulsé plus d'une fois des hôtelleries, il passe des nuits en plein air dans le froid et la neige ; il célèbre la Messe même si tout assistant fait défaut ; ses auditeurs se retirant presque tous, il continue de prêcher ; toujours il conserve une parfaite égalité d'âme, et il témoigne aux ingrats une charité souverainement aimable qui finit par triompher de ses adversaires, si obstinée que puisse être leur résistance.

Ce qu'était la douceur de saint François

Irascibilité native, vaincue par une lutte perpétuelle

D'aucuns penseront peut-être que François de Sales a hérité en naissant de ces qualités morales, et qu'il est une de ces natures spécialement privilégiées que la grâce de Dieu a prévenues du don de la douceur : erreur profonde ! Au contraire, il était, de par son tempérament physique même, d'un naturel difficile et enclin à la colère ; mais, s'étant fixé pour modèle le Christ Jésus qui a dit : Apprenez de moi que je suis doux et humble de cœur (Matth. XI,29), il surveilla constamment les mouvements de son âme et, en se faisant violence, réussit si bien à les comprimer et à les dompter, que nul n'a mieux rappelé que lui, en toute sa personne, le Dieu de paix et de mansuétude.

Sa biographie contient un trait qui est une preuve remarquable de ces combats intimes. Les médecins auxquels, après sa mort, sa sainte dépouille fut remise pour l'embaumement, trouvèrent le foie presque pétrifié et réduit en menus calculs ; ce phénomène leur révéla quelles violences et quels efforts il avait dû s'imposer pour dompter, cinquante années durant, son irascibilité native.

Ainsi donc, c'est à sa force d'âme, sans cesse alimentée par une foi robuste et un brûlant amour de Dieu, que François de Sales dut toute sa douceur, de façon qu'on peut lui appliquer à la lettre ce mot de la Sainte Écriture : De la force est sortie la douceur (Judic. XIV,14). Et par la douceur apostolique qui le distinguait, et qui, au dire de Jean Chrysostome, est la plus puissante des violences (Hom. 58 in Gen.), il ne pouvait manquer de jouir, pour attirer les cœurs, de ce pouvoir que promet aux doux l'oracle divin : Heureux les doux, car ils seront maîtres du monde (Matth. V,4).

Cette douceur n'excluait pas une courageuse fermeté

D'autre part, quelle était l'énergie morale de saint François, en qui il était permis de signaler un modèle de douceur, on le vit très clairement chaque fois qu'il eut à lutter contre les puissants pour la gloire de Dieu, les droits de l'Église et le salut des âmes.

Ce fut le cas lorsqu'il défendit l'immunité de la juridiction ecclésiastique contre le Sénat de Chambéry ; cette assemblée l'ayant menacé par lettre de lui retirer une partie de ses revenus, non seulement François de Sales fit au messager la réponse qui convenait à sa dignité, mais il ne cessa de protester contre cette injustice jusqu'à ce que le Sénat lui eût donné pleine satisfaction. C'est avec la même fermeté de caractère qu'il subit la colère du Prince, auprès de qui il avait, ainsi que ses frères, été calomnié ; il résista avec non moins de force aux prétentions des seigneurs pour la collation des bénéfices ecclésiastiques ; de même encore, après avoir tout essayé, il sévit contre les rebelles qui avaient refusé la dîme au Chapitre des chanoines de Genève.

C'est donc avec une liberté tout évangélique qu'il avait accoutumé soit de flétrir les vices publics, soit de démasquer les contrefaçons de la vertu et de la piété ; respectueux, autant que quiconque, de l'autorité des Princes, jamais cependant il ne consentit par ses actes à se faire complice de leurs passions ni à se plier aux excès de leur arbitraire.

SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/01/24.php

Blason de Francois de Sales - Sa devise complète est Nunquam excidet

Saint François de Sales, évêque et docteur de l'Église

Il naît en 1567 dans une noble famille savoyarde restée catholique en pays calviniste, il était destiné à une brillante carrière juridique. Son père l'envoie étudier à Paris. Mais il y découvre la théologie et les problèmes de la prédestination. Scrupuleux, il se croit prédestiné à être damné. Le désespoir le submerge jusqu'au jour où il découvre le "souvenez-vous", la prière mariale attribuée à saint Bernard. Il retrouve la paix et ce sera l'un des grands messages de sa vie quand il pacifiera sainte Jeanne de Chantal. Ordonné prêtre à 35 ans, il est ensuite nommé évêque de Genève, mais réside à Annecy, car Genève est aux mains des calvinistes. Il ne s’épargnera rien pour annoncer l’évangile : ni visites dans son diocèse, ni catéchèses des petits enfants, ni visites aux condamnés, ni voyages apostoliques... C'est l'époque où l'Église romaine, face au protestantisme et à la doctrine de la prédestination, reprend courage et se lance dans le grand mouvement de la Contre-Réforme. Il entreprend d'écrire des lettres personnelles aux gens qu'il ne peut atteindre. Puis il fait appel à l'imprimerie pour éditer des textes qu'il placarde dans les endroits publics et distribue sous les portes. Ces publications périodiques imprimées sont considérées comme le premier " journal " catholique du monde, et c’est pourquoi François de Sales est le patron des journalistes. Furent ainsi publiés les "Méditations", les "Épîtres à Messieurs de Thonon", et les "Controverses". Et pour toucher les illettrés, il se met à prêcher sur les places, au milieu des marchés... Parallèlement, il fréquente les plus grands esprits catholiques de l'époque, soutient la réforme des carmels de sainte Thérèse d'Avila, la fondation de l'Oratoire français par Pierre de Bérulle (1611) et fonde lui-même l'Ordre des Visitandines avec sainte Jeanne de Chantal pour mettre la vie religieuse à la portée des femmes de faible santé. Son "Introduction à la vie dévote" est un ouvrage qui s'adresse à chaque baptisé. Il y rappelle que tout laïc peut se sanctifier en faisant joyeusement son devoir d'état, en lequel s'exprime la volonté de Dieu. Ses écrits sont, par ailleurs, un des plus beaux témoins de la langue française classique qui commence à s’affirmer. Il meurt en 1622.

Saint Francis de Sales

Also known as

Francis of Sales

Gentle Christ of Geneva

the Gentleman Saint

Franz von Sales

Memorial

24 January

formerly 29 January

28 December on some calendars including in Lyon, France

23 January (Anglican Church in Wales)

Profile

Born in the castle of Château de Thorens to a well-placed Savoyard family, the eldest of twelve children born to François de Boisy and Françoise de Sionnz. His parents intended that Francis become a lawyer, enter politics, and carry on the family line and power. He studied at La Roche and Annecy in France, taught by Jesuits. Attended the Collège de Clermont in Paris, France at age 12. In his early teens, Francis began to believe in pre-destination, and was so afraid that he was pre-emptorily condemned to Hell that he became ill and eventually was confined to bed. However, in January 1587 at the Church of Saint Stephen, he overcame the crisis, decided that whatever God had in store for him was for the best, and dedicated his life to God.

Studied law and theology at the University of Padua, Italy, and earned a doctorate in both fields. He returned home, and found a position as Senate advocate. It was at this point that he received a message telling him to “Leave all and follow Me.” He took this as a call to the priesthood, a move his family fiercely opposed, especially when he refused a marriage that had been arranged for him. However, he pursued a devoted prayer life, and his gentle ways won over the family.

Priest. In 1593 he was appointed provost of the diocese of Geneva, Switzerland, a stronghold of Calvinists. Preacher, writer and spiritual director in the district of Chablais. His simple, clear explanations of Catholic doctrine, and his gentle way with everyone, brought many back to the Roman Church. He even used sign language in order to bring the message to the deaf, leading to his patronage of deaf people.

Bishop of Geneva in 1602. He travelled and evangelized throughout the Duchy of Savoy, working with children whenever he could. Friend of Saint Vincent de Paul. He turned down a wealthy French bishopric to continue working where God had placed him. With Saint Jeanne de Chantal he helped found the Order of the Visitation . A prolific correspondent, many of his letters have survived.

The value of his writings led to his being declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Blessed Pius IX in 1877, and a patron of writers and journalists by Pope Pius XI in 1923. The Salesians of Don Bosco, the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales, and the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales are named in his honour as is the Saint François Atoll in the Seychelles Islands.

Born

21 August 1567 at Château de Thorens, Savoy (part of modern France)

Died

28 December 1622 at Lyon, France of natural causes

buried at the basilica of the Visitation, Annecy, France

his heart was preserved as a relic at Lyon

during the French Revolution his heart was was moved to Venice, Italy

Beatified

8 January 1662 by Pope Alexander VII

Canonized

19 April 1665 by Pope Alexander VII

journalists (proclaimed on 26 April 1923 by Pope Pius XI)

teachers

writers (proclaimed on 26 April 1923 by Pope Pius XI)

Annecy, France, diocese of

Baker, Oregon, diocese of

Cincinnati, Ohio, archdiocese of

Columbus, Ohio, diocese of

Houma-Theibodaux, Louisiana, diocese of

Keimoes-Upington, South Africa, diocese of

Oakland, California, diocese of

Wilmington, Delaware, diocese of

Champdepraz, Aosta, Italy

Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

Society of the Sacred Heart

Representation

bald man with a beard wearing the robes of a bishop while holding a book, and with his heart pierced with thorns

bald man with a beard wearing the robes of a bishop while holding a picture of the Virgn Mary

crown of thorns

heart of Jesus

Storefront

books

hand painted medals

Additional Information

Abstract of the Life of Saint Francis of Sales from the Lessons read on His Festival in the Roman Breviary

Book of Saints, by Father Lawrence George Lovasik, S.V.D.

Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Catholic Encyclopedia

Half Hours with the Saints and Servants of God

Little Lives of the Great Saints

Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler

New Catholic Dictionary

Pictorial Lives of the Saints

Rerum Omnium Perturbationem, by Pope Pius XI

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 2 March 2011

Saints of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein

United States Catholic Magazine

–

A Study of the Gentle Saint, by Louise Mary Stacpoole-Kenny

Introduction to the Devout Life, by Saint Francis de Sales

The Month of Mary, According to the Spirit of Saint Francis of Sales, by Father Gaspar Gilli

The Mystical Flora of Saint Francis de Sales

The Mystical Explanation of the Canticle of Canticles, by Saint Francis de Sales

Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

books

other sites in english

1001 Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian Catholic Truth Society

Christian Biographies, by James Keifer

Cradio

Domestic Church, by Catherine Fournier

Franciscan Media

Independent Catholic News

Jean Lee

National Catholic Reporter

R C Spirituality

Saint Charles Borromeo Church, Picayune, Mississippi, USA

Saint Francis and the Dynamics of Love, by Susanne A Kjekshus Koch

Saints for Sinners

Saints Stories for All Ages

Sermons of Saint Francis on Prayer

images

Saint Peter’s Basilica Info

Wikimedia Commons

audio

Consoling Thoughts of Saint Francis de Sales, edited by Jean-Joseph Huguet – audio book

Introduction to the Devout Life, part 1 – audio book

Introduction to the Devout Life, part 2 – audio book

Introduction to the Devout Life, part 3 – audio book

Introduction to the Devout Life, parts 1 thru 5 – audio book

Treatise on the Love of God – audio book

Introduction to the Devout Life: 1st Meditation

Introduction to the Devout Life: 2nd Meditation

Introduction to the Devout Life: 3rd Meditation

Introduction to the Devout Life: 4th Meditation

Introduction of the Devout Life: 5th Meditation

Introduction of the Devout Life: 6th Meditation

Everyday Saints (podcast)

video

YouTube PlayList

e-books

Beauties of Saint Francis de Sales, by Jean Pierre Camus

Catholic Controversy, by Saint Francis de Sales

Consoling Thoughts Of St Francis De Sales, edited by Father Pere Huguet

Francis de Sales – A Study of the Gentle Saint, by Louise M Stacpoole-Kenny

Introduction to the Devout Life, by Saint Francis

Letters to Personals in the World

Life of Saint Francis de Sales, by Robert Ornsby

Life of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Prince of Geneva, v1, by Pier Giacinto Gallizia

Month of Mary According to the Spirit of Saint Francis of Sales, by Don Gaspar Gilli

Practical Piety as set forth by Saint Francis de Sales

Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Prince of Geneva, by Henrietta Louisa Farrer

Saint Francis of Sales, by Amedee de Margerie

Secret of Sanctity, According to Saint Francis de Sales, by Father Jean Crasset

Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, by Jean Pierre Camus

Treatise on the Love of God, by Saint Francis

True Spiritual Conferences of Saint Francis of Sales

sitios en español

Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición

sites en français

Abbé Christian-Philippe Chanut

fonti in italiano

nettsteder i norsk

spletne strani v slovenšcini

Svetniki

Readings

Nothing makes us so prosperous in this world as to give alms. – Saint Francis de Sales

It is to those who have the most need of us that we ought to show our love more especially. – Saint Francis de Sales

Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence. Saint Francis de Sales

Salvation is shown to faith, it is prepared for hope, but it is given only to charity. Faith points out the way to the land of promise as a pillar of fire hope feeds us with its manna of sweetness, but charity actually introduces us into the Promised Land. Saint Francis de Sales

Oh what remorse we shall feel at the end of our lives, when we look back upon the great number of instructions and examples afforded by God and the Saints for our perfection, and so carelessly received by us! If this end were to come to you today, how would you be pleased with the life you have led this year? Saint Francis de Sales

We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear. Saint Francis de Sales

In the royal galley of divine Love, there is no galley slave: all rowers are volunteers. Saint Francis de Sales

We are not drawn to God by iron chains, but by sweet attractions and holy inspirations. Saint Francis de Sales

Perfection of life is the perfection of love. For love is the life of the soul. Saint Francis de Sales

By giving yourself to God, you not only receive Himself in exchange, but eternal life as well. Saint Francis de Sales

Man is the perfection of the Universe.

The spirit is the perfection of man.

Love is the perfection of the spirit, and charity that of love.

Therefore, the love of God is the end, the perfection of the Universe. Saint Francis de Sales

O love eternal, my soul needs and chooses you eternally! Ah, come Holy Spirit, and inflame our hearts with your love! To love – or to die! To die – and to love! To die to all other love in order to live in Jesus’ love, so that we may not die eternally. But that we may live in your eternal love, O Savior of our souls, we eternally sing, “Live, Jesus! Jesus, I love! Live, Jesus, whom I love! Jesus, I love, Jesus who lives and reigns forever and ever.” Amen. – from Treatise on the Love of God by Saint Francis de Sales

Lord, I am yours, and I must belong to no one but you. My soul is yours, and must live only by you. My will is yours, and must love only for you. I must love you as my first cause, since I am from you. I must love you as my end and rest, since I am for you. I must love you more than my own being, since my being subsists by you. I must love you more than myself, since I am all yours and all in you. Amen. – from Treatise on the Love of God by Saint Francis de Sales

There are many who say to the Lord, “I give myself wholly to Thee, without any reserve,” but there are few who embrace the practice of this abandonment, which consists in receiving with a certain indifference every sort of event, as it happens in conformity with Divine Providence, as well afflictions as consolations, contempt and reproaches as honor and glory. Saint Francis de Sales

One of the principle effects of holy abandonment in God is evenness of spirits in the various accidents of this life, which is certainly a point of great perfection, and very pleasing to God. The way to maintain it is in imitation of the pilots, to look continually at the Pole Star, that is, the Divine Will, in order to be constantly in conformity with it. For it is this will which, with infinite wisdom rightly distributes prosperity and adversity, health and sickness, riches and poverty, honor and contempt, knowledge and ignorance, and all that happens in this life. On the other hand, if we regard creatures without this relation to God, we cannot prevent our feelings and disposition from changing, according to the variety of accidents which occur. – Saint Francis de Sales

Some torment themselves in seeking means to discover the art of loving God, and do not know – poor creatures – that there is no art or means of loving Him but to love those who love Him – that is, to begin to practice those thing which are pleasing to Him. – Saint Francis de Sales

Our business is to love what would have done. He wills our vocation as it is. Let us love that and not trifle away our time hankering after other people’s vocations. – Saint Francis de Sales

Every moment comes to us pregnant with a command from God, only to pass on and plunge into eternity, there to remain forever what we have made of it. – Saint Francis de Sales

All of us can attain to Christian virtue and holiness, no matter in what condition of life we live and no matter what our life work may be. – Saint Francis de Sales

An action of small value performed with much love of God is far more excellent than one of a higher virtue, done with less love of God. – Saint Francis de Sales

Blessed are those whose hearts are ever open to God’s inspiration; they will never lack what they need to live good holy lives, or to perform properly the duties of their state. For just as God gives each animal through its nature the instincts needed for its self-preservation, so – if we offer no obstacle to grace – he gives each of us the inspirations needed for life, activity and self-preservation on the spiritual level. When we are at a loss what to do, when human help fails us in our dilemmas, then God inspires us. If only we are humbly obedient, he will not let us go astray. Some plants point their flowers at the sun, turn them with it as it moves. The sunflower, however, turns not only its flowers, but its leaves as well. In the same way all God’s chosen ones turn their hearts toward God’s will by keeping his commandments. But those who are utterly filled with charity turn to God’s will by more than mere obedience to his commandments. They also give him their hearts, follow him in all that he commands, counsels or inspires, unreservedly, with no exceptions whatsoever. – Saint Francis de Sales, from Finding God Wherever You Are

Anxiety is a temptation in itself and also the source from and by which other temptations come. Sadness is that mental pain which is caused by the involuntary evils which affect us. These may be external – such as poverty, sickness, contempt of others – or they may be internal – such as ignorance, dryness in prayer, aversion, and temptation itself. When the soul is conscious of some evil, it is dissatisfied because of this, and sadness is produced. The soul wishes to be free from this sadness, and tries to find the means for this. If the soul seeks deliverance for the love of God, it will seek with patience, gentleness, humility, and calmness, waiting on God’s providence rather than relying on its own initiative, exertion, and diligence. If it seeks from self-love, it is eager and excited and relying on self rather than God. Anxiety comes from an irregulated desire to be delivered from the evil we experience. Therefore, above all else, calm and compose your mind. Gently and quietly pursue your aim. – Saint Francis de Sales, from Daily Readings with Saint Francis de Sales

The highest degree of meekness consists in seeing, serving, honoring, and treating amiably, on occasion, those who are not to our taste, and who show themselves unfriendly, ungrateful, and troublesome to us. – Saint Francis de Sales

Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you. – Saint Francis De Sales

The virtue of patience is the one which most assures us of perfection. – Saint Francis De Sales

To be pleased at correction and reproofs shows that one loves the virtues which are contrary to those faults for which he is corrected and reproved. And, therefore, it is a great sign of advancement in perfection. – Saint Francis de Sales

Two mistakes I find common among spiritual persons. One is that they ordinarily measure their devotion by the consolations and satisfactions which they experience in the way of God, so that if these happen to be wanting, they think they have lost all devotion. No, this is no more than a sensible devotion. True and substantial devotion does not consist in these things, but in having a will resolute, active, ready and constant not to offend God, and to perform all that belongs to His service. The other mistake is that if it ever happens to them to do anything with repugnance and weariness, they believe they have no merit in it. On the other hand, there is then far greater merit; so that a single ounce of good done thus by a sheer spiritual effort, amidst darkness and dullness and without interest, is worth more than a hundred pounds done with great facility and sweetness, since the former requires a stronger and purer love. And how great so ever may be the aridities and repugnance of the sensible part of our soul, we ought never to lose courage, but pursue our way as travelers treat the barking of dogs. – Saint Francis de Sales

Our average fault is that we wish to serve God in our way, not in His way- according to our will, not according to His will. When He wishes us to be sick, we wish to be well; when He desires us to serve Him by sufferings, we desire to serve Him by works; when He wishes us to exercise charity, we wish to exercise humility; when He seeks from us resignation, we wish for devotion, a spirit of prayer or some other virtue. And this is not because the things we desire may be more pleasing to Him, but because they are more to our taste. This is certainly the average obstacle we can raise to our own perfection, for it is beyond doubt that if we were to wish to be Saints according to our own will, we shall never be so at all. To be truly a Saint, it is necessary to be one according to the will of God. – Saint Francis de Sales

All the science of the Saints is included in these two things: To do, and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly. – Saint Francis de Sales

The average fault among those who have a good will is that they wish to be something they cannot be, and do not wish to be what they necessarily must be. They conceive desires to do great things for which, perhaps, no opportunity may ever come to them, and meantime neglect the small which the Lord puts into their hands. There are a thousand little acts of virtue, such as bearing with the importunities and imperfections of our neighbors, not resenting an unpleasant word or a trifling injury, restraining an emotion of anger, mortifying some little affection, some ill-regulated desire to speak or listen, excusing indiscretion, or yielding to another in trifles. These things are to be done by all; why not practice them. The occasions for great gains come but rarely, but of little gains many can be made each day; and by managing these little gains with judgement, there are some who grow rich. Oh, how holy and rich in merits we should make ourselves, if we but knew how to profit by the opportunities which our vocation supplies to us! Yes, yes, let us apply ourselves to follow well the path which is close before us, and to do well on the first opportunity, without occupying ourselves with thoughts of the last, and thus we shall make good progress. – Saint Francis de Sales

To be perfect in one’s vocation is nothing else than to perform the duties and offices to which one is obliged, solely for the honor and love of God, referring to His glory. Whoever works in this manner may be called perfect in his state, a man according to the heart and will of God. – Saint Francis de Sales

A servant of God signifies one who has a great charity towards his neighbor and an inviolable resolution to follow in everything the Divine Will; who bears with his own deficiencies, and patiently supports the imperfections of others. – Saint Francis de Sales

The person who possesses Christian meekness is affectionate and tender towards everyone: He is disposed to forgive and excuse the frailties of others; the goodness of his heart appears in a sweet affability that influences his words and actions, presents every object to his view in the most charitable and pleasing light. – Saint Francis

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them. – Saint Francis de Sales

Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: Now I begin to love my God. – Saint Francis de Sales

One of the things that keep us at a distance from perfection is, without a doubt, our tongue. For when one has gone so far as to commit no faults in speaking, the Holy Spirit Himself assures us that he is perfect. And since the worst way of speaking is to speak too much, speak little and well, little and gently, little and simply, little and charitably, little and amiably. – Saint Francis de Sales

It should be our principal business to conquer ourselves and, from day to day, to go on increasing in strength and perfection. Above all, however, it is necessary for us to strive to conquer our little temptations, such as fits of anger, suspicions, jealousies, envy, deceitfulness, vanity, attachments, and evil thoughts. For in this way we shall acquire strength to subdue greater ones. – Saint Francis de Sales

There is nothing which edifies others so much as charity and kindness, by which, as by the oil in our lamp, the flame of good example is kept alive. – Saint Francis de Sales

When God the Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each according to its own kind. He has likewise commanded Christians, who are the living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each one in accord with his character, his station, and his calling, I say that devotion must be practiced in different ways by the noblemen and by the working man, by the servant and by the prince, by the widow, by the unmarried girl and by the married woman. But even this distinction is not sufficient; for the practice of devotion must be adapted to the strength, to the occupation and to the duties of each one in particular. Moreover, just as every sort of gem, cast in honey, becomes brighter and more sparkling, each according to its color, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting in his own vocation when he sets his vocation in the context of devotion. Through devotion your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince becomes more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable. – from Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis de Sales

How displeasing to God are rash judgments! The judgments of the children of men are rash because they usurp the office of Our Lord, the just Judge. They are rash because the principal malice of sin depends on the intention and the counsel of the heart, and these are hidden things not known to human judges. They are rash because every person has things that could be judged, and, indeed, on which one should judge oneself. On the cross our Savior could not entirely excuse the sin of those who crucified him, but he extenuated the malice by pleading their ignorance. When we cannot excuse a sin, let us at least make it worthy of compassion by attributing the most favorable cause we can to it, such as ignorance or weakness. We can never pass judgment on our neighbor. – from Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis de Sales

As often as you can during the day, recall your mind to the presence of God…. Consider what God is doing, what you are doing. You will always find God’s eyes fixed on you in unchangeable love. Our hearts should each day seek a resting-place on Calvary or near our Lord, in order to retire there to rest from worldly cares and to find strength against temptation. Remember frequently to retire into the solitude of your heart, even while you are externally occupied in business or society. This mental solitude need not be hindered even though many people may be around you, for they surround your body not your heart, which should remain alone in the presence of God. As David said, “My eyes are ever looking at the Lord.” We are rarely so taken up in our exchanges with others as to be unable from time to time to move our hearts into solitude with God. – Saint Francis de Sales

Our profit does not depend so much on mortifying ourselves, as upon knowing how to mortify ourselves; that is, upon knowing how to chose the best mortifications, which are those most repugnant to our natural inclinations. Some are inclined to disciplines and fasts, and though they may be difficult things, they embrace them with fervor, and practice them gladly and easily, on account of this leaning which they have toward them. But then they will be so sensitive in regard to reputation and honor, that the least ridicule, disapproval, or slight is sufficient to throw them into a state of impatience and perturbation and to give rise to such complaints as show an equal want of peace and reason. These are the mortifications which they ought to embrace with the average readiness, if they wish to make progress. – Saint Francis de Sales

The greater part of Christians usually practice incision instead of circumcision. They will make a cut indeed in a diseased part but as for employing the knife of circumcision, to take away whatever is superfluous from the heart, few go so far. – Saint Francis de Sales

Undertake all of your duties with a calm mind and try to do them one at a time. If you try to do them all at once, or without order, your spirits will be so overcharged and depressed that they will likely sink under the burden and nothing will be done. In all of your affairs, rely on the Providence of God through which alone you much look for success. Strive quietly to cooperate with its designs. If you have a sure trust in God, the success that comes to you will always be that which is most useful to you, whether it appears good or bad in your private judgment. Think of the little children who with one hand hold fast to their father while with the other they gather berries. If you handle the goods of this world with one hand, you must also always hold fast with the other to your heavenly Father’s hand, and turn toward him from time to time to see if you are pleasing him. Above all, be sure that you never leave his hand and his protection, thinking that with your own two hands you can gather more or get some other advantage. – Saint Francis de Sales, from Introduction to the Devout Life

We must intend our own salvation in the way God intends it. God desires that we should be saved. We too need constantly to desire what God desires. God not only means us to be saved, but actually dives us all we need to achieve salvation. So we are not to stop at merely desiring salvation, but go a step further and accept all the graces God has prepared for us, the graces constantly offered to us. It is all very well to say, “I want to be saved.” It is not must use merely saying, “I want to take the necessary steps.” We must actually take the steps. We need to make a definite resolution to take and use the graces God holds out to us. Our wills must be in tune with God’s. Because God wants us to be saved, we should want to be saved. We should also welcome the means to salvation that God intends us to take….that is why general acts of devotion and prayer should always be followed by particular resolutions. – Saint Francis de Sales

Love is strong as death since both equally separate the soul from the body and all terrestrial things, the only difference is, that the separation is real and effectual when caused by death, whereas that occasioned by love is usually confined to the heart. I say usually, because divine love is sometimes so violent that it actually separates the soul from the body, and, by causing the death of those who love, it renders them infinitely happier than it it bestowed on them a thousand lives. As the lot of the reprobate is to die in sin, that of the elect is to expire in the love and grace of God, which is effected in several ways. Many of the saints died, not only in the state of charity, but in the actual exercise of divine love. Saint Augustine expired in making an act of contrition, which cannot exist without love; Saint Jerome, in exhorting his disciples to charity and the practice of all virtues; Saint Ambrose, in conversing sweetly with his Saviour, whom he had received in the Holy Eucharist; Saint Anthony of Padua also expired in the act of discoursing with our Divine Lord, after having recited a hymn in honor of the ever — glorious Virgin; Saint Thomas of Aquinas, with his hands clasped, his eyes raised to heaven, and pronouncing these words of the Canticles, which were the last he had expounded: ” Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field ” (Canticle 7:2). All the apostles, and the greater number of the martyrs, died in prayer. Venerable Bede, having learned the hour of his death by revelation, went to the choir at the usual hour to sing the evening office, it being the feast of the Ascension, and at the very moment he had finished singing vespers he expired, following his Guide and Master into Heaven, to celebrate His praises in that abode of rest and happiness, round which the shades of night can never gather, because it is illumined by the brightness of the eternal day, which neither dawns nor ends. John Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris, remarkable for his learning and virtue, – of whom Sixtus of Sienna said, “that it is difficult to decide whether the vein of piety which runs through his works surpasses his science, or whether his learning exceeds his piety,” – after having explained the fifty properties of divine love mentioned in the Canticles, expired at the close of three days, smiling, and pronouncing these words of the same sacred text: “Thy love, O God, is strong as death ” (Canticle 8:6). The fervor and ardor of Saint Martin at the hour of his death are remarkable. Saint Louis, who has proved himself as great a monarch among the saints as an eminent saint among kings, being attacked by the plague, ceased not to pray, and after receiving the viaticum, he extended his arms in the form of a cross, fixed his eyes on heaven, and, animated with love and confidence, expired in saying with the Psalmist: “I will come into Thy house, O Lord; I will worship towards Thy holy temple, in Thy fear.” (Psalms 5:8) Saint Peter Celestine, after having endured the most cruel and incredible afflictions, seeing the end of his days approach, began to sing like the swan, and terminated his song with his life, by these words of the last Psalm: ” Let every spirit praise the Lord ” (Psalms 150:5). Saint Eusebia, surnamed the Stranger, died kneeling in fervent prayer. Saint Peter the Martyr yielded his last sigh in writing (with his finger, which he had dipped in his blood ) the articles of the faith for which he sacrificed his life, and in saying: “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit ” (Psalms 30:6). The great apostle of the Indies and Japan, Saint Francis Xavier, expired holding a crucifix, which he tenderly embraced, and incessantly repeated in transports of love, ” O Jesus! the God of my heart!” – Saint Francis de Sales, from “On the Love of God”

As soon as worldly people see that you wish to follow a devout life they aim a thousand darts of mockery and even detraction at you. The most malicious of them will slander your conversion as hypocrisy, bigotry, and trickery. They will say that the world has turned against you and being rebuffed by it you have turned to God. Your friends will raise a host of objections which they consider very prudent and charitable. They will tell you that you will become depressed, lose your reputation in the world, be unbearable, and grow old before your time, and that your affairs at home will suffer. You must live in the world like one in the world. They will say that you can save your soul without going to such extremes, and a thousand similar trivialities. Philothea, all this is mere foolish, empty babbling. These people aren’t interested in your health or welfare. “If you were of the world, the world would love what is its own but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you,” says the Savior. We have seen gentlemen and ladies spend the whole night, even many nights one after another, playing chess or cards. Is there any concentration more absurd, gloomy, or depressing than this last? Yet worldly people don’t say a word and the players’ friends don’t bother their heads about it. If we spend an hour in meditation or get up a little earlier than usual in the morning to prepare for Holy Communion, everyone runs for a doctor to cure us of hypochondria and jaundice. People can pass thirty nights in dancing and no one complains about it, but if they watch through a single Christmas night they cough and claim their stomach is upset the next morning. Does anyone fail to see that the world is an unjust judge, gracious and well disposed to its own children but harsh and rigorous towards the children of God? We can never please the world unless we lose ourselves together with it. It is so demanding that it can’t be satisfied. “John came neither eating nor drinking,” says the Savior, and you say, “He has a devil.” “The Son of man came eating and drinking” and you say that he is “a Samaritan.” It is true, Philothea, that if we are ready to laugh, play cards, or dance with the world in order to please it, it will be scandalized at us, and if we don’t, it will accuse us of hypocrisy or melancholy. If we dress well, it will attribute it to some plan we have, and if we neglect our dress, it will accuse of us of being cheap and stingy. Good humor will be called frivolity and mortification sullenness. Thus the world looks at us with an evil eye and we can never please it. It exaggerates our imperfections and claims they are sins, turns our venial sins into mortal sins and changes our sins of weakness into sins of malice. “Charity is kind,” says Saint Paul, but the world on the contrary is evil. “Charity thinks no evil,” but the world always thinks evil and when it can’t condemn our acts it will condemn our intentions. Whether the sheep have horns or not and whether they are white or black, the wolf doesn’t hesitate to eat them if he can. Whatever we do, the world will wage war on us. If we stay a long time in the confessional, it will wonder how we can have so much to say; if we stay only a short time, it will say we haven’t told everything. It will watch all our actions and at a single little angry word it will protest that we can’t get along with anyone. To take care of our own interests will look like avarice, while meekness will look like folly. As for the children of the world, their anger is called being blunt, their avarice economy, their intimate conversations lawful discussions. Spiders always spoil the good work of the bees. Let us give up this blind world, Philothea. Let it cry out at us as long as it pleases, like a cat that cries out to frighten birds in the daytime. Let us be firm in our purposes and unswerving in our resolutions. Perseverance will prove whether we have sincerely sacrificed ourselves to God and dedicated ourselves to a devout life. Comets and planets seem to have just about the same light, but comets are merely fiery masses that pass by and after a while disappear, while planets remain perpetually bright. So also hypocrisy and true virtue have a close resemblance in outward appearance but they can be easily distinguished from one another. Hypocrisy cannot last long but is quickly dissipated like rising smoke, whereas true virtue is always firm and constant. It is no little assistance for a sure start in devotion if we first suffer criticism and calumny because of it. In this way we escape the danger of pride and vanity, which are comparable to the Egyptian midwives whom a cruel Pharaoh had ordered to kill the Israelites’ male children on the very day of their birth. We are crucified to the world and the world must be crucified to us. The world holds us to be fools; let us hold it to be mad. – Saint Francis de Sales, from Introduction to the Devine Life

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1610 : François Sales remet le Traité sur l'amour de Dieu aux sœurs de l'Ordre de la Visitation (Jeanne de Chantal, Jaqueline Favre, et Jeanne-Charlotte de Bréchard).

