REFLECTIONS FOR LENT; SALESIAN SPIRITUALITY - LIVE TODAY WELL

REFLECTIONS FOR LENT; SALESIAN SPIRITUALITY - LIVE TODAY WELL

St Francis de Sales, called “the gentleman saint”, (1567-1622) was the Bishop of Geneva and a Doctor of the Church. His spirituality differs somewhat from the spiritual legacies of the great monastic schools, such as Augustinian or Benedictine in that it “places a particular focus on living a life of holiness in the midst of the world.”

This Lenten reflection is taken from “Live Today Well, St Francis de Sale’s Simple Approach to Holiness,” by Father Thomas F Dailey, OSFS, (1) who quotes from St Francis de Sales:

“Let us be firmly resolved to serve God with our whole heart and life. Beyond that, let us have no care about tomorrow. Let us think only of living today well, and when tomorrow comes, it will also be today and we can think of it then.” (2)

The Salesian focus of spirituality is through re-intending duties, pausing for prayer and exercising the little virtues. These small daily practices are coupled with recourse to the Sacraments, confession and the Mass. (3)

St Francis de Sales counsels us to pause, ever so briefly, before anything we do and to make a threefold prayer in which we ask for God’s grace, we offer to God the action which we are about to undertake, and we promise to accept whatever will happen in the process, (even if this entails pain and suffering).

These daily spiritual activities are accompanied by meditative prayer in which we:

• place ourselves in the presence of God, recalling that God is everywhere, in all things and places – that is, being aware that God is.

• Recalling that God is present within us: “to remember that He is not only in the place where we are but also that He is present in a most particular manner in our heart and at the very centre of our spirit.”

• Considering Christ’s gaze from heaven: “Consider how our Saviour, in His humanity gazes down from heaven on all human beings” . Picture Christ next to you “as you imagine a friend to be” – someone walking beside you, talking to you.

• We then call upon God’s help in the confident hope that God will speak to us. We can focus on a specific scene in Scripture in a manner similar to the Ignatian exercises, and conjure up the event as a participant/observer, allowing the Scripture to guide us from thought, to feeling, to action.

• The final step is that of Resolution, Devotion not simply being a thought or a feeling, but the manner of living one’s life. The good life is one that is lived, and the Salesian mental prayer therefore always involves a Resolution – a decision to act in a specific way in the present moment of this day.

• The example given is that of the Transfiguration – the Gospel of today: Recognise that this transformation awaits the one who believes in God and attains that state of holiness: “Is the experience fearful? Awesome? Then, moved by these affections, ponder on what you can do this day in response to your experience of the divine. Resolve to put that idea into practice as a way to listen to Him, as the heavenly voice on the mountaintop entreats us.”(4)

LIVING THE LITTLE VIRTUES

Saint Francis de Sales, similar to St Therese of Lisieux, makes us aware of the value of the “Little Way”, that is, the small virtues: Humility, gentleness and simplicity.

Humility means that we see ourselves honestly, as we stand in relation to God – recognising that none of the good in us comes from us alone. Our talents, gifts and abilities are all things that we may have developed but they did not begin by our doing.(5)

In humble honesty of our nature, we recognise that no-one is or ever will be, perfect. While we may desire perfection, nevertheless, our imperfections will accompany us to the grave. St Francis de Sales said:

“Some men become proud and overbearing because they ride a fine horse, wear a feather in their hat, or are dressed in a splendid suit of clothes. Is anyone blind to the folly of all this? If there is any glory in such things it belongs to the horse, the bird and the tailor.” (6)

Humility grows in us as we consider our blessings and increase our thankfulness for all we have and all we are.

