Letters To Persons by Saint Francis de Sales
Letters To Persons by Saint Francis de Sales
Letters To Persons by Saint Francis de Sales
UL
pi
CD
CO
JOHN M. KELLY LIBRARY
Donated by
The Redemptorists of
the Toronto Province
from the Library Collection of
Holy Redeemer College, Windsor
University of
St. Michael s College, Toronto
HOLY REDEEMER LIBRARY.
LIBRARY
OF
KY THE
upper classes."
life,"
he begins,
"
to Court am
not so frightened as some people
I
are. I do not consider such a state of life as abso
tain, not an
abridgment of St. Francis s spiritual
teaching, but the very spirit and essence of it all.
devotion."
^ J. C. H.
TBANSLATOB S NOTICE.
is Letters" of
St. Francis de Sales were published after his death,
and that therefore the following selection from them
was not made by the Saint himself. It has been
of Letters"
* "
called
"
Works"
Vie de S.
5
BOOK I.
^
I.
II.
To A YOUNG LADY.
true sweetness ......
Advice for acquiring
^IV.
^ V.
To A COUSIN.
conversation
To A YOUNG LADY.
......
Danger of vain and worldly
On Perfection . .
6
6
VI. To A YOUNG LADY. On friendships founded
in charity 1
3
D i IDDADV u/iwn^np
xviii Table of Contents.
LETTER
XI. To A YOUNG LADY. The Saint endeavours to
turn her away from a suit which she
thought of instituting against one who
word ........
had promised to marry her and broken his
26
XII.
^XIII.
To THE SAME.
subject ........
Fresh counsels on the same
i- XIY.
.......
parents oppose her desire of becoming
a religious
To A YOUNG LADY. Whom we are to consult
30
L- XYL
herself to him
To A YOUNG LADY.
.....
follow God s inspiration, and to consecrate
36
.......
be always able to say to God Thy will be
"
done"
40
^. XIX. To A POSTULANT. He praises her for wishing
to enter the Order of the Visitation .
41
Table of Contents. xix
BOOK II.
state 47
III. To A MARRIED LADY. The Vintage. Sweet,
peaceful,and tranquil love . .
49
IV. To MADAME, WIFE or PRESIDENT BRULART.
True devotion and the practice of it . .
51
V. To THE SAME, Means to arrive at perfection
in the state of marriage . . . .60
VI. To THE SAME. On the rules which we must
know how to impose upon our devotion .
64
VII. To A LADY. He points out to her remedies
VIII.
against impatience in
troubles of a household
To A LADY.
....
the
XII.
Gentleness towards
To A LADY, THE WIFE OF A SENATOR.
all ...
He
company.
ex
78
LETTER PACE
XIY. To TWO The Saint exhorts them to
SISTEKS.
XV.
peace, gentleness, and concord
To M. AND MADAME DE FORAX. The Saint
... 84
XVI.
union
To A LADY.
........
law- suits, and exhorts them to a perfect
of a Christian wife.
85
XVII.
Duty
Counsels during pregnancy
To A LADY. Counsels during pregnancy
... 86
.
89
XVIII. To A LADY IN PREGNANCY. We must, each in
our own state, make profit of the subjects
of mortifications which are therein . .
92
XIX. To A LADY. Counsels during pregnancy .
94
XX. To THE SAME. Counsels on the same subject 94
XXI. To A LADY. The Saint consoles her on her
XXII.
childlessness
To A LADY.
......
The Saint gives her advice on
9:
XXIIL
women
suitable for ....
To A LADY. Whose husband had intended to
96
XXIV. To
fight a duel
A LADY. On
.....
the folly of persons in the
Ioo
XXVII.-To A LADY.
....... Same
XXVIII.-To
to his service
A LADY.
...
The Saint congratulates her on
IO4
her daughter
entering the Carmelites . 106
XXIX. To A LADY. Consolations on the illness of
her husband .
Io?
XXX. To A LADY. Same subject as the preceding ! 108
Table of Contents. xxi
LETTER
XXXI. To A LADY. Same subject
XXXII. To A EELIGIOUS WHO HAD BEEN MARRIED.
.... PAGE
109
BOOK III.
LETTERS TO WIDOWS.
BOOK IV.
LETTER FAOE
Y. To A LORD OF THE COURT. The Saint re
in the midst
joices that he preserves piety
of the Court 186
X Consolations on
To A MAN OF THE WORLD.
the death of his wife .... him on the death
XI. To A FRIEND. He consoles
of his brother -*
XIL To A MAN OF THE WORLD. The Saint tells
him what eternal life is, and that we must
God to aspire to it 202
practice the love of
.