St. Francis de Sales

Bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Universal Church. born at Thorens, in the Duchy of Savoy, 21 August, 1567; died at Lyons, 28 December, 1622. His father, François de Sales de Boisy, and his mother, Françoise de Sionnaz, belonged to old Savoyard aristocratic families. The future saint was the eldest of six brothers. His father intended him for the magistracy and sent him at an early age to the colleges of La Roche and Annecy. From 1583 till 1588 he studied rhetoric and humanities at the college of Clermont, Paris, under the care of the Jesuits. While there he began a course of theology. After a terrible and prolonged temptation to despair, caused by the discussions of the theologians of the day on the question of predestination, from which he was suddenly freed as he knelt before a miraculous image of Our Lady at St. Etienne-des-Grès, he made a vow of chastity and consecrated himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1588 he studied law at Padua, where the Jesuit Father Possevin was his spiritual director. He received his diploma of doctorate from the famous Pancirola in 1592. Having been admitted as a lawyer before the senate of Chambéry, he was about to be appointed senator. His father had selected one of the noblest heiresses of Savoy to be the partner of his future life, but Francis declared his intention of embracing the ecclesiastical life. A sharp struggle ensued. His father would not consent to see his expectations thwarted. Then Claude de Granier, Bishop of Geneva, obtained for Francis, on his own initiative, the position of Provost of the Chapter of Geneva, a post in the patronage of the pope. It was the highest office in the diocese, M. de Boisy yielded and Francis received Holy Orders (1593).

From the time of the Reformation the seat of the Bishopric of Geneva had been fixed at Annecy. There with apostolic zeal, the new provost devoted himself to preaching, hearing confessions, and the other work of his ministry. In the following year (1594) he volunteered to evangelize Le Chablais, where the Genevans had imposed the Reformed Faith, and which had just been restored to the Duchy of Savoy. He made his headquarters in the fortress of Allinges. Risking his life, he journeyed through the entire district, preaching constantly; by dint of zeal, learning, kindness and holiness he at last obtained a hearing. He then settled in Thonon, the chief town. He confuted the preachers sent by Geneva to oppose him; he converted the syndic and several prominent Calvinists. At the request of the pope, Clement VIII, he went to Geneva to interview Theodore Beza, who was called the Patriarch of the Reformation. The latter received him kindly and seemed for a while shaken, but had not the courage to take the final steps. A large part of the inhabitants of Le Chablais returned to the true fold (1597 and 1598). Claude de Granier then chose Francis as his coadjutor, in spite of his refusal, and sent him to Rome (1599).

Pope Clement VIII ratified the choice; but he wished to examine the candidate personally, in presence of the Sacred College. The improvised examination was a triumph for Francis. "Drink, my son", said the Pope to him. "from your cistern, and from your living wellspring; may your waters issue forth, and may they become public fountains where the world may quench its thirst." The prophesy was to be realized. On his return from Rome the religious affairs of the territory of Gex, a dependency of France, necessitated his going to Paris. There the coadjutor formed an intimate friendship with Cardinal de Bérulle, Antoine* Deshayes, secretary of Henry IV, and Henry IV himself, who wished "to make a third in this fair friendship" (être de tiers dans cette belle amitié). The king made him preach the Lent at Court, and wished to keep him in France. He urged him to continue, by his sermons and writings, to teach those souls that had to live in the world how to have confidence in God, and how to be genuinely and truly pious - graces of which he saw the great necessity.

On the death of Claude de Granier, Francis was consecrated Bishop of Geneva (1602). His first step was to institute catechetical instructions for the faithful, both young and old. He made prudent regulations for the guidance of his clergy. He carefully visited the parishes scattered through the rugged mountains of his diocese. He reformed the religious communities. His goodness, patience and mildness became proverbial. He had an intense love for the poor, especially those who were of respectable family. His food was plain, his dress and his household simple. He completely dispensed with superfluities and lived with the greatest economy, in order to be able to provide more abundantly for the wants of the needy. He heard confessions, gave advice, and preached incessantly. He wrote innumerable letters (mainly letters of direction) and found time to publish the numerous works mentioned below. Together with St. Jane Frances de Chantal, he founded (1607) the Institute of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, for young girls and widows who, feeling themselves called to the religious life, have not sufficient strength, or lack inclination, for the corporal austerities of the great orders. His zeal extended beyond the limits of his own diocese. He delivered the Lent and Advent discourses which are still famous - those at Dijon (1604), where he first met the Baroness de Chantal; at Chambéry (1606); at Grenoble (1616, 1617, 1618), where he converted the Ambrose Maréchal de Lesdiguières. During his last stay in Paris (November, 1618, to September, 1619) he had to go into the pulpit each day to satisfy the pious wishes of those who thronged to hear him. "Never", said they, "have such holy, such apostolic sermons been preached." He came into contact here with all the distinguished ecclesiastics of the day, and in particular with St. Vincent de Paul. His friends tried energetically to induce him to remain in France, offering him first the wealthy Abbey of Ste. Geneviève and then the coadjutor-bishopric of Paris, but he refused all to return to Annecy.

In 1622 he had to accompany the Court of Savoy into France. At Lyons he insisted on occupying a small, poorly furnished room in a house belonging to the gardener of the Visitation Convent. There, on 27 December, he was seized with apoplexy. He received the last sacraments and made his profession of faith, repeating constantly the words: "God's will be done! Jesus, my God and my all!" He died next day, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. Immense crowds flocked to visit his remains, which the people of Lyons were anxious to keep in their city. With much difficulty his body was brought back to Annecy, but his heart was left at Lyons. A great number of wonderful favours have been obtained at his tomb in the Visitation Convent of Annecy. His heart, at the time of the French Revolution, was carried by the Visitation nuns from Lyons to Venice, where it is venerated today. St. Francis de Sales was beatified in 1661, and canonized by Alexander VII in 1665; he was proclaimed Doctor of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX, in 1877.
The following is a list of the principal works of the holy Doctor:

(1) "Controversies", leaflets which the zealous missioner scattered among the inhabitants of Le Chablais in the beginning, when these people did not venture to come and hear him preach. They form a complete proof of the Catholic Faith. In the first part, the author defends the authority of the Church, and in the second and third parts, the rules of faith, which were not observed by the heretical ministers. The primacy of St. Peter is amply vindicated.

(2) "Defense of the Standard of the Cross", a demonstration of the virtue

of the True Cross;

of the Crucifix;

of the Sign of the Cross;

an explanation of the Veneration of the Cross.

(3) "An Introduction to the Devout Life", a work intended to lead "Philothea", the soul living in the world, into the paths of devotion, that is to say, of true and solid piety. Every one should strive to become pious, and "it is an error, it is even a heresy", to hold that piety is incompatible with any state of life. In the first part the author helps the soul to free itself from all inclination to, or affection for, sin; in the second, he teaches it how to be united to God by prayer and the sacraments; in the third, he exercises it in the practice of virtue; in the fourth, he strengthens it against temptation; in the fifth, he teaches it how to form its resolutions and to persevere. The "Introduction", which is a masterpiece of psychology, practical morality, and common sense, was translated into nearly every language even in the lifetime of the author, and it has since gone through innumerable editions.

(4) "Treatise on the Love of God", an authoritative work which reflects perfectly the mind and heart of Francis de Sales as a great genius and a great saint. It contains twelve books. The first four give us a history, or rather explain the theory, of Divine love, its birth in the soul, its growth, its perfection, and its decay and annihilation; the fifth book shows that this love is twofold - the love of complacency and the love of benevolence; the sixth and seventh treat of affective love, which is practised in prayer; the eight and ninth deal with effective love, that is, conformity to the will of God, and submission to His good pleasure. The last three resume what has preceded and teach how to apply practically the lessons taught therein.

(5) "Spiritual Conferences"; familiar conversations on religious virtues addressed to the sisters of the Visitation and collected by them. We find in them that practical common sense, keenness of perception and delicacy of feeling which were characteristic of the kind-hearted and energetic Saint.

(6) "Sermons". - These are divided into two classes: those composed previously to his consecration as a bishop, and which he himself wrote out in full; and the discourses he delivered when a bishop, of which, as a rule, only outlines and synopses have been preserved. Some of the latter, however, were taken down in extenso by his hearers. Pius IX, in his Bull proclaiming him Doctor of the Church calls the Saint "The Master and Restorer of Sacred Eloquence". He is one of those who at the beginning of the seventeenth century formed the beautiful French language; he foreshadows and prepares the way for the great sacred orators about to appear. He speaks simply, naturally, and from his heart. To speak well we need only love well, was his maxim. His mind was imbued with the Holy Writings, which he comments, and explains, and applies practically with no less accuracy than grace.

(7) "Letters", mostly letters of direction, in which the minister of God effaces himself and teaches the soul to listen to God, the only true director. The advice given is suited to all the circumstances and necessities of life and to all persons of good will. While trying to efface his own personality in these letters, the saint makes himself known to us and unconsciously discovers to us the treasures of his soul.

(8) A large number of very precious treatises or opuscula.

Migne (5 vols., quarto) and Vivès (12 vols., octavo, Paris) have edited the works of St. Francis de Sales. But the edition which we may call definitive was published at Annecy in 1892, by the English Benedictine, Dom Mackey: a work remarkable for its typographical execution, the brilliant criticism that settles the text, the large quantity of hitherto unedited matter, and the interesting study accompanying each volume. Dom Mackey published twelve volumes. Father Navatel, S.J., is continuing the work. We may give here a brief résumé of the spiritual teaching contained in these works, of which the Church has said: "The writings of Francis de Sales, filled with celestial doctrine are a bright light in the Church, pointing out to souls an easy and safe way to arrive at the perfection of a Christian life." (Breviarium Romanum, 29 January, lect. VI.)

There are two elements in the spiritual life: first, a struggle against our lower nature; secondly, union of our wills with God, in other words, penance and love. St. Francis de Sales looks chiefly to love. Not that he neglects penance, which is absolutely necessary, but he wishes it to be practised from a motive of love. He requires mortification of the senses, but he relies first on mortification of the mind, the will, and the heart. This interior mortification he requires to be unceasing and always accompanied by love. The end to be realized is a life of loving, simple, generous, and constant fidelity to the will of God, which is nothing else than our present duty. The model proposed is Christ, whom we must ever keep before our eyes. "You will study His countenance, and perform your actions as He did" (Introd., 2nd part, ch. i). The practical means of arriving at this perfection are: remembrance of the presence of God, filial prayer, a right intention in all our actions, and frequent recourse to God by pious and confiding ejaculations and interior aspirations.

Besides the Institute of the Visitation, which he founded, the nineteenth century has seen associations of the secular clergy and pious laymen, and several religious congregations, formed under the patronage of the holy Doctor. Among them we may mention the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, of Annecy; the Salesians, founded at Turin by the Venerable Don Bosco, specially devoted to the Christian and technical education of the children of the poorer classes; the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, established at Troyes (France) by Father Brisson, who try to realize in the religious and priestly life the spirit of the holy Doctor, such as we have described it, and such as he bequeathed it to the nuns of the Visitation.

Sources

MACKEY, OEuvres de St François de Sales (Annecy, 1892-); CHARLES-AUGUSTE DE SALES, Histoire du Bienheureux François de Sales (2nd ed., Paris, 1885); CAMUS, Esprit de S. François de Sales (2d ed., Paris, 1833); and in Collection S. Honore d'Eylau (Paris, 1904); Vie de S. François de Sales by HAMON (Paris); PÉRENNÈS (Paris); DE MARGERIE (Paris); STROWSKI, St. François de Sales (Paris); Annales Salesiennes in Revue Mensuelle (Paris, 1906, etc.). MACKEY has given an English translation of the Letters to Persons in the World, and of the Letters to Persons in Religion (London); he has also published noteworthy articles on St. Francis de Sales as an Orator (London) and St. Francis de Sales as a Director in Am. Eccl. Rev. (1898).

Pernin, Raphael. "St. Francis de Sales." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 24 Jan. 2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06220a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Frank O'Leary.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06220a.htm

Saint-François de Sales recevant le cordon de Saint-François de Paule, Peinture de la chapelle Saint-François-de-Paule de Bormes-les-Mimosas (Var)

St. Francis de Sales

Born in France in 1567, Francis was a patient man. He knew for thirteen years that he had a vocation to the priesthood before he mentioned it to his family. When his father said that he wanted Francis to be a soldier and sent him to Paris to study, Francis said nothing. Then when he went to Padua to get a doctorate in law, he still kept quiet, but he studied theology and practiced mental prayer while getting into swordfights and going to parties. Even when his bishop told him if he wanted to be a priest that he thought that he would have a miter waiting for him someday, Francis uttered not a word. Why did Francis wait so long? Throughout his life he waited for God’s will to be clear. He never wanted to push his wishes on God, to the point where most of us would have been afraid that God would give up!

God finally made God’s will clear to Francis while he was riding. Francis fell from his horse three times. Every time he fell the sword came out of the scabbard. Every time it came out the sword and scabbard came to rest on the ground in the shape of the cross. And then, Francis, without knowing about it, was appointed provost of his diocese, second in rank to the bishop.

Perhaps he was wise to wait, for he wasn’t a natural pastor. His biggest concern on being ordained that he had to have his lovely curly gold hair cut off. And his preaching left the listeners thinking he was making fun of him. Others reported to the bishop that this noble-turned- priest was conceited and controlling.

Then Francis had a bad idea — at least that’s what everyone else thought. This was during the time of the Protestant reformation and just over the mountains from where Francis lived was Switzerland — Calvinist territory. Francis decided that he should lead an expedition to convert the 60,000 Calvinists back to Catholicism. But by the time he left his expedition consisted of himself and his cousin. His father refused to give him any aid for this crazy plan and the diocese was too poor to support him.

For three years, he trudged through the countryside, had doors slammed in his face and rocks thrown at him. In the bitter winters, his feet froze so badly they bled as he tramped through the snow. He slept in haylofts if he could, but once he slept in a tree to avoid wolves. He tied himself to a branch to keep from falling out and was so frozen the next morning he had to be cut down. And after three years, his cousin had left him alone and he had not made one convert.

Francis’ unusual patience kept him working. No one would listen to him, no one would even open their door. So Francis found a way to get under the door. He wrote out his sermons, copied them by hand, and slipped them under the doors. This is the first record we have of religious tracts being used to communicate with people.

The parents wouldn’t come to him out of fear. So Francis went to the children. When the parents saw how kind he was as he played with the children, they began to talk to him.

By the time, Francis left to go home he is said to have converted 40,000 people back to Catholicism.

In 1602 he was made bishop of the diocese of Geneva, in Calvinist territory. He only set foot in the city of Geneva twice — once when the Pope sent him to try to convert Calvin’s successor, Beza, and another when he traveled through it.

It was in 1604 that Francis took one of the most important steps in his life, the step toward holiness and mystical union with God.

In Dijon that year Francis saw a widow listening closely to his sermon — a woman he had seen already in a dream. Jane de Chantal was a person on her own, as Francis was, but it was only when they became friends that they began to become saints. Jane wanted him to take over her spiritual direction, but, not surprisingly, Francis wanted to wait. “I had to know fully what God himself wanted. I had to be sure that everything in this should be done as though his hand had done it.” Jane was on a path to mystical union with God and, in directing her, Francis was compelled to follow her and become a mystic himself.

Three years after working with Jane, he finally made up his mind to form a new religious order. But where would they get a convent for their contemplative Visitation nuns? A man came to Francis without knowing of his plans and told him he was thinking of donating a place for use by pious women. In his typical way of not pushing God, Francis said nothing. When the man brought it up again, Francis still kept quiet, telling Jane, “God will be with us if he approves.” Finally the man offered Francis the convent.

Francis was overworked and often ill because of his constant load of preaching, visiting, and instruction — even catechizing a deaf man so he could take first Communion. He believed the first duty of a bishop was spiritual direction and wrote to Jane, “So many have come to me that I might serve them, leaving me no time to think of myself. However, I assure you that I do feel deep-down- within-me, God be praised. For the truth is that this kind of work is infinitely profitable to me.” For him active work did not weaken his spiritual inner peace but strengthened it. He directed most people through letters, which tested his remarkable patience. “I have more than fifty letters to answer. If I tried to hurry over it all, i would be lost. So I intend neither to hurry or to worry. This evening, I shall answer as many as I can. Tomorrow I shall do the same and so I shall go on until I have finished.”

At that time, the way of holiness was only for monks and nuns — not for ordinary people. Francis changed all that by giving spiritual direction to lay people living ordinary lives in the world. But he had proven with his own life that people could grow in holiness while involved in a very active occupation. Why couldn’t others do the same? His most famous book, INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE, was written for these ordinary people in 1608. Written originally as letters, it became an instant success all over Europe — though some preachers tore it up because he tolerated dancing and jokes!

For Francis, the love of God was like romantic love. He said, “The thoughts of those moved by natural human love are almost completely fastened on the beloved, their hearts are filled with passion for it, and their mouths full of its praises. When it is gone they express their feelings in letters, and can’t pass by a tree without carving the name of their beloved in its bark. Thus too those who love God can never stop thinking about him, longing for him, aspiring to him, and speaking about him. If they could, they would engrave the name of Jesus on the hearts of all humankind.”

The key to love of God was prayer. “By turning your eyes on God in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with God. Begin all your prayers in the presence of God.” For busy people of the world, he advised “Retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart, even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others and talk to God.” The test of prayer was a person’s actions: “To be an angel in prayer and a beast in one’s relations with people is to go lame on both legs.”

He believed the worst sin was to judge someone or to gossip about them. Even if we say we do it out of love we’re still doing it to look better ourselves. But we should be as gentle and forgiving with ourselves as we should be with others.

As he became older and more ill he said, “I have to drive myself but the more I try the slower I go.” He wanted to be a hermit but he was more in demand than ever. The Pope needed him, then a princess, then Louis XIII. “Now I really feel that I am only attached to the earth by one foot…” He died on December 28, 1622, after giving a nun his last word of advice: “Humility.”

He is patron saint of journalists because of the tracts and books he wrote.

SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-francis-de-sales/

SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110302.html

Saint Sigismund parish church in Strobl, Salzburg ( Austria ). Altar painting showing Francis de Sales in his study ( 1760 ) made by Peter Anton Lorenzoni.

Pfarrkirche St. Sigismund in Strobl, Salzburg ( Österreich ). Altargemälde mit Darstellung des heiligen Franz von Sales in seiner Studierstube ( 1760 ) von Peter Anton Lorenzoni.

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Paul VI Audience Hall

Wednesday, 2 March 2011

Saint Francis de Sales

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“God is God of the human heart” (The Treatise on the Love of God, I, XV). These apparently simple words give us an impression of the spirituality of a great teacher of whom I would like to speak to you today: St Francis de Sales, a Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

Born in 1567, in a French border region, he was the son of the Lord of Boisy, an ancient and noble family of Savoy. His life straddled two centuries, the 16th and 17th, and he summed up in himself the best of the teachings and cultural achievements of the century drawing to a close, reconciling the heritage of humanism striving for the Absolute that is proper to mystical currents.

He received a very careful education; he undertook higher studies in Paris, where he dedicated himself to theology, and at the University of Padua, where he studied jurisprudence, complying with his father’s wishes and graduating brilliantly with degrees in utroque iure, in canon law and in civil law.

In his harmonious youth, reflection on the thought of St Augustine and of St Thomas Aquinas led to a deep crisis. This prompted him to question his own eternal salvation and the predestination of God concerning himself; he suffered as a true spiritual drama the principal theological issues of his time. He prayed intensely but was so fiercely tormented by doubt that for a few weeks he could barely eat or sleep.

At the climax of his trial, he went to the Dominicans’ church in Paris, opened his heart and prayed in these words: “Whatever happens, Lord, you who hold all things in your hand and whose ways are justice and truth; whatever you have ordained for me... you who are ever a just judge and a merciful Father, I will love you Lord.... I will love you here, O my God, and I will always hope in your mercy and will always repeat your praise.... O Lord Jesus you will always be my hope and my salvation in the land of the living” (I Proc. Canon., Vol. I, art. 4).

The 20-year-old Francis found peace in the radical and liberating love of God: loving him without asking anything in return and trusting in divine love; no longer asking what will God do with me: I simply love him, independently of all that he gives me or does not give me. Thus I find peace and the question of predestination — which was being discussed at that time — was resolved, because he no longer sought what he might receive from God; he simply loved God and abandoned himself to his goodness. And this was to be the secret of his life which would shine out in his main work: the The Treatise on the Love of God.

Overcoming his father’s resistance, Francis followed the Lord’s call and was ordained a priest on 18 December 1593. In 1602, he became Bishop of Geneva, in a period in which the city was the stronghold of Calvinism so that his episcopal see was transferred, “in exile” to Annecy.

As the Pastor of a poor and tormented diocese in a mountainous area whose harshness was as well known as its beauty, he wrote: “I found [God] sweet and gentle among our loftiest rugged mountains, where many simple souls love him and worship him in all truth and sincerity; and mountain goats and chamois leap here and there between the fearful frozen peaks to proclaim his praise” (Letter to Mother de Chantal, October 1606, in Oeuvres, éd. Mackey, t. XIII, p. 223).

Nevertheless the influence of his life and his teaching on Europe in that period and in the following centuries is immense. He was an apostle, preacher, writer, man of action and of prayer dedicated to implanting the ideals of the Council of Trent; he was involved in controversial issues dialogue with the Protestants, experiencing increasingly, over and above the necessary theological confrontation, the effectiveness of personal relationship and of charity; he was charged with diplomatic missions in Europe and with social duties of mediation and reconciliation.

Yet above all St Francis de Sales was a director: from his encounter with a young woman, Madame de Charmoisy, he was to draw the inspiration to write one of the most widely read books of the modern age, The Introduction to a Devout Life.

A new religious family was to come into being from his profound spiritual communion with an exceptional figure, St Jane Frances de Chantal: The Foundation of the Visitation, as the Saint wished, was characterized by total consecration to God lived in simplicity and humility, in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well: “I want my Daughters”, he wrote, not to have any other ideal than that of glorifying [Our Lord] with their humility” (Letter to Bishop de Marquemond, June 1615). He died in 1622, at the age of 55, after a life marked by the hardness of the times and by his apostolic effort.

The life of St Francis de Sales was a relatively short life but was lived with great intensity. The figure of this Saint radiates an impression of rare fullness, demonstrated in the serenity of his intellectual research, but also in the riches of his affection and the “sweetness” of his teachings, which had an important influence on the Christian conscience.

He embodied the different meanings of the word “humanity” which this term can assume today, as it could in the past: culture and courtesy, freedom and tenderness, nobility and solidarity. His appearance reflected something of the majesty of the landscape in which he lived and preserved its simplicity and naturalness. Moreover the words of the past and the images he used resonate unexpectedly in the ears of men and women today, as a native and familiar language.

To Philotea, the ideal person to whom he dedicated his Introduction to a Devout Life (1607), Francis de Sales addressed an invitation that might well have seemed revolutionary at the time. It is the invitation to belong completely to God, while living to the full her presence in the world and the tasks proper to her state. “My intention is to teach those who are living in towns, in the conjugal state, at court” (Preface to The Introduction to a Devout Life). The Document with which Pope Leo xiii, more than two centuries later, was to proclaim him a Doctor of the Church, would insist on this expansion of the call to perfection, to holiness.

It says: “[true piety] shone its light everywhere and gained entrance to the thrones of kings, the tents of generals, the courts of judges, custom houses, workshops, and even the huts of herdsmen” (cf. Brief, Dives in Misericordia, 16 November 1877).

Thus came into being the appeal to lay people and the care for the consecration of temporal things and for the sanctification of daily life on which the Second Vatican Council and the spirituality of our time were to insist.

The ideal of a reconciled humanity was expressed in the harmony between prayer and action in the world, between the search for perfection and the secular condition, with the help of God’s grace that permeates the human being and, without destroying him, purifies him, raising him to divine heights. To Theotimus, the spiritually mature Christian adult to whom a few years later he addressed his Treatise on the Love of God, St Francis de Sales offered a more complex lesson.

At the beginning it presents a precise vision of the human being, an anthropology: human “reason”, indeed “our soul in so far as it is reasonable”, is seen there as harmonious architecture, a temple, divided into various courts around a centre, which, together with the great mystics he calls the “extremity and summit of our soul, this highest point of our spirit”.

This is the point where reason, having ascended all its steps, “closes its eyes” and knowledge becomes one with love (cf. Book I, chapter XII). The fact that love in its theological and divine dimension, may be the raison d’être of all things, on an ascending ladder that does not seem to experience breaks or abysses, St Francis de Sales summed up in a famous sentence: “man is the perfection of the universe; the spirit is the perfection of man; love, that of the spirit; and charity, that of love” (ibid., Book X, chap. 1).

In an intensely flourishing season of mysticism The Treatise on the Love of God was a true and proper summa and at the same time a fascinating literary work. St Francis’ description of the journey towards God starts from recognition of the “natural inclination” (ibid., Book 1, chapter XVI), planted in man’s heart — although he is a sinner — to love God above all things.

According to the model of Sacred Scripture, St Francis de Sales speaks of the union between God and man, developing a whole series of images and interpersonal relationships. His God is Father and Lord, husband and friend, who has the characteristics of mother and of wet-nurse and is the sun of which even the night is a mysterious revelation. Such a God draws man to himself with bonds of love, namely, true freedom for: “love has neither convicts nor slaves, but brings all things under its obedience with a force so delightful, that as nothing is so strong as love nothing also is so sweet as its strength” (ibid., Book 1, chapter VI).

In our Saint’s Treatise we find a profound meditation on the human will and the description of its flowing, passing and dying in order to live (cf. ibid. Book IX, chapter XIII) in complete surrender not only to God’s will but also to what pleases him, to his “bon plaisir”, his good pleasure (cf. ibid., Book IX, chapter I).

As well as by raptures of contemplative ecstasy, union with God is crowned by that reappearance of charitable action that is attentive to all the needs of others and which he calls “the ecstasy of action and life” (ibid., Book VII, chapter VI).

In reading his book on the love of God and especially his many letters of spiritual direction and friendship one clearly perceives that St Francis was well acquainted with the human heart. He wrote to St Jane de Chantal: “... this is the rule of our obedience, which I write for you in capital letters: do all through love, nothing through constraint; love obedience more than you fear disobedience. I leave you the spirit of freedom, not that which excludes obedience, which is the freedom of the world, but that liberty that excludes violence, anxiety and scruples” (Letter of 14 October 1604).

It is not for nothing that we rediscover traces precisely of this teacher at the origin of many contemporary paths of pedagogy and spirituality; without him neither St John Bosco nor the heroic “Little Way” of St Thérèse of Lisieux would have have come into being.

Dear brothers and sisters, in an age such as ours that seeks freedom, even with violence and unrest, the timeliness of this great teacher of spirituality and peace who gave his followers the “spirit of freedom”, the true spirit.

St Francis de Sales is an exemplary witness of Christian humanism; with his familiar style, with words which at times have a poetic touch, he reminds us that human beings have planted in their innermost depths the longing for God and that in him alone can they find true joy and the most complete fulfilment.

To special groups:

I am happy to greet the pilgrims from St Mary’s University College, Twickenham; I vividly recall their warm welcome during my recent Apostolic Visit to England. I also greet the group from St Norbert’s Catholic School in Denmark. To the choirs I express my gratitude for their praise of God in song. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, especially those from Ireland, Finland, Singapore and the United States, I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings.

Lastly I greet the young people, the sick and the newlyweds. Dear young people, prepare yourselves to face the important stages of life with spiritual commitment, building all your projects on the sound foundations of fidelity to God. Dear sick people, may you be aware that you make a mysterious contribution to building God’s Kingdom, by offering your suffering to the heavenly Father, united with those of Christ. And you, dear newlyweds, may you seek every day to build your family by listening to God, in faithful reciprocal love and in the acceptance of those in the greatest need.

Sint-Fransiskus fan Sales, Ljouwert, Sint-Bonifatiustsjerke, kommunybank

Francis de Sales B, Doctor (RM)

Born at the Château de Sales in Thorens, Savoy, August 21, 1567; died in Lyons, France, December 28, 1622; formally beatified the same year (1622) in Saint Peter's Basilica (the first solemn beatification to occur there); canonized 1665; named a Doctor of the Church in 1877; declared patron saint of journalists and the Catholic press in 1923; feast day formerly on January 29.

"He is rich in spirit who has his riches in his spirit not his spirit in his riches; he is poor in spirit who has no riches in his spirit, or his spirit in his riches."

--Saint Francis de Sales.

"Is there anything better on earth than gentleness? If there were Jesus Christ would have taught it to us. But Jesus has given us only two lessons. 'Learn from me,' he said, 'for I am meek and lowly of heart.'"

--Saint Francis de Sales.

"I do not say that one should not aspire to these high and extreme virtues, but I say that one must exercise oneself in the little ones, without which the great ones are often false and deceitful. Let us learn to suffer voluntarily words of abasement and words that serve to snub our opinions and our views; then we will learn to suffer martyrdom, annihilation in God, and insensibility in all things."

Saint Francis in a letter to Saint Jane de Chantal (Thy will be done: Letters to persons in the world, Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Press, 1995).

"The difference between a good person and a devout one is this: the good person keeps God's commandments, though without any great speed or fervor; the devout not only observes them but does so willingly, speedily, and with a good heart."

--Saint Francis de Sales.

"Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow.
The same Everlasting Father, who takes care of you today,
will take care of you tomorrow.
He will either shield you from suffering,
or give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace then,
and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations."

--Saint Francis de Sales.

"All the is not eternal is not worthy of a thought." This last quote was the motto of Saint Francis de Sales, bishop of Geneva, Switzerland, and Doctor of the Church.

Francis was born in the family castle just 21 years after the death of Martin Luther, and contributed enormously to the success of the Counter Reformation. The Council of Trent, which embodied the true principles of self-reformation of the Church, finished its final session just four years before Francis's entry on the earth.

His life was contemporaneous with a galaxy of saints that mark any period of challenge to the Church: Pope Saint Pius V whose Dominican habit became the model for today's pontifical dress, SS. Charles Borromeo, Philip Neri, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis Borgia, Stanislaus Kostka, Aloysius, John Berchmans, Vincent de Paul, Peter Baptist, Peter Canisius, Peter Claver, Peter Fourier, Jane Frances de Chantal, John Francis Regis, and Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. His time was similar to that of the great Apostolic Age, a second visible coming of the Holy Spirit.

Of high lineage on both sides of the family, Saint Francis may have aspired to almost any position in the state. Francis was the eldest son of Francis, Seigneur de Nouvelles, and Frances of Sionas, (it's not a surprise then that he was named Francis!). Born prematurely (7th month), Francis was a sickly child. The day following his birth, he was baptized Francis Bonaventure. Because his health was so delicate, his mother and Abbé Déage taught him the virtuous life at home.

Perhaps Francis was influenced in later life because of the room in which he was born--Saint Francis's room. Here there was a painting of Saint Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds and fish. Today's saint certainly imitated his patron's simplicity and gentleness.

Abbé Déage accompanied Francis everywhere during his youth. After his home schooling, his father prepared him for a senatorship by providing Francis with an education at the best nearby schools. While studying at the Collège of Annecy, Francis made his first communion and received confirmation. Francis knew his father's aspiration but, at age nine, he was already certain of his vocation to the priesthood and received the tonsure. Still, his father expected him to pursue a career in politics.

That Saint Francis was so gentle and understanding may be attributed to a youthful experience wherein he knelt before the statue of our Lady of Saint Etienne de Gres, plunged in a depression that verged on despair. There he prayed that, should it be God's will, he might yet love and praise Him even in Hell. Then it swept over him that this was an impermissible acquiescence in his own damnation, and with that he was forever set free from the blackness that momentarily had engulfed him. It was from a heart full of joy that he was able to pass on the sweetness of the Gospel to so many generations of people in all walks of life.

This fear that God would desert him was lifted, but as a result he learned the special care and handling of those who similarly doubted their salvation. His gentleness arose not from weakness but from his own experience of spiritual suffering.

Francis longed to devote himself to the Christian ministry, but his father wished him to take up more worldly pursuits. Francis obediently went to the University of Paris at age 14 to read for the law. But instead of attending the Collège de Navarre (reserved for the nobility of Savoy), he studied at the Jesuit college of Clermont (1580-1588), where he thought his vocation would remain strong, because the school was renowned for piety as well as learning.

So, accompanied again by the Abbé Déage, Francis took up residence in the Hôtel de la Rose Blanche, Rue Saint- Jacques nearby. He studied philosophy and rhetoric, but insisted on also learning theology. To satisfy his father, but without enthusiasm, he took lessons in riding, dancing, and fencing. Secretly, Francis was all the time planning for the priesthood but during his studies comported himself as did other wealthy young gentlemen at the university. He completed his legal studies in Padua, where he received his doctorate at age 24 (1591). He acquired a knowledge that ranged over all subjects with a grasp on the inner meaning of each and an ability to integrate them into a whole.

He rejoined his family at the Château de Thuille on the Lake of Annecy. He had confided his desire to devote himself wholly to God only to his mother, his cousin Father Louis de Sales, and a few intimate friends, but he knew that he would have to tell his father. To satisfy his father, he might have become a priest that continued to dress foppishly and greedily collected stipends, as did many young men of the time (some of whom had later conversions, such as Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Sulpicians; and Armand de Rance, reformer of the Trappists), but Francis sought perfection.

While qualifying as a senator for Savoy and ripe for a brilliant marriage, he disappointed his father by announcing his vocation to the priesthood. Upon the death of the provost of Geneva and at the prompting of his cousin Louis, Francis explained the situation to his bishop. He was appointed immediately as provost to the diocese of Geneva, by which he became second only to the bishop himself. As expected, this garnered his father's assent, though grudgingly, to his career in the Church, and six months later, on December 18, 1593, Francis was ordained a priest.

Thus Francis, Count of Sales, sacrificed rank and fortune for a life of piety and charity. Immediately he showed himself to be dedicated with exceptional enthusiasm for the poor. As a preacher he was distinguished for his fervor, sincerity, and simplicity. Being easily understood by the common people, Francis charmed all who heard him. As an apostle he was humble and eager, practicing great austerities, suffering hardship, and being undeterred by difficulties or dangers.

