Every Day with Saint Francis de Sales - February

[Hildegard of Bingen]

Every Day with Saint Francis de Sales

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


February 21st(page 52)

      The Holy Ghost gives us His advice through the words of the prince of the apostles, “Take great care to use your time well and make sure of your vocation through good works.” [cf. 2 Pt 1:10] This warning must make us live in great fear and humility in whatever state we find ourselves, but at the same time we must raise our heart to the Divine Goodness invoking His grace and His help and keeping our affection fixed on Him by means of frequent and fervent ejaculations.

(Sermons 58; O.X., pp 259-260)

      On February 21st, 1598, while for the third time Francis de Sales was preaching the Lenten sermons at Thonon to a crowd of poor people who dared to go secretly to listen to him, he was set upon by a troop of Protestants who wanted to put him in the public prison, according to the custom of the Swiss, “because,” they said, “he was mad and bold enough to have blessed ashes and put them on the foreheads of his followers.” Others wanted to stone him immediately but God looked after him and snatched him from their hands. This did not deter the saint from doing God’s work, which prospered more and more each day with many conversions, despite the opposition of his enemies. He even celebrated Mass each day, either before or after the sermon. And his cousin, his co-worker in the apostolate, Louis de Sales, celebrated Mass as well, and they served each other.1

(A.S. II, p. 537)


Whatever the world considers wonderful is nothing but an illusion, a fantasy or a lie.

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1 One of Francis’s brothers was also named Louis; he is referred to throughout this book as Count Louis de Sales or simply as his brother Louis. One of the Latter’s sons, Charles August de Sales, became a priest and bishop and an eventual successor of Francis as bishop of Geneva.