BOOK V.
VARIOUS LETTERS.
LETTER PAGE
V. To A LADY. How to behave in great suffer
ings 220
VI. To A LADY. In this letter and the following
the Saint exhorts this lady, who was aged
and infirm, and whom he calls his mother, to
lift up her desires towards heaven, to love-
BOOK VI.
VARIOUS LETTERS.
LETTER PAGE
^ I. To MADAME DE CHANTAL. On the Feast of
our Lord s Nativity . . . .
.245
^ II. To THE SAME. On Temptations and Dry-
nesses. Means to repel them, and guard
ourselves against them
-To THE SAME. Patience in interior troubles.
.... 247
^ III.
Looking at God. Not to be precipitate
in the choice of a state. Advice on con
fession 257
vlV. To THE SAME. Great crosses are more meri
torious and require more strength . . 266
^VIL
tions,
them .....
nor to fear them, nor even
To MADAME DE CHANTAL. He
reflect
exhorts her to
on
.270
IX.
To THE SAME.
in our soul
To A YOUNG LADY.
We
......
are to carry Jesus Christ
Christians is 276
To MADAME DE CHANTAL. Means
,,-X.
Lent well
To THE SAME.
....On troubles of spirit
of passing
.
. .
.
278
280
{.XI.
XII. To THE SAME. We must work with courage
at our salvation and perfection, whether in
consolations or in tribulations. What
abjection is ;
from humility.
its difference
LETTER PAGE
XIII. To THE SAME. Advantage of interior trials
for perfection. God communicates himself
in afflictions rather than in consolations .
298
XIV. To THE SAME. On the Love of God . . 300
XV. To A LADY. Sign of good prayer. Advice
on this exercise and on the choice of books
XVI.
munion
To A LADY.
;
.......
of piety on Paschal Confession and Com
LETTER PAGE
XXVII. To THE WIFE OF PRESIDENT DE HERCE. He
consoles her under the motions of the
passions which she felt and which alarmed
her. Nature is not indifferent to sufferings
in this life : our Lord in his Passion an
example of this. Remedy for the out
bursts of self-love . . . .
335
XXVIII. To A. LADY. Human respect is blameworthy
in matters of religion. Advice on interior
drynesses 338
XXIX. To ONE OF HIS SISTERS. The Saint recom
mends to her gentleness and peace in the
troubles of this life 340
XXX. To A LADY. Of resignation in trials, and of
Christian mildness 341
XXXI. To MADAME DE CHANTAL. Eesignation to
God s will. Cure for spiritual troubles .
343
XXXII. To A EELIGIOUS. Different effects and signs
of self-love and true charity . . .
344
XXXIII. To ONE OF HIS SPIRITUAL DAUGHTERS. Effects
XXXIV.
of self-love
fraternal charity
To A SUPERIOR OF THE VISITATION, ms NIECE.
*
....
very different from those of
347
XXXV.
"We
our own
To A LADY.
.......
must serve God at his pleasure, not
LETTER
XXXIX. To A LADY. The will of God gives a great
value to the least actions. We must love
nothing too ardently, even virtues 358
. .
XLIV.
To A LADY.
tions ........
Of piety in the midst of
:
36 5
XLV.
.....
those who love God. Humility must supply
the want of courage
To ONE OF ins SISTERS. The Saint exhorts
3^9
XLVL
........
her to live in a great conformity with our
Lord
To THE SAME. The Saint exhorts her to
371
L.
it advantageous
To A LADY.
......
be borne with a humble obedience, to make
LETTER PAGE
LII. To LADY. We must support with patience
A.
LVIL On
world ........
friendship over that of the children of the
LIX.
CONFERENCE WITH HIM ....
To MADAME DE CHANTAL. The Saint deplores
400
BOOK VII.
LETTER PAGE
IV. To MADAME DE CHANTAL. speaksHe to
her of the fruit of his Lent-preaching at
Annecy, in 1607 41 ?
Y. To THE SAME. Heencourages her, by his
example, patiently to suffer, that her gen
tleness, in domestic contradictions, should
be put down to dissimulation . .
.419
VI. To THE SAME. He informs her that he is
X.
sister,
of Madame
de Chantal ....
To THE SAME. He sends copies of the Intro
427
XIV.
XV.
tion of the Saint
To THE SAME.
.....
