St Francis de Sales

Word for the day

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

Life

Francis de Sales was born on 21 August 1567 in the castle of Sales in Savoy, the eldest son of a noble family. His father wanted him to become a lawyer and a senator. He studied in Paris with the Jesuits and then law at Padua, where he received his doctorate. While in Paris he passed through a long and painful temptation to despair about his salvation; it ended when he prayed before an image of Our Lady and gave himself wholly to God's love.

Against his father's wishes he was ordained priest in 1593. The next year he volunteered for the Chablais, a region south of Lake Geneva that had become Calvinist. Doors were closed to him, so he wrote short leaflets explaining the Catholic faith and slipped them under doors. Over several years of patient preaching and kindness, very many people returned to the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XI later named him patron of writers and journalists.

In 1602 he became bishop of Geneva, living at Annecy because Geneva itself was closed to Catholics. He was a devoted pastor and a much sought spiritual director. His Introduction to the Devout Life, written for lay people, taught that holiness is possible in every state of life, in the home, the workplace and the court. His Treatise on the Love of God is a classic of spiritual theology.

With St Jane Frances de Chantal he founded in 1610 the Order of the Visitation. He died at Lyon on 28 December 1622. He was canonised in 1665 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877. His feast is kept on 24 January, the day of his burial at Annecy.

Lessons

Gentleness

He won hearts by kindness rather than force.

Holiness for everyone

Devotion belongs in every kind of life.

Creative witness

He used the written word to reach closed doors.

Trust in God's love

He came through despair by surrendering to God.

Stories

Leaflets under the doors (history)

In the Chablais, when people would not come to hear him, Francis wrote leaflets explaining the faith and slipped them under doors. They were later published as The Controversies.

The prayer in Paris (tradition)

As a student in Paris, Francis was tormented by fear that he was condemned. Kneeling before an image of Our Lady in the church of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, he prayed the Memorare and offered himself to God whatever happened; the anguish left him.

The struggle with anger (tradition)

Francis is remembered as gentle, but he said that he had a quick temper by nature and had worked for many years to master it.

Words of the saint

A spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrel of vinegar.
St Francis de Sales, attributed saying, in substance

Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.
St Francis de Sales, attributed, in substance

Homily

1. Gentle and humble of heart

Francis learned gentleness from Jesus.

2. Holiness in daily life

Devotion is for mothers, workers and students too.

3. Reaching closed doors

Love finds a way to share the faith.

Dear friends, St Francis de Sales was a nobleman trained as a lawyer, but he gave up a brilliant career to become a priest. His first mission was to a region where people had left the Catholic Church. They closed their doors to him and even threatened him.

Francis did not give up. He wrote short leaflets explaining the faith and slipped them under the doors. Over the years, with patience, preaching and kindness, very many returned to the Church. Today he is the patron of writers and journalists. We too can use our words, and our phones, to spread truth and kindness.

He is famous for gentleness, but he said it did not come easily: he had to fight his own temper. Jesus says: learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29). Gentleness is not weakness; it is strength under the control of love.

Francis also taught that holiness is for everyone: the mother at home, the farmer in the field, the student at his desk. We do not need to leave our ordinary life to be holy; we need to live it with love for God. Let us ask St Francis de Sales to make us gentle, patient and holy in our everyday lives. Amen.

Prayer

O God, who for the salvation of souls willed that St Francis de Sales become all things to all, graciously grant that, following his example, we may always show the gentleness of your love in the service of our neighbour. Amen.