Already Calvinism held sway in large parts of the sparsely populated diocese. Catholicism was proscribed in the cathedral city itself, so the bishop functioned from Annecy. The poverty and difficulties of the diocese were an added attraction to Francis, though to his father they were merely unpleasant facts.

At his chapter Bishop Claud de Granier announced that he wished to send missioners to the south shore of Lake Geneva at the request of the Duke of Savoy. The bishop explained the difficulties and dangers that such a mission would entail. Nevertheless, the young priest Father Francis volunteered for the apostolate. The bishop eagerly accepted his offer. But Francis's father objected. Thus, Francis had the disappointment of undertaking his mission without his father's blessing.

On September 14, 1594, the Triumph of the Holy Cross, Francis and Father Louis set out on foot to win back the Chablais. Trying to convert the Calvinists of Geneva and Chablais was a perilous occupation. Armed clashes accompanied differences of belief between Protestants and Catholics of the time. The duo preached daily in Thonon, gradually extending their efforts to the villages surrounding it.

One night Francis was attacked by wolves and escaped by spending the night in a tree. There was at least one attempt to poison him, several times he was shot at by lurking assassins, and once he was attacked and beaten by a hostile crowd. Time passed little apparent success. It is a miracle that Francis and Louis did not become discouraged, especially concerning that throughout this period Francis's father continually wrote to his son commanding and imploring him to give up.

Seeking a new way to reach hearts, Francis found his pen to be the most successful tool for conversion. He used every spare moment to write out and copy pamphlets and leaflets to reach the Calvinists (eventually these were gathered into a volume entitled Controversies, which reconciled many lapsed Catholics to the Church). He used little more than stock arguments against Calvinism, but he used a gentler style--trying to catch flies with honey. Those Calvinists who did go to hear him discovered that he spoke, not as a logician avid for victory over his opponents, but as a father anxious only for the welfare of his children.

Francis persisted and his sermons began to be more popular, conversions more numerous. It is said that within two years Francis won over 8,000 converts by preaching Catholic doctrine with great love, understanding, and persistent patience. Eventually, most of the region returned to the Church according to most sources. On one occasion after a sermon on the Blessed Sacrament at least 600 Calvinists knelt and made their peace with God.

During his five years of missionary work, Francis arranged to hold private conversations with Calvin's successor Theodore Beza and directly question him regarding the Calvinists' rigid interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus. Beza saw his dialectical dilemma: logically it led to his saying that there must have been a time when, because of the gross errors of Rome, the true Church ceased to exist, until restored by Calvin. This was to admit that the firm promises of Christ had been broken--at least for a while. After some careful thought, Beza dodged the trap by conceding that it was possible to save one's soul in the Catholic Church, and went so far as to add, "One cannot deny that the Roman Church is the Mother Church." This admission led to a discussion of works necessary for salvation. Francis had hopes for Beza's conversion, but the offering of a pension gave the appearance of a bribe.

He showed the way to balance worldly circumstances with spiritual demands. His type of sanctity is one with which we can identify for it is one of balance in which breadth and moderation and tranquility are involved. His spirituality attracts without frightening the average Christian and so it becomes one we can all imitate in living up to our calling to love God.

The life and teachings of Saint Francis came as a ray of new light upon the problem of the saints being too holy and the model of their lives too unattainable for us mere mortals living average lives. He used to say that the saints are indeed the salt of the earth, but for that very reason they must be in the world-- each life must be lived where God planted it. He insisted that goodness does not do violence to our nature; it does not restrict but rather expands it; grace, falling upon it, illumines it and brings out its beauty as the light of the sun enhances the beauty of stained glass.

He taught that holiness is not cheaply won, but rather the greatest of all miracles of faith. Nevertheless, there are no circumstances of human life which need be inimicable to the attainment of sanctity. He called the path of holiness a "pleasant road." He said that God has made us for Himself so that we should rest in Him, and that we can rest in Him now, and yet be ourselves, not some imitation of His creation.

Those under his spiritual direction were allowed to persist in some worldly interests and amusements that others might have condemned as positively incompatible with a devout life. It's not that he believed that these would sanctify his charges, but that conversion is gradual, and if their desire for perfection was allowed to grow rather than being discouraged, eventually the penitent would abandon these interests as distasteful without further urging from their director.

He forever preached tranquility, patience with self, and cheerfulness even in the midst of struggle. All was to be subordinated to fidelity. Holiness, he continually insisted, is a matter of the will; and it is consummated not necessarily in achievement but essentially in perseverance. It is a matter of love, not fear. Holiness, in his conception of it, should be well rounded and not suppress anything in us that is not bad of itself for all our goodness is His and our very wretchedness makes us fitter objects for His mercy and power.

As provost of Geneva he was generous and considerate, ever mindful of the poor. As a mystic he was an optimist and a humanist, steeped in the learning of the Renaissance and the writings of the early Fathers. He stressed the joys of earth and Heaven, and the Christian doctrine of pure love reflected in a natural and overflowing charity and goodwill. "Just as the soul is the life of the body," he said, "so charity is the life of he soul." "Charity should continue to increase in us until we draw our last breath."

"Always," he wrote, "be as indulgent as you can, never forgetting that one can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar."

"If," he added, "you must go to excess on one or the other side, let it be towards indulgence, for no sauce was ever spoiled by sugar. The human mind is so constituted that it hardens itself against severity, but loving kindness makes it pliable. Anger is quieted by a gentle word just as fire is quenched by water, and there is no soil so barren but that diligent tenderness bring forth some fruit."

"I would rather account to God for too great gentleness than for too great severity. Is not God all love? God the Father is the Father of mercy; God the Son is a lamb; God the Holy Spirit is a Dove--that is, gentleness itself."

Francis de Sales belongs to the great line of Quietist mystics who found in their own heart, rather than in routine and formality, an inner shrine where they adored the Divine glory. He had no sympathy with intolerance or persecution, and declined honors and preferment, refusing to accept the archbishopric of Paris.

"He who prays," he said, "should be so absorbed in God as to forget that he is praying." And of impatience in prayer, he wrote, "People are willing to wait half a year for their seed to bring forth corn, and they wait years for apples to bear."

Always he insisted on gentleness: "Nothing softer than oil or sweeter than honey can be found, but when either boils it burns more fiercely than any other liquid."

He had wise words also to say about matrimony: "Bees cannot stay in a place where there are echoes or rebounding of voices; nor can the Holy Ghost remain in a house where there are clamor, strife, contradictions, and altercations. . . . Husband and wife should confess and communicate, and recommend to God with a more than ordinary fervor the happy progress of their marriage, renewing their good resolutions to sanctify it more and more by mutual love and fidelity, and taking new breath, as it were in the Lord, for the better supporting the duties of their vocations."

Francis lacked ambition, and continuously refused better offers. Cardinal de Retz tried to induce him to become his coadjutor with the right of succession to the see of Paris; Milan, almost by force, twice tried to secure him for its archbishopric; and the pope wished to elevate him to the college of cardinals. Smilingly he brushed advancement aside with the mild jest that a man who has a poor wife should not desert her simply because he has the prospect of a wealthy marriage.

In 1599, Francis was chosen coadjutor to the bishop of Geneva, Switzerland. Although initially unwilling to become coadjutor, he eventually saw it as God's will and agreed. Francis, however, fell seriously ill and almost died. When he recovered he travelled to Rome, where he was examined by Pope Clement VIII, Cardinal Baronius, Saint Robert Bellarmine, Cardinal Frederick Borromeo (a cousin of Saint Charles Borromeo and others. They proposed to Francis no less than 35 abstruse questions of theology, all of which Francis answered with simplicity and modesty. His appointment was confirmed and he succeeded to the see of Geneva upon the bishop's death in 1602, taking up residence in Annecy.

He was the ideal person to be coadjutor, combining his deep commitment to the faith with a love of his fellow men and women. He was indefatigable in the discharge of his office: organized conferences for the clergy, directed them to teach catechism in simple words, insisted on unadorned straightforward preaching, and established a seminary at Annecy that he visited regularly.

As bishop Francis followed a strict rule of life. He reorganized his household on lines of the strictest economy. He fulfilled his episcopal duties with unstinted generosity and devotion. He usually arose at 4:00 a.m. Each day he devoted himself to prayer, study of the Scriptures, visiting the poor, and the general business of the diocese. He organized the teaching of the catechism throughout the diocese, and at Annecy gave the instructions himself. Children loved him and followed him about.

He was also known as an outstanding confessor (he directed Blessed Marie Acarie in Paris for a time), as well as Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, whom he met in 1604 while preaching Lenten sermons at Dijon. With Saint Jane de Chantal he founded the Order of the Visitation in 1610. He was extremely influential as a director or souls because he excelled in gently leading ardent hearts to the extremes of self-sacrifice and the love of God.

When forming the Visitation nuns, he had hoped for a group of women contemplatives who would be engaged in charitable work outside the convent. The traditional idea of cloistered nuns was too ingrained in the popular mind to allow this to happen. The order proposed taking the practical Saint Martha as its patron but this was stopped by the local bishop. (Saint Vincent de Paul circumvented this limitation on his Sisters of Charity by having no habits or perpetual vows (they wore uniforms and made annual vows), and so they were free to work among the needy.)

So great was his care for individuals that some of his converts set out his teaching in a Treatise on the Love of God, published in 1616 (more on his writings below). Just before his death in 1622, a nun asked him to write down the virtue he most desired. He wrote one word: "Humility."

Schamoni has a contemporary portrait of Saint Francis that was painted during the last year of his life. He appears to be broad shouldered, nearly bald, and square faced with high cheekbones. He sports a luxuriant, curly beard and short mustache. His nose looks as though it may have been broken at least once. Yet the remarkable trait are his eyes--large, dark, deep-set and very kind.

In 1622, Francis accepted an invitation to meet Louis XIII and the duke of Savoy at Avignon. Though he know the winter journey would be hard on him, he wished to obtain from Louis certain privileges for the French part of his diocese. So he prepared by arranging the affairs of the diocese before leaving. After preaching to crowds in Avignon, he stayed for a month in a gardener's cottage belonging to the Visitation convent at Lyons. Though fatigued, he continued preaching in bitterly cold weather through Advent and Christmas. On the feast of Saint John, "The Gentle Christ of Geneva" died of a paralytic seizure. After he had received the last sacraments, he lay murmuring words from the Bible expressive of his humble and serene trust in God's mercy. The last word he was heard to utter was "Jesus."

His body was translated to Annecy in January 1623 and to a new shrine in 1912. Many miracles followed his death. Some years afterward when his coffin was opened, his body was found incorrupt, and the most delicious fragrance spread all through the convent. His relics were translated to Annecy in 1623 and again to a new shrine in 1912.

His Writings

In addition to his major works, Saint Francis composed many pamphlets and was a prolific writer of letters, especially to his Visitation sisters.

Introduction à la vie devote (Introduction to the Devout Life) was originally published in 1609 in the form of letters to 'Philothea' (lover of God) (a compound of Madame de Chamoissy (a cousin by marriage) and his own mother). These letters were written without the thought of being published. Because he addressed the letters to a woman, many men refrained from reading them.

The Introduction came into existence at the insistence of King Henry IV and a group of Jesuits to whom Madame de Chamoissy had shown the letters she had received from Francis. Francis did not want them published, but the Jesuits said they intended to do so if he refused to do it.

Treatise on the Love of God (1616) was addressed to a fictitious 'Theotimus' to counter the problem of men not reading advice given to a woman, though he notes that he is not speaking to any one sex but to the human spirit, equally in men and women.

Both works are intended for use by men and women living in the world. He makes his reader understand that they, with their domestic cares and responsibilities, are called to be saints and may even reach a higher plane than those withdrawn into cloisters. He shows how the love of God, when it becomes all-dominant, permits coordinating of the aspiration to personal holiness with the most accurate fulfillment of all mundane occupations.

He shifts the ascetic stress from the physical plane to the unseen mortification of the will. Physical asceticism has sometimes been seen as a contest in austerity (see Saint Macarius). Francis wanted to counteract such excesses, much as Saint Benedict did in his Rule. His austerities included meekness, mildness, modesty, and mortifications of the heart (e.g., bearing wrongs patiently).

Rather than extreme fasting, he recommends: "Eat the things that are set before you. . . . It is, in my opinion, a greater virtue to eat, without choice, that which is laid before you, and in the same order as it is presented, whether it be more or less agreeable to your taste, than always to choose the worst; for although the latter way of living seems more austere, yet the former has, notwithstanding, more resignation, since by it we renounce not only our own taste, but even our own choice; and it is no small mortification to accommodate our taste to every kind of meat, and it keeps us in subjection to all occurrences. Besides, this kind of mortification makes no parade, gives no trouble to anyone, and is happily adapted to civil life."

In Introduction he insists upon the need for spiritual poverty, i.e. detachment: "But if you are really poor, dear Philothea, be likewise, for God's sake, actually poor in spirit; make a virtue of necessity, and value this precious jewel of poverty at the high rate it deserves; its luster is not discovered in this world, and yet it is exceedingly rich and beautiful."

He continues: "Your poverty, Philothea, enjoys two great privileges, by means of which you may considerably enhance its merits. The first is, that it came not to you by chance, but by the will of God, who has made you poor without any concurrence of your own will. . . . The second privilege of this kind of poverty is that it is truly poverty. That poverty which is praised, caressed, esteemed, succored, and assisted [referring to voluntary poverty accepted under vow] is not altogether poverty: but that which is despised, rejected, reproached, and abandoned, is poverty indeed . . . for which reason their poverty exceeds that of the religious; although otherwise the poverty of the religious has a very great excellency."

Speaking on sanctity in the world in Introduction: "It is an error, or rather a heresy, to say that devotion is incompatible with the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince, or a married woman. It is true, Philothea, that a devotion purely contemplative, monastical, and religious, cannot be exercised in these vocations; but, besides these three kinds of devotion, there are several others proper to conduct to perfection those who live in the secular state. . . . Nay, it has happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had preserved it in the world."

He adds that contemplation is even more necessary to lay folk than to religious, for whereas the cloister is designed to encourage a recollected life, social activities tend to dissipate it. "As birds, wherever they fly, always meet with the air, so we, wherever we go, or wherever we are, shall always find God present."

Francis warns his reader not to place too much importance on mystical experience. ". . . I do affirm that he who in his rapture has more light in the understanding to admire God, than heat in his will to love Him, is to stand on his guard; for it is to be feared that this ecstasy may be false, and may rather puff up the spirit than edify it, putting him indeed as Saul, Balaam, Caiphas, among the prophets, yet leaving him among the reprobates" (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Butler, Delaney (1978) and (1983), Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Hamon, Henry-Couannier, Maynard, Melady, Sanders, Schamoni, Steuart, Walsh, White).

In art, Saint Francis is most easily recognized by his face. He is a 17th-century Franciscan bishop, often in his purple bishop's cassock, with a bald head and long beard, often holding a book. Sometimes he is shown (1) with his pierced heart surrounded by a crown of thorns, a cross in glory over him, (2) holding a picture of the Virgin, or holding a heart in his hand (Roeder, White).

Named by the Holy See as patron of writers, editors, journalists and the Catholic press (Maynard, Roeder). In so naming him, Pope Pius XI noted his appropriateness as patron because of his example in The Controversies of "arguing forcefully, but with moderation and charity" (White). He is venerated especially at Annecy (Roeder).

SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0124.shtml

Escultura de San Francisco de Sales, iglesia Don Bosco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Scultpture of Saint Francis de Sales, Don Bosco church, Buenos Aires, Argentina

January 29

St. Francis of Sales, Bishop and Confessor

From his writings, and authentic lives, chiefly that written by his nephew, Charles Augustus de Sales: also that by F. Goulu, general of the Feuillans: that by Henry de Maupas du Tour, bishop of Puy, afterwards of Evreux: and that by Madame de Bussi-Rabutin, nun of the Visitation. See his life collected by M. Marsoillier, and done into English by the late Mr. Crathorne. See also the bull of his canonization, and an excellent collection of his maxims and private actions, compiled by his intimate friend and great admirer M. Peter Camus, bishop of Bellay, in his book, entitled, L’Esprit de St. François de Sales, and in his scarce and incomparable book under the title, Quel est le meilleur, Gouvernement, le rigoureux ou le doux, printed at Paris without the name of the author, 1636. Though I find not this book in any catalogue of bishop Camus’s works, the conformity of style, and in several places the repetition of the same expressions which occur in the last-mentioned work, seem to prove this to be also the production of his pen. See also the excellent new edition of the letters of St. Francis of Sales, in six volumes, in 12mo. 1758.

A.D. 1622

THE PARENTS of this saint were Francis, count of Sales, and Frances of Sionas. The countess being with child, offered her fruit to God with the most fervent prayers, begging he would preserve it from the corruption of the world, and rather deprive her of the comfort of seeing herself a mother, than suffer her to give birth to a child, who should ever become his enemy by sin. The saint was born at Sales, three leagues from Annecy, the seat of that noble family: and his mother was delivered of him when she was but seven months advanced in her pregnancy. 1 Hence he was reared with difficulty, and was so weak, that his life, during his infancy, was often despaired of by physicians. However, he escaped the danger, and grew robust; he was very beautiful, and the sweetness of his countenance won the affections of all who saw him: but the meekness of his temper, the pregnancy of his wit, his modesty, tractableness, and obedience, were far more valuable qualifications. The countess could scarcely suffer the child out of her sight, lest any tincture of vice might infect his soul. Her first care was to inspire him with the most profound respect for the church, and all holy things; and she had the comfort to observe in him a recollection and devotion at his prayers far above his age. She read to him the lives of the saints, adding recollections suited to his capacity; and she took care to have him with her when she visited the poor, making him the distributer of her alms, and to do such little offices for them as he was able. He would set by his own meat for their relief, and when he had nothing left to bestow on them, would beg for them of all his relations. His horror of a lie, even in his infancy, made him prefer any disgrace or chastisement to the telling of the least wilful untruth.

His mother’s inclination for a domestic preceptor, to prevent his being corrupted by wicked youth in colleges, was overruled by her husband’s persuasion of the usefulness of emulation for advancing children in their studies; hoping his son’s virtue and modesty would, under God, be a sufficient guard of his innocency. He was accordingly sent to Rocheville, at six years of age, and sometime after to Annecy. An excellent memory, a solid judgment and a good application, could not fail of great progress. The young count spent as much of his time as possible in private studies and lectures of piety, especially those of the lives of saints; and by his diligence always doubled or trebled his school tasks. He showed an early inclination for the ecclesiastical state, and obtained his father’s consent, though not without some reluctance, for his receiving tonsure in the year 1578, and the eleventh of his age. He was sent afterwards, under the care of a virtuous priest, his preceptor to pursue his studies in Paris; his mother having first instilled into him steady principles of virtue, a love of prayer, and a dread of sin and its occasions. She often repeated to him those words of queen Blanche to her son St. Lewis, king of France: “I had rather see you dead, than hear you had committed one mortal sin.” On his arrival at Paris, he entered the Jesuits’ schools, and went through his rhetoric and philosophy with great applause. In pure obedience to his father’s orders, he learned in the academy to ride, dance, and fence, whence he acquired that easy behaviour which he retained ever after. But these exercises, as matters of amusement, did not hinder his close application to the study of the Greek and Hebrew languages, and of positive divinity, for six years, under the famous Genebrard and Maldonatus. But his principal concern all this time was a regular course of piety, by which he laboured to sanctify himself and all his actions. Pious meditation and the study of the holy scripture were his beloved entertainments: and he never failed to carry about him that excellent book, called the Spiritual Combat. He sought the conversation of the virtuous, particularly of F. Angelus Joyeuse, who from a duke and marshal of France, was become a Capuchin friar. The frequent discourses of this good man on the necessity of mortification, induced the count to add, to his usual austerities, the wearing of a hair shirt three days in the week. His chief resort during his stay at Paris, was to some churches, that especially of St. Stephen des Grez, as being one of the most retired. Here he made a vow of perpetual chastity, putting himself under the special patronage of the Blessed Virgin. God, to purify his heart, permitted a thick darkness, insensibly, to overspread his mind, and a spiritual dryness and melancholy to overwhelm him. He seemed, from a perfect tranquillity and peace of mind, to be almost brought to the brink of despair. Seized with the greatest terrors, he passed nights and days in tears and lamentations, and suffered more than can be conceived by those who have not felt the severity of such interior conflicts. The bitterness of his grief threw him into a deep jaundice: he could neither eat, drink, nor sleep. His preceptor laboured, but all in vain, to discover the cause of this disorder, and find out a remedy. At last, Francis, being at prayer in the same church of St. Stephen, cast his eyes on a picture of our Lady; this awakening his confidence in her intercession, he prostrated himself on the ground, and as unworthy to address the Father of all consolation, begged that she would be his advocate, and procure him the grace to love God with his whole heart. That very moment he found himself eased of his grief as of a heavy weight taken off his heart, and his former peace and tranquillity restored, which he ever after enjoyed. He was now eighteen years old, when his father recalled him from Paris, and sent him to Padua, to study the law, where his master was the celebrated Guy Pancirola; this was in the year 1554. He chose the learned and pious Jesuit, Antony Possevin, for his spiritual director; who at the same time explained to him St. Thomas’s Sun, and they read together Bellarmin’s Controversies. His nephew Augustus, gives us his written rule of life, which he made at Padua: it chiefly shows his perpetual attention to the presence of God, his care to offer up every action to him, and implore his aid at the beginning of each. Falling sick, he was despaired of by the physicians, and he himself expected with joy his last moment. His preceptor, Deage, who had ever attended him, asked him with tears, what he had to order about his funeral and other matters? “Nothing,” answered he cheerfully, “unless it be, that my body be given to the anatomy theatre to be dissected; for it will be a comfort to me if I can be of any advantage when dead, having been of none whilst alive. Thus I may also prevent some of the disorders and quarrels which happen between the young physicians and the friends of the dead, whose bodies they often dig up.” However, he recovered; and by his father’s orders, being twenty years of age, commenced doctor in laws, with great applause and pomp, in presence of forty-eight doctors. After which he travelled through Italy to see the antiquities, and visit the holy places there. He went to Rome by Ferrara, and returned by Loretto and Venice. To any insult offered him on the road he returned only meekness; for which he met with remarkable blessings from heaven. The sight of the pompous remains of ancient Rome gave him a feeling contempt of worldly grandeur: but the tombs of the martyrs drew every where tears of devotion from his eyes. Upon his return, his father received him with great joy, at his castle of Tuille, where he had prepared for him a good library of books.

All persons were charmed with the young count, but none so much as the great Antony Favre, afterwards first president of the parliament of Chamberry, and Claudius Cranier, the learned and truly apostolic bishop of Geneva, who already consulted him as an oracle. His father had a very good match in view for him, and obtained in his behalf, from the duke of Savoy, patents creating him counsellor of the parliament of Chamberry. Francis modestly, but very firmly, refused both; yet durst not propose to his parents his design of receiving holy orders; for the tonsure was not an absolute renouncing of the world. At last, he discovered it to his pious preceptor, Deage, and begged of him to mention it to his father: but this he declined, and used his utmost endeavours to dissuade the young count from such a resolution, as he was the eldest son, and destined by the order of nature for another state. Francis answered all his reasonings, but could not prevail on him to charge himself with the commission. He had then recourse to a cousin, Lewis of Sales, a priest and canon of Geneva, who obtained the consent of his parents, but not without the greatest difficulty. His cousin also obtained for him from the pope, without his knowledge, the provostship of the church of Geneva, then vacant: but the young clergyman held out a long time before he would accept of it. At last he yielded, and took possession of that dignity, and was in a short time after promoted to holy orders by his diocesan, who as soon as he was deacon, employed him in preaching. His first sermons gained him an extraordinary reputation, and were accompanied with incredible success. He delivered the word of God with a mixture of majesty and modesty; had a strong sweet voice, and an animated manner of gesture, far from any affectation or vanity: but what chiefly affected the hearts of his hearers was the humility and unction with which he spoke from the abundance of his own heart. Before he preached, he always renewed the fervour of his heart before God, by secret sighs and prayer. He studied as much at the foot of the crucifix as in books, being persuaded that the essential quality of a preacher is to be a man of prayer. He received the holy order of priesthood with extraordinary preparation and devotion, and seemed filled by it with an apostolic spirit. He every day began his functions by celebrating the holy mysteries early in the morning, in which by his eyes and countenance of fire, the inward flames of his soul appeared. He then heard the confessions of all sorts of people, and preached. He was observed to decline with the utmost care whatever might gain him the applause of men, seeking only to please God, and to advance his glory. He chiefly resorted to cottages, and country villages, instructing an infinity of poor people. His piety, his charity to the poor, his disinterestedness, his care of the sick and those in prison, endeared him to all: but nothing was so moving as his meekness, which no provocation was ever capable of disturbing. He conversed among all as their father, with a fellow felling of all their wants, being all to all. He was indeed naturally of a hasty and passionate temper, as he himself confesses; and we find in his writings a certain fire and impetuosity which renders it unquestionable. On this account from his youth he made meekness his favourite virtue, and by studying in the school of a God who was meek and humble of heart, he learned that important lesson to such perfection, as to convert his predominant passion into his characteristical virtue. The Calvinists ascribe principally to his meekness the wonderful conversions he made amongst them. They were certainly the most obstinate of people at that time, near Geneva: yet St. Francis converted no less than seventy-two thousand of them.

Before the end of this first year of his ministry, in 1591, he erected at Annecy a confraternity of the Holy Cross, the associates of which were obliged to instruct the ignorant, to comfort and exhort the sick and prisoners, and to beware of all law-suits, which seldom fail to shipwreck Christian charity. A Calvinistical minister took occasion from this institution to write against the honour paid by Catholics to the cross. Francis answered him by his book entitled, “The Standard of the Cross.” At this time, fresh matter presented itself for the exercise of the saint’s zeal. The bishop of Geneva was formerly lord of that city, paying an acknowledgment to the duke of Savoy. While these two were disputing about the sovereignty, the Genevans expelled them both, and formed themselves into a republic in alliance with the Switzers; and their city became the centre of Calvinism. Soon after, the protestant canton at Bern seized the country of Vaux, and the republic of Geneva, the duchy Chablais, with the bailiwicks of Gex, Terni and Gaillard; and there by violence established their heresy, which from that time had kept quiet possession for sixty years. The duke Charles Emmanuel, had recovered these territories, and resolving to restore the Catholic religion, wrote in 1594 to the bishop of Geneva, to recommend that work to him. The wise ones, according to this world, regarded the undertaking as impracticable; and the most resolute, whether ecclesiastics or religious, were terrified at its difficulties and dangers. Francis was the only one that offered himself for the work, and was joined by none but his cousin-german Lewis de Sales. The tears and remonstrances of his parents and friends to dissuade him from the undertaking made no impression on his courageous soul. He set out with his cousin on the 9th of September, in 1594. Being arrived on the frontiers of Chablais, they sent back their horses the more perfectly to imitate the apostles. On his arrival at Thonon, the capital of Chablais, situate on the lake of Geneva, he found in it only seven Catholics. After having commended the souls to God and earnestly implored his mercy through the intercession of the guardian angels, and tutelar saints of the country, he was obliged to take up his quarters in the castle of Allinges, where the governor and garrison were Catholics, two leagues from Thonon, whither he went every day, visiting also the neighbouring country. The Calvinists for a long time shunned him, and some even attempted his life. Two assassins, hired by others, having missed him at Thonon, lay in wait to murder him on his return; but a guard of soldiers had been sent to escort him safe, the conspiracy having taken wind. The saint obtained their pardon, and overcome by his lenity and formed by his holy instructions, they both became very virtuous converts. All our saint’s relations, and many friends, whom he particularly respected for their great virtue and prudence, solicited him by the most pressing letters to abandon such a dangerous and fruitless enterprise. His father, to the most tender entreaties, added his positive commands to him to return home, telling him that all prudent persons called his resolution to continue his mission a foolish obstinacy and madness; that he had already done more than was needful, and that his mother was dying of grief for his long absence, the fear of losing him entirely, and the hardships, atrocious slanders, and continual alarms and dangers in which he lived. To compel him to abandon this undertaking, the father forbade his friends to write any more to him, or to send him necessary supplies. Nevertheless St. Francis persevered, and at length his patience, zeal, and eminent virtue wrought upon the most obdurate, and insensibly wore away their prejudices. His first converts were among the soldiers, whom he brought over, not only to the faith, but also to an entire change of manners and strict virtue, from habits of swearing, duelling, and drunkenness. He was near four years, however, without any great fruit among the inhabitants, till the year 1597, when God was pleased to touch several of them with his grace. The harvest daily increased both in the town and country so plentifully, that a supply of new labourers from Annecy was necessary, and the bishop sent some Jesuits and Capuchins to carry on the good work with Francis and under his direction. In 1598 the public exercise of the Catholic religion was restored, and Calvinism banished by the duke’s orders over all Chablais, and the two bailiwicks of Terni and Guillard. Though the plague raged violently at Thonon, this did not hinder Francis either by day or night from assisting the sick in their last moments; and God preserved him from the contagion, which seized and swept off several of his fellow-labourers. It is incredible what fatigues and hardships he underwent in the course of this mission; with what devotion and tears he daily recommended the work of God; with what invincible courage he braved the greatest dangers: with what meekness and patience he bore all manner of affronts and calumnies. Baron D’Avuli, a man of quality, and of great worth and learning, highly esteemed among the Calvinists, and at Geneva, being converted by him, induced him to go thither to have a conference with the famous minister La Faye. The minister during the whole conference, was ever shifting the matter in debate, as he found himself embarrassed and pressed by his antagonist. His disadvantage being so evident that he himself could read it in the countenance of every one present, he broke off the conference by throwing out a whole torrent of injurious language on Francis, who bore it with so much meekness as not to return the least sharp answer. During the whole course of his ministry in these parts, the violent measures, base cowardice in declining all dispute, and the shameful conduct of the ministers in other respects, set the saint’s behaviour and his holy cause still in a more shining light. In 1597 he was commissioned by Pope Clement VIII. to confer with Theodore Beza at Geneva, the most famous minister of the Calvinist party, in order to win him back to the Catholic church. He accordingly paid him four visits in that city, gained a high place in that heresiarch’s esteem, and made him often hesitate in deep silence and with distracted looks, whether he should return to the Roman Catholic Church or not, wherein he owned from the beginning that salvation was attainable. St. Francis had great hopes of bringing him over in a fifth visit, but his private conferences had alarmed the Genevans so much that they guarded Beza too close for him to find admittance to him again, and Beza died soon after. It is said, that a little before death he lamented very much he could not see Francis. 2 It is certain, from his first conference with him, he had ever felt a violent conflict within himself, between truth and duty on one hand, and on the other, the pride of being head of a party, the shame of recanting, inveterate habits, and certain secret engagements in vice, to which he continued enslaved to the last. The invincible firmness and constancy of the saint appeared in the recovery of the revenues of the curacies and other benefices which had been given to the Orders of St. Lazarus and St. Maurice: the restoration of which after many difficulties he effected by the joint authority of the pope and the duke of Savoy. In 1596 he celebrated mass on Christmas-day in the church of St. Hippolytus at Thonon, and had then made seven or eight hundred converts. From this time he charged himself with the parish of the town, and established two other Catholic parishes in the country. In the beginning of the year 1599 he had settled zealous clergymen in all the parishes of the whole territory.

The honours the saint received from the pope, the duke of Savoy, the cardinal of Medicis, and all the church, and the high reputation which his virtues had acquired for him, never made the least impression on his humble mind, dead to all motions of pride and vanity. His delight was with the poor: the most honourable functions he left to others, and chose for himself the meanest and most laborious. Every one desired to have him for their director, wherever he went: and his extraordinary sweetness, in conjunction with his eminent piety, reclaimed as many vicious Catholics as it converted heretics. In 1599, he went to Annecy to visit his diocesan, Granier, who had procured him to be made his coadjutor. The fear of resisting God, in refusing this charge, when pressed upon him by the pope, in conjunction with his bishop and the duke of Savoy, at last extorted his consent; but the apprehension of the obligations annexed to episcopacy was so strong, that it threw him into an illness which had like to have cost him his life. On his recovery he set out for Rome to receive his bulls, and to confer with his Holiness on matters relating to the missions of Savoy. He was highly honoured by all the great men at Rome, and received of the pope the bulls for being consecrated bishop of Nicopolis, and coadjutor of Geneva. On this occasion he made a visit of devotion to Loretto, and returned to Annecy before the end of the year 1599. Here he preached the Lent the year following, and assisted his father during his last sickness, heard his general confession, and administered to him the rites of the church. An illness he was seized with at Annecy made him defer his consecration.

On his recovery he was obliged to go to Paris, on affairs of his diocess, and was received there by all sorts of persons with all the regard due to his extraordinary merit. The king was then at Fontainbleau; but the saint was desired to preach the Lent to the court in the chapel of the Louvre. This he did in a manner that charmed every one, and wrought innumerable wonderful conversions. The dutchesses of Mercœur and Longueville sent him thereupon a purse of gold: he admired the embroidery, but gave it back, with thanks to them for honouring his discourses with their presence and good example. He preached a sermon against the pretended reformation, to prove it destitute of a lawful mission; it being begun at Meaux, by Peter Clark, a wool-carder; at Paris, by Masson Riviere, a young man called to the ministry by a company of laymen; and elsewhere after the like manner. This sermon converted many Calvinists; amongst others the countess of Perdrieuville, who was one of the most obstinate learned ladies of the sect: she consulted her ministers, and repaired often to Francis’s conferences, till she had openly renounced Calvinism with all her numerous family. The whole illustrious house of Raconis followed her example, and so many others even of the most inveterate of the sect, that it made Cardinal Perron, a man famous for controversy, say: “I can confute the Calvinists; but, to persuade and convert them, you must carry them to the coadjutor of Geneva.” Henry IV. was charmed with his preaching, and consulted him several times in matters relating to the direction of his conscience. There was no project of piety going forward about which he was not advised. He promoted the establishment of the Carmelite nuns in France, and the introduction of F. Berulle’s congregation of the oratory. The king himself earnestly endeavoured to detain him in France, by promises of 20,000 livres pension, and the first vacant bishopric: but Francis said, God had called him against his will to the bishopric of Geneva, and he thought it his obligation to keep it till his death; that the small revenue he had, sufficed for his maintenance, and more would only be an incumbrance. The king was astonished at his disinterestedness, when he understood that the bishopric of Geneva, since the revolt of that city, did not yield the incumbent above four or five thousand livres, that is, not two hundred and fifty-nine pounds a year.