To MADAME DE CHANTAL. Perfect resigna
LETTER PAGE
XVIII. To A CURE OF TIIE DIOCESE OF GENEVA. He
recommends to him the conversion of an
heretical doctor who was treating Madame
de Chantal 451
XIX. To A FRIEND. He complains of not being
able to give himself to study . .
.452
XX. To AN ECCLESIASTIC. On friendship .454
.
BOOK I.
LETTER I.
To A YOUNG LADY.
B
2 St. Francis de Sales.
tranquillity.
But if you happen to commit some little failings,
himself.
LETTER II.
people.
of him that sent me* For you also are not a Chris
tian to do your own will, but to do the will of him
who has adopted you for his daughter and eternal
heiress.
LETTER III.
To A YOUNG LADY.
The Saint invites her to despise the world. She is not to
LETTER IV.
To A COUSIN.
LETTER V.
To A YOUNG LADY.
On perfection.
fection ;
I say suffer, not love or pet humility feeds :
on this suffering.
will try to get it; and if I cannot reach it, I will be vexed.
ic St. Francis de Sales.
you, and regard not those dangers which you see afar
off. As you say, they seem to you armies, and they
are only willow-branches, and while you are looking
at them you may make some false step. Let us have
a firm and general intention of serving God all our
life, and with all our heart beyond that let us have
:
pilgrimage.
I extremely approve the advice of Father N., that
fully.
I have put at the bottom of the letter what
you
want, that it may be for you alone. Pray hard for
me, I beg you. It is incredible how pressed down
and oppressed I am by this great and difficult charge.
This charity you owe me by the laws of our alliance,
and 1 pay you back by the continual
memory which I
keep of you at the altar in my feeble prayers. Blessed
be our Lord. I beg him to be your heart,
your soul,
your life and I am your servant, &c.
;
Letters to Young Ladies. 1 3
LETTER VI.
To A YOUNG LADY.
On friendships founded in charity.
LETTER VII.
To A YOUNG LADY.
On the cooling of piety. (Danger of lawsuits.)
i ^th June, 1620.
WILL that amiable spirit which I saw in you during
some months, while you were in this town, my dearest
* Matt. v. 3, 6.
14 St. Francis de Sales.
which God calls you, and has never ceased to call you
since your youth.
religion, while not only do you not desire it, but your
heart is entirely opposed to that kind of life ?
Oh when I
! call to memory the happy time when I
principal object ;
and God knows if, after a long
quarrel, you will be able to recall your dissipated
LETTER VIII.
quality of the advice and counsel you ask me; but the
*
Manqucment de taill?.
C
1 8 5V. Francis de Sales.
exercise of mortification ;
it will perhaps be so to you
more than usual. You must then dispose yourself to it
LETTER IX.
To MADEMOISELLE DE TRAVES.
God your heart, your body, your love, and all your
life ! I am, in all sincerity, your &c.
LETTER X.
To A YOUNG LADY.
my
"
poverty.
^3ut if I were not a cloistered religious, and only
associated to some monastery, I should be too poor to
have myself called mylady by more than one or two
servants. How ? Have you ever seen that our Lady
had so much ? What need for it to be known that
it comes out,
my dearest daughter. I knew very well
your piety was making a plank for self-love, so pite-
ously human is it. In fact, we do not love crosses,
unless they are in gold, with pearls and enamel. It
LETTER XI.
To A YOUNG LADY.
The Saint endeavours to turn her away from a suit which she
the blame lies rather with the injurer than with the
28 St. Francis de Sales.
cannot go wrong.
I will then pray our Lord to give you a good and
LETTER XII.
To THE SAME.
Ah ! I will say
then with more confidence, Our Father who art in
LETTER XIII.
To A YOUNG LADY.
you should use, but I feel sure that if you can pre
vent this eagerness you will gain much ; for it is one
Letters to Young Ladies. 31
LETTER XIV.
To A YOUNG LADY.
point.
The second you have not only desired
is, that as
to leave the world, but would again desire it if allowed
its inspiration ;
but being hindered it cannot or dares
not say thus. Give it its liberty before it speaks,
for it could not speak better things, and this secret
of God.
In this you are wrong (pardon my straightforward
liberty of speech) in this, I say, you are wrong, to
call what hinders the execution of this desire the will
LETTER XV.
To A YOUNG LADY.
LETTER XVI.
To A YOUNG LADY.
The Saint exhorts her to give herself entirely to God.