“The virtue of gentleness follows on from that cultivation of humility. Gentleness involves an accepting of and an honesty about ourselves and others: The more we learn to embrace the truth that we are not perfect, the less we will demand that others be perfect to us. We expect others to act as we would in the same situation – all too often and all too easily, we dwell in a world of ‘should.’” (7)

When things do not measure up to the image we have in mind, when life does not go as we think it should, or people do not act as we want them to, we often get angry. This powerful emotion, the saint says, ‘is nourished by a thousand false pretexts, for there never was an angry man who thought his anger unjust.’” (7A)

The little virtue of gentleness must be applied to ourselves, as well as others. Displeasure at ourselves, manifesting in vexation and anger comes from a self-love, a failure to acknowledge our imperfections, to be honest about them and to be comfortable with the idea that we are not perfect. To cultivate the practice of gentleness is to calmly acknowledge the fault or failure, and to firmly, patiently, yet courageously, pick ourselves up and start anew.

“Gentleness is not a wishy-washy virtue, but involves an intentional approach to act, not out of emotion, (especially anger), but from the realisation that others are like we are – imperfect, yet worthy, having personal flaws, yet also possessing inherent dignity.” The approach was summed up by St Francis de Sales as, “It takes more oil than water and salt to make a salad.” (9)

The third little virtue, that of simplicity, describes an approach to ourselves and others and to life in general, of plain dealing, forthright manner, free of pretense, one that recognises things as they are and presents oneself without artifice. That is: in gentleness, we accept the reality of others. In simplicity, we present the reality of ourselves – the truth of who we and others are. Each of these virtues enables us to be real: by accepting the fact of our human condition, by embracing the truth of our personal character and by managing the vicissitudes of daily life, we have an ordinary way to live extraordinarily. (10) In simplicity we give ourselves to others as we are - an act of generosity and trust. By cultivating these virtues, we come to learn that who we are was created by God, and we see ourselves and our flaws as we are in God’s eyes – and that is all that matters.

St Francis de Sales, however, recognised that, “In the lifelong fight against our faults, the aid of divine grace is indispensible.” (11) In this regard, it is incumbent upon us to avail ourselves of the sacraments.

In preparing for a fruitful and complete Confession, St Francis recommends a reflexion governed by a deep spirit of humility, in which we place ourselves at the feet of our Crucified Lord and ask for the grace and light of the Holy Spirit to discern our faults well. We must first humble ourselves in the knowledge that our sins contributed to the sufferings of Christ. We must then “call upon the spiritual light to shine on our deeds in such a way that we see them, not from our perspective, but from God’s.” (12)

The saint provides that:

“We should recall everything we have found in our daily examinations since our previous confession and consider for a moment if there is anything else.”

- An exhortation that assumes frequent confession and a daily practice of examen. Saint Frances de Sales tells us to then shift the balance of power by focusing not on our own ineptitude but on the eternal power of God.

“The foundation of our trust should be in Him, not in us. All the more so because we change and He never does; He always remains good and merciful, whether we are weak and imperfect or whether we are strong and perfect.” (13)

“Having handed our efforts over to this saving God, all that remains, as the final step, is to begin again…and again and again! In Salesian spirituality, renewing our resolutions is not a sign of desperation but of persistence.

Starting over despite never seeming to arrive at our goal comes not from being thick-headed but from being faithful and hopeful. To this end the saintly doctor encourages us: ‘Rest is reserved for heaven…[while] on earth we should always fight as though we are between fear and hope. But we must do so, knowing that hope will always be the stronger, bearing in mind the power of the One who comes to our aid.’” (14)

(1) Sophia Institute Press, 2015.

(2) Letter St Francis de Sales to Mademoiselle de Soulfour, 22nd July 1603, ibid.

(3) Ibid., at p. 155.

(4) Ibid., at p. 135.

(5) Ibid., at p, 143.

(6) Ibid.

(7) Ibid., at p. 147.

(7A) Ibid., at p. 148.

(9) Ibid., at p. 150.

(10) Ibid., at p. 154.

(11) Ibid., at p. 156.

(12) Ibid.

(13) Ibid., at p. 159.

(14) Ibid.