01-03-2021, 02:57 PM
Every Day with Saint Francis de Sales
Teachings and Examples from the Life of the Saint by Salesiana Publishers
Teachings and Examples from the Life of the Saint by Salesiana Publishers
January 2nd (page 2)
Happy are we if we can pronounce with affection the holy name of our Savior, because this will be the watchword that opens the way for us to Heaven; it is the name of our redemption. It makes the angels rejoice; it saves us and makes the devils tremble. So we must impress it deeply in our hearts and in our minds. Pronouncing it frequently, blessing it and honoring it in this life, we will be found worthy to sing it eternally with the blessed in Heaven. Long live Jesus Christ!
(Sermons 52; O. X., p. 163)
On January 2nd, 1613, Francis de Sales gave his first religious of the Visitation this spiritual exhortation: “Our life is a warfare; our enemy is always ready to surprise us; he generally centers his attacks against the weakest point of the fortress – our heart. By observing our frequent falls, he gets to know our evil inclinations and our predominant passion, which we do not bother to overcome because it gives us pleasure and, we believe, does us little harm. Yet this is where the enemy attacks and overcomes us. Therefore, we must keep a close watch on our weaknesses. To give you some help in this spiritual warfare, my dear daughters, I will point out what seem to me the predominant defects we must all overcome. First, however, I wan to encourage you to fight more vigorously when first attacked and never lose courage to keep on fighting, confident of your final victory.
(A.S. I, p. 28)
Your efforts must be directed toward overcoming minor temptations: to anger, suspicion, jealousy, envy, attachment, duplicity, vanity affectation, bad thoughts.
Only in this way will you obtain strength to overcome more serious temptations.
Every Day with Saint Francis de Sales
Teachings and Examples from the Life of the Saint by Salesiana Publishers
January 3rd (page 3)
Genuine, living devotion presupposes love of God; it is simply true love of God. Yet it is not always love as such. In as much as divine love adorns the soul, it is called grace, which makes us pleasing to the Divine Majesty. In as much as it strengthens us to do good, it is called charity. When it has reached a degree of perfection at which it makes us not only do good but also do this good carefully, frequently and promptly, it is called devotion.
(INT. Part I, Ch. 1; O. III, pp. 14-15)
On January 3rd, 1602, Francis de Sales, already nominated coadjutor to the bishop of Geneva with the title of bishop of Nicopoli, went to Paris to reestablish the Catholic religion in the city of Geneva. To give his mission an air of greater importance, his friends wanted him to be consecrated and clad in his bishop’s robes before leaving. But the saint humbly replied, “While God keeps Bishop De Granier with us, I have no intention of changing my position in the Church, nor the color of my clothing.” And God, who loves the humble, blessed the efforts of the most humble Francis, who, contrary to the expectations of all, obtained from the king most of the things he requested on behalf of the Catholic religion.
On the same day in 1619, Francis de Sales preached in the Church of Saint Sulpice in Paris for the feast of Saint Genevieve with so much unction and eloquence that, at the end of the sermon, all said that he had brought Saint Genevieve back to life. The whole parish could now understand the respect and devotion they should have for their holy patron.
(A.S. I, p. 39)
I have been directing souls for twenty-five years, and experience has taught me the untold efficacy of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. It protects, fortifies and encourages. In a word, it divinizes our spirit every time that we receive it with true faith, with purity and with devotion.