He who is
only to God" is never sorrowful, except
"
God"
only, seeks him only ; and
to
because God not less in adversity than prosperity,
is
to God"
only, often thinks of him
amidst all the occupations of this life.
He who is "
to God"
only, wishes every one to
know whom he serves, and tries to take the means
your, &c.
LETTER XVII.
To A YOUNG LADY.
The Saint exhorts her to keep her good resolutions. The lest
account ;
for they are of much weight, in the scales
of the sanctuary.
The desire to avoid occasions is not to be gratified
all his !
Amen.
LETTER XVIIT.
We must "be
always aUe to say to God : u Thy will ~be done"
LETTER XIX.
To A POSTULANT.
He praises her for wishing to enter the Order of the Visitation.
Say not : how can I forget the world and the things
of the world For your heavenly Father knows that
?
your, &c.
BOOK II.
LETTER I.
The Saint congratulates her on her marriage, and gives her advice
on the duties of her state.
good dispositions.
You are wrong to have a scruple about breaking
the fast, as the doctor s advice requires it.
LETTER II.
To A MARRIED LADY.
given you that you may profit by them unto the glory
of him that gave them to you, and your own salvation.
I am sure, my dearest daughter, that you employ jour
this.
LETTER III.
To A MARRIED LADY.
(presser sans s
empresser) , take pains without disquie
tude. Considering,, again, my dear daughter, that
the breasts of the Spouse are his side pierced on the
cross O
God, how twisted a branch is this cross,
but how well loaded There is only one bunch, but
!
LETTER IV.
cious, and sweet, not only the general but also the
obeyed.
Just look at this ! God had given manna to the
Children of a very delicious meat
Israel,, and lo : !
we ?
Lord showed towards God his father : for you will find
in what it
may be. And coming to the particular
imagine.
5. I would wish you to consider how many Saints
have been in your vocation and state, and how they
have accommodated themselves to it with great sweet
ness and resignation, both under the New and the Old
Testament. Sara, Rebecca, Anne, St. St. Elizabeth,
first spouse ;
and whatever I do is for love of you, both
this and that.
LETTER V.
To THE SAME.
properly.
You have a great desire of Christian perfection : it
your heart about them, and pray for them, at the same
time giving them some help.
But in all this take particular care that
your hus
band, your servants, and your parents do not suffer
by your too long stayings in church, by your too great
retirement, and giving up care of your household.
And become not, as often happens, manager of others
affairs, or too contemptuous of conversations in which
the rules of devotion are not quite exactly observed.
In all this charity must rule and enlighten us, to make
Letters to Married Women. 63
LETTER VI.
To THE SAME.
greater perfection.
As for our little sister, I leave her to you, and put
myself in no trouble about her ; only I should not
likeyour Father to fear she might become too devout,
as he has always had fear of you for I am certain ;
us. May his name be for ever blessed and his king
dom be confirmed for ever and ever ! I am in him,
and by him, your, and more than your, brother and
servant.
LETTER VII.
To A LADY.
finished, he will take it, pay for it, and bring it, as I
turbed.
You see, my daughter, those who often eat honey
find bitter things more and sour things more
bitter
soul, often
occupying with spiritual exercises
itself
Vive Jesus.
LETTER VIII.
To A LADY.
bless you ;
and never listen to anything on the con
trary side, and believe that I must be very certain when
I speak so boldly.
LETTER IX.
Rules of Life.
$th March, 1616.
THINK not, I beg you,my my daughter,
dearest niece,
that it has been from want of mindfulness or affection,
ifI have so long delayed writing to you for indeed, :
youth.
Well then, my dearest niece,you must cultivate very
carefully this well-beloved heart, and spare nothing
which can be useful for its happiness and though this:
you.
i. Confess every fortnight, when about to receive
the divine Sacrament of Communion ; and never go to
either the one or the other of these heavenly mysteries
without a new and very strong resolution to correct
more and more your imperfections, and to live with an
ever greater purity and perfection of heart. And I do
not say that if you find yourself in sufficient devotion
you make the 3rd and 4th points kneeling, if not pre
vented by any illness.
So in the church hear Mass with the behaviour of a
true daughter of God
and rather than be wanting in
;
LETTER X.
On the way roe are to act when living with our parents.
your, &c.
LETTER XI.
To A LADY.
their heart where their treasure is, and all having only
one treasure which is the same God, are,
consequently^
always joined and united together. We must thus
console our spirits in the necessity which keeps us out
of this town, and which will soon force me to set out
to return to my charge. We shall see one another very
often again before our holy crucifix, if we keep the
promises we have made to one another ; and it is there
alone that our interviews are profitable.
way, that their length may not weary your soul, nor
trouble the souls of those with whom God makes you
live.