Some envious courtiers endeavoured to give the king a suspicion of his being a spy. The saint heard this accusation just as he was going into the pulpit; yet he preached as usual without the least concern; and that prince was too well convinced of the calumny, by his sanctity and candour. After a nine months’ stay in Paris, he set out with the kings’ letters, 3 and heard on the road, that Granier, bishop of Geneva, was dead. He hastened to Sales-Castle, and as soon as clear of the first visits, made a twenty days’ retreat to prepare himself for his consecration. He made a general confession, and laid down a plan of life, which he ever punctually observed. This was, never to wear any silk or camlets, or any clothes but woollen, as before: to have no paintings in his house but of devotions: no magnificence in furniture: never to use coach or litter, but to make his visits on foot: his family to consist of two priests, one for his chaplain, the other to take care of his temporalities and servants: nothing but common meats to be served to his table: to be always present at all feasts of devotion, kept in any church in town: his regulation with respect to alms was incredible for his revenues: to go to the poor and sick in person: to rise every day at four, make an hour’s meditation, say lauds and prime, then morning prayers with his family: to read the scripture till seven, then say mass, which he did every day, afterwards to apply to affairs till dinner, which being over, he allowed an hour for conversation, the rest of the afternoon he allotted to business and prayer. After supper he read a pious book to his family for an hour, then night prayers; after which he said matins. He fasted all Fridays and Saturdays, and our Lady’s eves: he privately wore a hair shirt, and used the discipline, but avoided all ostentatious austerities. But his exact regularity and uniformity of life, with a continued practice of interior self-denials, was the best mortification. He redoubled his fasts, austerities, and prayers, as the time of his consecration drew nearer. This was performed on the 3rd of December, 1602. He immediately applied himself to preaching and the other functions of his charge. He was exceedingly cautious in conferring holy orders. He ordained but few, neither was it without the strictest scrutiny passed upon all their qualifications for the priesthood. He was very zealous, both by word and example, in promoting the instruction of the ignorant by explanations of the catechism, on Sundays and holidays; and his example had a great influence over the parish-priests in this particular, as also over the laity, both young and old. He inculcated to all the making, every hour when the clock struck, the sign of the cross, with a fervent aspiration on the passion of Christ. He severely forbade the custom of Valentines, or giving boys, in writing, the names of girls to be admired and attended on by them: and, to abolish it, he changed it into giving billets with the names of certain saints for them to honour and imitate in a particular manner. He performed the visitation of his diocess as soon as possible, published a new ritual, set on foot ecclesiastical conferences, and regulated all things; choosing St. Charles Borromeo for his model.

Above all things he hated law-suits, and strictly commanded all ecclesiastics to avoid them, and refer all disputes to arbitration. He said they were such occasions of sins against charity, that, if any one during the course of a law-suit, had escaped them, that alone would suffice for his canonization. Towards the close of the visitation of his diocess, he reformed several monasteries. That of Six appealed to the parliament of Chamberry: but our saint was supported there, and carried his point. Whilst Francis was at Six he heard that a valley, three leagues off, was in the utmost desolation, by the tops of two mountains that had fallen, and buried several villages, with the inhabitants and cattle. He crawled over impassable ways to comfort and relieve these poor people, who had neither clothes to cover, nor cottages to shelter them, nor bread to stay their hunger: he mingled his tears with theirs, relieved them, and obtained from the duke a remission of their taxes. The city of Dijon having procured leave from the duke of Savoy, the saint preached the Lent there in 1604, with wonderful fruit; but refused the present offered him by the city on that occasion. Being solicited by Henry IV. to accept of a considerable abbey, the saint refused it; alleging, that he dreaded riches as much as others could desire them; and that, the less he had of them, the less he would have to answer for. That king offered to name him to the dignity of cardinal at the next promotion; but the saint made answer, that though he did not despise the offered dignity, he was persuaded that great titles would not sit well upon him, and might raise fresh obstacles to his salvation. He was also thought of at Rome as a very fit person to be promoted to that dignity, but was himself the only one who every where opposed and crossed the design. Being desired on another occasion by the same king to accept of a pension; the saint begged his majesty to suffer it to remain in the hands of his comptroller till he should call for it; which handsome refusal much astonished that great prince, who could not forbear saying: “That the bishop of Geneva, by the happy independence in which his virtue had placed him, was as far above him, as he by his royal dignity was above his subjects.” The saint preached the next Lent at Chamberry, at the request of the parliament, which notwithstanding at that very time seized his temporalities for refusing to publish a monitory at its request; the saint alleging, that it was too trifling an affair, and that the censures of the church were to be used more reservedly. To the notification of the seizure he only answered obligingly, that he thanked God for teaching him by it, that a bishop is to be altogether spiritual. He neither desisted from preaching nor complained to the duke, but heaped most favours on such as most insulted him, till the parliament being ashamed granted him, of their own accord, a replevy. But the great prelate found more delight in preaching in small villages than amidst such applause, though he every where met with the like fruit; and he looked on the poor as the object of his particular care. He took a poor dumb and deaf man into his family, taught him by signs, and by them received his confession. His steward often found it difficult to provide for his family by reason of his great alms, and used to threaten to leave him. The saint would answer: “You say right; I am an incorrigible creature, and what is worse, I look as if I should long continue so.” Or at other times, pointing to the crucifix: “How can we deny any thing to a God who reduced himself to this condition for the love of us!”

Pope Paul V. ordered our saint to be consulted about the school dispute between the Dominicans and Jesuits on the grace of God, or de auxiliis. His opinion appears from his book “On the Love of God:” but he answered his Holiness in favour of neutrality, which he ever observed in school opinions; complaining often in how many they occasioned the breach of charity, and spent too much of their precious time, which, by being otherwise employed, might be rendered more conducive to God’s honour. In 1609 he went to Bellay, and consecrated bishop John Peter Camus, one of the most illustrious prelates of the church of France, and linked to our saint by the strictest bands of holy friendship. He wrote the book entitled “The Spirit of St. Francis of Sales,” consisting of many of his ordinary sayings and actions, in which his spirit shines with great advantage, discovering a perpetual recollection always absorbed in God, and a constant overflowing of sweetness and divine love. His writings to this day breathe the same; every word distils that love and meekness with which his heart was filled. It is this which makes his epistles, which we have to the number of five hundred and twenty-nine, in seven books, to be an inestimable treasure of moving instructions, suitable to all sorts of persons and circumstances.

His incomparable book, the “Introduction to a Devout Life,” was originally letters to a lady in the world, which, at the pressing instances of many friends, he formed into a book and finished, to show that devotion suited Christians in a secular life, no less than in cloisters. Villars the archbishop of Vienna, wrote to him upon it: “Your book charms, inflames, and puts me in raptures, as often as I open any part of it.” The author received the like applause and commendations from all parts, and it was immediately translated into all the languages of Europe. Henry IV. of France was extremely pleased with it; his queen, Mary of Medicis, sent it richly bound and adorned with jewels to James I. of England, who was wonderfully taken with it, and asked his bishops why none of them could write with such feeling and unction? 4 There was however one religious Order in which this book was much censured, as if it had allowed of gallantry and scurrilous jests, and approved of balls and comedies, which was very far from the saint’s doctrine. A preacher of that Order had the rashness and presumption to declaim bitterly against the book in a public sermon, to cut in pieces, and burn it in the very pulpit. The saint bore this outrage without the least resentment; so perfectly was he dead to self-love. This appears more wonderful to those who know how jealous authors are of their works, as the offspring of their reason and judgment, of which men are of all things the fondest. His book of the Love of God cost him much more reading, study, and meditation. In it he paints his own soul. He describes the feeling sentiments of divine love, its state of fervour, of dryness, of trials, suffering, and darkness: in explaining which he calls in philosophy to his assistance. He writes on this sublime subject what he had learned by his own experience. Some parts of this book are only to be understood by those souls who have gone through these states: yet the author has been ever justly admired for the performance. The general of the Carthusians had written to him upon his Introduction, advising him to write no more, because nothing else could equal that book. But seeing this, he bade him never cease writing, because his latter works always surpassed the former: and James I. was so delighted with the book, that he expressed a great desire to see the author. This being told the saint, he cried out: “Ah! who will give me the wings of a dove, and I will fly to the king, into that great island, formerly the country of saints; but now overwhelmed with the darkness of error. If the duke will permit me, I will arise, and go to that great Ninive: I will speak to the king, and will announce to him, with the hazard of my life, the word of the Lord.” In effect, he solicited the duke of Savoy’s consent, but could never obtain it. 5 That jealous sovereign feared lest he should be drawn in to serve another state, or sell to some other his right to Geneva; on which account he often refused him leave to go to preach in France, when invited by many cities. His other works are sermons which are not finished as they were preached, except perhaps that on the Invention of the Cross. We have also his Preparation for Mass: his Instructions for Confessors: a collection of his Maxims, pious Breathings, and Sayings, written by the bishop of Bellay: some Fragments, and his Entertainments to his nuns of the Visitation, in which he recommends to them the most perfect interior self-denial, a disengagement of affections from all things temporal, with an entire obedience. The institution of that Order may be read in the life of B. Frances Chantal. St. Francis designing his new Order to be such, that all, even the sickly and weak, might be admitted into it, he chose for it the rule of St. Austin, as commanding few extraordinary bodily austerities, and would have it possess funds and settlements in common, to prevent being carried off from the interior life by anxious cares about necessaries. But then he requires from each person so strict a practice of poverty, as to allow no one the propriety or even the long use of any thing; and orders them every year to change chambers, beds, crosses, beads, and books. He will have no manner of account to be made of birth, wit, or talents; but only of humility: he obliges them only to the little office of our Lady, which all might easily learn to understand; meditations, spiritual reading, recollection, and retreats, abundantly compensating the defect. All his regulations tend to instil a spirit of piety, charity, meekness, and simplicity. He subjects his Order to the bishop of each place, without any general. Pope Paul V. approved it, and erected the congregation of the Visitation into a religious Order.

St. Francis, finding his health decline, and his affairs to multiply, after having consulted cardinal Frederic Borromeo, archbishop of Milan, chose for his coadjutor in the bishopric of Geneva, his brother John Francis of Sales, who was consecrated bishop of Chalcedon at Turin, in 1618. But the saint still applied himself to his functions as much as ever. He preached the Lent at Grenoble, in 1617, and again in 1618, with his usual conquests of souls; converting many Calvinists, and among these the duke of Lesdiguieres. In 1619, he accompanied to Paris the cardinal of Savoy, to demand the sister of king Lewis XIII., Christina of France, in marriage for the prince of Piedmont. He preached the Lent in St. Andre-des-Arcs, and had always such a numerous audience, that cardinals, bishops, and princes could scarcely find room. His sermons and conferences, and still more the example of his holy life, and the engaging sweetness of his conversation most powerfully moved not only the devout, but also heretics, libertines, and atheists; whilst his eloquence and learning convinced their understandings. The bishop of Bellay tells us, that he entreated the saint at Paris not to preach twice every day, morning and evening, for the sake of his health. St. Francis answered him with a smile: “It costs me much less to preach a sermon than to find an excuse for himself when invited to perform that function.” He added: “God has appointed me a pastor and a preacher: and is not every one to follow his profession? But I am surprised that the people in this great city flock so eagerly to my sermons: for my tongue is slow and heavy, my conceptions low, and my discourses flat, as you yourself are witness.” “Do you imagine,” said the other, “that eloquence is what they seek in your discourses? It is enough for them to see you in the pulpit. Your heart speaks to them by your countenance, and by your eyes, were you only to say the Our Father with them. The most common words in your mouth, burning with the fire of charity, pierce and melt all hearts. There is I know not what so extraordinary in what you say, that every word is of weight, every word strikes deep into the heart. You have said every thing even when you seem to have said nothing. You are possessed of a kind of eloquence which is of heaven: the power of this is astonishing.” St. Francis, smiling, turned off the discourse. 6 The match being concluded, the princess Christina chose Francis for her chief almoner, desiring to live always under his direction: but all her entreaties could neither prevail on him to leave his diocess, though he had a coadjutor, nor to accept of a pension: and it was only on these two conditions he undertook the charge, always urging that nothing could dispense with him from residence. The princess made him a present of a rich diamond, by way of an investiture, desiring him to keep it for her sake. “I will,” said he, “unless the poor stand in need of it.” She answered, she would then redeem it. He said, “This will happen so often, that I shall abuse your bounty.” Finding it given to the poor afterwards at Turin, she gave him another richer, charging him to keep that at least. He said: “Madam, I cannot promise you: I am very unfit to keep things of value.” Inquiring after it one day she was told it was always in pawn for the poor, and that the diamond belonged not to the bishop, but to all the beggars of Geneva. He had indeed a heart which was not able to refuse any thing to those in want. He often gave to beggars the waistcoat off his own back, and sometimes the cruets of his chapel. The pious cardinal, Henry de Gondi, bishop of Paris, used all manner of arguments to obtain his consent to be his coadjutor in the see of Paris; but he was resolved never to quit the church, which God had first committed to his charge.

Upon his return to Annecy he would not touch a farthing of his revenue for the eighteen months he was absent; but gave it to his cathedral, saying, it could not be his, for he had not earned it. He applied himself to preaching, instructing, and hearing confessions with greater zeal than ever. In a plague which raged there, he daily exposed his own life to assist his flock.

The saint often met with injurious treatment, and very reviling words, which he ever repaid with such meekness and beneficence as never failed to gain his very enemies. A lewd wretch, exasperated against him for his zeal against a wicked harlot, forged a letter of intrigue in the holy prelate’s name, which made him pass for a profligate and a hypocrite with the duke of Nemours and many others: the calumny reflected also on the nuns of the Visitation. Two years after, the author of it lying on his death-bed, called in witnesses, publicly justified the saint, and made an open confession of the slander and forgery. The saint had ever an entire confidence in the divine providence, was always full of joy, and resigned to all the appointments of heaven, to which he committed all events. He had a sovereign contempt of all earthly things, whether riches, honours, dangers, or sufferings. He considered only God and his honour in all things: his soul perpetually breathed nothing but his love and praises; nor could he contain this fire within his breast, for it discovered itself in his countenance; which, especially whilst he said mass, or distributed the blessed eucharist, appeared shining, as it were, with rays of glory, and breathing holy fervour. Often he could not contain himself in his conversation, and would thus express himself to his intimate friends: “Did you but know how God treats my heart, you would thank his goodness, and beg for me the strength to execute the inspirations which he communicates to me. My heart is filled with an inexpressible desire to be for ever sacrificed to the pure and holy love of my Saviour. Oh! it is good to live, to labour, to rejoice only in God. By his grace I will for ever more be nothing to any creature; nor shall any creature be any thing to me but in him and for him.” At another time he cried out to a devout friend: “Oh! if I knew but one string of my heart which was not all God’s, I would instantly tear it out. Yes; if I knew that there was one thread in my heart which was not marked with the crucifix, I would not keep it one moment.”

In the year 1622, he received an order from the duke of Savoy to go to Avignon to wait on Lewis XIII. who had just finished the civil wars in Languedoc. Finding himself indisposed, he took his last leave of his friends, saying, he should see them no more; which drew from them floods of tears. At Avignon he was at his prayers during the king’s triumphant entry, and never went to the window to see any part of that great pomp. He was obliged to attend the king and the cardinal of Savoy to Lyons, where he refused all the grand apartments offered him by the intendant of the province and others, to lodge in the poor chamber of the gardener to the monastery of the Visitation: as he was never better pleased than when he could most imitate the poverty of his Saviour. He received from the king and queen-mother, and from all the princes, the greatest marks of honour and esteem: and though indisposed, continued to preach and perform all his functions, especially on Christmas-day, and St. John’s in the morning. After dinner he began to fall gradually into an apoplexy, was put to bed by his servant, and received extreme unction; but as he had said mass that day, and his vomiting continued, it was thought proper not to give him the viaticum. He repeated with great fervour: “My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God: I will sing the mercies of the Lord to all eternity. When shall I appear before his face? Show me, my beloved, where thou feedest, where thou restest at noon-day. O my God, my desire is before thee, and my sighs are not hidden from thee. My God and my all! my desire is that of the hills eternal.” Whilst the physicians applied blistering plasters, and hot irons behind his neck, and a caustic to the crown of his head, which burned him to the bone, he shed abundance of tears under excess of pain, repeating: Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquities, and cleanse me from my sin. Still cleanse me more and more. “What do I hear, my God, distant from thee, separated from thee?” And to those about him: “Weep not, my children; must not the will of God be done?” One suggesting to him the prayer of St. Martin: “If I am still necessary for thy people, I refuse not to labour:” he seemed troubled at being compared to so great a saint, and said, he was an unprofitable servant, whom neither God nor his people needed. His apoplexy increasing, though slowly, he seemed at last to lose his senses, and happily expired on the feast of the Holy Innocents, the 28th of December, at eight o’clock at night, in the year 1622, the fifty-sixth of his age, and the twentieth of his episcopacy. His corpse was embalmed, and carried with the greatest pomp to Annecy, where he had directed by will it should be interred. It was laid in a magnificent tomb near the high altar in the church of the first monastery of the Visitation. After his beatification by Alexander VII. in 1661, it was placed upon the altar in a rich silver shrine. He was canonized in 1665 by the same pope, and his feast fixed on the 29th of January, on which day his body was conveyed to Annecy. His heart was kept in a leaden case, in the church of the Visitation at Lyons: it was afterwards exposed in a silver one, and lastly in one of gold, given by king Lewis XIII. Many miracles, as the rising to life two persons who were drowned, the curing of the blind, paralytic, and others, were authentically attested to have been wrought by his relics and intercession; not to mention those he had performed in his life time, especially during his missions. Pope Alexander VII. then cardinal Chigi, and plenipotentiary in Germany, with Lewis XIII. XIV. and others, attribute their cures in sickness to this saint’s patronage.

Among his ordinary remarkable sayings, we read that he often repeated to bishop Camus, “That truth must be always charitable; for bitter zeal does harm instead of good. Reprehensions are a food of hard digestion, and ought to be dressed on a fire of burning charity so well, that all harshness be taken off; otherwise, like unripe fruit, they will only produce gripings. Charity seeks not itself nor its own interests, but purely the honour and interest of God: pride, vanity, and passion cause bitterness and harshness: a remedy injudiciously applied may be a poison. A judicious silence is always better than a truth spoken without charity.” St. Francis, seeing a scandalous priest thrown into prison, fell at his feet, and with tears conjured him to have compassion on him, his pastor, on his religion, which he scandalized, and on his own soul; which sweetness converted the other, so that he became an example of virtue. By his patience and meekness under all injuries, he overcame the most obstinate, and ever after treated them with singular affection, calling them dearer friends, because regained. A great prelate observes from his example that the meek are kings of other hearts, which they powerfully attract, and can turn as they please, and in an express and excellent treatise, proposes him as an accomplished model of all the qualifications requisite in a superior to govern well.

Meekness was the favourite virtue of Saint Francis de Sales. He once was heard to say, that he had employed three years in studying in the school of Jesus Christ, and that his heart was still far from being satisfied with the progress he had made. If he, who was meekness itself, imagined, nevertheless, that he had possessed so little of it; what shall we say of those who, upon every trifling occasion, betray the bitterness of their hearts in angry words and actions of impatience and outrage? Our saint was often tried in the practice of this virtue, especially when the hurry of business and the crowds that thronged on him for relief in their various necessities, scarcely allowed him a moment to breathe. He has left us his thoughts upon this situation, which his extreme affability rendered very frequent to him. “God,” says he, “makes use of this occasion to try whether our hearts are sufficiently strengthened to bear every attack. I have myself been sometimes in this situation: but I have made a covenant with my heart and with my tongue, in order to confine them within the bounds of duty. I consider those persons who crowd in one upon the other, as children who run into the embraces of their father: as the hen refuseth not protection to her little ones when they gather around her; but, on the contrary, extendeth her wings so as to cover them all; my heart, I thought, was in like manner expanded, in proportion as the numbers of these poor people increased. The most powerful remedy against sudden starts of impatience is a sweet and amiable silence; however little one speaks, self-love will have a share in it, and some word will escape that may sour the heart, and disturb its peace for a considerable time. When nothing is said, and cheerfulness preserved, the storm subsides, anger and indiscretion are put to flight, and nothing remains but a joy, pure and lasting.—The person who possesses Christian meekness, is affectionate and tender towards every one; he is disposed to forgive and excuse the frailties of others; the goodness of his heart appears in a sweet affability that influences his words and actions, and presents every object to his view in the most charitable and pleasing light; he never admits in his discourses any harsh expression, much less any term that is haughty or rude. An amiable serenity is always painted on his countenance, which remarkably distinguishes him from those violent characters, who, with looks full of fury, know only how to refuse; or who, when they grant, do it with so bad a grace, that they loose all the merit of the favour they bestow.”

Some persons thinking him too indulgent towards sinners, expressed their thoughts one day with freedom to him on this head: he immediately replied: “If there were any thing more excellent than meekness, God would have certainly taught it to us; and yet there is nothing to which he so earnestly exhorts us, as to be meek and humble of heart. Why would you hinder me to obey the command of my Lord, and follow him in the exercise of that virtue which he so eminently practised and so highly esteems? Are we then better informed in these matters than God himself?” But his tenderness was particularly displayed in the reception of apostates and other abandoned sinners; when these prodigals returned to him, he said, with all the sensibility of a father: “Come my dear children, come, let me embrace you; ah, let me hide you in the bottom of my heart! God and I will assist you: all I require of you is not to despair: I shall take on myself the labour of the rest.” Looks full of compassion and love expressed the sincerity of his feelings: his affectionate and charitable care of them extended even to their bodily wants, and his purse was open to them as well as his heart; he justified this proceeding to some, who disedified at his extreme indulgence, told him, it served only to encourage the sinner, and harden him still more in his crimes, by observing, “Are they not a part of my flock? Has not our blessed Lord given them his blood, and shall I refuse them my tears? These wolves will be changed into lambs: a day will come when, cleansed from their sins, they will be more precious in the sight of God than we are: if Saul had been cast off, we would never have had a St. Paul.”

Note 1. It is a problem in nature, discussed without success by several great physicians, why children born in their seventh month more frequently live than those that are brought forth in their eighth month. [back]

Note 2. Aug. Sales in Vit. l. 3. p. 123. [back]

Note 3. The saint being on his return so Savoy, was informed that a convent of religious women of the order of Fontevrault received superfluous pensions. He wrote about it to those religious, and after giving testimony to their virtue, in order to gain their confidence, he conjured them, in the strongest and most pathetic terms, to banish such an abuse from their monastery; persuaded that such pensions were not exempt from sin, were an obstacle to monastic perfection, and opposite to their essential vow of poverty; lamenting that after doing so much they should, for the sake of one small reserve, destroy the merit of their whole sacrifice. This letter is extremely useful and beautiful. l. 1. ep. 41. t. 1. p. 136. [back]

Note 4. Aug. Sales in Vit. [back]

Note 5. Aug. Sales in Vit. [back]

Note 6. Quel est le meilleur Gouvernement, &c. ch. 8. p. 298. [back]

Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume I: January. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.

SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/1/291.html

Vergine tra San Francesco di Sales e San Giovanni Nepomuceno sculture marmoree di Giovanni Marchiori, Chiesa di San Geremia, Venezia

San Francesco di Sales Vescovo e dottore della Chiesa

24 gennaio

Thorens, Savoia, 21 agosto 1567 - Lione, Francia, 28 dicembre 1622

Vescovo di Ginevra, fu uno dei grandi maestri di spiritualità degli ultimi secoli. Scrisse l’Introduzione alla vita devota (Filotea) e altre opere ascetico-mistiche, dove propone una via di santità accessibile a tutte le condizioni sociali, fondata interamente sull’amore di Dio, compendio di ogni perfezione (Teotimo). Fondò con santa Giovanna Fremyot de Chantal l’Ordine della Visitazione. Con la sua saggezza pastorale e la sua dolcezza seppe attirare all’unità della Chiesa molti calvinisti.

Patronato: Giornalisti, Autori, Scrittori, Sordomuti

Etimologia: Francesco = libero, dall'antico tedesco

Emblema: Bastone pastorale

Martirologio Romano: Memoria di san Francesco di Sales, vescovo di Ginevra e dottore della Chiesa: vero pastore di anime, ricondusse alla comunione cattolica moltissimi fratelli da essa separati, insegnò ai cristiani con i suoi scritti la devozione e l’amore di Dio e istituì, insieme a santa Giovanna di Chantal, l’Ordine della Visitazione; vivendo poi a Lione in umiltà, rese l’anima a Dio il 28 dicembre e fu sepolto in questo giorno ad Annecy.

(28 dicembre: A Lione in Francia, anniversario della morte di san Francesco di Sales, vescovo di Ginevra, la cui memoria si celebra il 24 gennaio nel giorno della sua deposizione ad Annecy).

Nasce a Thorens, in Savoia, nel 1567 da aristocratica famiglia. La sua piccola provincia dipende ancora da Torino, ma già partecipa allo sviluppo spirituale della Francia. Vi si parla il francese più puro, giunto a pieno compimento. Francesco di Sales terrà sempre uniti la sua Savoia e il regno di Francia.

A Parigi completa gli studi presso i Gesuiti che formano ottimi umanisti, brillanti per greco e latino, e cattolici ferventi. A 11 anni il giovanissimo Francesco chiede la tonsura e sorride in silenzio, persino un po’ divertito, quando suo padre parla di farne un giurista e un senatore. Nel collegio di Clermont si accosta alla Comunione eucaristica tutte le domeniche e i suoi compagni lo soprannominano “l’Angelo”.

Apostolo del Chiablese

A 18 anni vive una forte crisi, non dei sensi e degli istinti, ma dell’anima: «Come farò a salvarmi della perdizione eterna? Forse esiste davvero una predestinazione fatale? O l’uomo è libero?». Il giovane Francesco trova la luce nell’amore di Dio che vuole la salvezza di tutti, ma chiede la corrispondenza di ogni uomo a Lui. Come Giovanni il prediletto degli Apostoli di Gesù, sarà anche lui l’apostolo dell’amore.

Quando si fa luce nella sua anima, l’attesa è ormai finita: cade in ginocchio davanti all’immagine della Madonna des Grés e la Vergine Santissima riceve il suo cuore, l’impegno a offrire tutta la vita al Cristo, del quale da sempre è innamorato.

Passa quattro anni a Padova, dove si immerge nello studio di san Tommaso d’Aquino e di sant’Agostino, la teologia più sicura e luminosa, la teologia della Verità e dell’Amore, che fanno sintesi in Gesù solo. Francesco si conferma nella vocazione che ormai è sbocciata dal suo primo boccio quando era decenne: «Sarò sacerdote».

Mentre i suoi compagni di università si buttano a volte attraverso le giovanili follie, egli riceve gli Ordini minori in una settimana, il diaconato tre mesi più tardi, e il Sacerdozio, dopo altri tre mesi. Insomma, era un giovane che Dio si era prescelto e riservato per sé, e di lui san Gregorio Nazianzeno avrebbe detto: «Egli era prete prima di essere prete». Si mette subito all’opera.

Quasi subito il suo Vescovo lo nomina canonico del suo capitolo, e presto diventa preposito. Un incarico per aver diritto a qualche soldo e a una vita tranquilla? Il canonico Francesco predica in chiesa e sulle piazze («vogliano o non vogliano, devono ascoltare la verità della Fede cattolica, unica via di salvezza!»), soccorre i poveri, visita i malati, passa lunghe ore in confessionale sempre assediato da fedeli e da peccatori che si convertono, e parla molto, fino a far indignare suo padre, che lo vorrebbe predicatore con citazioni greche e latine, mentre lui predica in modo che tutti lo comprendano, e possano conoscere e amare Gesù.

Giovanissimo apostolo trentenne, con il suo stile umile e pacato, ma che dimostra la sua fiamma che arde di amore a Gesù, la sua fama si diffonde con una pericolosa distinzione che lo fa segnare a dito. Il Chiablese, cioè quel meraviglioso paese di monti e di colline, che costeggia a sud il lago di Ginevra, da Hermance a San Gingolph, è diventato protestante e calvinista. Il vescovo di Annecy – che è anche il pastore di Ginevra che gli è stata sottratta da Calvino – ha tentato di riportarlo alla Chiesa Cattolica, ma il primo tentativo è fallito. Ci prova una seconda volta e il preposito del capitolo, il giovane Francesco di Sales, chiede di essere in prima fila.

Si fa missionario percorrendo in lungo e in largo il paese, sotto il sole o in mezzo alla neve, rigandola di sangue dai suoi piedi... gelati e screpolati, passando le notti sotto le stelle anche quando tira vento gelato, rischiando la pelle in mezzo ad avversari che spesso hanno il pugnale lesto. È mobilitato dall’amore a Gesù, possiede lo stesso suo Cuore tormentato dall’ardore per la salvezza delle anime; per la conversione di calvinisti a Gesù (già, la salvezza delle anime: bel problema, sono anni, decenni che noi poveri laici cattolici non ne sentiamo più parlare da alcuno, anche se la “suprema ratio” rimane sempre la salus animarum!).

C’è chi non vuole ascoltarlo? Francesco scrive e fa scrivere dai suoi volontari volantini e manifesti, con concise e puntuali istruzioni sulla Fede cattolica, che affigge ai muri e fa scorrere sotto le porte delle case, che restano chiuse al suo bussare. Per questo sarà fatto patrono dei pubblicisti. Anche oggi ci sono laici che ricorrono a questo mezzo, aiutati da computer, internet o tipografie: un bell’apostolato di prima linea! Così quando nel 1598 il Vescovo esamina il lavoro compiuto, constata che quasi tutti i chiablesani sono tornati ad essere cattolici.

Nel 1599, Francesco ha 32 anni, ma la sua missione nel chiablese l’ha reso celebre in tutta la Chiesa; a Roma, papa Clemente VIII, davanti a un folto gruppo di vescovi e di cardinali, si fa raccontare l’avventura da Francesco stesso: ha convertito circa 30.000 persone (proselitismo? No, pratica del comando di Gesù: “Andate, predicate, convertite” (cf. Mc 16,9).

Vescovo di Annecy

Presto Clemente VIII lo consacra vescovo coadiutore di Annecy, con diritto di successione. Ha 32 anni. Re Enrico IV lo vorrebbe a Parigi, dove Francesco va nel 1602: è stimato nel salotto di Madame Acarie, cenacolo di cultura e di fede, è ricevuto con onori dal card. De Berulle, popolo e nobili si accalcano sotto il suo pulpito. Il Re gli offre di diventare vescovo di Parigi. Francesco rifiuta: «Sono già sposato con una povera donna [la diocesi di Annecy] e non posso lasciarla per una più ricca!». Morto il suo Vescovo, è lui il nuovo vescovo di Annecy, in una piccola diocesi savoiarda.

Ma quale Vescovo sarà! Per 20 anni potrà scavare il suo solco e piantare il suo seme. Intanto vive come un monaco, sempre con Dio e sempre a disposizione di chi lo cerca, «come – dice – un abbeveratoio pubblico». Organizza scuole di catechismo e lui stesso va a insegnare ai bambini. Ai preti che non hanno parrocchia ordina di mettersi a servizio dei parroci e delle anime e di non fare gli scansafatiche. Non ha ancora un seminario, ma provvede di persona tramite i preti migliori, alla formazione del clero, un clero che vuole incentrato in Gesù.

Ogni domenica celebra la Messa nella sua cattedrale e predica al popolo, ascoltatissimo, mediante colloqui familiari, dal tono delicatissimo, pieni di esempi, di domande e di risposte, con stile bonario e fortissimo, che certamente non rende antipatico Gesù, ma attira e affascina a Lui. Commenta: «Non ditemi che sono un grande predicatore, ma ditemi, se lo sono, che sono buono, servo di Gesù e delle anime».

Lui stesso è un uomo affascinante, ma di una purezza celestiale. Colpisce in lui soprattutto la sua mitezza, la sua carità (una volta, per via, si toglie le scarpe e le dona a un povero che non le ha!). Non urta mai con frasi severe, ma non fa sconti né è ambiguo sulla Verità che è pure sempre la prima misericordia e la più grande carità. Ha buon senso, prudenza, una fortezza come di diamante, nell’affrontare dispute con i calvinisti, che però sentono il suo amore di Padre, stile Gesù. Vuole formare anime forti in tutti i ceti sociali, tra i preti, i religiosi, gli sposi, a cominciare dalla donna, che ritiene per natura un’innamorata di Dio, una “Filotea”, e con questo titolo scrive il suo libro più famoso e più diffuso, bellissimo ancora oggi.

Per chi è chiamato a una forma più alta di santità, scrive il Trattato dell’amore divino – il Teotimo –, guida per i mistici, ma intanto afferma e spiega che la santità è per tutti, che va tradotta e declinata nella vita quotidiana della suora come della madre di famiglia, del prete come del soldato e del commerciante, del contadino come del giurista. Bellissime a riguardo sono le sue Conversazioni spirituali e le migliaia di Lettere di direzione che scrive ai figli e alle figlie spirituali sparsi per la Francia, l’Italia e l’Europa. Insomma, si tratta di un umanesimo cristiano: Francesco di Sales ama l’uomo e lo vede redento da Cristo sulla Croce, pertanto degno di amore e di cura per la sua salvezza eterna: Francesco di Sales ama l’uomo perché ama follemente Dio. Non l’umanesimo centrato sull’uomo da solo, sui suoi presunti “diritti civili”, come è in voga oggi, ma un umanesimo cristo-teocentrico. Fiducia nell’uomo? Sì, ma nell’uomo redento da Cristo, confidenza in Gesù l’unico Redentore dell’uomo. È la vocazione universale alla santità.

