Today is the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, a French 15-16th century Doctor of the Church, who wrote extensively about spiritual direction and formation. Word on Fire blog contributor Jared Zimmerer takes a closer look at the saint, and how his message is as pertinent as ever as we aim to fulfill the mission of the New Evangelization.
St. Francis De Sales, Doctor of the Church and spiritual master, was a man who deeply understood the Church’s mission to evangelize. His masterpiece, Introduction to the Devout Life, had an influence on me as a reader, a writer and a Catholic. In his many other works, such as the Treatise on the Love of God, St. Francis imbued philosophical contemplation with theological sophistication. At times his accessible prose will give way to intensely poetic language such as this: “The same humility which conceals graces with a view to their preservation is ready to bring them forth at the bidding of Charity, with a view to their increase and perfection; therein reminding me of that tree in the Isles of Tylos, which closes its beautiful carnation blossoms at night, only opening them to the rising sun, so that the natives say they go to sleep.” (Introduction to the Devout Life Part 3, Ch. 5) De Sales opens his reader’s soul to deeper reflections of an array of subjects, each relating to a different aspect of humanity as transformed by Christ.
Fifty years before De Sales was born, Jean Calvin introduced his vision for the reform of the Church, a vision that rejected many of the principles that had directed the faithful since the apostolic period and severed many of the baptized from communion with the Catholic faith. The divisions of the Protestant reformation ensured that St. Francis would spend his life in an atmosphere of cultural upheaval, which led to state-sponsored strategies that would use coercion as a means of controlling the religious aspirations and practices of people. Christendom gave way to versions of Christianity where oftentimes politically enforced decisions determined what one could believe. Appointed Bishop of Geneva, which had for many years been controlled by a Calvinist theocratic regime, De Sales could see that in order for the Catholic faith make the case for its way of life, it would have to counter hostility and violence through acts of compassion and charity, and it would be through these practices of love that the doctrinal claims of Catholicism would be revealed as the truth. The ardor that St. Francis demonstrated came from his relationship with Christ in the Church, a relationship that manifested itself in practical actions of love and mercy...