A
half quarter of an hour, and even less, suffices for
the morning preparation ; three-quarters of an hour,
or an hour for Mass ; and during the day there must
be some elevations of the spirit to God, which take no
time, but are made in a single moment. Then the
examination of conscience in the evening before rest,
besides grace at table, which is an ordinary thing, forms
a plan of reunion for your heart with God.
In a word, I wish you to be just Philothea, and no
more than that ; namely, what I describe in the book
of the Introduction, which is made for you and those in
a similar state.
As to conversations, dearest daughter, be at peace
my
regarding what is said or done in them for if good, :
LETTER XII.
blessings; and this blessing above all, and for all, that
LETTER XIII.
To A LADY.
On the way to correct human prudence.
Oh !
my dearest child, at every turn the human
spirit troubles us with its claims, and thrusts itself
likes ;
for the work will no longer belong to it, and
you may say to it as the Samaritans said to the
Samaritan woman, after they had heard our Lord,
It is now no more on account of thy word that we
this may have excited the will, that you make this
G 2
84 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XIV.
To TWO SISTERS.
LETTER XV.
LETTER XVI.
V ^ , ..
To A LADY.
Duty of a Christian wife. Counsels during pregnancy.
it be if
you do it with devotion and attention the
profit will be great. Make the examination of con
science in the evening : accustom yourself to little
for three minutes you must never fail : have some very
devout picture, and kiss it often.
I am glad that you have a more joyous spirit than
formerly. Without doubt, Madam, your content will
LETTER XVII.
To A LADY.
LETTER XVIII.
To A LADY IN PREGNANCY.
sit down ;
if you cannot command attention to pray
half an hour, pray only a quarter or a half quarter.
I beg you to put yourself in the presence of God,
its mother ;
done lovingly, there is no
for, if it is
LETTER XIX.
To A LADY.
Counsels during pregnancy,
under the of
your doctors, nourish without
advice
it. And you are united with them, since you have
the same desires. Live entirely in God, my dearest
LETTER XX.
To THE SAME.
Counsels on the same subject.
and often ;
offer your languors and lassitudes to our
crucified Lord ;
and after your delivery, take up your
course again quietly, and accustom yourself to follow
the order of some suitable book, in order that when
the hour of prayer comes you may not be at a loss
like one who at dinner-time has nothing ready. And
if sometimes you have no book, make your meditation
LETTER XXI.
To A LADY.
is well for
you to think always that your trouble comes
from your fault, yet without occupying yourself in
thinking what the fault is ; for this will make you
walk in humility, Do you think, my dearest
daughter,
96 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXII.
To A LADY.
general doctrine about balls, but saying that a certain lady, a most
intimate friend of S. Chantal, might lawfully take her daughter to
assemblies of which he knew the exact character. His general
doctrine is
given in the 33rd Chapter of the 3rd Part of the
Introduction, which he thus sums up in the Preface to the Amour:
"In that passage I have declared the extreme peril of dances."
(Translator s
Note.)
H
98 St. Francis de Sales.
H 2
ioo 6Y. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXIII.
To A LADY.
"Whose husband had intended tojight a duel.
is
only incurred by acts, but sin by will.
LETTER XXIV.
To A LADY.
On the folly of persons in the world about duels.
Burgundy.
My God ! dearest daughter, what shall we say of
these men who esteem so much the honour of this
miserable world, and so little the beatitude of the
other ? I assure you that I have had strange troubles
of heart, in thinking how near to eternaldamnation
this dear cousin was placed, and that your dear hus-
* The
allusion is, perhaps, to some reminder of the presence of
God.
io2 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXV.
To A LADY.
The Saint consoles her in the illness of her daughter and blames
the excessive love of mothers for their children.
and am
very pleased to contribute all that I have for
your mutual content. To her, please God, I will give
LETTER XXVI.
To A RELIGIOUS OF THE VISITATION.
Subject.
LETTER XXVII.
To A LADY.
* i
Kings, xv. 22.
io6 ,5V. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXVIII.
To A LADY.
The Saint congratulates her on her daughter s entering the
Carmelites.
LETTER XXIX.
To A LADY.
must answer.
But what are these two words ?
Humility and
Patience. Yes, my very dear child, and ever, indeed,
dearer child, you are surrounded with crosses so long
as your dear husband is
poorly : now sacred love will
tell you that, in imitation of the great lover, you must
be on the cross with humility, as unworthy to suffer
anything for him who has suffered so much for us,
and with patience, not wishing to come down from
the cross till after death, if it so please the Eternal
Father.
io8 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXX.
To A LADY.
LETTER XXXI.
To A LADY.
Same subject.
quarter ;
for in that of the angels the buildings are of
no St. Francis de Sales.
borne on the cross for us, and not for them, at least
not so entirely, the other is that which men endure
for our Lord ;
the sufferings of God for man, of man
for God.
My dear daughter, if you do not make long prayers
amidst your infirmities and those of your husband,
make your sickness itself a prayer, offering it to him
who has so loved our infirmities that, on the day of
his nuptials and sacred joy, he crowned himself and
glorified himself with them. Do thus.
Do not bind yourself to the same confessor, when
to gain time it
may be required to go to the first
comer.
I am grieved that Madame de N. is so troubled ;
but
as she loves God, work together to her unto
all will
LETTER XXXII.
To A RELIGIOUS WHO HAD BEEN MARRIED.
The Saint prepares her to accept with submission the death of
her child.
presence.
Ah how happy is the
! heart which loves and cherishes
the Divine will in all events ! Oh ! if once we have
our hearts closely united to that holy and happy eter
speak with our Lord. God bless you, and mark your
heart with the eternal sign of his pure love We !
* The Introduction.
f Col. i
3.
Letters to Married Women. 1 1 3
LETTER XXXIII.
To A LADY.
child, that God has saved him early. You have pain
from this death, but the child has great gain from it,
you have received temporal pain and the child eternal
joy. At the end of our days, when our eyes are
cleared, we shall see that this life is so trifling that
LETTER XXXIV.
To A LADY.
already often have said with all your heart the filial
words taught us by our Lord Yes, eternal Father, for
:
be so.*
I 2
1 1 6 /. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXXV.
To A LADY.
* Col. iii.
3, 4.
Letters to Married Women. 1 1
7
LETTER XXXVI.
Ta MADAM, WIFE OF PRESIDENT BRULART.
King s service.
2ist May, 1615.
O HOW my soul suffers with your heart, my dearest
mother ! for I seemit, poor mother s heart,
to see this
will receive all the assistance that you will give him
by your desires you have made
and prayers, as soon as
LETTER XXXVII.
To A LADY.
We must not stretch our curiosity so far as to wish to know what
LETTER XXXVIII. %
To A LADY.
On the too great fear of death.
Jill April, 1617.
MADAM, On this first opportunity which I have of
writing to you, I keep my promise, and present you
Letters to Married Women. 1 23
I .
Then, I assure you, that if you persevere in the
you are and you will see that after some time these
;
world.
*
PF. Ivi. 2. f Ecclus ii. n.
Ps. xxx. i.
126 St. Francis de Sales.
father, and others. You will find it all the more easy
because all your dearest serve God and fear him.
And because you are a little melancholy, see in the
Introduction what I say of sadness and the remedies
it.
against
Here, dear lady, you have what I can say on
my
this subject for the present. I say it to you with a
LETTERS TO WIDOWS.
LETTER L
To A COUSIN.
consolations.
you, and will come into your heart, to aid and succour
it in this tribulation, if you throw yourself into his
^
LETTER II.
To AN AUNT.
the best off, when they have live.d with care of their
salvation and soul, like my uncle and elder, whose
actions have been so agreeable and profitable to all his
friends, that we, who have been the most familiar and
LETTER III.
LETTER IV.
To A LADY.
LETTER V.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
with me :
may God give you increase, O lovely tree !
produced it, may God guard you from the wind which
makes the fruits fall to earth for vile beasts to eat.
Madame ;
this desire should be in you like the orange
Letters to Widows. 135
happinessis
supported on these two pillars. Look, at
leastonce a month, to see whether one or the -other
be not weakened use for this some meditation or
;
{ Ps. Ixvii. 6.
136 St. Francis de Sales.
send it
you for that purpose, but only to show you the
direction of thismonthly examen and trial of yourself,
so that you may learn more easily to get advantage
from it. If you like better to repeat this same medi
the Spouse :
O, to how divine a lover art thou wedded !
LETTER VI.
To THE SAME.
He sends a picture representing the little Jesus with our Lady
and St. Anne.
2gth May, 1605.
BEHOLD, my child, this little picture which I send
you : it
represents your holy abbess while still in the
138 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER VII.
