Francis de Sales was born in Savoy region of Europe in what is now southeastern France in 1567 to a wealthy family. In that era, Europe going through a lot of turmoil and division in the years after the Protestant Reformation. His family hoped he would become a lawyer, for which he studied in the university, but he felt called to serve God in the Church. After his ordination to the priesthood, he was appointed to serve as a priest in the region around Lake Geneva in Switzerland, a center of Protestant Calvinism, not the easiest place to serve as a Catholic pastor. He later was named as Bishop of Geneva in 1602. He traveled around the region on foot, living in poverty and often being threatened by the population that was hostile to Catholicism.
I think of the refrain we hear proclaimed in the psalm today: “Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.” Francis de Sales listened to where God’s will was guiding him in a very challenging reality. With Sister Jane Frances de Chantal, he helped found the Sisters of the Visitation, a group of religious sisters who were to practice the virtues that Mary exemplified in her visit to her cousin Elizabeth: humility, charity, and piety. Francis de Sales had a strong sense of identity in his Catholic faith and in his priestly vocation. He was named as Doctor of The Church in 1877 and as the patron saint of educators, journalists, and writers.
Francis’ writings on holiness and spirituality have a great influence on our faith, even today. Here is one wonderful quote from him: “It is not those who commit the least faults who are the most holy, but those who have the greatest courage, the greatest generosity, the greatest love, who make the boldest efforts to overcome themselves, and are not immediately apprehensive about tripping.” St Francis de Sales, pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment