St. Francis de Sales and Salesian Spirituality I

The past few weeks we’ve been taking a look at the Saints and how they give us concrete examples to follow as we journey with Christ. Last week we saw that the saints were flesh and blood people who struggled with many of the same difficulties that we do, and overcame them with God’s grace. This should give us great hope. It is tempting to think that holiness is only open to a few, extraordinary people, but this is a deception that needs to be avoided. Holiness is not only open to all baptized Christians; it is our most basic vocation. The Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, states that, “…it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity (40),” and that, “all the faithful of Christ are invited to strive for the holiness and perfection of their own proper state. Indeed they have an obligation to so strive (42).”

This teaching, that all Catholics are called to be saints, was presented by the Church clearly during Vatican II, but it was not a new doctrine. Many spiritual writers and Church documents had promoted this idea in various ways over the centuries, but the spiritual writer most connected with this teaching is St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622). He was a bishop, a writer and a missionary. He came from a noble family and walked with kings, yet interacted with the “man on the street” with equal ease. He taught that holiness was the call of every Christian, but that how we became saints depended on our state of life. The monk in his monastery, the house wife, the professional person and the politician needed to go about their road to holiness in a different way. His spirituality is simple, practical and adaptable to every situation. It asks us to open ourselves to God’s will, understand our present life situation and see how the two things can come together so that His will may be done in our lives.

Because Francis de Sale’s spirituality was designed for active people living in the world St. John Bosco adopted this method of prayer for his brothers and priests. This is why we who follow Don Bosco are called Salesians. As we saw, this spirituality is not just for vowed religious, but for anyone trying to build a strong relationship with God no matter what walk of life they are in. In the weeks to come we will take a closer look at Francis de Sales and Salesian Spirituality.