To THE SAME.
Our Lord says not to-day Blessed are the clean of:
body, but of heart and praises not the poor but the
; ;
the protector.
But what
is humility ? Is it the knowledge of this
Christ.
LETTER VIII.
your mother tells me all that she has told you herself
and got told you by many excellent persons (in compari
son with whom am
nothing) to bring you round to
I
the desire she has that you deprive her not of your filial
that is necessary.
She proposes three plans for this : either that you
retire altogether into religion, in order that the
creditors may no longer want you as security, and
that she may have the free disposal of your children s
property ;
or that you marry again with the advantages
which are offered you or that you remain with her
;
Marie.
O my God ! dear lady, what we should do for
fathers and mothers and how lovingly must we sup
!
port the excess, the zeal and the ardour, I had almost
said the importunity of their love These mothers, !
LETTER IX.
To THE SAME.
If, then, you know that your help will be useless to the
relief of your father, you are obliged not to give it, to
the prejudice of your children.
for the respect and love you are obliged to bear her.
6. As for the rest, I think it would be more for
LETTER X.
To A LADY.
my mother.
I am, my dear mother, yours in our Lord, &c.
LETTER XI.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
On the choice of a director. .Remedies for temptations against
faith. Rules of conduct for the use of a Christian widow.
Liberty of spirit.
i ^th October, 1604.
you.
As to the second doubt, my dearest sister,, know
that as I have just said, from the beginning of your
too much about it, though with all truth and purity.
This is quite enough now to answer henceforth all
those suggestions, or at least to give you courage to
the other.
In the third place you ask me for remedies in the
True, you will tell me, but he worries me, and his
noise makes those within unable to hear one another
1
5 6 6V. Francis de Sales.
read it
carefully. Courage, then, it will come to an
end at provided he enter not, it matters not.
last;
And meanwhile it is an excellent sign when the enemy
beats and blusters at the door; for it is a sign that
he has not got what he wants. If he had it, he would
not cry out any more, he would enter and stay. Take
note of this, so as not to fall into scruple.
After this remedy, I give you another. Tempta
tions against faith go straight to the understanding,
to make and think, and dream about them.
it
parley,
Do you know what you must do while the enemy is
occupied trying to escalade the intelligence? Sally
out by the gate of the will, and make a good attack
on him. That is, when a temptation against faith
comes to engage you how can
be? but if this,
: this
like others ;
and we must stay ourselves on the saying
of Holy Scripture Blessed is he that suffers tempta
:
hour.
Hear Mass every day, if possible, in the manner
which I have described in writing on meditation.
And either at Mass or in the course of the day I
wish the Rosary to be said with the greatest devotion
possible.
*
Prayer at Prime.
160 S/. Francis de Sales.
But if you have a great taste for the prayers you have
to me every day.
If Frances wishes, of her own accord, to be a
love ;
and the first part you should love in him is his
sides, whose fruits are not for its owners, but for all
passers by.
Constraint or slavery is a certain want of
liberty by
which the soul isoverwhelmed with either disgust or
anger, when it cannot do what it has planned, though
still able to do better.
For example : I design to make my meditation every
day in the morning. If I have the spirit of insta
time, the Holy Virgin, with all the Saints and blessed
made their great Amen and Alleluia resound in
nothing, and that every day you must say with David :
year; you will have him before your eyes, with the
others named above. In the coming year, if it please
* Ps. Ixxvi. ii.
k
t I will enter into your house, Lord, &c. Ps. v. 8.
i/2 St. Francis de Sales.
be ever ours.
I pray you to bless God with me for the effects of
* Madame de Chantal
Referring to a certain vision of s.
174 St- Francis de Sales.
LETTER I.
To A FRIEND.
LETTER II.
their company.
In fine, I say Christianly, because some make
profession of wishing to be virtuous philosophically
(GL
la philosophique), who, however, are not so, and can
polite ;
and still he loved, above all, that every one
should be a good Christian.
And if you had been with him, you would have
seen him kindly laughing on occasion, speaking boldly
at proper time, taking care that all was in splendour
LETTER III.
what is God s.
LETTER IV.
To AN AUTHOR.
A magistrate who had sent him a ~book of Christian poetry.
SIR, It has been to me an extremely grateful honour
LETTER V.
change your heart, nor your heart its love, nor your
love its object; since you could not choose either a
worthier love for your heart, or a worthier object
for your love than him who will make it eternally
happy. Thus the variety of the faces of court and
world will make no change in yours. Your eyes will
ever regard heaven, to which you aspire, and your
mouth will ever demand the sovereign good which
LETTER VI.