Con questo stile, con santa Giovanna De Chantal, Francesco di Sales fonda la Visitazione nel 1610. L’Ordine religioso femminile che diffonderà tra le giovani povere come tra le benestanti, la consacrazione a Dio, a Gesù Cristo, come Dio di amore, che porta a compimento l’umanità di ognuna. «Confidenza in Dio e seri sforzi dell’uomo»: ecco la regola di vita che egli propone. «Tessere fortemente la tela delle virtù piccole, ma divinizzare in Gesù tutte le virtù umane. Volersi dare a Dio, pregare, operare bene, ma soprattutto amare», amare come il Crocifisso, si intende. Alla base di tutto, Francesco pone la Confessione e la Comunione almeno settimanale, i Sacramenti che santificano ogni uomo/donna, l’umile come il dotto e il potente.

Di lui dirà il vescovo di Meaux, Jacques Benigne Bossuet: «Si usava relegare nei chiostri la santità, la si credeva eccessiva per poter comparire a corte e nel gran mondo. Francesco di Sales è stato scelto per andare a toglierla dal suo ritiro». La battaglia per condurre e ricondurre le anime più lontane a Dio la sostiene fino all’ultimo respiro.

Alla fine del 1622, benché debole e infermo per le fatiche e lo zelo dato alle anime, viene chiamato a Lione. Si ferma a Belley presso il suo amico, il saggio vescovo Camus. Ma riprende il cammino, sfidando la gelida tramontana delle rive del Rodano, verso Lione. Il 28 dicembre 1662, il santo Vescovo di Annecy vede Dio faccia a faccia così come Egli è. Ha solo 55 anni. Nel 1665, papa Alessandro VII lo iscrive tra i santi. Nel 1877, il beato Pio IX lo proclama Dottore della Chiesa. Di quanto ho letto di lui, mi assilla un’affermazione lucida e forte, rivolta soprattutto ai suoi preti e ai cattolici che sono chiamati in prima fila per Gesù (cito a braccio): “I protestanti sono dilagati nella nostra Europa, e occupano spazio, anche perché noi cattolici spesso non abbiamo studiato abbastanza per confutarli e smascherare i loro errori. Spesso ci siamo limitati a recitare l’Ufficio e non siamo scesi in campo a impedire le loro opere nefaste. È urgente sapere e approfondire la Verità e annunciarla a tutti coloro che la negano, rispondendo a tutte le loro obiezioni con la parola e con la nostra vita”.

Vale ancora oggi. Urgente e impellente più che mai. Direbbe san Paolo: “È l’ora di risvegliarci dal sonno” (Rm 13,11).

Autore: Paolo Risso

Fonte: www.settimanaleppio.it

Sculpture de Saint François de Sales. Photographie : B. Brassoud

Nato a Thorens il 21 agosto 1567, concluse a Lione i suoi giorni, consunto dalle fatiche apostoliche, il 28 dicembre del 1622, l’anno della canonizzazione di San Filippo Neri, che Francesco conosceva attraverso la Vita scritta dal Gallonio, a lui inviata dall’amico Giovanni Giovenale Ancina. Iscritto nell’albo dei Beati nel 1661, fu canonizzato nel 1665 e proclamato Dottore della Chiesa nel 1887 da Leone XIII.

Francesco di Sales si formò alla cultura classica e filosofica alla scuola dei Gesuiti, ricevendo al tempo stesso una solida base di vita spirituale. Il padre, che sognava per lui una brillante carriera giuridica, lo mandò all’università di Padova, dove Francesco si laureò, ma dove pure portò a maturazione la vocazione sacerdotale. Ordinato il 18 dicembre 1593, fu inviato nella regione del Chablais, dominata dal Calvinismo, e si dedicò soprattutto alla predicazione, scegliendo non la contrapposizione polemica, ma il metodo del dialogo.

Per incontrare i molti che non avrebbe potuto raggiungere con la sua predicazione, escogitò il sistema di pubblicare e di far affiggere nei luoghi pubblici dei “manifesti”, composti in agile stile di grande efficacia. Questa intuizione, che dette frutti notevoli tanto da determinare il crollo della “roccaforte” calvinista, meritò a S. Francesco di essere dato, nel 1923, come patrono ai giornalisti cattolici.

A Thonon fondò la locale Congregazione dell’Oratorio, eretta da Papa Clemente VIII con la Bolla “Redemptoris et Salvatoris nostri” nel 1598 “iuxta ritum et instituta Congregationis Oratorii de Urbe”. Il suo contatto con il mondo oratoriano non riguardò tanto la persona di P. Filippo, quanto quella di alcuni tra i primi discepoli del Santo, incontrati a Roma quando Francesco vi si recò nel 1598-99: P. Baronio, i PP. Giovanni Giovenale e Matteo Ancina, P. Antonio Gallonio.

L’impegno che Francesco svolse al servizio di una vastissima direzione spirituale, nella profonda convinzione che la via della santità è dono dello Spirito per tutti i fedeli, religiosi e laici, fece di lui uno dei più grandi direttori spirituali. La sua azione pastorale - in cui impegnò tutte le forze della mente e del cuore - e il dono incessante del proprio tempo e delle forze fisiche, ebbe nel dialogo e nella dolcezza, nel sereno ottimismo e nel desiderio di incontro, il proprio fondamento, con uno spirito ed una impostazione che trovano eco profondo nella proposta spirituale di San Filippo Neri, la quale risuona mirabilmente esposta, per innata sintonia di spirito, nelle principali opere del Sales - “Introduzione alla vita devota, o Filotea”, “Trattato dell’amor di Dio, o Teotimo” - come pure nelle Lettere e nei Discorsi.

Fatto vescovo di Ginevra nel 1602, contemporaneamente alla nomina dell’Ancina, continuò con la medesima dedizione la sua opera pastorale. Frutto della direzione spirituale e delle iniziative di carità del Vescovo è la fondazione, in collaborazione con S. Francesca Fremiot de Chantal, dell’Ordine della Visitazione, che diffuse in tutta la Chiesa la spiritualità del S. Cuore di Gesù, soprattutto attraverso le Rivelazioni di Cristo alla visitandina S. Margherita Maria Alacocque, con il conseguente movimento spirituale che ebbe anche in molti Oratori, soprattutto dell’Italia Settentrionale, centri di convinta adesione.

Autore: Mons. Edoardo Aldo Cerrato CO

Lettera Apostolica nel IV centenario della nascita di San Francesco di Sales dottore della Chiesa (Paolo VI)

Saint Francis of Sales kneeling behind an altar, praying. Colour photogravure, 1898.

San Francesco di Sales, vescovo di Ginevra e dottore della Chiesa, è sicuramente il più importante e celebre fiore di santità sbocciato in Savoia, sul versante alpino francese.

Figlio primogenito, Francois nacque il 21 agosto 1567 in Savoia nel castello di Sales presso Thorens, appartenente alla sua antica nobile famiglia. Ricevette sin dalla più tenera età un’accurata educazione, coronata dagli studi universitari di giurisprudenza a Parigi e a Padova. Qui ricevette con grande lode il berretto dottorale e ritornato in patria fu nominato avvocato del Senato di Chambéry. Ma sin dalla sua frequentazione accademica erano iniziati ad emergere i suoi preminenti interessi teologici, culminati poi nelle scoperta della vocazione sacerdotale, che deluse però le aspettative paterne. Nel 1593 ricevette l’ordinazione presbiterale ed il 21 dicembre celebrò la sua prima Messa.

Fu sacerdote zelante ed instancabile lavoratore nella vigna del Signore. Visti gli scarsi frutti che ottenuti dal pulpito, si diede alla pubblicazione di fogli volanti, che egli stesso faceva scivolare sotto gli usci delle case o affiggeva ai muri, meritandosi per questa originale attività pubblicitaria il titolo di patrono dei giornalisti e di quanti diffondono la verità cristiana servendosi dei mezzi di comunicazione sociale. Ma anche quei foglietti, che egli cacciava sotto le porte delle case, ebbero scarsa efficacia.

Spinto da un enorme desiderio di salvaguardare l’ortodossia cristiana, mentre imperversava la Riforma calvinista, Francois chiese volontariamente udienza al vescovo di Ginevra affinché lo destinasse a quella città, simbolo supremo del calvinismo e massima sede dei riformatori, per la difficile missione di predicatore cattolico. Stabilitosi a Ginevra, non si fece remore a discutere di teologia con i protestanti, ardendo dal desiderio di recuperare quante più anime possibili alla Chiesa, ma soprattutto alla causa di Cristo da lui ritenuta più genuina. Il suo costante pensiero era rivolto inoltre alla condizione dei laici, preoccupato di sviluppare una predicazione e un modello di vita cristiana alla portata anche delle persone comuni, immerse nella difficile vita quotidiana. Proverbiali divennero i suoi insegnamenti, pervasi di comprensione e di dolcezza, permeati dalla ferma convinzione che a supporto delle azioni umane vi fosse sempre la provvidenziale presenza divina. Molti dei suoi insegnamenti sono infatti intrisi di misticismo e di nobile elevazione spirituale.I suoi enormi sforzi ed i grandi successi ottenuti in termini pastorali gli meritarono la nomina a vescovo coadiutore di Ginevra già nel 1599, a trentadue anni di età e dopo soli sei anni di sacerdozio. Dopo altri tre anni divenne vescovo a pieno titolo e si spese per l’introduzione nella sua diocesi delle riforme promulgate dal Concilio di Trento. La città rimase comunque nel suo complesso in mano ai riformati ed il novello vescovo dovette trasferire la sua sede nella cittadina savoiarda di Annecy, “Venezia delle Alpi”, sulle rive del lago omonimo.

Fu direttore spirituale di San Vincenzo de’ Paoli. Nel corso della sua missione di predicatore, nel 1604 conobbe poi a Dijon la nobildonna Giovanna Francesca Frèmiot, vedova del barone de Chantal, con cui iniziò una corrispondenza epistolare ed una profonda amicizia che sfociarono nella fondazione dell’Ordine della Visitazione.

“Se sbaglio, voglio sbagliare piuttosto per troppa bontà che per troppo rigore”: in questa affermazione di Francois de Sales sta il segreto della simpatia che egli seppe suscitare tra i suoi contemporanei.

Il duca di Savoia, dal quale Francesco dipendeva politicamente, sostenne l’opera dell’inascoltato apostolo con la maniera forte, ma non addicendosi l’intolleranza al temperamento del santo, quest’ultimo preferì portare avanti la sua battaglia per l’ortodossia con il metodo della carità, illuminando le coscienze con gli scritti, per i quali ha avuto il titolo di dottore della Chiesa. Le sue principali opere furono dunque “Introduzione alla vita devota” e “Trattato dell'amore di Dio”, testi fondamentali della letteratura religiosa di tutti i tempi. Quello dell’amore di Dio fu l’argomento con il quale convinse i recalcitranti ugonotti a tornare in seno alla Chiesa Cattolica.

L’11 dicembre 1622 a Lione ebbe l’ultimo colloquio con la sua penitente e qui morì per un attacco di apoplessia il 28 dello stesso mese nella stanzetta del cappellano delle Suore della Visitazione presso il monastero. Il 24 gennaio 1623 il corpo mortale del santo fu traslato ad Annecy, nella chiesa oggi a lui dedicata, ma in seguito fu posto alla venerazione dei fedeli nella basilica della Visitation, sulla collina adiacente alla città, accanto a Santa Giovanna Francesca di Chantal. Francesco di Sales fu presto beatificato, l'8 gennaio 1662, e già tre anni dopo venne canonizzato, il 19 aprile 1665, dal pontefice Alessandro VII. Successivamente fu proclamato Dottore della Chiesa nel 1877, nonché patrono dei giornalisti nel 1923.

Il Martyrologium Romanum riporta la sua commemorazione nell’anniversario della morte, cioè al 28 dicembre, ma per l’inopportuna coincidenza con il tempo di Natale, il calendario liturgico della Chiesa universale ha fissato la sua memoria obbligatoria al 24 gennaio, anniversario della traslazione delle reliquie.

San Francesco di Sales, considerato quale padre della spiritualità moderna, ha avuto il merito di influenzare le maggiori figure non solo del “grand siècle” francese, ma anche di tutto il Seicento europeo, riuscendo a convertire al cattolicesimo addirittura alcuni esponenti del calvinismo. Francesco di Sales a ragione può essere considerato uno dei principali rappresentanti dell’umanesimo devoto di tipica marca francese. Fu un vescovo santo, innamorato della bellezza e della bontà di Dio.

E’ infine doveroso ricordare come al suo nome si siano ispirate parecchie congregazioni, tra le quali la più celebre è indubbiamente la Famiglia Salesiana fondata da San Giovanni Bosco, la cui attenzione si rivolge più che altro alla crescita ed all’educazione delle giovani generazioni, con un’attenzione tutta particolare alla cura dei figli delle classi meno abbienti.

DALLA “INTRODUZIONE ALLA VITA DEVOTA”

Nella creazione Dio comandò alle piante di produrre i loro frutti, ognuna “secondo la propria specie” (Gn 1, 11). Lo stesso comando rivolge ai cristiani, che sono le piante vive della sua Chiesa, perché producano frutti di devozione, ognuno secondo il suo stato e la sua condizione.

La devozione deve essere praticata in modo diverso dal gentiluomo, dall’artigiano, dal domestico, dal principe, dalla vedova, dalla donna non sposata e da quella coniugata. Ciò non basta, bisogna anche accordare la pratica della devozione alle forze, agli impegni e ai doveri di ogni persona.

Dimmi, Filotea, sarebbe conveniente se il vescovo volesse vivere in una solitudine simile a quella dei certosini? E se le donne sposate non volessero possedere nulla come i cappuccini? Se l’artigiano passasse tutto il giorno in chiesa come il religioso, e il religioso si esponesse a qualsiasi incontro per servire il prossimo come è dovere del vescovo? Questa devozione non sarebbe ridicola, disordinata e inammissibile? Questo errore si verifica tuttavia molto spesso. No, Filotea, la devozione non distrugge nulla quando è sincera, ma anzi perfeziona tutto e, quando contrasta con gli impegni di qualcuno, è senza dubbio falsa.

L’ape trae il miele dai fiori senza sciuparli, lasciandoli intatti e freschi come li ha trovati. La vera devozione fa ancora meglio, perché non solo non reca pregiudizio ad alcun tipo di vocazione o di occupazione, ma al contrario vi aggiunge bellezza e prestigio.

Tutte le pietre preziose, gettate nel miele, diventano più splendenti, ognuna secondo il proprio colore, così ogni persona si perfeziona nella sua vocazione, se l’unisce alla devozione. La cura della famiglia è rèsa più leggera, l’amore fra marito e moglie più sincero, il servizio del principe più fedele, e tutte le altre occupazioni più soavi e amabili.

E’ un errore, anzi un’eresia, voler escludere l’esercizio della devozione dall’ambiente militare, dalla bottega degli artigiani, dalla corte dei principi, dalle case dei coniugati. E’ vero, Filotea, che la devozione puramente contemplativa, monastica e religiosa può essere vissuta solo in questi stati, ma oltre a questi tre tipi di devozione, ve ne sono molti altri capaci di rendere perfetti coloro che vivono in condizioni secolari. Perciò dovunque ci troviamo, possiamo e dobbiamo aspirare alla vita perfetta.

ORAZIONE DAL MESSALE

O Dio, tu hai voluto che il santo vescovo Francesco di Sales
si facesse tutto a tutti nella carità apostolica:
concedi anche a noi di testimoniare sempre,
nel servizio dei fratelli, la dolcezza del tuo amore.
Per il nostro Signore Gesù Cristo, tuo Figlio, che è Dio,
e vive e regna con Te, nell’unità dello Spirito Santo,
per tutti i secoli dei secoli.
Amen.

Autore: Fabio Arduino

SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/22400

Francesco di Sales

(1567-1622)

Beatificazione:

- 08 gennaio 1662

- Papa Alessandro VII

Celebrazione

Canonizzazione:

- 19 aprile 1665

- Papa Alessandro VII

- Basilica Vaticana

Celebrazione

Ricorrenza:

- 24 gennaio

Lettera Enciclica "Rerum Omnium Perturbationem". Su San Francesco di Sales (Pio XI, 26 gennaio 1923)

Vescovo di Ginevra e dottore della Chiesa: vero pastore di anime, ricondusse alla comunione cattolica moltissimi fratelli da essa separati, insegnò ai cristiani con i suoi scritti la devozione e l’amore di Dio e istituì, insieme a santa Giovanna di Chantal, l’Ordine della Visitazione; vivendo poi a Lione in umiltà, rese l’anima a Dio il 28 dicembre 1622. Il 24 gennaio 1623, il corpo mortale del santo fu traslato ad Annecy. Patrono della stampa cattolica.

"Dio è il Dio del cuore umano"

François de Sales nasce il 21 agosto del 1567 a Thorens-Glières, in Francia, da nobile e antica famiglia di Boisy, nella Savoia.

Si forma nei migliori collegi francesi, poi asseconda il volere del padre, che sogna per lui la carriera giuridica, e va a studiare diritto all’Università di Padova. Qui matura un certo interesse per la teologia. Si laurea con il massimo dei voti e rientrato in Francia nel 1592 si iscrive all’ordine degli avvocati. Ma il suo più grande desiderio è ormai farsi prete, sicché l’anno dopo, il 18 dicembre, viene ordinato sacerdote e tre giorni dopo, all’età di 26 anni, celebra la sua prima messa.

Nominato arciprete del capitolo cattedrale di Ginevra, Francesco manifesta doti di zelo e di carità, di diplomazia e di equilibrio. Nell’imperversare del calvinismo, si offre volontario per rievangelizzare la regione dello Chablais. Nella predicazione cerca il dialogo, ma si scontra con porte chiuse, neve, freddo, fame, notti all’addiaccio, agguati, insulti e minacce.

Studia allora la dottrina di Calvino per comprenderla a fondo e per spiegare meglio le differenze con il credo cattolico e anziché ricorrere alla sola predicazione e alla disputa teologica, escogita il sistema di pubblicare, far affiggere in luoghi pubblici o lasciare porta a porta fogli e manifesti esponendo le singole verità di fede in maniera semplice ed efficace. Le conversioni non sono molte, ma cessano l’ostilità e il pregiudizio verso il cattolicesimo.

Francesco si stabilisce poi a Thonon, nella capitale dello Chablais, e qui si dedica, tra l’altro, alle visite ai malati, ad opere di carità e a colloqui personali con i fedeli. Chiede poi di essere trasferito a Ginevra, città simbolo della dottrina calvinista, col desiderio di recuperare quanti più credenti alla Chiesa cattolica,

Nel 1599 viene nominato vescovo coadiutore di Ginevra, tre anni dopo la diocesi è totalmente nelle sue mani, con sede ad Annecy. Francesco vi si spende senza riserve: visita parrocchie, forma il clero, riordina monasteri e conventi, non si risparmia nella predicazione, in catechesi e iniziative per i fedeli. Sceglie il catechismo dialogato e la sua perseveranza e dolcezza nella direzione spirituale guidano svariate conversioni.

Nel marzo del 1604, durante la predicazione quaresimale a Digione, conosce Giovanna Francesca Fremyot de Chantal con la quale istaura una bella amicizia dalla quale origina anche un carteggio epistolare di direzione spirituale. A lei, nel 1608, dedica Filotea o Introduzione alla vita devota. Filotea è il nome ideale di chi ama o vuole amare Dio; Francesco concepisce il testo per riassumere in maniera concisa e pratica i principi della vita interiore e per insegnare ad amare Dio con tutto il cuore e con tutte le forze nella quotidianità. L’idea è quella di formare a una vita pienamente cristiana coloro che vivono nel mondo e devono assolvere compiti civili e sociali. Lo scritto ha un successo enorme.

La lunga ed intensa collaborazione tra Francesco e Giovanna fa scaturire grandi frutti spirituali. Tra questi la Congregazione della Visitazione di Santa Maria fondata nel 1610 ad Annecy con lo scopo principale di visitare e soccorrere i poveri.

Otto anni dopo la congregazione diviene un ordine contemplativo (oggi le monache vengono chiamate visitandine); ne detta le costituzioni, ispirandosi alla regola di S. Agostino, lo stesso Francesco. Ma la de Chantal, dispone poi che le sue religiose si occupino anche dell’educazione e istruzione delle fanciulle, specialmente di famiglie agiate.

Nel 1616 Francesco scrive Teotimo o Trattato dell’amor di Dio, opera di straordinario spessore teologico, filosofico e spirituale, pensata come una lunga lettera indirizzata all’amico “Teotimo” che presenta ad ogni uomo la sua vocazione essenziale: vivere è amare. Il testo vuole indicare le vie migliori perché ciascuno possa realizzare un incontro personale con Dio.

Francesco di Sales muore il 28 dicembre del 1622 a Lione, all’età di 52 anni, e il 24 gennaio dell’anno dopo le sue spoglie vengono traslate ad Annecy.

SOURCE : https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/francesco-di-sales.html

Marcantonio Franceschini (1648–1729), St. Francis de Sales in the Desert, circa 1700, 58 x 42

BREVE

DIVES IN MISERICORDIA
DEL SOMMO PONTEFICE
PIO IX

Il Papa Pio IX. A perpetua memoria.

Ricco di misericordia, Iddio non mancò mai alla sua Chiesa che milita in questo mondo, ma secondo le varie vicissitudini delle cose e dei tempi le somministra sapientemente gli aiuti opportuni. Mentre nel secolo XVI visitava con la verga del suo furore le genti cristiane, e permetteva che molte province dell’Europa fossero avvolte nelle tenebre delle eresie che ampiamente si dilatavano, non volendo respingere da sé il suo popolo, suscitò provvidamente i nuovi lumi di uomini santi, affinché, illustrati dallo splendore di questi, i figli della Chiesa si confermassero nella verità, e gli stessi prevaricatori si riducessero soavemente all’amore di lei. Francesco di Sales Vescovo di Ginevra, esemplare d’inclita santità e maestro della vera e pia dottrina, fu nel novero di tali chiarissimi uomini: egli non solo con la voce, ma anche con immortali scritti, trafisse i mostri degli insorgenti errori, consolidò la fede, abbattuti i vizi emendò i costumi, e a tutti mostrò la via che conduce al cielo. Con così eccellente sapienza egli conseguì quella lode per cui il Nostro Predecessore Bonifacio VIII di santa memoria dichiarò (cap. Un. de rel. et ven. SSrum, in 6) che erano stati mandati quegli antichi e fondamentali dottori della Chiesa di Dio i quali “con salutari insegnamenti illustrarono la Chiesa, la ornarono di virtù e la strutturarono nei costumi”. Egli li descrisse “come luminose ed ardenti lucerne poste sopra il candelabro nella casa di Dio: esse, diradate le tenebre degli errori, a somiglianza della stella mattutina irraggiano il corpo di tutta la Chiesa”, “disserrano gli enigmi della scrittura, e con profondi e splendidi sermoni, quasi con lucide gemme, illustrano l’edificio della stessa Chiesa”. Che questo elogio fosse per certo meritato dal Vescovo di Ginevra, anche quando era vivo e molto più dopo la sua morte, lo attestò la fama divulgata dappertutto e lo dimostra con invittissimo argomento la stessa singolare eccellenza degli scritti da lui lasciati.

Inoltre, che la dottrina di Francesco fosse altamente stimata quando ancora viveva, lo possiamo dedurre dal fatto che, di tanti valorosi difensori della verità cattolica che in quel tempo fiorivano, al solo Vescovo di Ginevra il Nostro Predecessore Clemente VIII di santa memoria diede l’ordine di convocare Teodoro Beza, acerrimo propugnatore della peste Calviniana, e di trattare con lui da solo a solo, acciocché, ricondotta quella pecora all’ovile di Cristo, tante più altre vi richiamasse. Francesco compì tale ufficio così egregiamente, né senza pericolo della vita, che l’eretico uomo, debitamente confutato, si ridusse a confessare la verità, benché la sua vita scellerata, per giudizio arcano di Dio, lo facesse indegno di ritornare nel grembo della Chiesa. Né minore prova della stima goduta dal santo Vescovo è che il Nostro Predecessore Paolo V di santa memoria, mentre si disputava in Roma la celebre de Auxiliis, volle che fosse domandato il parere di questo santo prelato sopra tale materia, e seguendo il consiglio di lui giudicò che quella sottilissima e pericolosissima questione, per gran tempo agitata con calore, fosse troncata e fosse imposto il silenzio alle parti. Ché anzi, se si pone mente alle stesse lettere da lui scritte a moltissimi, si farà chiaro ad ognuno che Francesco, a somiglianza dei più gravi fra gli antichi Padri della Chiesa, con frequenza fu interrogato da moltissimi intorno ad argomenti che riguardano la dottrina della fede cattolica da spiegare e difendere, intorno a questioni da snodare su tali materie e ad altre cose riguardanti il modo di ordinare la vita secondo costumi cristiani.

Egli, per molti negozii copiosissimamente e dottamente trattati presso i Romani Pontefici, presso i Principi, presso i Magistrati, presso i Sacerdoti suoi cooperatori nel sacro ministero, ebbe tanta influenza, che per l’opera sua, per le sue esortazioni e i suoi avvertimenti furono prese spesse volte tali risoluzioni, che intere regioni venissero purgate dalla pestilenza ereticale, tornasse in vigore il culto cattolico e la Religione si dilatasse. Questa opinione della eccellenza della sua dottrina non scemò dopo la morte di lui, ma crebbe anzi grandemente; e personaggi chiarissimi di ogni ordine e gli stessi Sommi Pontefici esaltarono con grandi lodi la sua scienza eminente. Per certo Alessandro VII, di santa memoria, nella Bolla di canonizzazione (19 aprile 1665) definì Francesco di Sales celebre per dottrina, ammirabile per santità, e indicato come medicina e presidio ai tempi suoi contro le eresie; tanto da poter affermare che gli animi dei popoli e dei nobili, illuminati dagli insegnamenti dei suoi scritti, abbiano germinato una messe copiosa di vita evangelica.

Con tali sentimenti si accorda pienamente ciò che egli disse nel Concistoro tenuto prima della sua canonizzazione, che cioè il Sales, “insegnando a tutti sia con la parola di salubre dottrina, sia con l’esempio di una vita integra”, assai bene operò nella Chiesa, e che di questo bene una gran parte ancora sopravvive “per mezzo degli ammonimenti e degli insegnamenti della disciplina evangelica contenuti nei suoi libri che vanno per le mani dei fedeli”.

Né diversi da questi sono i sensi da lui espressi nella lettera diretta il 1° agosto 1666 alle Monache della Visitazione del monastero di Annecy, dove diceva che “le virtù e la sapienza di lui si erano sparse ampiamente per tutto il mondo cristiano”; che ammirando i suoi incliti meriti “e la dottrina del tutto divina” lo aveva scelto “per seguirlo come guida principale e maestro della vita”. Quel magistero sembrò tale al Nostro Predecessore Clemente IX di santa memoria che, ancor prima di essere eletto Pontefice, ebbe ad affermare del Sales “che coi suoi egregi volumi aveva formato come un pio arsenale a beneficio delle anime”; e divenuto Pontefice approvò in onore di lui l’antifona che dice così: “il Signore riempì San Francesco dello spirito d’intelligenza, ed egli somministrò la fluida acqua della dottrina al popolo di Dio”.

Benedetto XIV di santa memoria, accordandosi con i suoi Predecessori, non esitò ad affermare che i libri del Vescovo di Ginevra erano scritti con dottrina divinamente ricevuta; attingendo al suo pensiero risolvette difficili questioni, e lo definì “sapientissimo direttore di anime” [Const. Pastoralis curae, 5 agosto 1741]. Perciò non suscita meraviglia che moltissimi personaggi fiorenti per lode d’ingegno e di dottrina, dottori di accademie, oratori sommi, giureconsulti, teologi insigni, e gli stessi Principi abbiano celebrato sino ad ora quest’uomo come veramente grande e dottissimo; e molti lo abbiano seguito come maestro, trasferendo molte cose dai libri di lui nei propri scritti. Ora, questa persuasione universale intorno alla eccellenza della scienza del Sales nasce dalla qualità stessa della dottrina di lui, la quale in quel sublime apice della sua santità ha in lui tanta eminenza da essere considerata tutta propria di un dottore della Chiesa e da consigliare di annoverare quest’uomo fra i principali maestri dati da Cristo Signore alla sua Sposa. Per cui, sebbene la stessa antichità renda rispettabili i santi Dottori che fiorirono nei primi secoli della Chiesa, e sia loro di ornamento la lingua latina o greca nella quale scrissero i loro libri, tuttavia ciò che è cosa principalissima ed affatto necessaria (come sopra si è detto) in questo magistero, è che appaia diffusa negli scritti, oltre la comune misura, la celeste dottrina, la quale con abbondanza e con varietà di argomenti, quasi splendido manto, sparga novella luce su tutto il corpo della Chiesa, e riesca salutare ai fedeli. Ora queste lodi convengono appieno ai libri del Vescovo di Ginevra. Quindi, o si vogliano considerare gli scritti ascetici di lui per condurre una vita santamente e devotamente cristiana, o quelli polemici in difesa della fede e a confutazione degli eretici, o altri che riguardano la predicazione della parola di Dio, non vi è nessuno che non veda quanti benefici siano derivati nel popolo cattolico per mezzo di quest’uomo santissimo.

Per certo egli comprese in dodici libri, scritti dottamente, sottilmente e lucidamente, un insigne e stupendo trattato “Dell’amore di Dio”, il quale ha tanti ammiratori della soavità del suo autore quanti ne sono i lettori. Soprattutto, poi, dipinse con vivi colori la virtù in un’altra opera intitolata “Filotèa”, e rendendo semplici i luoghi scabrosi e facendo piane le aspre vie, a tutti i fedeli cristiani dimostrò così facile la via per arrivarvi, che da quel momento in poi la vera pietà poté spargere in ogni luogo la sua luce, aprire la via ai troni dei re, alle tende dei capitani, al foro dei giudici, ai banchi dei trafficanti, alle botteghe ed alle stesse capanne dei pastori. In verità, in quegli scritti egli trae i sommi principi della scienza dei Santi dalla sacra dottrina, e li svolge in modo che venga ritenuto un suo speciale privilegio l’averla sapientemente e soavemente adattata a tutte le condizioni dei fedeli. Si aggiungono a questi scritti i trattati intorno al magistero della pietà, e le stesse Costituzioni, ragguardevoli per sapienza, discrezione e soavità, le quali egli scrisse per le Monache dell’Ordine della Visitazione della Beata Vergine Maria da lui fondato. Forniscono altresì una messe copiosissima di ascetica le tante lettere da lui scritte, nelle quali è cosa del tutto meravigliosa che, pieno dello spirito di Dio ed appressandosi allo stesso autore della soavità, egli abbia gettato i semi del devoto culto verso il santissimo Cuore di Gesù, che in questi nostri acerbissimi tempi, con sommo diletto del Nostro animo, vediamo meravigliosamente propagato a massimo incremento di pietà.

Né si vuole omettere che in questi scritti, soprattutto poi nella interpretazione del Cantico dei Cantici, sono chiariti molti enigmi delle Scritture che appartengono ai sensi morali ed anagogici, vengono sciolte difficoltà ed illustrati di nuova luce i luoghi oscuri: donde è lecito arguire che Iddio, facendo derivare la fonte della sua grazia celeste, abbia illuminato l’intelletto a questo sant’uomo per interpretare le Scritture e renderle accessibili ai dotti ed agli indotti. Di più, per vincere la pervicacia degli eretici del suo tempo e per rafforzare i cattolici, non meno felicemente che di cose ascetiche egli scrisse un libro di “Controversie”, in cui si trova una piena dimostrazione della fede cattolica, altri trattati e discorsi intorno alle verità della fede, e anche il “Vessillo della Croce”. Con tali scritti combatté così valorosamente per la causa della Chiesa, che ricondusse al seno di lei una moltitudine innumerevole di uomini perduti, e restaurò la fede per ampio e lungo tratto in tutta la provincia di Chablais. Soprattutto egli propugnò l’autorità di questa Apostolica Sede e del Romano Pontefice, successore del Beato Pietro, e spiegò con tale lucidità il valore e la ragione del suo primato che felicemente preluse alle definizioni del Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano.

