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BISHOP THOMAS J. OLMSTED
Read more from the bishop
Year for Priests:
St. Francis de Sales
Part two: 'An Introduction
to the Devout LIfe'
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of reflections on St. Francis de Sales.
The best known of St. Francis de Sales’ literary works was his masterpiece on spirituality for the laity titled “An Introduction to the Devout Life.” In it, he set forth a spirituality that was directed toward those who “lived in the world,” as distinct from a spirituality for priests or religious. At the time it was published, there were two spiritual classics that enjoyed popular acclaim: “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis and “Spiritual Combat” by Lorenzo Scupoli. Both of these were written primarily for nuns and clergy. While well known and deeply appreciated by Francis de Sales himself, he found them too austere and too other-worldly for the lay people who sought his spiritual advice. So, drawing upon his broad and deep knowledge of theology, philosophy, Sacred Scripture and mystical writers, he began to offer spiritual direction by means of letters to a growing number of laity who sought his counsel. These letters proved so helpful that soon there were requests for a more formal presentation of his teaching. Eventually, he acquiesced to these requests and, making use of the letters he had already written, many of them to Madame de Charmoisy, he composed this great classic of lay spirituality.
No ‘pillow for vice’
The book, not surprisingly, reads like a series of personal letters to a woman who loves the Lord. He calls the woman Philothea, a Greek word meaning “one in love with God.” In the introduction to the second edition of the work, St. Francis states his purpose: “Almost all those who have hitherto written about devotion have been concerned with instructing persons wholly withdrawn from the world or have at least taught a kind of devotion that leads to such complete retirement. My purpose is to instruct those who live in town, within families, or at court, and by their state of life are obliged to live an ordinary life as to outward appearances.”
Written in a simple and accessible style, he aimed at helping people to seek holiness in the world by avoiding sin, establishing a habit of daily prayer, developing the virtues and fulfilling personal, family and professional duties with charity. True devotion touches every part of one’s life, not just the spiritual part. The reader senses a deep respect and even affection from the author; but this is never done at the expense of hard truths. He writes, for example, “I do not understand sympathy which provides a pillow for vice and a cushion to ease sin. No, but I do understand that we must accommodate ourselves to the reach of each person, yielding something, not to the malice, but to the weakness.”
St. Francis’s advice followed the three traditional “ways” to holiness: the purgative way, the unitive way and the illuminative way. Part One focuses primarily on the purgative way, that is, on the work of removing the weeds from the soul’s garden and allowing the Lord to do His pruning. He speaks of temptation and sin, conversion and judgment, heaven and hell. His spiritual insights include such practical advice as the following on resisting temptations: “What is your state of soul with respect to mortal sin? Are you firmly resolved never to commit it for any reason whatsoever? …In this resolution consists the foundation of the spiritual life.”
Virtuous reality
In Part Two, this gentle doctor of the Church offers advice on deepening communion with Christ through prayer and the Sacraments. When possible, a person should strive for an hour of prayer each day, in a setting as free as possible from distractions. The goal is to arrive at “prayer of the heart”; for most of us this begins with recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Rosary and so forth, praying these slowly and meditatively.
In Part Three, St. Francis urges Philothea to cultivate the virtues that are most necessary for her state in life. This must begin with those virtues that will help her to correct her most prevalent vice. He warned against any tendency toward extremes, recalling St. Thomas Aquinas’ dictum that virtue lies in the middle, where there is a healthy balance. For example, he urges us to avoid “beating that poor beast, the body” (i.e. excessive physical penances) when what is really needed is “to purify our affections and cleanse our hearts.”
To become more loving of God and others, we need to be gentle with ourselves as well as our neighbors. Listen to his words about overcoming sinful habits: “We must be displeased at our faults, but in a peaceful, settled and firm manner. Raise up your heart again whenever it falls, but meekly… without being surprised at your fall.” From the experience of dealing with his own tendency toward impatience, he learned that gentleness with all, including one’s own failings, was a key way to grow in humility.
Dealing with anxiety
It is one thing to set out along the way of holiness. It is quite another to continue when enthusiasm dims, when setbacks inevitably come, or when the soul experiences spiritual dryness. Wisely, then, the last two parts of his book deal with the need to persevere in virtuous living.
Having been ordained the Bishop of Geneva only nine years after becoming a priest, and because he received constant requests for counsel from fellow bishops, priests, religious, kings, queens and all ranks of the laity, in addition to the pressing duties in his diocese still torn by the confusion of the Protestant Reformation, St. Francis knew from experience how anxiety and time constraints could erode one’s good intentions to maintain a virtuous life. Thus, his advice to others arose from personal experience and prayerful discernment as much as from solid scholarship.
Bishop de Sales insisted that all our efforts must arise from one goal alone: “purely to please God.” If done for any lesser motive, they would not stand the test of time. When dealing with anxiety, of which he had considerable personal experience, he called it “not only a temptation but a source from which and by which many temptations rise.” Nonetheless, he insisted that we should always have courageous thoughts, not because of our own strength but because of the love of Christ. Thus he wrote, “Make Christ the frequent subject of your meditation and your whole soul will be replenished with Him…God is not only in the place where you are, but He is after a most particular manner in your heart, nay, in the very center of your soul, as the heart of your heart, as the spirit of your spirit.”
While calling attention to pure motives and virtuous living, done for God alone, this faithful bishop also promoted Forty Hours Devotion to demonstrate, in a public setting, the faith of Catholics in the Real Presence of Christ, which was denied by Calvinists. In our own day when faith in the Eucharist, even among Catholics, is weak, the Church needs a renewed practice of eucharistic adoration in our parishes, not only to bear witness to the Real Presence but also to foster deeper communion with Christ in the Eucharist.
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