Every Day with Saint Francis de Sales - January

[Hildegard of Bingen]

Every Day with Saint Francis de Sales

Teachings and Examples from the Life of the Saint by Salesiana Publishers

 

January 6th (page 6)

 
     . . . Let us come close to the crib.  If you love riches, you will find the gold that the kings brought; if you are looking for the smoke of honors, you will find that I the incense; and if you take delight in the delicacies of the senses, you will find the delicate perfume of myrrh that pervades the stable.  Be rich in love for his adorable Savior, respectful in the familiarity with which you relate to Him, and delight in the joy of experiencing in your soul so many inspirations and affections because you belong exclusively to Him. 
 

(Letters 1033; O. XVI, p. 291)

 
     On the Feast of the Epiphany, 1619, Francis de Sales, preaching in Paris at the Church of St. Maturinus, took as the theme of his discourse the majesty of the growing Church.  Because the feast of the Epiphany urged him to express his tender devotion to the Church, he called it the day of vocation, the day of offering, of light, of love.  It was his desire that every Communion be for the faithful a day of Epiphany.  “In fact,” he said, after we have received Holy Communion, we are obliged to present our homage to our King, renewing our oath of fidelity to Him.”
 

(A.S. I, p. 115)

 
 
     Perseverance is one of the virtues that keeps us in serene submission to the will of God.
 
     A certain type of interior feeling of boredom that often comes as a result of long suffering is a very dangerous enemy.  It must be combatted and defeated courageously.