Certamente, le cose che egli afferma intorno alla infallibilità del Romano Pontefice nel sermone quarantesimo delle “Controversie”, il cui autografo fu ritrovato mentre nel Concilio si trattava di questa materia, sono di tale valore che quasi guidarono per mano alcuni Padri, ancora dubbiosi sul decretare la definizione in tale materia. Da questo così grande amore del Santo Vescovo verso la Chiesa, e dall’ardore di lui nel difenderla, ebbe origine il metodo che egli tenne nella predicazione della divina parola, sia nell’erudire il popolo cristiano negli elementi della fede, sia nell’informare i costumi dei più dotti, sia nel guidare all’altezza della perfezione tutti i fedeli. Infatti, conoscendosi egli debitore ai sapienti ed agli insipienti, adeguandosi ad ognuno, procurò di ammaestrare con la semplicità del discorso i semplici e gli impreparati, e tra i sapienti parlò con sapienza. Sopra la qual cosa diede ancora prudentissimi insegnamenti, ed ottenne che la dignità della sacra eloquenza, scaduta per il vizio dei tempi, venisse, sull’esempio dei Santi Padri, richiamata all’antico splendore; sicché da questa scuola uscirono quegli eloquentissimi oratori, dai quali ridondarono in tutta la Chiesa copiosissimi frutti. Perciò egli fu da tutti reputato restauratore e maestro della sacra eloquenza. Finalmente la sua celeste dottrina, a guisa di fiume di acqua viva nell’irrigare il campo della Chiesa, si diffuse così utilmente a salute del popolo, che appaiono verissime quelle parole tolte dal libro dei Proverbi, le quali il Nostro Predecessore Clemente VIII di santa memoria, quasi profetando, indirizzò al Sales nell’atto d’innalzarlo alla dignità episcopale: “Va, o figliuolo, e bevi l’acqua della tua cisterna e i rivoli del tuo pozzo; siano portate fuori le tue fonti, e nelle piazze distribuisci le tue acque”. Pertanto i fedeli, attingendo con gaudio queste acque di salute, ammirarono la scienza del Vescovo di Ginevra, e lo stimarono da allora fino a questi tempi degno del dottorato della Chiesa. Invero, persuasi da questi argomenti, moltissimi fra i Padri del Concilio Vaticano Ci pregarono, con voti ardenti e con unanime voce, affinché onorassimo San Francesco di Sales del titolo di Dottore. Diversi Cardinali di Santa Romana Chiesa e molti Prelati di tutto il mondo accrebbero tali voti; a questi aggiunsero le loro suppliche molte collegiate di Canonici, Dottori di grandi Università, Accademie di scienze, Principi augusti, nobili personaggi, e anche una gran moltitudine di fedeli. Noi dunque, lieti di assentire a tante e così calde preghiere, rimettemmo questo gravissimo affare, com’è costume, alla Congregazione dei Nostri Venerabili Fratelli Cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa preposti alla tutela dei Santissimi Riti. Ora, la detta Congregazione dei Nostri Venerabili Fratelli nelle ordinarie riunioni tenute nel Nostro palazzo Vaticano il giorno 7 dello scorso luglio, udita la relazione del Nostro Venerabile Fratello Cardinale Bilio Vescovo di Sabina, allora prefetto della stessa sacra Congregazione ed estensore della causa, maturamente considerate le osservazioni di Lorenzo Salvati Promotore della Santa Fede, nonché le risposte dell’Avvocato della causa, dopo accuratissimo esame, con unanime consenso, giudicò “che si dovesse proporre al Santissimo la concessione, ossia la dichiarazione ed estensione a tutta la Chiesa del titolo di Dottore in onore di San Francesco di Sales, con l’ufficio e la Messa del comune dei Dottori Pontefici, ritenuta la orazione propria e le lezioni del secondo notturno”.

Tale rescritto Noi approvammo con decreto generale Urbis et Orbis, dato il 19 del detto mese ed anno. Inoltre, presentate nuove preghiere che si facesse qualche aggiunta tanto nel Martirologio Romano quanto nelle sesta lezione del giorno festivo di San Francesco di Sales, e che tutte le concessioni fatte in proposito venissero confermate da Nostra Lettera Apostolica in forma di Breve, la stessa Congregazione dei Nostri Venerabili Fratelli Cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, nelle Assemblee ordinarie tenute il 15 settembre dello stesso anno, decise “Per la grazia, ed essere da supplicare il Santissimo per la spedizione del Breve”. Opinarono poi doversi aggiungere all’elogio del Martirologio Romano, dopo le parole “Annesium translatum fuit”, queste altre “quem Pius IX ex Sacrorum Rituum Congregationis consulto, universalis Ecclesiae Doctorem declaravit”; ed alla lezione sesta dopo le parole “Vigesima nona Ianuarii” si aggiunsero le seguenti “et a Summo Pontifice Pio IX ex Sacrorum Rituum Congregationis consulto, universalis Ecclesiae Doctor fuit declaratus”. Ed anche questo rescritto della citata Congregazione, del giorno 20 del detto mese ed anno, Noi ratificammo e confermammo, e demmo ordine che si spedisse la Lettera Apostolica intorno a tutte le concessioni fatte su tale materia.

A questo punto, per assecondare i voti dei sopraddetti Cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, dei Prelati dei Collegi, delle Accademie e dei fedeli, e conformemente al consiglio della citata Congregazione dei Nostri Venerabili Fratelli Cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, preposta all’esame dei Sacri Riti, con la Nostra Apostolica Autorità, con la presente confermiamo il titolo di Dottore in onore di San Francesco di Sales, Vescovo di Ginevra e Fondatore dell’Ordine delle Monache della Visitazione della Beata Vergine Maria; o, in quanto possa essere necessario, di nuovo glielo confermiamo e concediamo: in modo che in tutta la Chiesa Cattolica egli sia sempre tenuto in conto di Dottore; e nella celebrazione anniversaria della sua festa, sia dal clero secolare come da quello regolare, se ne faccia l’Ufficio e la Messa secondo il ricordato decreto della Congregazione dei Sacri Riti. Inoltre decretiamo che i libri, i commentarii e tutte le opere dello stesso Dottore, non solamente in privato, ma anche pubblicamente nei Ginnasii, nelle Accademie, nelle Scuole, nei Collegi, nelle lezioni, nelle dispute, nelle interpretazioni, nelle prediche, e negli altri studii ecclesiastici, od esercizi cristiani, siano citati, prodotti e secondo il bisogno adoperati, non altrimenti da quel che si fa per gli altri Dottori della Chiesa. Affinché poi si aggiungano stimoli alla pietà dei fedeli a celebrare santamente la festa di questo Dottore e ad implorare il suo aiuto, Noi, fiduciosi nella misericordia di Dio Onnipotente, con l’autorità dei suoi Beati Apostoli Pietro e Paolo, a tutti e ai singoli fedeli dell’uno e dell’altro sesso, i quali nel dì festivo del medesimo santo Dottore, o in uno dei sette giorni continui che lo seguono immediatamente, da scegliersi ad arbitrio di ciascun fedele cristiano, veramente pentiti e confessati prenderanno la Santissima Eucaristia e visiteranno devotamente qualsivoglia Chiesa dell’Ordine della Visitazione della Beata Vergine Maria, ed ivi devotamente pregheranno Iddio per la concordia dei Principi cristiani, per l’estirpazione delle eresie, per la conversione dei peccatori e per l’esaltazione della Santa Madre Chiesa, concediamo misericordiosamente nel Signore l’indulgenza plenaria e la remissione di tutti i loro peccati.

Pertanto, a tutti i Venerabili Fratelli Patriarchi, Primati, Arcivescovi, Vescovi, ed ai diletti figli Prelati di altre Chiese, costituiti per tutto il mondo, ordiniamo con la presente che le cose sopra stabilite siano solennemente pubblicate nelle loro Province, Città, Chiese e Diocesi, e che da tutte le persone ecclesiastiche secolari e regolari di qualsiasi Ordine, siano inviolabilmente e perpetuamente osservate in ogni luogo e fra tutti i popoli. Queste cose ordiniamo e comandiamo, nonostante le Costituzioni e le ordinazioni Apostoliche, e quelle che fossero state emanate nei Concilii Ecumenici, Provinciali e Sinodali, siano esse generali, siano speciali, né qualsivoglia altra cosa in contrario.

Vogliamo poi che alle copie o esemplari della presente Lettera, anche stampati, sottoscritti di mano di qualche pubblico Notaio, e muniti del sigillo di persona costituita in dignità ecclesiastica, si presti assolutamente la stessa fede che si presterebbe a questa stessa Lettera se fosse presentata o mostrata.

Dato in Roma, presso San Pietro, sotto l’anello del Pescatore, il 16 novembre 1877, anno trentaduesimo del Nostro Pontificato.

SOURCE : https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/francesco-di-sales.html

SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110302.html

Sebastiano Conca, Madonna col Bambino e San Francesco di Sales, Cappella Sant'Uberto Venaria Reale. di Sales

BENEDETTO XVI

UDIENZA GENERALE

Aula Paolo VI

Mercoledì, 2 marzo 2011

San Francesco di Sales

Cari fratelli e sorelle,

“Dieu est le Dieu du coeur humain” [Dio è il Dio del cuore umano] (Trattato dell’Amore di Dio, I, XV): in queste parole apparentemente semplici cogliamo l’impronta della spiritualità di un grande maestro, del quale vorrei parlarvi oggi, san Francesco di Sales, Vescovo e Dottore della Chiesa. Nato nel 1567 in una regione francese di frontiera, era figlio del Signore di Boisy, antica e nobile famiglia di Savoia. Vissuto a cavallo tra due secoli, il Cinquecento e il Seicento, raccolse in sé il meglio degli insegnamenti e delle conquiste culturali del secolo che finiva, riconciliando l’eredità dell’umanesimo con la spinta verso l’assoluto propria delle correnti mistiche. La sua formazione fu molto accurata; a Parigi fece gli studi superiori, dedicandosi anche alla teologia, e all’Università di Padova quelli di giurisprudenza, come desiderava il padre, conclusi in modo brillante, con la laurea in utroque iure, diritto canonico e diritto civile. Nella sua armoniosa giovinezza, riflettendo sul pensiero di sant’Agostino e di san Tommaso d’Aquino, ebbe una crisi profonda che lo indusse a interrogarsi sulla propria salvezza eterna e sulla predestinazione di Dio nei suoi riguardi, soffrendo come vero dramma spirituale le principali questioni teologiche del suo tempo. Pregava intensamente, ma il dubbio lo tormentò in modo così forte che per alcune settimane non riuscì quasi del tutto a mangiare e dormire. Al culmine della prova, si recò nella chiesa dei Domenicani a Parigi, aprì il suo cuore e pregò così: “Qualsiasi cosa accada, Signore, tu che tieni tutto nella tua mano, e le cui vie sono giustizia e verità; qualunque cosa tu abbia stabilito a mio riguardo …; tu che sei sempre giusto giudice e Padre misericordioso, io ti amerò, Signore […], ti amerò qui, o mio Dio, e spererò sempre nella tua misericordia, e sempre ripeterò la tua lode… O Signore Gesù, tu sarai sempre la mia speranza e la mia salvezza nella terra dei viventi” (I Proc. Canon., vol I, art 4). Il ventenne Francesco trovò la pace nella realtà radicale e liberante dell’amore di Dio: amarlo senza nulla chiedere in cambio e confidare nell’amore divino; non chiedere più che cosa farà Dio con me: io lo amo semplicemente, indipendentemente da quanto mi dà o non mi dà. Così trovò la pace, e la questione della predestinazione - sulla quale si discuteva in quel tempo – era risolta, perché egli non cercava più di quanto poteva avere da Dio; lo amava semplicemente, si abbandonava alla Sua bontà. E questo sarà il segreto della sua vita, che trasparirà nella sua opera principale: il Trattato dell’amore di Dio.

Vincendo le resistenze del padre, Francesco seguì la chiamata del Signore e, il 18 dicembre 1593, fu ordinato sacerdote. Nel 1602 divenne Vescovo di Ginevra, in un periodo in cui la città era roccaforte del Calvinismo, tanto che la sede vescovile si trovava “in esilio” ad Annecy. Pastore di una diocesi povera e tormentata, in un paesaggio di montagna di cui conosceva bene tanto la durezza quanto la bellezza, egli scrive: “[Dio] l’ho incontrato pieno di dolcezza e soavità fra le nostre più alte e aspre montagne, ove molte anime semplici lo amavano e adoravano in tutta verità e sincerità; e caprioli e camosci correvano qua e là tra i ghiacci spaventosi per annunciare le sue lodi” (Lettera alla Madre di Chantal, ottobre 1606, in Oeuvres, éd. Mackey, t. XIII, p. 223). E tuttavia l’influsso della sua vita e del suo insegnamento sull’Europa dell’epoca e dei secoli successivi appare immenso. E’ apostolo, predicatore, scrittore, uomo d’azione e di preghiera; impegnato a realizzare gli ideali del Concilio di Trento; coinvolto nella controversia e nel dialogo con i protestanti, sperimentando sempre più, al di là del necessario confronto teologico, l’efficacia della relazione personale e della carità; incaricato di missioni diplomatiche a livello europeo, e di compiti sociali di mediazione e di riconciliazione. Ma soprattutto san Francesco di Sales è guida di anime: dall’incontro con una giovane donna, la signora di Charmoisy, trarrà spunto per scrivere uno dei libri più letti nell’età moderna, l’Introduzione alla vita devota; dalla sua profonda comunione spirituale con una personalità d’eccezione, santa Giovanna Francesca di Chantal, nascerà una nuova famiglia religiosa, l’Ordine della Visitazione, caratterizzato – come volle il Santo – da una consacrazione totale a Dio vissuta nella semplicità e umiltà, nel fare straordinariamente bene le cose ordinarie: “… voglio che le mie Figlie – egli scrive – non abbiano altro ideale che quello di glorificare [Nostro Signore] con la loro umiltà” (Lettera a mons. de Marquemond, giugno 1615). Muore nel 1622, a cinquantacinque anni, dopo un’esistenza segnata dalla durezza dei tempi e dalla fatica apostolica.

Quella di san Francesco di Sales è stata una vita relativamente breve, ma vissuta con grande intensità. Dalla figura di questo Santo emana un’impressione di rara pienezza, dimostrata nella serenità della sua ricerca intellettuale, ma anche nella ricchezza dei suoi affetti, nella “dolcezza” dei suoi insegnamenti che hanno avuto un grande influsso sulla coscienza cristiana. Della parola “umanità” egli ha incarnato diverse accezioni che, oggi come ieri, questo termine può assumere: cultura e cortesia, libertà e tenerezza, nobiltà e solidarietà. Nell’aspetto aveva qualcosa della maestà del paesaggio in cui è vissuto, conservandone anche la semplicità e la naturalezza. Le antiche parole e le immagini in cui si esprimeva suonano inaspettatamente, anche all’orecchio dell’uomo d’oggi, come una lingua nativa e familiare.

A Filotea, l’ideale destinataria della sua Introduzione alla vita devota (1607), Francesco di Sales rivolge un invito che poté apparire, all’epoca, rivoluzionario. E’ l’invito a essere completamente di Dio, vivendo in pienezza la presenza nel mondo e i compiti del proprio stato. “La mia intenzione è di istruire quelli che vivono nelle città, nello stato coniugale, a corte […]” (Prefazione alla Introduzione alla vita devota). Il Documento con cui Papa Pio IX, più di due secoli dopo, lo proclamerà Dottore della Chiesa insisterà su questo allargamento della chiamata alla perfezione, alla santità. Vi è scritto:“[la vera pietà] è penetrata fino al trono dei re, nella tenda dei capi degli eserciti, nel pretorio dei giudici, negli uffici, nelle botteghe e addirittura nelle capanne dei pastori […]” (Breve Dives in misericordia, 16 novembre 1877). Nasceva così quell’appello ai laici, quella cura per la consacrazione delle cose temporali e per la santificazione del quotidiano su cui insisteranno il Concilio Vaticano II e la spiritualità del nostro tempo. Si manifestava l’ideale di un’umanità riconciliata, nella sintonia fra azione nel mondo e preghiera, fra condizione secolare e ricerca di perfezione, con l’aiuto della Grazia di Dio che permea l’umano e, senza distruggerlo, lo purifica, innalzandolo alle altezze divine. A Teotimo, il cristiano adulto, spiritualmente maturo, al quale indirizza alcuni anni dopo il suo Trattato dell’amore di Dio (1616), san Francesco di Sales offre una lezione più complessa. Essa suppone, all’inizio, una precisa visione dell’essere umano, un’antropologia: la “ragione” dell’uomo, anzi l’“anima ragionevole”, vi è vista come un’architettura armonica, un tempio, articolato in più spazi, intorno ad un centro, che egli chiama, insieme con i grandi mistici, “cima”, “punta” dello spirito, o “fondo” dell’anima. E’ il punto in cui la ragione, percorsi tutti i suoi gradi, “chiude gli occhi” e la conoscenza diventa tutt’uno con l’amore (cfr libro I, cap. XII). Che l’amore, nella sua dimensione teologale, divina, sia la ragion d’essere di tutte le cose, in una scala ascendente che non sembra conoscere fratture e abissi, san Francesco di Sales lo ha riassunto in una celebre frase: “L’uomo è la perfezione dell’universo; lo spirito è la perfezione dell’uomo; l’amore è quella dello spirito, e la carità quella dell’amore” (ibid., libro X, cap. I).

In una stagione di intensa fioritura mistica, il Trattato dell’amore di Dio è una vera e propria summa, e insieme un’affascinante opera letteraria. La sua descrizione dell’itinerario verso Dio parte dal riconoscimento della “naturale inclinazione” (ibid., libro I, cap. XVI), iscritta nel cuore dell’uomo pur peccatore, ad amare Dio sopra ogni cosa. Secondo il modello della Sacra Scrittura, san Francesco di Sales parla dell’unione fra Dio e l’uomo sviluppando tutta una serie di immagini di relazione interpersonale. Il suo Dio è padre e signore, sposo e amico, ha caratteristiche materne e di nutrice, è il sole di cui persino la notte è misteriosa rivelazione. Un tale Dio trae a sé l’uomo con vincoli di amore, cioè di vera libertà: “poiché l’amore non ha forzati né schiavi, ma riduce ogni cosa sotto la propria obbedienza con una forza così deliziosa che, se nulla è forte come l’amore, nulla è amabile come la sua forza” (ibid., libro I, cap. VI). Troviamo nel trattato del nostro Santo una meditazione profonda sulla volontà umana e la descrizione del suo fluire, passare, morire, per vivere (cfr ibid., libro IX, cap. XIII) nel completo abbandono non solo alla volontà di Dio, ma a ciò che a Lui piace, al suo “bon plaisir”, al suo beneplacito (cfr ibid., libro IX, cap. I). All’apice dell’unione con Dio, oltre i rapimenti dell’estasi contemplativa, si colloca quel rifluire di carità concreta, che si fa attenta a tutti i bisogni degli altri e che egli chiama “estasi della vita e delle opere” (ibid., libro VII, cap. VI).

Si avverte bene, leggendo il libro sull’amore di Dio e ancor più le tante lettere di direzione e di amicizia spirituale, quale conoscitore del cuore umano sia stato san Francesco di Sales. A santa Giovanna di Chantal, a cui scrive: “[…] Ecco la regola della nostra obbedienza che vi scrivo a caratteri grandi: FARE TUTTO PER AMORE, NIENTE PER FORZA - AMAR PIÙ L’OBBEDIENZA CHE TEMERE LA DISOBBEDIENZA. Vi lascio lo spirito di libertà, non già quello che esclude l’obbedienza, ché questa è la libertà del mondo; ma quello che esclude la violenza, l’ansia e lo scrupolo” (Lettera del 14 ottobre 1604). Non per niente, all’origine di molte vie della pedagogia e della spiritualità del nostro tempo ritroviamo proprio la traccia di questo maestro, senza il quale non vi sarebbero stati san Giovanni Bosco né l’eroica “piccola via” di santa Teresa di Lisieux.

Cari fratelli e sorelle, in una stagione come la nostra che cerca la libertà, anche con violenza e inquietudine, non deve sfuggire l’attualità di questo grande maestro di spiritualità e di pace, che consegna ai suoi discepoli lo “spirito di libertà”, quella vera, al culmine di un insegnamento affascinante e completo sulla realtà dell’amore. San Francesco di Sales è un testimone esemplare dell’umanesimo cristiano; con il suo stile familiare, con parabole che hanno talora il colpo d’ala della poesia, ricorda che l’uomo porta iscritta nel profondo di sé la nostalgia di Dio e che solo in Lui trova la vera gioia e la sua realizzazione più piena.

Saluti:

I am happy to greet the pilgrims from Saint Mary’s University College, Twickenham; I vividly recall their warm welcome during my recent Apostolic Visit to England. I also greet the group from Saint Norbert’s Catholic School in Denmark. To the choirs I express my gratitude for their praise of God in song. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, especially those from Ireland, Finland, Singapore and the United States, I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings.

Einen herzlichen Gruß richte ich an alle Gäste deutscher Sprache und heute ganz besonders natürlich an die Pilger aus Pentling. Insbesondere danke ich auch den Südtirolern für die schöne Musik. Wie der heilige Franz von Sales wollen wir uns der Hand Gottes anvertrauen und uns von seiner Liebe immer mehr prägen lassen. Der Herr segne euch alle.

Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española, en particular a los grupos provenientes de España, Argentina, México y otros países latinoamericanos. Os invito a que, siguiendo el ejemplo de san Francisco de Sales, sepáis encontrar la libertad verdadera en el amor incondicional a Dios, nuestra verdadera alegría y nuestra plena realización.

Queridos amigos vindos dos países de língua portuguesa, sede bem-vindos! São Francisco de Sales lembra que cada ser humano traz inscrita no íntimo de si a nostalgia de Deus. Possais todos dar-vos conta dela e por ela orientar as vossas vidas, pois só em Deus encontrareis a verdadeira alegria e a realização plena. Para tal, dou-vos a minha bênção. Ide em paz!

Saluto in lingua polacca:

Witam serdecznie obecnych tu Polaków. Święty Franciszek Salezy nauczał, że każdy człowiek odczuwa w swojej duszy tęsknotę za Bogiem. Tylko w Nim może znaleźć prawdziwą radość i spełnienie samego siebie. Zachęcał wszystkich, by jednoczyli się z Bogiem, trwali na modlitwie nawet wśród najbardziej licznych obowiązków. Niech ta zachęta będzie i dla nas ważnym przypomnieniem. Niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus.

Traduzione italiana:

Saluto cordialmente i Polacchi qui presenti. San Francesco di Sales affermava che ogni essere umano sente nella sua anima la nostalgia di Dio. Solo in Lui può trovare le vera gioia e la propria realizzazione. Esortava tutti all’unione con Dio e ad essere perseveranti nella preghiera perfino tra molteplici impegni. Sia questo anche per noi un richiamo importante. Sia lodato Gesù Cristo.

Saluto in lingua croata:

Radosno pozdravljam sve hrvatske hodočasnike, a osobito vjernike iz župe Svetog Leopolda Mandića iz Orehovice te iz župe Uskrsnuća Kristovog iz Sesvetskog Kraljevca.

Moleći na grobu apostola Petra, nasljedujte njegovo svjedočanstvo vjere prepoznavajući u Isusu iz Nazareta Sina Božjega i svoga Spasitelja. Hvaljen Isus i Marija!

Traduzione italiana:

Saluto con gioia tuttiipellegriniCroati particolarmente i fedeli della parrocchia di San Leopoldo Mandićin Orehovica e della parrocchia della Risurrezione di Cristo in Sesvetski Kraljevec. Pregando presso la tomba dell’apostolo Pietro, seguite la sua testimonianza di fede, riconoscendo in Gesù di Nazaret il Figlio del Dio e il vostro Salvatore. Siano lodati Gesù e Maria!

Saluto in lingua ceca:

Srdečně vítám a upřímně zdravím české poutníky z farností Mladá Vožice, Pacov a Pelhřimov.

Rád žehnám vám i vašim nejdražším! Chvála Kristu!

Traduzione italiana:

Un cordiale benvenuto e un caloroso saluto ai pellegrini cechi delle Parrocchie di Mladá Vožice, Pacov a Pelhřimov.

Benedico volentieri voi e tutti i vostri cari. Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!

Saluto in lingua slovacca:

S láskou pozdravujem slovenských veriacich, osobitne púť učiteľov katolíckych škôl Košickej arcidiecézy, vedenú pánom biskupom Stanislavom Stolárikom, pútnikov zo Sabinova, Stropkova ako aj skupinu gréckokatolíkov zo Šarisškého Jastrabia.

Bratia a sestry, toto naše dnešné stretnutie pri hrobe svätého Petra apoštola nech upevní v každom z vás ducha spoločenstva s univerzálnou cirkvou. S týmto želaním zo srdca žehnám všetkých vás i vašich drahých.

Pochválený buď Ježiš Kristus!

Traduzione italiana:

Saluto con affetto i fedeli slovacchi, particolarmente il pellegrinaggio dei docenti delle scuole cattoliche dell’Arcidiocesi di Košice, guidato dal Vescovo Mons. Stanislav Stolárik, pellegrini provenienti da Sabinov, Stropkov come pure il gruppo dei greco-cattolici di Šarišské Jastrabie.

Fratelli e sorelle, questo nostro odierno incontro presso la tomba di San Pietro Apostolo confermi in ciascuno di voi lo spirito della comunione con la Chiesa universale. Con questi voti benedico di cuore tutti voi ed i vostri cari.
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!

* * *

Rivolgo un cordiale benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. In particolare, saluto le religiose Figlie di San Camillo, che in questo anno ricordano il centenario di morte della loro fondatrice, la Beata Giuseppina Vannini, e le esorto a servire con rinnovata generosità il Vangelo della vita, seguendo Cristo Buon Samaritano. Saluto i fedeli della parrocchia di Maria Ausiliatrice, in Massa Quercioli, e il gruppo delle Fraternità Francescane Secolari, di Scandiano e Pavullo nel Frignano. Saluto altresì il Movimento Pastori Sardi, con l’Arcivescovo di Sassari, Mons. Paolo Atzei. A tutti assicuro la mia preghiera perché si rafforzi in ciascuno il desiderio di testimoniare Gesù Cristo, unico Salvatore del mondo.

Saluto, infine, i giovani, i malati e gli sposi novelli. Cari giovani, preparatevi ad affrontare le importanti tappe della vita con impegno spirituale, edificando ogni vostro progetto sulle solide basi della fedeltà a Dio. Cari malati, siate sempre consapevoli che contribuite in modo misterioso alla costruzione del Regno di Dio, offrendo le vostre sofferenze al Padre celeste in unione a quelle di Cristo. E voi, cari sposi novelli, sappiate quotidianamente edificare la vostra famiglia nell'ascolto di Dio, nel fedele reciproco amore e nell'accoglienza dei più bisognosi.

Socha svatého Františka Saleského 1 km od kostela na Malenisku

Den hellige Frans av Sales (1567-1622)

Minnedag: 24. januar

Skytshelgen for byen og kantonen Genève, for Annecy og Chambéry: Andre skytshelgen for bispedømmet Lausanne-Genève-Fribourg; for Don Boscos salesianere og salesianerinnene, den katolske presse (sammen med den hellige Frans Xavier); for de døve, journalister og andre skribenter

Den hellige Frans (fr: François) ble født den 21. august 1567 på familieslottet Château de Sales ved Thorens nær Annecy i det da uavhengige hertugdømmet Savoia (i dag Frankrike). Dagen etter ble han døpt i sognekirken i Thorens med navnet Frans Bonaventura. Familien tilhørte lavadelen, og han var eldste sønn av Seigneur de Nouvelles, François de Sales, som da han giftet seg med Françoise de Sionnaz, i tillegg hadde tatt navnet de Boisy etter en nærliggende eiendom som hun brakte med som sin medgift. I noen år forble Frans enebarn, selv om familien etter hvert ble stor, ettersom de neste barnene døde ved fødselen eller som spedbarn. Etter hvert ble de seks brødre. Faren var mye eldre enn moren, og han styrte husholdningen strengt og prøvde å fremdyrke i barna og tjenerne de militære dydene som han håpet at den eldste sønnen ville arve.

Men Frans var født for tidlig og var svakelig som gutt, og selv om han ble stadig sterkere, ble han aldri særlig robust. Han ble først undervist privat av sin mor, assistert av abbé Déage, som senere fulgte ham over alt i ungdommen. Deretter gikk han på privatskoler, først i nærliggende La Roche, og fra han var åtte år i Annecy. Der mottok han sin første kommunion i kirken St. Dominikus (i dag St. Mauritius). Her mottok han også fermingens sakrament og et år senere tonsuren. Tonsur vil si å barbere bort håret øverst på issen, og fra synoden i Toledo i 633 til 1972 var den foreskrevet for alle geistlige som tegn på overgivelsen til Gud. Frans hadde et sterkt ønske om å vie seg til Gud, og betraktet tonsuren som det første ytre tegn. Hans far synes å ha lagt liten vekt på det, og han utså sin eldste sønn til en verdslig karriere som dommer.

Den 15-årige Frans ble i 1582 sendt til universitetet i Paris, som på den tiden var et stort sentrum for lærdom med sine 54 kollegier. Som det var vanlig for sønner av adelsfamilier i Savoia, var det meningen at han skulle gå på Collège de Navarre. Men Frans fryktet for sitt kall i slike omgivelser, så han tryglet om tillatelse til å gå på Collège de Clermont, som var ledet av jesuitter og kjent for fromhet i tillegg til lærdom. Faren sa ja til dette, og fulgt av abbé Déage bosatte Frans seg i Hôtel de la Rose Blanche i Rue Saint-Jacques, nær Collège de Clermont. Frans utmerket seg snart særlig i retorikk og filosofi, og viet seg lidenskapelig til studier i teologi. For å tilfredsstille sin far tok han leksjoner i dans, ridning og fekting, men han brydde seg ikke om noen av delene. Hans hjerte var mer og mer innstilt på å gi seg helt til Gud.

Frans' studier i Paris varte i seks år, og i denne tiden var han aldri hjemme på besøk. I 1588 vendte han hjem som 21-åring, og da fant han søsken som han husket som små barn og flere som var født i hans lange fravær. Men etter noen måneder dro han for å studere videre ved universitetet i Padova, som var like prestisjefylt som det i Paris. Faren hadde bestemt at dersom Frans ikke ønsket å bli soldat, var en doktorgrad i jus den beste forberedelsen på en karriere i offentlig tjeneste, og i 1591 ble han doktor i sivil- og kirkerett, bare 24 år gammel.

Nå var fremtidsutsiktene strålende, mulighetene var der både for et attraktivt ekteskap og en verdslig karriere som senator, som ville gi ham respekt og misunnelse i hele Savoia. Men det han mer enn noe annet ønsket å bli, var katolsk prest. Dette ønsket var vokst frem gjennom harde indre kamper det siste året han studerte i Paris, for Calvins lære hadde utøvd sterk innflytelse på den unge mannen og rystet hans katolske tro. Han ble nesten drevet til desperasjon av grublerier om predestinasjonen, som da var et høyaktuelt tema. Calvins predestinasjonslære hevder at det er guddommelig forutbestemt om det enkelte mennesket vil bli frelst eller fordømt. Kalvinistene vant fremgang mens jesuitter og dominikanere diskuterte tolkningen av de hellige Augustin og Thomas Aquinas. Frans vendte seg til disse kirkelærerne, men de syntes ikke å tilby særlig trøst. Først etter lang tids bønn foran et Mariabilde i Saint-Etienne-des-Grès fikk han tilbake troen på Guds kjærlighet. Han fikk også hjelp til å få sin sjelefred tilbake da han fant den hellige Bernhards Memorare på et bønnekort i sin favorittkirke, noe han resiterte ofte.

I Padova kom Frans under innflytelse av jesuitten Antonio Possevino, som han skulle korrespondere med hele livet, men han var ikke fristet til å gå inn i jesuittordenen. Han ble dødelig syk da en tyfusepidemi rammet byen sommeren 1590, og han var så sikker på å dø at han testamenterte kroppen til det medisinske fakultetet i byen. Han kom seg imidlertid, selv om han neppe ble hjulpet av sine kontinuerlige grublerier om predestinasjonen eller sin praksis med legemlige botsøvelser, som var godkjent av hans jesuittiske venn og veileder. Han reiste deretter rundt i Italia, delvis som pilegrim og delvis som turist, før han igjen vendte hjem.

Faren hadde funnet en ung kvinne som var et passende parti for Frans, men han gjorde det høflig klart for henne at han ikke var interessert. Han møtte den benediktinske biskopen Claude de Granier av Genève, som var tvunget ut av byen av kalvinistene og bodde i Annecy. Biskopen ble så imponert over Frans' kunnskaper i kirkerett at han sa til ham at hvis han noen gang tenkte på å bli prest, ville det en dag vente ham en mitra. Men fortsatt nølte Frans med å erklære sitt kall. Han søkte råd hos sin fetter, kannik Louis de Sales, som må ha vært en handlingens mann. For like etter døde prosten ved domkapitlet i Genève, den nest høyeste stillingen i bispedømmet etter biskopen. Det var paven som skulle utpeke hans etterfølger, og Louis brukte sin innflytelse og foreslo Frans' navn uten å fortelle verken Frans eller faren hva han hadde gjort. Da pave Klemens VIII (1592-1605) straks sendte sin godkjennelse, fortalte Frans endelig sin far om sitt ønske om å bli prest.

Faren måtte nå forsone seg med utsikten til at sønnen ville vie sitt liv til Kirkens tjeneste. Utnevnelsen betydde tross alt at sønnen ble boende nær hjemmet, og stillingen kunne bety en strålende kirkelig karriere. Da Frans til slutt fikk sin fars tillatelse, mottok han raskt de lavere vielsene før han den 18. desember 1593 ble presteviet. Allerede før prestevielsen var han høyt anerkjent for sin dyktighet som predikant, selv blant kalvinister. Han arbeidet også for de fattige og syke og grunnla brorskapet «Botgjørere av Det hellige Kors», som fortsatt eksisterer.

Det fjellrike og avsidesliggende området Chablais på sørsiden av Genfersjøen hadde gått tapt for katolisismen rundt seksti år tidligere, da kong Frans I av Frankrike (1515-47) hadde forsøkt å erobre Savoia. Området ble vunnet tilbake av hertugen i 1564, men i 1591 hadde kalvinistene gjeninnført protestantismen og drevet ut alle katolske prester. Hertugen av Savoia ba biskop Claude de Granier om sende misjonærer som kunne vinne hans undersåtter tilbake til Kirken, ettersom han selv hadde mislyktes i forsøket på å tvinge dem med militær makt. Biskopen rådførte seg med sitt domkapittel og la saken frem for dem, uten å legge skjul på at det kom til å bli et hardt og vanskelig arbeid. Bispedømmet, som var fratatt sin hovedstad Genève, hadde ikke midler til et omfattende misjonsfremstøt, og oppgaven med å vinne de 60.000 innbyggerne tilbake til katolisismen virket praktisk talt umulig.

