like me, who need repeated instruction in overcoming weaknesses.
Among my favorite lessons from Part III is, get this: “We must not fret over our own imperfections.” Such times are opportunities to practice meekness toward ourselves — with a touch of humor and candor! Like this:
“Poor heart! So soon fallen again into the snare! Well now, rise up again bravely and fall no more. Seek God’s mercy, hope in him, ask him to keep you from falling again, and begin to walk the path of humility anew. We must be more on our guard from now on.” (Introduction, Part III, ch. 9)
Part III also instructs us to remember our dignity as children of God, to trust in God’s presence and accompaniment in all that we do … starting with never letting go of God’s hand: “Imitate little children who with one hand hold fast to their father while with the other they gather strawberries or blackberries from the hedges” (Introduction, Part III, ch. 10).
The lesson could not be plainer. Look to God as you work, and always keep one hand in his, for God will work in you as you work. This is how we become ever more convinced that we should not spend a single day, or moment, without God.
For Francis de Sales, it’s all about Jesus, to love and live as Jesus did … to “live Jesus.”
Therefore, my daughter, above all things I would write that precious and holy name, JESUS, in your heart, certain that having done so, your life … will bear the stamp of that saving name in every act; and if the dear Lord dwells within your heart, he will live in your every action, and will be traced in every member and part of you, so that you will be able to say with Saint Paul, “[I]t is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). (Introduction, Part III, ch. 23)
If we truly desire to “live Jesus,” we can understand the reasons for Parts IV and V. Part IV is dedicated to combatting the most frequent temptations we experience, both large and small, especially after we’ve committed ourselves to Christ. Part IV also provides tips for dealing with anxiety, sorrow, spiritual dryness, and more.
Part V offers chapters on renewing our soul and confirming our devotion. Francis means to equip us for the long haul, to be faithful through the years. His call in Part V is for ongoing renewal so that we never stop living for Jesus:
You should frequently reiterate the good resolutions you have made to serve God, for fear that, failing to do so, you fall away, not only to your former condition, but lower still….
Just as the clockmaker applies a delicate oil to all the wheels and springs of a clock, so that it will work properly and be less prone to rust, so the devout soul, after taking the works of his heart to pieces, will lubricate them with the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist. These exercises will repair the damage caused by time, will kindle your heart, revive your good resolutions, and cause the graces of your mind to flourish anew. (Introduction, Part V, ch. 1)
Francis de Sales is a spiritual director for a world suffering from lack of direction. Reading Introduction to the Devout Life is like resetting your spiritual compass to point to your true north. It is a book every Christian should read at least once in life — but, truly, it is designed to be returned to again and again. For truth is timeless.
Saint Francis de Sales, pray for us!
Preface
By Saint Francis de Sales
Dear reader, I request you to read this Preface for your own satisfaction as well as mine.
The flower girl Glycera was so skilled in varying the arrangement and combination of her flowers, that out of the same kinds she produced a great variety of bouquets; so that the painter Pausias,1 who sought to rival the diversity of her art, was brought to a standstill, for he could not vary his painting so endlessly as Glycera varied her bouquets. Even so the Holy Spirit of God disposes and arranges the devout teaching which he imparts through the lips and pen of his servants with such endless variety, that, although the doctrine is ever one and the same, their treatment of it is different, according to the varying minds from which that treatment flows. I assure you, I neither desire, nor ought to write in this book anything but what has already been said by others before me. I offer you the same flowers, dear reader, but the bouquet will be somewhat different from theirs, because it is differently made up.
Almost all those who have written concerning the devout life have had chiefly in view people who have altogether quitted the world; or at any rate, the manner of devotion they have taught would lead to such total retirement. But my object is to teach those who are living in towns, at court, in their own households, and whose calling obliges them to a social life, so far as externals are concerned. Such persons are apt to reject all attempt to lead a devout life, pleading that it is impossible, imagining that just as no animal presumes to eat of the plant commonly called Palma Christi, so no one who is immersed in the tide of temporal affairs ought to presume to seek the palm of Christian piety.
And so I have shown them that, as the mother-of-pearl lives in the sea without ever absorbing one drop of salt water; and as springs of sweet water start forth in the midst of the ocean near the Chelidonian Isles;2 and as the fire moth hovers in the flames without burning her wings; even so a true, steadfast soul may live in the world untainted by worldly breath, finding a wellspring of holy piety amid the bitter waves of society, and hovering amid the flames of earthly lusts without singeing the wings of its devout life. Of a truth this is not easy, and for that very reason I would have Christians bestow more care and energy than they have until now on the attempt. Thus it is that, while conscious of my own weakness, I endeavor by this book to afford some help to those who are undertaking this noble work with a generous heart.
It is not, however, my own choice or wish that brings this Introduction before the public. A certain soul, abounding in uprightness and virtue, some time ago conceived a great desire, through God’s grace, to aspire more earnestly after a devout life, and sought my private help with this view. I was bound to her by various ties and had long observed her remarkable capacity for this attainment, so I took great pains to teach her, and having led her through the various exercises suitable to her circumstances and her aim, I let her keep written records, to which she might have recourse when necessary. These she communicated to a learned and devout religious, who, believing that they might be profitable to others, urged me to publish them, in which he succeeded the more readily because his friendship exercised great influence upon my will, and his judgment great authority over my judgment.
So, in order to make the work more useful and acceptable, I have reviewed the papers and put them together, adding several matters carrying out my intentions; but all this has been done with scarce a moment’s leisure. Consequently, you will find very little precision in the work, but rather a collection of well-intentioned instructions, explained in clear, intelligible words — at least, that is what I have sought to give. But as to a polished style, I have not given that a thought, having so much else to do.