I domkapitlet reiste prost de Sales seg og tilbød seg å dra sammen med fetteren Louis, og til hans store glede aksepterte biskopen straks tilbudet. Men faren, som kunne ha hjulpet sønnen økonomisk, nektet å gjøre det, for han så ikke på oppgaven som gunstig for sønnens kirkelige karriere. Så til sin skuffelse måtte Frans starte på sin misjon uten farens velsignelse.

De to fetterne dro av gårde til fots den 14. september 1594, festen for Korsets opphøyelse. De neste fire årene arbeidet misjonærene under ekstremt harde betingelser. De prekte daglig i Thonon, den viktigste byen i Chablais, og de utvidet gradvis sitt arbeid til landsbyene omkring. Men arbeidet var farlig. En kveld ble Frans angrepet av ulver, og reddet seg bare ved å tilbringe natten i et tre. Deler av befolkningen var svært fiendtlig, og i januar unnslapp Frans to ganger mirakuløst attentat fra kalvinistiske snikmordere. Arbeidet ga få synlige resultater, og faren sendte ham brev der han vekselvis kommanderte og bønnfalte ham om å gi opp en så håpløs oppgave.

Frans prekte enkelt, med stor kjærlighet og forståelse, med endeløs tålmodighet og mildhet. Den ånd som han henvendte seg til folket i, fremgår av hans egen uttalelse: «Den som forkynner med kjærlighet, forkynner effektivt mot heretikerne selv om han aldri ytrer et kontroversielt ord». Dette skulle bli kjennetegnende for ham resten av livet. Han var stadig på jakt etter nye metoder for å nå frem til menneskenes hjerter, og han begynte å skrive små brosjyrer hvor han la frem Kirkens lære. I hvert ledig øyeblikk i sin travle hverdag skrev han på disse små «traktatene», som ble kopiert mange ganger for hånd og spredt vidt omkring med alle tilgjengelige midler. Disse arkene, skrevet innimellom travelt arbeid og vanskeligheter, ble senere samlet i tobindsverket «Kontroversboken», som markerte starten på hans aktivitet som forfatter.

Sommeren 1595 reiste Frans opp i fjellet til Voiron for å bygge opp et oratorium for Vår Frue som var ødelagt av folket fra Bern. Da ble han angrepet av en fiendtlig mengde, som forulempet og slo ham. Men snart etter begynte hans prekener i Thonon å trekke flere mennesker. Traktatene hadde også i det stille gjort sin virkning, og hans tålmodige utholdenhet under alle former for forfølgelse og besværligheter hadde ikke vært uten virkning. Konversjoner ble stadig vanligere, og innen kort tid var det en stadig strøm av frafalne katolikker som søkte forsoning med Kirken. Da Frans gikk løs på sin andre vinter, hadde han omvendt rundt 200 mennesker.

Hertugen av Savoia trengte ikke lenger å støtte katolikkene i Frankrike mot den protestantiske kong Henrik IV (1589-1610) da kongen konverterte til katolisismen (Paris ça vaut bien une messe; «Paris er en messe verdt»), og da ba Frans ham om støtte i form av predikanter, kollegier og til og med soldater for å sørge for et katolsk nærvær, selv om han fortsatte å avvise enhver ide om tvangskonversjoner. Han skrev senere: «Vi må holde fast ved som et absolutt faktum at mennesker oppnår mer gjennom kjærlighet og velgjørenhet enn gjennom strenghet og råskap».

Etter to år skal Frans ha konvertert over 8.000 mennesker, og nå ble messen feiret offentlig hver uke i Thonon. Frans' ry vokste med hans suksess, og det ble åpent snakket om at han snart ville bli koadjutor og deretter neste biskop av Genève. Pave Klemens VIII betrodde ham oppgaven med å dra til Genève for å prøve å overtale den 80-årige Theodor Beza til å vende tilbake til katolisismen. Beza ble kalt «reformasjonens patriark». De hadde flere møter, men resultatet var bare at Frans fikk Beza til å innrømme at Den katolske kirke var en sann kirke. Diskusjonen brakte Frans tilbake til å tumle med de gamle problemene med nåde, predestinasjon og fri vilje.

Ettersom antallet konversjoner økte, endret misjonen sin natur og ble et administrativt hodebry, med problemer med å finne prester og å etablere sogn. Men nå kunne katolisismen manifestere seg offentlig i Chablais i den grad at den nye 40-timersandakten kunne feires med store prosesjoner, et mysteriespill og høymesse med rundt 30.000 deltakere og tilskuere i byen Annemasse. Året etter deltok den pavelige legaten på lignende seremonier i Thonon. Konversjoner fulgte i omfattende grad, hjulpet av meldingen om et mirakel hvor et dødt protestantisk barn kom tilbake til livet lenge nok til å bli døpt av Frans. Dette er interessant nok den eneste slike begivenheten som er nevnt fra hele kampanjen.

Frans ble alvorlig syk igjen vinteren 1597, og han fikk åreknuter og høy feber som gjorde at han svevde mellom liv og død. Sykdommen tvang ham til å utsette en reise til Roma som var planlagt til den følgende påsken. Den fikk også hans gamle tvil til å vende tilbake, og det synes som om han også fikk en ny krise når det gjaldt troen på Kristi realpresens (virkelige tilstedeværelse) i Eukaristien. Han avslørte aldri detaljene om denne krisen eller om hvordan han kom ut av den.

Da fire år var gått, kom biskop de Granier kom for å besøke misjonen. Da var frukten av Frans' selvoppofrende arbeid umiskjennelig. Rundt 2/3 av folket i Chablais var vendt tilbake til den katolske tro de engang hadde avsverget. Men Frans fortsatte å være forbeholden når det gjaldt varigheten av de resultatene som var oppnådd, særlig hvis de skulle konsolideres med militære eller politiske midler.

Biskop de Granier hadde lenge betraktet Frans som en mulig hjelpebiskop og etterfølger i Genève, hvor Calvin hadde styrt med jernhånd bare noen tiår tidligere, og han følte at nå var tiden inne. Frans var ført uvillig, men til slutt ga han etter for biskopens overtalelser og underkastet seg det han til slutt følte var en manifestasjon av guddommelig vilje.

Etter å ha kommet seg etter sykdommen, dro Frans i slutten av 1598 på sin forsinkede reise til Roma som utsending fra den syke biskop de Granier. Der traff han den hellige Robert Bellarmin, som skulle til å motta sin kardinalhatt, den ærverdige kardinal Cesare Baronius (1538-1607) og kardinal Camillo Borghese, den fremtidige pave Paul V (1605-21). Pave Klemens VIII, som hadde hørt mange lovord om Frans' dyder og dyktighet, bestemte noe overraskende at han skulle gjennomgå en streng eksaminasjon i teologi i pavens nærvær før utnevnelsen til koadjutor-biskop ble godkjent. Paven selv, Bellarmin, Baronius, kardinal Fredrik Borromeus (en fetter av den hellige Karl Borromeus) og andre stilte Frans ikke mindre enn 35 vanskelige teologiske spørsmål. Han besvarte dem alle med enkelhet og beskjedenhet, men på en måte som viste hans lærdom. Likevel ble utnevnelsen ikke offisielt bekreftet.

I Roma traff han også oratorianeren Juvenalis Ancina, som skulle bli saligkåret i 1869. De forble nære venner og korresponderte med hverandre. Det er fra et brev til ham vi er kjent med Frans' langtrukne hjemreise, inkludert besøk i Det hellige hus i Loreto, hvor han ble noe forarget over rikdommene i skattkammeret, og hos erkebiskopene av Torino og Bologna.

Frans vendte tilbake til en forvirret politisk situasjon, hvor Savoia var en brikke i kampen mellom Frankrike og Spania, og hvor Henrik IV opptrådte som en militær erobrer med et i beste fall tvilsomt engasjement i sin nye tro. Men det store flertallet av Frans' konvertitter i Chablais syntes å ha stått fast. Han unnfanget den storslåtte planen om et slags stort misjonssenter i Thonon, et slags «herberge for alle kunster og vitenskaper». Det syntes som en ung manns gale drøm, men mye av sin tid som biskop av Genève skulle han tilbringe med å sette i det minste dets prinsipper ut i livet, selv om grunnleggelsen selv hadde en urolig historie fra starten og ikke besto særlig lenge etter hans død.

På en eller annen måte fant Frans tid til å skrive sin første bok; den handlet om forskjellen mellom den tilbedelsen som er Gud til del og den venerasjon (ærbødighet) som vises bilder. Denne boken er lite kjent, men inneholder noen verdifulle argumenter. Påsken 1600 døde hans far uten noensinne helt å ha forsonet seg med sønnen. Frans' sorg var ikke ublandet med lettelse, og han ble i stand til å knytte seg sterkere til moren, som fortsatt var relativt ung, og sine brødre og søstre.

De neste to årene var en periode med en viss frustrasjon. Han tilbrakte tiden med å ordne opp i de politiske og religiøse sakene til det bispedømmet han ikke en gang var offisielt utnevnt til koadjutor-biskop av. Han besøkte Paris for å snakke med kongen om situasjonen i Savoia, og gjorde et stort inntrykk på kong Henrik, som erklærte: «Hvis jeg ikke allerede var blitt omvendt, ville M. de Genève [som han var kjent som i Paris] ha gjort det». Kongen kalte ham også «en virkelig sjelden fugl: hengiven, lærd og en gentleman [honnête homme] på kjøpet… mild og ydmyk – dypt from, men uten nytteløse skrupler» – en vurdering av ham så god som noen.

Frans ble mistenkt for å være involvert i et komplott mot kongen som var pønsket ut av Duc de Brion. Han gikk da fryktløst til Henrik, som sa at han aldri ville ha mistenkt Frans for noe slikt. Kongen tilbød ham også et rikt bispedømme hvis han ville bli i Frankrike. Til dette svarte Frans med en replikk som raskt spredte seg i Paris: «Herre konge, jeg har giftet meg med en fattig hustru og jeg kan ikke forlate henne for en som er rikere».

Oppholdet i Paris ga Frans mulighet til å preke i innflytelsesrike sirkler, og hans prekener imponerte alle ved den enkle uselviske kjærligheten til Gud som skinte gjennom i dem. Han møtte medlemmer av milieu dévot, inkludert mystikeren Mme Barbe Acarie, som skulle bli saligkåret i 1791 som Maria av Inkarnasjonen. Hun valgte ham som sin skriftefar, selv om, som han sa, hun aldri begikk noen synd som var verdt å skrifte. Hun involverte ham i prosjektet med å bringe den hellige Teresa av Ávilas reformerte (barføtte) karmelitter til Frankrike, og han skrev til paven til støtte for dette. De første kom i 1604 med frykt for å bli martyrdrept, men fant et katolsk land.

Frans' opprinnelig planlagte seks ukers besøk i Paris var blitt strukket til ni måneder, men det var en tid med verdifulle forberedelser for hans arbeid som biskop. På vei hjem høsten 1602 fikk han vite at biskop Claude de Granier var død. Dette betydde at Frans automatisk etterfulgte ham som biskop av Genève. Etter eget ønske ble han bispeviet i landsbykirken i Thorens på festen for Marias uplettede Unnfangelse, den 8. desember 1602. Han tok opp sin residens i Annecy, i en husholdning preget av den strengeste økonomi.

Frans hadde arvet et ureformert, pre-tridentinsk bispedømme med rundt 450 sogn. Hvis arbeidet med å bringe det i takt med de tridentinske reformene og veilede befolkningen inn i den nye innadrettede religiøse ånd skulle lykkes, måtte han stort sett gjøre det selv. «En biskops første plikt er å forkynne», erklærte han, og det var det han gjorde. Som biskop ble han den ledende skikkelsen i den motreformatoriske bevegelsen. Han kastet seg ut i reformer og gjenreisning av dette meget vanskelige bispedømmet. Han reiste på kryss og tvers i sitt store stift og bekreftet de spredtboende katolikkene i deres ofte vaklende tro. Han utmerket seg i administrativt arbeid og åndelig veiledning. Han bygde ut den kateketiske undervisningen i hele bispedømmet, og deltok selv i Annecy med glødende interesse og inderlighet, slik at i mange år etter hans død ble «biskopens katekisme» fortsatt livaktig husket. Han kom lett i kontakt med barna, som elsket ham, og han grunnla også mange utmerkede skoler. Han instruerte sine prester til å bruke enkelt språk i katekesen.

Den neste oppgaven var utdannelsen av presteskapet. Konsilet i Trient hadde innført seminarer, men ikke gjort det obligatorisk for alle prester å gå på dem. Han var ikke i stand til å etablere et bispedømmeseminar, men han eksaminerte personlig alle prestekandidater, og han holdt til og med forelesninger i teologi for alle prester som kunne være til stede. Han sto også overfor oppgaven med å reformere klostrene, som med unntak av karteuserne var sunket ned i betydelig slapphet. Men overfor abbedene hadde han ikke makt til å sette ut i livet alt han ønsket. Han var også involvert i krangler mellom konkurrerende bispedømmekapitler, som var resultatet av bispedømmets eksil fra hovedstaden Genève. Hans underliggende strenge karakter ble vist da han avskaffet Valentinkortene – noe som ikke var noe populært tiltak.

Frans' prekener ble så berømte at til og med kalvinister kom for å høre ham. Han erklærte en gang: «Jeg hater dobbeltspill som jeg hater døden». I kontroverser var han et bilde på gode manerer, han var følsom for andre, moderat i sine dommer, klar i sine uttrykk, verdig og beskjeden: «Jeg må være biskop av Genève offentlig, men privat er jeg Frans av Sales». Kardinal du Perron sa at han selv kunne gjendrive protestantenes påstander, men Msgr de Sales kunne omvende dem.

Frans' hovedvåpen var som alltid pennen. Han produserte en strøm av konstitusjoner, undervisningsmetoder og foranstaltninger, og han fant også tid til å skrive endeløse brev – ofte over 2000 ord. Hans mest berømte skrifter stammer fra denne tiden. De ble til etter hvert som hans arbeid krevde det, spesielt arbeidet som religiøs rådgiver for enkeltmennesker. Psykolog og humanist som han var, satte han seg fore å vise hvordan alminnelig liv «i verden» kan bli helliggjort, og det uten særheter eller overdrivelse. Han skrev at religiøs hengivelse ikke ødelegger, den gjør fullkommen. Han ble høyt anerkjent for med mildhet å lede glødende sjeler til det ytterste av selvoppofrelse og kjærlighet til Gud. Et av hans favorittutsagn var at flere fluer blir tiltrukket av en skje honning enn av en hel tønne eddik. Ikke desto mindre må ikke den elskverdige stilen i hans rettledninger gjøre leseren blind for de strenge idealer han forfekter. Han gikk særlig mot Calvins predestinasjonslære.

Hans oppbyggelige skrifter ble opprinnelig skrevet for dem som lever et liv i «privilegert fritid», men er fortsatt vidt utbredt. Hans Philothea eller Introduction à la vie dévote, «Introduksjon til fromhetslivet», var den første veiviser til et hengivent liv som var skrevet for legfolk. Den var basert på råd og veiledning han hadde skrevet privat til hustruen til en fetter av ham, Louise de Chamoisy. Hun viste dem til père Fourier, rektor for jesuittkollegiet og Frans' åndelige veileder, som overtalte ham til å redigere dem og utgi dem i bokform, og med et lite tillegg kom den ut i 1608. Den ble straks en bestselger og hyllet som et mesterverk som oppfylte et lenge følt behov. Den kom to opplag i løpet av et år og i 1609 kom en revidert utgave. Boken ble snart oversatt til en rekke språk, blant annet til engelsk i 1613. Den ble satt pris på av så ulike personer som kong Jakob I av England og John Wesley, metodismens grunnlegger. Boken ble på den tiden kritisert for å være for slapp – nå virker den utpreget rigorøs.

Frans regnes som den mest kjente forfatter innen kvietismen, som fremmet den stille, inderlige bønn. Selv om han var spesielt innflytelsesrik i gjenoppliving av den franske katolisismen på 1600-tallet, har hans arbeid appellert til kristne i mange generasjoner og i mange land. Hans omsorg for vitenskap og kunst og det franske språk fikk ham til å grunnlegge Académie Florimontane i Annecy, tretti år før Académie Française ble dannet.

Frans forkynte utrettelig, og hans fasteprekener var berømte. Dem holdt han i flere byer i Frankrike, blant annet i Paris, Dijon og Grenoble. Under en fasteretrett i Sainte-Chapelle i Dijon i 1604 møtte han for første gang den hellige enken og mystikeren Johanna Fransiska av Chantal. Hun gjenkjente Frans som den personen hun en gang hadde sett i en visjon, og visste at han var den åndelige veilederen som hun lenge hadde tryglet Gud om å sende henne. Etter noen innledende vanskeligheter gikk han med på å være hennes åndelige veileder. Nå fulgte det et vennskap mellom dem som er et av de mest fullkomne i helgenhistorien. De førte en livlig korrespondanse, men dessverre er bare biskopens brev bevart.

I 1605 foretok Frans en visitasjon av sitt utstrakte bispedømme som det var satt sammen av konsilet i Trient. Reisen skulle ta fire år å fullføre. De fysiske anstrengelsene med endeløse reiser til fots eller på hesteryggen og mer enn en preken hver dag ble oppveid av gleden ved igjen å besøke Chablais, hvor hans tidligere arbeider bar rik frukt. Hele tiden skrev han til Johanna med detaljer fra reisene, og han beskrev sine følelser for de vanlige menneskene i bispedømmet.

Pave Klemens VIII døde den 5. mars 1605 og ble etterfulgt av Alexander de Medici som Leo XI. Han hadde vært pavelig legat ved feiringen av 40-timersandakten i Thonon. Ryktene ville straks ha det til at han ville gjøre Frans til kardinal. Men i et «tre-pave-år» døde Leo tre uker etter sin kroning og ble etterfulgt av kardinal Borghese som Frans var blitt godt kjent med under sitt besøk i Roma i 1598. Han tok navnet Paul V (1605-21). Av en eller annen grunn forsøkte han aldri å overtale Frans til å akseptere en kardinalhatt – trolig til hans store lettelse.

Det var nå tid for Frans' ad limina-besøk til Roma, men han unnskyldte seg og skyldte på «mangel på midler, en vanskelig reise og omsorgen for selve bispedømmet». I stedet sendte han sin kannikmedbror Jean-François i sitt sted. Med ham sendte han et memorandum om temaet som en gang hadde plaget ham slik: om predestinasjon og nåde. Disputten om dette spørsmålet var blitt mer akutt siden hans studiedager i Paris, og hele problemstillingen ble nå undersøkt av en spesialkongregasjon, de Auxiliis, i Roma. Det virker som om Frans' bidrag hadde innflytelse på Paul Vs avgjørelse om ikke å fordømme verken jesuittene eller dominikanerne, med den begrunnelse at jesuittene ikke var pelagianere og dominikanerne ikke kalvinister, slik at ingen erklæring var nødvendig. Dette var en svært fornuftig avgjørelse, men den klarte dessverre ikke å stoppe krangelen særlig lenge. Frans' bidrag til å midlertidig roe debatten ble omtalt i den salige pave Pius IXs bulle som utropte ham til kirkelærer.

Frans' travle runde med visitasjoner, prekener og korrespondanse fortsatte. Han skapte noe av en sensasjon ved å ri den korteste veien fra den sveitsiske til den franske delen av sitt bispedømme – gjennom det kalvinistiske Genève – i full bispedrakt!

Året 1608 ble preget av at hans høyt elskede yngste søster døde i en alder av 14 år. Han hadde sendt henne året før for å bo hos Johanna de Chantal og hennes barn, siden hun var ulykkelig på sin tidligere skole. Der fikk hun en forkjølelse som forverret seg til en feber hun aldri kom seg fra. Frans reiste til Thorens for å trøste sin mor, og han skrev rørende til Johanna om hennes og hans følelser, i et brev som inneholder den berømte setningen som kan tjene som hans motto: «Akk, min datter, jeg er bare en mann og ikke noe mer enn en mann» [Je suis tant homme que rien plus]. Mitt hjerte har bristet på en måte jeg aldri hadde trodd var mulig…» Hans første handling som prest hadde vært å døpe sin søster.

Under den nå katolske kong Henrik IV endret klimaet i den franske katolisismen seg til en mer seriøs søken etter indre dannelse, og dette var grunnen til at kongen var så ivrig etter å få Frans til Frankrike som biskop. Samtidig forverret Frans' forhold til hertugen av Savoia seg. Men alle sjanser for at han kunne ha blitt fristet til et bytte forsvant imidlertid da Henrik IV ble myrdet av den fanatiske Ravaillac i 1610.

Hvert år siden 1604 hadde Johanna foretatt en egen reise for å treffe Frans og motta åndelig veiledning. Hun fortalte Frans om sine planer om å gå inn i et karmelittkloster, og han brukte litt tid på svaret og forela saken for Gud. Men våren 1607 fortalte Frans henne at han hadde en bedre ide, for han hadde han bestemt at hennes fremtid måtte ligge i en ny orden uten klausur etter hans egne planer, og at den skulle gå ut fra Annecy. De inngikk et samarbeid, men problemet var at familiebånd bandt henne til Frankrike.

Men problemene ble løst da hennes eldste datter Marie-Aimeé ble gift med Frans' yngre bror Bernard, og en annen datter ble også gift, mens hennes bror, erkebiskopen av Bourges, tok seg av oppdragelsen av den 14-årige sønnen Celse-Bénigne. Samtidig døde Frans' mor og Johannas yngste datter. I slutten av mars 1610 var hun endelig klar til å forlate Frankrike. Frans skaffet et hus i Annecy som ble kalt Gallerihuset og lå ved bredden av innsjøen Lac d'Annecy. Han vigslet sitt kloster på Treenighetssøndagen i 1610. Sammen med Johanna mottok samme år to andre søstre ordensdrakten fra Frans' hånd, Maria Favre og Charlotte de Bréchard, samt tjeneren Anne Coste, og ti andre sluttet seg snart til dem.

Johannas orden fikk navnet Besøkelsesordenen («Ordenen av Marias gjesting hos Elisabeth»), Ordo de Visitatione Beatae Mariae Virginis – OVM, hvor søstrene ble kalt salesianerinner eller visitasjonssøstre (visitantinner), og de viet seg til pleie av de syke og omsorg for de fattige. Frans skrev regelen for den nye kongregasjonen, som utmerket seg ved sin spesielle mildhet. Besøkelsesordenen ble bestemt for enslige kvinner og enker, som på grunn av sin alder, helse eller andre grunner ikke var egnet til andre ordenssamfunns strengere liv. Den tok ikke opp jenter under 17 år. Frans ville at søstrene skulle leve uten klausur, slik at de friere kunne ta på seg arbeid for legeme og sjel. De hadde ordensdrakt, men dro ut for å besøke de syke i vanlige klær.

Enkelte spørsmål kan fortsatt diskuteres, som hvorfor det var nødvendig med en ny orden. Det kan ses i lys av vanskelighetene med å reformere de etablerte ordenene samt de nye behovene som var oppstått i den nye religiøse situasjonen: en motreformasjon gjennom et innadrettet religiøst liv. Grunnleggelsen og regelen hadde mange kritikere, men ordenen vokste langsomt og spredte seg. Den ble godkjent av pave Paul V i 1618, men ble pålagt å anta Augustins regel, klausur og høytidelige løfter. Innen slutten av 1600-tallet var ordenen aktiv i seks land, og den virker fortsatt i mange land over hele verden.

I 1609 ble Frans kjent med en bemerkelsesverdig prelat, biskop Jean-Pierre Camus av Belly, rundt 5 mil fra Annecy. Han ble enda en av dem Frans regelmessig korresponderte med. Han levde tyve år lenger enn Frans og skrev seks bind av Esprit de Saint François de Sales («Den hellige Frans av Sales' ånd»), som imidlertid slett ikke er noen pålitelig kilde.

Det oppsto nye problemer med hertugen av Savoia i forbindelse med den voksende debatten om de gjensidige grensene for kirkelig og statlig makt. I tillegg fortsatte det endeløse travle arbeidet med visitasjoner, prekenserier, undervisning og skriftemål. I 1613 foretok Frans en valfart til graven til den hellige Karl Borromeus, som var helligkåret i 1610. I den forbindelse prekte han i Torino i anledning utrullingen av det hellige Likkledet, en relikvie han holdt svært høyt. Det forårsaket imidlertid en viss skandale da dråper av hans svette og tårer falt på kledet.

I 1616 og 1617 holdt han fasteprekener i Grenoble. I 1617 ble han og Johanna rammet av en felles familietragedie da hans bror Bernard døde og etterlot Marie-Aimeé gravid. Barnet ble født for tidlig og det førte til at Marie-Aimeé også døde. Etter eget ønske ble hun opptatt i Besøkelsesordenen før hun døde.

I disse travle og begivenhetsrike årene klarte Frans å skrive sitt største verk og den boken han lenge hadde planlagt og virkelig ønsket å skrive, nemlig den informative avhandlingen Theotimus, «Om Guds kjærlighet». Den var hovedsakelig inspirert av utviklingen han observerte hos visitasjonssøstrene. Den var ferdig i skisseform i slutten av 1614, og deretter redigerte og finpusset han den før den ble utgitt i august 1616. Han mente den var skrevet «på en mer stram og sterk måte» enn Philothea, og han ventet aldri at den skulle få samme suksess. Det fikk den da heller ikke, selv om heller ikke denne boken begrenset seg til å appellere bare til ordensfolk. Likevel ble den trykket i fem opplag i løpet av de resterende fem år av hans liv, ble oversatt til engelsk i 1630, deretter til spansk, tysk og polsk.

Frans holdt regelmessig åndelige prekener til visitasjonssøstrene, som begynte å skrive dem ned og kopiere dem til de tretten andre klostrene som da eksisterte. Seks år senere, mens Johanna forberedte dem for publikasjon, ble manuskriptet stjålet og en «piratkopi» ble utgitt under tittelen Entretiens. Den rasende Johanna hevdet at «vår hellige grunnleggers ånd og de spørsmålene han ble stilt har blitt skammelig forvrengt». Søstrene ga ut en korrigert Vrais Entretiens i 1629, men innholdet var ikke særlig annerledes.

I 1618 ble Frans innblandet i statlige saker og reiste til Paris på vegne av den plutselig vennlige hertugen av Savoia, som ønsket hjelp fra den berømte biskopen av Genève i sitt prosjekt med å få sin sønn Victor Amadeus gift med Ludvig XIIIs yngre søster Christine, som da var 13 år. På den tiden var Frans en berømthet og allment regnet som helgen, og store menneskemengder strømmet til for å høre ham preke. Ekteskapsforhandlingene gikk glatt, han fornyet bekjentskapet med Pierre de Bérulle og møtte «Monsieur Vincent», den fremtidige hellige Vincent de Paul, som han gjorde til kapellan for visitasjonssøstrene i Paris og som skulle komme med et veltalende vitnemål i Frans' saligkåringsprosess.

Frans utviklet også en nytt dypt åndelig vennskap med en annen kvinne som skulle bli berømt. Angélique Arnaud, fremtidig jansenist, hadde vært uvillig barneabbedisse av Port-Royal, men hadde opplevd en omvendelse og reformerte livet i klosteret fullstendig til et liv i ekstrem strenghet. Hun ble hans «kjæreste datter» og skulle motta hans åndelige tjenester pr brev så lenge han levde. Hun ble også en nær venn av Johanna de Chantal, som da var i visitasjonsklosteret i Paris. Han vendte endelig hjem etter det kongelige bryllupet etter et opphold i Paris som hadde blitt utvidet til nesten et år.

Nå begynte hans helse å svikte, med problemer som var knyttet til høyt blodtrykk og et svekket hjerte. Noe av byrdene ved hans fortsatt usannsynlig travle liv ble lettet da hans yngre bror Jean-François de Sales i 1621 ble utnevnt til koadjutor-biskop av Genève. Brevene fortsatte å strømme ut i et antall av 20-30 pr dag, han prekte kontinuerlig, reviderte Besøkelsesordenens konstitusjon, og på en eller annen måte fant han mer tid for kontemplativ bønn. Etter pavens ønske foretok han en anstrengende reise til Torino i mai 1622 for å megle i et potensielt vanskelig valg av en ordenssuperior. Men valget viste seg å gå svært glatt, noe som gjorde hans nærvær og den ytterligere belastningen på hans helse helt unødvendig. Hjemreisen over Alpene tok nesten livet av ham.

I oktober 1622 skulle hertugen av Savoia reise til Avignon for et hovedsakelig seremonielt møte med kong Ludvig XIII. Han inviterte Frans til å slutte seg til dem der. Frans ble inntrengende bedt om å tenke på sin helsetilstand og avslå, men Frans var ivrig etter å få visse privilegier for den franske delen av sitt bispedømme fra Ludvig. Derfor svarte han ja til hertugen, selv om hans helsetilstand egentlig var for dårlig for en vinterreise. Før han dro fra Annecy ordnet han opp i alle sine saker, og han tok farvel som om han ikke ventet å se sitt folk igjen. Det virket som om han skjønte at hans dødstime nærmet seg.

I Lyon møtte han Johanna, som han ikke hadde sett på 3 ½ år. Han kom til Avignon i november etter en fryktelig og iskald reise, alt for syk til å delta særlig i den statlige feiringen av slutten på krigen mellom Spania og Frankrike. I Avignon søkte han så langt som mulig å leve sitt vanlige strenge liv. Men han var etterspurt, mengder var ivrige etter å se ham, og ulike klostre ønsket at den hellige biskopen skulle preke for dem.

Hjemreisen ble et mareritt med elendige overnattingsforhold, ettersom han nektet å benytte seg av sin rang og stilling. Han stanset i Lyon, hvor han hadde et siste møte med Johanna. Igjen fikk han primitive overnattingsforhold – denne gangen av visitasjonssøstrene, da han måtte bo i en gartnerhytte som tilhørte klosteret. Her ble han i en hel måned og fortsatte sitt utrettelige arbeid for sjelene, selv om han egentlig burde ha hvilt ut. I iskaldt vær fortsatte han med brevskrivningen, sine prekener og sin prestegjerning gjennom adventstiden og julen.

Den 27. desember fikk han slag. Han fikk tilbake bevisstheten og taleevnen, og kunne ha overlevd uten legenes tortur med trekkplaster og etsing. Han holdt med sin vanlige beundringsverdige tålmodighet ut de pinefulle midlene som ble brukt for å prøve å forlenge hans liv, men som bare forkortet det. Dagen før han døde, satte de rødglødende jern mot hodet hans for å vekke ham fra koma. Selv om dette ble gjort med de beste intensjoner, ble jernene brukt så ukyndig at de brant gjennom kjøttet og inn til beinet, og merkene kan ses på hans hodeskalle den dag i dag.

Like før Frans døde ba en nonne ham skrive ned den dyd han ønsket seg mest. Han ba om et stykke papir og skrev Ydmykhet tre ganger. Dagen etter, den 28. desember 1622, mottok han sakramentene, og mens de som knelte rundt sengen fremsa litaniet for de døende og påkalte De uskyldige barn, som hadde festdag den dagen, sovnet han stille inn mens han resiterte fra Bibelen. Han var 55 år gammel.

Etter mye motstand fra de lokale myndighetene i Lyon ga kong Ludvig XIII tillatelse til at Frans' legeme kunne flyttes til Annecy, hvor han hadde bedt om å bli gravlagt. I januar 1623 ble hans legeme overført til Annecy i en høytidelig prosesjon. Etter eget ønske ble han gravlagt i søstrenes kirke i Monastère de la Visitation den 24. januar. Johanna Fransiska av Chantal, som døde i 1641, ble også gravlagt her. Frans' hjerte ble igjen i Lyon, men under Den franske revolusjon brakte visitasjonssøstre det til Venezia. Det befinner seg nå i Visitasjonsklosteret i Treviso. Det har med jevne mellomrom strømmet en klar olje fra hjertet.

I henhold til direktivene fra Rituskongregasjonen i Roma ble hans grav den 4. august 1632 åpnet før saligkåringen. Hans legeme ble da funnet fullstendig bevart. Ved en senere åpning ble det imidlertid bare funnet støv og ben.

Senere ble det foretatt flere translasjoner av relikviene. Den uvanligste var i 1793 under Den franske revolusjon, da søstrene fikk ordre om å forlate sitt kloster. For å beskytte relikviene av Johanna og Frans gjemte søstrene dem i all hast i en madrass og fraktet den i en båt over innsjøen til Château de Duingt, som tilhørte familien til en av søstrene. De religiøse myndighetene ble varslet om at de urnene som tidligere hadde inneholdt de helliges relikvier, nå inneholdt andre skjeletter. I 1806 da freden var gjenopprettet, ble Frans' relikvier flyttet til katedralen og Johannas til kirken Saint-Maurice. I 1912 ble begges jordiske rester overført til nye graver. Både Johannas og Frans' relikvier hviler nå i koret i Besøkelseskatedralen.

Frans av Sales ble saligkåret den 8. januar 1662 av pave Alexander VII (1655-67), men dokumentet (Breve) var datert den 28. desember 1661, på dagen 39 år etter hans død. Dette var den første høytidelige saligkåring som skjedde i Peterskirken i Roma. Der ble han også helligkåret den 19. april 1665, Den gode Hyrdes søndag, av pave Alexander VII, utnevnt til kirkelærer den 16. november 1877 av den salige pave Pius IX (1846-78), og utnevnt til skytshelgen for journalister og andre skribenter i 1923 av pave Pius XI (1922-39). En kalvinistprest i Genève sa om ham: «Hvis vi æret noen mennesker som helgen, vet jeg ikke om noen siden apostlene som er mer verdig enn denne mannen».

Frans' minnedag har siden 1972 vært 24. januar, dagen for hans bisettelse i Annecy, ettersom hans dødsdag 28. desember er opptatt av De uskyldige barns fest. Hans minnedag var tidligere 29. januar. Hans navn står i Martyrologium Romanum. I kunsten er han lett gjenkjennelig på sitt skallede hode og lange skjegg. Han fremstilles som biskop, ofte holder han en bok eller et hjerte med tornekrone. Han avbildes også ofte sammen med Johanna Fransiska av Chantal.

SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/fsales

Saint Francois de Sales sculpture in Montrottier Castle in Lovagny, France.

SÃO FRANCISCO DE SALES, Bispo e Doutor da Igreja.

No início de novembro de 1622, São Francisco de Sales, Bispo-Príncipe de Genebra, acompanhava o Duque da Sabóia na comitiva que ia de Chambéry a Avignon encontrar-se com o Rei Cristianíssimo, que era então o soberano francês Luís XIII. O Prelado aproveitou a ocasião para visitar os mosteiros da Visitação existentes no percurso, como co-fundador que era dessa Congregação. Assim, chegou no dia 11 ao de Belley.

Entre as freiras que, pressurosas, correram-lhe ao encontro, encontrava-se uma que ele muito estimava por sua inocência, virtude e simplicidade, e a quem por isso dera o nome de Clara Simpliciana. Esta, iluminada por luzes sobrenaturais, chorava desoladamente: “Oh, excelentíssimo Senhor!” disse-lhe sem subterfúgios, “vós morrereis neste ano! Eu vos suplico que peçais a Nosso Senhor e à Sua Santíssima Mãe que isso não ocorra”.

“Como, minha filha?!”, respondeu surpreso o Prelado. “Não, não o farei. Não vos alegrais pelo fato de eu ir descansar? Veja: estou tão cansado, com tanto peso, que já não posso comigo. Que falta vos farei? Tendes a Constituição e deixar-vos-ei Madre Chantal, que vos bastará. Ademais, não devemos pôr nossas esperanças nos homens, que são mortais, mas só em Deus, que vive eternamente”.

Tais palavras como que resumem a vida e a obra de São Francisco de Sales. Embora ele contasse então com apenas 56 anos de idade e aparentemente não estivesse doente, entregou sua grande alma a Deus três dias antes que o ano terminasse, conforme predissera Irmã Simpliciana... (1)

A grande provação

Francisco de Sales, primogênito entre os 13 filhos dos Barões de Boisy, nasceu no castelo de Sales, na Sabóia, em 21 de agosto de 1567. Por devoção dos pais ao Poverello de Assis, recebeu seu nome e, chegado ao uso da razão, o menino escolheu-o por patrono e guia.

A virtuosa baronesa dedicou-se ela mesma, com a ajuda de bons preceptores, à educação de sua numerosa prole. Para seu primeiro filho escolheu, por sua piedade e ciência, o Pe. Déage, o qual, até sua morte, foi para Francisco um pai espiritual e guia. Acompanhava-o sempre, mesmo a Paris, onde o jovem barão radicou-se durante seus estudos universitários no Colégio de Clermont, dos jesuítas.

Com um precoce senso de responsabilidade e intuito de fazer sempre tudo que fosse da maior glória de Deus, Francisco estudou retórica, filosofia e teologia com um empenho que lhe permitiu ser depois o grande teólogo, pregador, polemista e diretor de consciências que caracterizaram seu trabalho apostólico.

Francisco, como primogênito, era herdeiro do nome de família e continuador de sua tradição. Por isso, recebeu também lições de esgrima, dança e equitação. Convencia-se porém, cada vez mais, que Deus o chamava inteiramente a Seu serviço. Fez voto de castidade perfeita e colocou-se sob a proteção da Virgem das virgens.

Aos 18 anos, o jovem enfrentou a mais terrível provação de sua vida: uma tão violenta tentação de desespero, que lhe causava a impressão de ter perdido a graça divina e estar destinado a odiar eternamente a Deus com os réprobos. Tal obsessão diabólica perseguia-o noite e dia, abalando-lhe até a saúde.

Ora, para alguém que, como ele, desde o início do uso da razão não procurava senão amar ardentemente a Deus, tal provação era o que havia de mais terrível.

Seria necessário um ato heróico para dela livrá-lo e ele o praticou: não se revoltava contra Deus, mesmo se Ele lhe fechasse as portas do Céu, e pedia, nesse caso, para amá-Lo ao menos nesta Terra.

“Senhor!” -- exclamou certo dia na igreja de Saint Etienne des Grés, no auge de sua angústia --, “fazei com que eu jamais blasfeme contra Vós, mesmo que não esteja predestinado a ver-Vos no Céu. E se eu não hei de amar-Vos no outro mundo, concedei-me pelo menos que, nesta vida, eu Vos ame com todas as minhas forças!”.

Rezando depois humildemente o “Lembrai-Vos”, aos pés de Nossa Senhora, invadiu-lhe a alma uma tão completa paz e confiança, que a provação esvaiu-se como fumaça (2).

Calcando o mundo aos pés

Aos 24 anos, Francisco, com os estudos brilhantemente concluídos e já doutor em leis, voltou para junto da família. O pai escolhera para ele a jovem herdeira de uma das mais nobres famílias do lugar. Apesar de sua pouca idade, ofereceram ao jovem doutor o cargo de membro do Senado saboiano. Humanamente falando, não se podia desejar mais.

Para espanto do pai, seu primogênito recusou tanto um quanto outro oferecimento. Só à mãe, que sabia de sua entrega a Deus, e a um tio, cônego da catedral de Genebra, explicou Francisco o motivo desse ato tido por insensato.

Faleceu nesse tempo o deão da catedral de Chambéry. O cônego Luís de Sales imediatamente obteve do Papa que nomeasse seu sobrinho para o posto vacante. Com muita dificuldade o Barão de Boisy consentiu enfim que aquele, no qual depositava suas maiores esperanças de triunfo neste mundo, se dedicasse inteiramente ao serviço de Deus. Não podia ele prever que Francisco estava destinado à maior glória que um mortal pode atingir, que é a de ser elevado à honra dos altares; e, por acréscimo, como Doutor da Igreja!

Zelo anti-calvinista

Os cinco primeiros anos após sua ordenação, o Pe. Francisco consagrou-os à evangelização do Chablais, cidade situada na margem sul do lago de Genebra, convertendo, com o risco da própria vida, empedernidos calvinistas. Para isso, divulgava folhetos nos quais refutava suas heresias, contrapondo-lhes as lídimas verdades católicas. O missionário precisou fugir muitas vezes e esconder-se de enfurecidos hereges, e em algumas ocasiões só se salvou por verdadeiro milagre (3).

Assim, reconduziu ao seio da verdadeira Igreja milhares de almas seduzidas pela heresia de Calvino. Ao mesmo tempo dava assistência religiosa aos soldados do castelo de Allinges, os quais, apesar de católicos de nome, eram ignorantes em religião e dissolutos. Seu renome começava já a repercutir como grande confessor e diretor de consciências.

Em 1599, o deão de Chambéry foi nomeado Bispo-coadjutor de Genebra; e, três anos depois, com o falecimento do titular, assumiu a direção dessa diocese.

Apóstolo entre os nobres

Esse fato ampliou muito o âmbito de ação de D. Francisco de Sales. Fundou escolas, ensinou catecismo às crianças e adultos, dirigiu e conduziu à santidade grandes almas da nobreza, que desempenharam papel preponderante na reforma religiosa empreendida na época, como Madame Acarie (depois uma das primeiras religiosas carmelitas na França, morta em odor de santidade), Santa Joana de Chantal, com quem fundou a Visitação. Inúmeras donzelas da mais alta nobreza abandonaram o mundo, entrando nos mosteiros dessa nova congregação, na qual brilharam pelo esplendor de sua virtude.

Todos queriam ouvir o santo Bispo. Convidado a pregar em toda parte, era sempre rodeado de grande veneração, tornando-se necessário escolta militar para protegê-lo das manifestações do entusiasmo popular.

A família real da Sabóia não resistia à atração do Bispo-Príncipe de Genebra, convidando-o constantemente para pregar também na Corte. E não era a mais alta nobreza menos ávida que o povinho de ouvir aquele que já consideravam santo em vida.

Em 1608, ordenou e publicou as notas e conselhos que dera a uma sua prima por afinidade, a Sra. de Chamoisy, num livro que se tornaria imortal: Filotéia ou Introdução à Vida Devota. Essa obra foi ocasião de várias conversões e carreou muitas vocações para os conventos da Visitação.

São Francisco de Sales desenvolveu seu lema no extraordinário livro que escreveu para suas filhas da Visitação, a pedido de Santa Joana de Chantal, o célebre Tratado do Amor de Deus: “a medida de amar a Deus é amá-lo sem medida”.

Glorificado na Terra e no Céu

O Beato Pio IX declarou São Francisco de Sales como Doutor da Igreja. Os contemporâneos do Bispo-Príncipe de Genebra não tinham dúvidas a respeito de sua santidade. Santa Joana de Chantal, sua dirigida e cooperadora que o conheceu tão intimamente, escreveu: “Oh! meu Deus! Atrever-me-ei a dizê-lo? Sim, di-lo-ei: parece-me que nosso bem-aventurado pai era uma imagem viva do Filho de Deus, porque verdadeiramente a ordem e a economia desta santa alma era toda sobrenatural e divina. Muitas pessoas me disseram que, quando viam este bem-aventurado, parecia-lhes ver a Nosso Senhor na terra” (4). E São Vicente de Paulo, sempre que saia de algum encontro mantido com São Francisco de Sales, exclamava: “Ah! quão bom deve ser Deus quando o excelentíssimo Bispo de Genebra é tão bondoso! (5)

Em seu leito de morte, o resplendor de seu rosto, que já era visível em seus últimos anos de vida, aumentava por vezes muito mais, arrebatando de admiração os que o contemplavam.

Assim que faleceu, verdadeira multidão invadiu o convento das Visitandinas, em Lyon, na França, para oscular-lhe os pés, tocar-lhe tecidos em seu corpo, encostar-lhe rosários. Ao abrirem seu corpo, os médicos constataram que o fígado do Santo se petrificara com o esforço que fizera sempre para dominar seu temperamento sangüíneo, e conservar constantemente aquela suavidade e doçura, aparentemente tão naturais nele, que conquistavam os corações mais empedernidos.

O culto ao santo começou no próprio momento de sua morte. E foi sempre recompensado, algumas vezes com estupendos milagres.

Durante a peste em Lyon, as irmãs visitandinas não bastavam para distribuir ao povo pedaços de tecido tocados no corpo do santo. Em Orleans, a Madre de la Roche mergulhava uma relíquia do venerado Prelado em água, a qual era distribuída à multidão enquanto durou a peste: um tonel por dia em média. Em Crest e em Cremieux, os representantes da cidade foram à igreja da Visitação fazer, em nome da cidade, voto solene de ir em peregrinação ao sepulcro do Bispo, caso cessasse a peste. E todos foram ouvidos.

Foi Santa Joana de Chantal quem iniciou as gestões para o processo de canonização de seu pai espiritual. Recolheu seus escritos privados, cartas, mesmo rascunhos não terminados, e trabalhou com afinco nesse sentido. Escreveu a autoridades civis e eclesiásticas e mesmo a Roma, pedindo que urgissem o início do processo de beatificação.

Mas a alegria de vê-lo elevado à honra dos altares ela só a teria no Céu, pois a celeridade dos processos humanos ficavam muito aquém dos desejos de seu ardente coração.

São Francisco de Sales faleceu em 28 de dezembro de 1622, tendo sido canonizado em 19 de abril de 1665.

O Papa Pio IX declarou-o Doutor da Igreja em 7 de julho de 1877. E Pio XI, na encíclica Rerum omnium, de 1923, atribuiu-lhe o glorioso título de Patrono dos jornalistas e escritores católicos.

Notas:

1 Mons. Bougaud, Juana Francisca Fremyot, Tipografia Católica, Madrid, 1924, vol. II, pp. 95/96.

2 - Cfr. Butler Vida de los Santos, edição em espanhol, México, D.F., 1968, vol. I., p. 199.

3 - Cfr. Joh J. Delaney, Dictionary of Saints, Doubleday, New York, 1980, p. 236.

4- Carta ao Pe. Juan de San Francisco, apud Mons. Bougaud, op.cit., vol. I p. 145.

5 - Apud Mons. Bougaud, id., pp. 142, 145.

SOURCE : http://www.santosebeatoscatolicos.com/2015/01/sao-francisco-de-sales-bispo-e-doutor.html

Saint Francis of Sales. Line engraving by L. Visscher after C. Maratta.

CATEQUESE DO PAPA BENTO XVI

AUDIÊNCIA GERAL

Sala Paulo VI

Quarta-feira, 2 de Março de 2011

São Francisco de Sales

Amados irmãos e irmãs

«Dieu est le Dieu du coeur humain» [Deus é o Deus do coração humano] (Tratado do Amor de Deus, I, XV): nestas palavras aparentemente simples vemos a característica da espiritualidade de um grande mestre, do qual gostaria de vos falar hoje: são Francisco de Sales, Bispo e Doutor da Igreja. Nasceu em 1567, numa região francesa de fronteira, filho do Senhor de Boisy, antiga e nobre família de Sabóia. Viveu entre dois séculos, XVI-XVII, e reuniu em si o melhor dos ensinamentos e das conquistas culturais do século que terminava, reconciliando a herança do humanismo com o impulso rumo ao absoluto, próprio das correntes místicas. A sua formação foi muito atenta; realizou os estudos superiores em Paris, dedicando-se também à teologia, e na Universidade de Pádua fez os estudos de jurisprudência, como desejava o pai, concluindo-os de modo brilhante, com uma licenciatura in utroque iure, direito canônico e direito civil. Na sua juventude harmoniosa, ponderando sobre o pensamento dos santos Agostinho e Tomás de Aquino, teve uma crise profunda que o levou a interrogar-se sobre a própria salvação eterna e acerca da predestinação de Deus no que se lhe referia, padecendo como verdadeiro drama espiritual as principais questões teológicas da sua época. Rezava intensamente, mas a dúvida atormentou-o de maneira tão forte, que durante algumas semanas praticamente não conseguiu comer nem dormir. No ápice da provação foi à igreja dos Dominicanos, em Paris, abriu o seu coração e orou assim: «Aconteça o que acontecer, Senhor, Vós que tendes tudo nas vossas mãos, e cujos caminhos são justiça e verdade; independentemente do que tiverdes estabelecido a meu propósito...; Vós que sois sempre Juiz justo e Pai misericordioso, amar-vos-ei, ó Senhor […] amar-vos-ei aqui, ó meu Deus, e esperarei sempre na vossa misericórdia, e repetirei sempre o vosso louvor... Ó Senhor Jesus, Vós sereis sempre a minha esperança e a minha salvação, na terra dos vivos» (I Proc. Canon., vol. I, art 4).

Francisco, então com vinte anos, encontrou a paz na realidade radical e libertadora do amor de Deus: amá-lo sem nada pedir em troca, confiando no amor divino; já não perguntar o que Deus fará de mim: amo-O simples e independentemente de quanto Ele me concede ou não. Assim encontrou a paz, e a questão da predestinação — sobre a qual se debatia naquela época — tinha sido resolvida, porque ele não buscava mais do que podia receber de Deus; amava-O simplesmente, abandonando-se à sua bondade. E este será o segredo da sua vida, que transparecerá na sua obra principal: o Tratado do Amor de Deus.

Vencendo as resistências do pai, Francisco seguiu o chamamento do Senhor e, no dia 18 de Dezembro de 1593, foi ordenado sacerdote. Em 1602 tornou-se Bispo de Genebra, num período em que a cidade era uma fortaleza do Calvinismo, a tal ponto que a sede episcopal se encontrava «no exílio», em Annecy. Pastor de uma diocese pobre e atormentada, na paisagem montanhosa da qual conhecia bem tanto a dureza como a beleza, ele escreve: «Encontrei-O [Deus] repleto de candor e suavidade, no meio das nossas montanhas mais altas e íngremes, onde muitas almas simples O amavam e adoravam com toda a verdade e sinceridade; cabritos-monteses e corças corriam aqui e ali, no meio de geleiras assustadoras, para anunciar os seus louvores» (Carta à Madre de Chantal, Outubro de 1606, em Oeuvres, Ed. Mackey, T. XIII, p. 223). E no entanto, a influência da sua vida e do seu ensinamento na Europa dessa época e dos séculos seguintes parece imensa. É apóstolo, pregador, escritor, homem de ação e de oração; comprometido na realização dos ideais do Concílio de Trento; empenhado na controvérsia e no diálogo com os protestantes, experimentando cada vez mais, para além do necessário confronto teológico, a eficácia da relação pessoal e da caridade; encarregado de missões diplomáticas a nível europeu, e de tarefas sociais de mediação e de reconciliação. Mas sobretudo, são Francisco de Sales é guia de almas: do encontro com uma jovem, a senhora de Charmoisy, encontrará inspiração para escrever um dos livros mais lidos na era moderna, a Introdução à vida devota; da sua profunda comunhão espiritual com uma personalidade extraordinária, santa Joana Francisca de Chantal, nascerá uma nova família religiosa, a Ordem da Visitação, caracterizada — como o santo desejava — por uma consagração total a Deus, vivida na simplicidade e na humildade, a cumprir extraordinariamente bem as tarefas ordinárias: «…quero que as minhas Filhas — escreve — não tenham outro ideal, a não ser o de glorificar [Nosso Senhor] com a sua humildade» (Carta a mons. de Marquemond, Junho de 1615). Faleceu em 1622, com cinqüenta e cinco anos de idade, depois de uma existência marcada pela dureza dos tempos e da obra apostólica.

A vida de são Francisco de Sales foi relativamente breve, mas vivida com grande intensidade. Da figura deste santo emana uma impressão de rara plenitude, demonstrada na tranquilidade da sua investigação intelectual, mas também na riqueza dos seus hábitos, na «docilidade» dos seus ensinamentos, que tiveram uma grande influência sobre a consciência cristã. Da palavra «humanidade» ele encarnou várias acepções que, tanto hoje como ontem, este termo pode adquirir: cultura e cortesia, liberdade e ternura, nobreza e solidariedade. No aspecto tinha algo da majestosidade da paisagem em que viveu, conservando também a sua simplicidade e naturalidade. As antigas palavras e imagens com que se expressava ressoam inesperadamente, até aos ouvidos do homem contemporâneo, como uma língua nativa e familiar.

Na Filotéia, destinatária ideal da sua Introdução à Vida Devota (1607), Francisco de Sales dirige um convite que, nessa época, podia parecer revolucionário. Trata-se do convite a pertencer completamente a Deus, vivendo em plenitude a presença no mundo e as tarefas da sua condição. «A minha intenção é de instruir aqueles que vivem nas cidades, no estado conjugal, na corte […]» (Prefácio da Introdução à Vida Devota). O Documento com que o Papa Pio ix, mais de dois séculos depois, o proclamará Doutor da Igreja, insistirá sobre esta ampliação da chamada à perfeição, à santidade. Nele está escrito: «[A verdadeira piedade] chegou a penetrar até no trono dos reis, na tenda dos chefes dos exércitos, no pretório dos juízes, nos escritórios, nas oficinas e nas cabanas dos pastores […]» (Breve Dives in misericordia, 16 de Novembro de 1877). Assim nascia aquele apelo aos leigos, o cuidado pela consagração das realidades temporais e pela santificação da vida diária, sobre o qual insistirão depois o Concílio Vaticano II e a espiritualidade do nosso tempo. Manifestava-se o ideal de uma humanidade reconciliada, na sintonia entre ação no mundo e oração, entre condição secular e busca da perfeição, com a ajuda da Graça de Deus, que permeia o humano e, sem o destruir, o purifica, elevando-o às alturas divinas. A Teótimo, o cristão adulto, espiritualmente maduro, ao qual dirige alguns anos depois o seu Tratado do Amor de Deus (1616), são Francisco de Sales oferece uma lição mais complexa. Ela supõe, no início, uma visão específica do ser humano, uma antropologia: a «razão» do homem, aliás, a sua «alma razoável», é aí vista como uma construção harmoniosa, um templo subdividido em vários espaços, ao redor de um centro ao qual ele chama, juntamente com os grandes místicos, «cimo», «ponta» do espírito, ou «fundo» da alma. É o ponto em que a razão, percorrendo todas as suas fases, «fecha os olhos» e o conhecimento se torna um só com o amor (cf. livro I, cap. XII). Que o amor, na sua dimensão teologal e divina, seja a razão de ser de todas as realidades, numa escada ascendente que não parece conhecer fraturas nem abismos, são Francisco de Sales resumiu-o nesta frase célebre: «O homem é a perfeição do universo; o espírito é a perfeição do homem; o amor é a do espírito, e a caridade a do amor» (Ibid., livro X, cap. I).

Num período de intenso florescimento místico, o Tratado do amor de Deus é uma verdadeira suma, e ao mesmo tempo uma obra literária fascinante. A sua descrição do itinerário rumo a Deus começa a partir do reconhecimento da «inclinação natural» (Ibid., livro I, cap. XVI), inscrita no coração do homem, também do pecador, a amar a Deus acima de todas as coisas. Segundo o modelo da Sagrada Escritura, são Francisco de Sales fala da união entre Deus e o homem, desenvolvendo toda uma série de imagens de relação interpessoal. O seu Deus é pai e senhor, esposo e amigo, tem características maternas e de nutriz, é o sol do qual até a noite é uma misteriosa revelação. Este Deus atrai o homem a Si com vínculos de amor, ou seja, de verdadeira liberdade: «Pois o amor não tem forçados nem escravos, mas reduz tudo à sua obediência com um vigor tão delicioso que, se nada é tão forte como o amor, nada é tão amável como a sua força» (Ibid., livro I, cap. VI). No Tratado do nosso santo encontramos uma meditação profunda sobre a vontade humana e a descrição do seu fluir, passar e morrer para viver (cf. ibid., livro IX, cap. XIII) no abandono completo não apenas à vontade de Deus, mas àquilo que é do seu agrado, ao seu «bon plaisir», ao seu beneplácito (cf. ibid., livro IX, cap. I). No ápice da união com Deus, além dos arrebatamentos da êxtase contemplativa, coloca-se aquele fluxo de caridade concreta, que se faz atenta a todas as necessidades do próximo, à qual ele chama «êxtase da vida e das obras» (Ibid., livro VII, cap. VI).

Lendo o livro sobre o amor de Deus e ainda mais as numerosas cartas de guia e de amizade espiritual, compreende-se bem como são Francisco de Sales foi um grande conhecedor do coração humano. A santa Joana de Chantal, a quem escreve: «[…] Eis a regra da nossa obediência, que te escrevo com caracteres grandes: fazer tudo por amor, nada por força — amar mais a obediência do que temer a desobediência. “Deixo-te o espírito de liberdade, não aquele que exclui a obediência, porque ela é a liberdade do mundo; mas aquele que exclui a violência, a ansiedade e o escrúpulo» (Carta, 14 de Outubro de 1604). Não é por acaso que, na origem de muitas formas da pedagogia e da espiritualidade do nosso tempo, encontramos precisamente o vestígio deste mestre, sem o qual não teriam existido são João Bosco, nem o heróico «pequeno caminho» de santa Teresa de Lisieux.

Caros irmãos e irmãs, num período como o nosso que procura a liberdade, mesmo com violência e inquietação, não deve passar despercebida a atualidade deste grande mestre de espiritualidade e de paz, que transmite aos seus discípulos o «espírito de liberdade», aquela verdadeira, no ápice de um ensinamento fascinante e completo sobre a realidade do amor. São Francisco de Sales é uma testemunha exemplar do humanismo cristão; com o seu estilo familiar, com parábolas que às vezes têm as asas da poesia, recorda que o homem traz inscrita no profundo de si mesmo a saudade de Deus, e que somente nele encontra a alegria autêntica e a sua realização mais completa.

SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/pt/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110302.html

Stefano Ussi, San Francesco di Sales, Palazzo Tozzoni

PAPA BENTO XVI

AUDIÊNCIA GERAL

Sala Paulo VI

Quarta-feira, 2 de Março de 2011

São Francisco de Sales

Amados irmãos e irmãs

«Dieu est le Dieu du coeur humain» [Deus é o Deus do coração humano] (Tratado do Amor de Deus, I, XV): nestas palavras aparentemente simples vemos a característica da espiritualidade de um grande mestre, do qual gostaria de vos falar hoje: são Francisco de Sales, Bispo e Doutor da Igreja. Nasceu em 1567, numa região francesa de fronteira, filho do Senhor de Boisy, antiga e nobre família de Sabóia. Viveu entre dois séculos, XVI-XVII, e reuniu em si o melhor dos ensinamentos e das conquistas culturais do século que terminava, reconciliando a herança do humanismo com o impulso rumo ao absoluto, próprio das correntes místicas. A sua formação foi muito atenta; realizou os estudos superiores em Paris, dedicando-se também à teologia, e na Universidade de Pádua fez os estudos de jurisprudência, como desejava o pai, concluindo-os de modo brilhante, com uma licenciatura in utroque iure, direito canónico e direito civil. Na sua juventude harmoniosa, ponderando sobre o pensamento dos santos Agostinho e Tomás de Aquino, teve uma crise profunda que o levou a interrogar-se sobre a própria salvação eterna e acerca da predestinação de Deus no que se lhe referia, padecendo como verdadeiro drama espiritual as principais questões teológicas da sua época. Rezava intensamente, mas a dúvida atormentou-o de maneira tão forte, que durante algumas semanas praticamente não conseguiu comer nem dormir. No ápice da provação foi à igreja dos Dominicanos, em Paris, abriu o seu coração e orou assim: «Aconteça o que acontecer, Senhor, Vós que tendes tudo nas vossas mãos, e cujos caminhos são justiça e verdade; independentemente do que tiverdes estabelecido a meu propósito...; Vós que sois sempre Juiz justo e Pai misericordioso, amar-vos-ei, ó Senhor […] amar-vos-ei aqui, ó meu Deus, e esperarei sempre na vossa misericórdia, e repetirei sempre o vosso louvor... Ó Senhor Jesus, Vós sereis sempre a minha esperança e a minha salvação, na terra dos vivos» (I Proc. Canon., vol. I, art 4). Francisco, então com vinte anos, encontrou a paz na realidade radical e libertadora do amor de Deus: amá-lo sem nada pedir em troca, confiando no amor divino; já não perguntar o que Deus fará de mim: amo-O simples e independentemente de quanto Ele me concede ou não. Assim encontrou a paz, e a questão da predestinação — sobre a qual se debatia naquela época — tinha sido resolvida, porque ele não buscava mais do que podia receber de Deus; amava-O simplesmente, abandonando-se à sua bondade. E este será o segredo da sua vida, que transparecerá na sua obra principal: o Tratado do amor de Deus.

Vencendo as resistências do pai, Francisco seguiu o chamamento do Senhor e, no dia 18 de Dezembro de 1593, foi ordenado sacerdote. Em 1602 tornou-se Bispo de Genebra, num período em que a cidade era uma fortaleza do Calvinismo, a tal ponto que a sede episcopal se encontrava «no exílio», em Annecy. Pastor de uma diocese pobre e atormentada, na paisagem montanhosa da qual conhecia bem tanto a dureza como a beleza, ele escreve: «Encontrei-O [Deus] repleto de candor e suavidade, no meio das nossas montanhas mais altas e íngremes, onde muitas almas simples O amavam e adoravam com toda a verdade e sinceridade; cabritos-monteses e corças corriam aqui e ali, no meio de geleiras assustadoras, para anunciar os seus louvores» (Carta à Madre de Chantal, Outubro de 1606, em Oeuvres, Ed. Mackey, T. XIII, p. 223). E no entanto, a influência da sua vida e do seu ensinamento na Europa dessa época e dos séculos seguintes parece imensa. É apóstolo, pregador, escritor, homem de acção e de oração; comprometido na realização dos ideais do Concílio de Trento; empenhado na controvérsia e no diálogo com os protestantes, experimentando cada vez mais, para além do necessário confronto teológico, a eficácia da relação pessoal e da caridade; encarregado de missões diplomáticas a nível europeu, e de tarefas sociais de mediação e de reconciliação. Mas sobretudo, são Francisco de Sales é guia de almas: do encontro com uma jovem, a senhora de Charmoisy, encontrará inspiração para escrever um dos livros mais lidos na era moderna, a Introdução à vida devota; da sua profunda comunhão espiritual com uma personalidade extraordinária, santa Joana Francisca de Chantal, nascerá uma nova família religiosa, a Ordem da Visitação, caracterizada — como o santo desejava — por uma consagração total a Deus, vivida na simplicidade e na humildade, a cumprir extraordinariamente bem as tarefas ordinárias: «…quero que as minhas Filhas — escreve — não tenham outro ideal, a não ser o de glorificar [Nosso Senhor] com a sua humildade» (Carta a mons. de Marquemond, Junho de 1615). Faleceu em 1622, com cinquenta e cinco anos de idade, depois de uma existência marcada pela dureza dos tempos e da obra apostólica.

A vida de são Francisco de Sales foi relativamente breve, mas vivida com grande intensidade. Da figura deste santo emana uma impressão de rara plenitude, demonstrada na tranquilidade da sua investigação intelectual, mas também na riqueza dos seus afectos, na «docilidade» dos seus ensinamentos, que tiveram uma grande influência sobre a consciência cristã. Da palavra «humanidade» ele encarnou várias acepções que, tanto hoje como ontem, este termo pode adquirir: cultura e cortesia, liberdade e ternura, nobreza e solidariedade. No aspecto tinha algo da majestosidade da paisagem em que viveu, conservando também a sua simplicidade e naturalidade. As antigas palavras e imagens com que se expressava ressoam inesperadamente, até aos ouvidos do homem contemporâneo, como uma língua nativa e familiar.

Na Filotea, destinatária ideal da sua Introdução à vida devota (1607), Francisco de Sales dirige um convite que, nessa época, podia parecer revolucionário. Trata-se do convite a pertencer completamente a Deus, vivendo em plenitude a presença no mundo e as tarefas da sua condição. «A minha intenção é de instruir aqueles que vivem nas cidades, no estado conjugal, na corte […]» (Prefácio da Introdução à vida devota). O Documento com que o Papa Pio ix, mais de dois séculos depois, o proclamará Doutor da Igreja, insistirá sobre esta ampliação da chamada à perfeição, à santidade. Nele está escrito: «[A verdadeira piedade] chegou a penetrar até no trono dos reis, na tenda dos chefes dos exércitos, no pretório dos juízes, nos escritórios, nas oficinas e nas cabanas dos pastores […]» (Breve Dives in misericordia, 16 de Novembro de 1877). Assim nascia aquele apelo aos leigos, o cuidado pela consagração das realidades temporais e pela santificação da vida diária, sobre o qual insistirão depois o Concílio Vaticano II e a espiritualidade do nosso tempo. Manifestava-se o ideal de uma humanidade reconciliada, na sintonia entre acção no mundo e oração, entre condição secular e busca da perfeição, com a ajuda da Graça de Deus, que permeia o humano e, sem o destruir, o purifica, elevando-o às alturas divinas. A Teótimo, o cristão adulto, espiritualmente maduro, ao qual dirige alguns anos depois o seu Tratado do amor de Deus (1616), são Francisco de Sales oferece uma lição mais complexa. Ela supõe, no início, uma visão específica do ser humano, uma antropologia: a «razão» do homem, aliás, a sua «alma razoável», é aí vista como uma construção harmoniosa, um templo subdividido em vários espaços, ao redor de um centro ao qual ele chama, juntamente com os grandes místicos, «cimo», «ponta» do espírito, ou «fundo» da alma. É o ponto em que a razão, percorrendo todas as suas fases, «fecha os olhos» e o conhecimento se torna um só com o amor (cf. livro I, cap. XII). Que o amor, na sua dimensão teologal e divina seja a razão de ser de todas as realidades, numa escada ascendente que não parece conhecer fracturas nem abismos, são Francisco de Sales resumiu-o nesta frase célebre: «O homem é a perfeição do universo; o espírito é a perfeição do homem; o amor é a do espírito, e a caridade a do amor» (Ibid., livro X, cap. I).

Lendo o livro sobre o amor de Deus e ainda mais as numerosas cartas de guia e de amizade espiritual, compreende-se bem como são Francisco de Sales foi um grande conhecedor do coração humano. A santa Joana de Chantal, a quem escreve: «[…] Eis a regra da nossa obediência, que te escrevo com caracteres grandes: fazer tudo por amor, nada por força — amar mais a obediência do que temer a desobediência. Deixo-te o espírito de liberdade, não aquele que exclui a obediência, porque ela é a liberdade do mundo; mas aquele que exclui a violência, a ansiedade e o escrúpulo» (Carta, 14 de Outubro de 1604). Não é por acaso que, na origem de muitas formas da pedagogia e da espiritualidade do nosso tempo, encontramos precisamente o vestígio deste mestre, sem o qual não teriam existido são João Bosco, nem o heróico «pequeno caminho» de santa Teresa de Lisieux.

Caros irmãos e irmãs, num período como o nosso que procura a liberdade, mesmo com violência e inquietação, não deve passar despercebida a actualidade deste grande mestre de espiritualidade e de paz, que transmite aos seus discípulos o «espírito de liberdade», aquela verdadeira, no ápice de um ensinamento fascinante e completo sobre a realidade do amor. São Francisco de Sales é uma testemunha exemplar do humanismo cristão; com o seu estilo familiar, com parábolas que às vezes têm as asas da poesia, recorda que o homem traz inscrita no profundo de si mesmo a saudade de Deus, e que somente nele encontra a alegria autêntica e a sua realização mais completa.

Saudação

Queridos amigos dos países de língua portuguesa, sede bem-vindos! São Francisco de Sales lembra que cada ser humano traz inscrita no íntimo de si a nostalgia de Deus. Possais todos dar-vos conta dela e por ela orientar as vossas vidas, pois só em Deus encontrareis a verdadeira alegria e a realização plena. Para tal, dou-vos a minha bênção. Ide em paz!