SIR, It is
very true that the Sacred Scripture contains
with much clearness thedoctrine required for your
LETTER VII.
till
you are told.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.
taught us ! How
happy are those who know how to
love holy simplicity and moderation A miserable !
poor all is, how vile and abject, in this birth ! How
soft are we, and slaves to our comforts, and in
love with sensualities ! We
must strongly excite in
ourselves the contempt of the world, and the desire of
best.
LETTER VIII.
To A DOCTOR.
of our parents.
LETTER IX.
To MONSIEUR DE ROCHEFORT.
for some one comes to you and says your dear father is :
dead, and your son is dead but this is not a fit way
:
your son or your father has gone into his and your
LETTER X.
LETTER XL
To A FRIEND.
Be consoles him on the death of his brother.
MY DEAR BROTHER (for I am in the place of the
one whom our good God has withdrawn to himself),
I am told you weep continually over this truly
that
and on him. Thus you will live joyful, as, with all
LETTER XII.
able to write it
myself; but those who have written
it have no notion of the use for which I meant it.
Blessed be God eternally for the goodness which he
shows towards your soiil, sir, inspiring it so power
fully to the resolution of consecrating the rest of your
mortal life to the service of the eternal life. Eternal
life, which is no other thing than the Divinity itself,
feeling.
"Wherefore, in the simplicity of my soul, I conjure
devotion.
But enough is said, sir; heavenly influences, your
good angel and your generosity, will supply what my
insufficiency does not permit me to propose to you.
LETTER XIII.
again.
But what gives me more apprehension now is that
besides the evil you suffer through corporal infirmities,
no, sir ;
for distrust of our strength is not a failure of
resolution, but a true acknowledgment of our misery.
It is a better state of mind to distrust our own power
of resistance to temptation than to look on ourselves
as sufficiently strong and
Only we must take
safe.
and it is not
necessary to feel in ourselves any
sign or any mark that we shall have this courage; it
is enough that we hope God will help us.
LETTER XIV.
To THE PRESIDENT FRE MIOT.
The Saint engages him to prepare for death.
Sales, >]th October, 1604.
* i Cor. xiii.
2 1 o St. Francis de Sales.
pray God
heap up your years with his benedictions^
to
* Boethius.
f Acts xx. 28.
BOOK V.
. v
VARIOUS LETTERS.
LETTER I.
To A LADY.
prosecute. We
do not dare to resist that all-good,
all-wise Providence, but we resist the men who afflict
life.
LETTER II.
To A LADY.
LETTER III.
To A LADY.
Sickness may purify the soul as well as the body.
(saintete) ;
for often these accidents leave us with this
but though you are not a saint your good desires are
LETTER IV.
Consolations.
You should have before your eyes the suffering and the
patience of Job, and regard that great prince on the
dunghill. He had patience, and God at last doubled
his temporal and increased a hundredfold his eternal
goods.
You are a child of Jesus Christ crucified; what
wonder then if
you ? / was silent,
share his cross
said David, and have not opened my mouth, because it is
you, O Lord, who did it.% Oh !
by how many diffi
cult ways do we go to holy eternity ! Throw all your
confidence and solicitude on God he will have care of :
LETTER V.
To A LADY.
How to behave in great sufferings.
crown of thorns.
But, you will say, you can hardly keep your thoughts
on the pains our Lord has suffered for you, while your
own pangs oppress you. Well, my dear child, you are
not obliged to do so, provided that you quite simply
offerup your heart as frequently as you can to this
Saviour, and make the following acts i. Accept the :
you suffer.
will much
profit your heart ; your heart, which mine
cherishes with quite a special love. Now, my daugh
ter, it is that you may, more than ever, and by very
LETTER VI.
To A LADY.
mho was aged and infirm, and whom he calls his mother, to
lift up her desires towards heaven, to love crosses, to have
patience and gentleness with the persons who waited on her.
LETTER VII.
To THE SAME.
Same Subject.
That good lady has told me from you what you con
fided to her, and I praise God that he has given you
LETTER VIII.
To THE SAME.
Same Subject.
ALAS !
my God ! dearest mother, how surprised was I
to learn from your letter, as it were all on a sudden,
the length and the danger of your malady ! For
believe, I pray, that my heart cherishes you filially.
God be praised that you seem to have almost got
free.
Truly, I see well that for the future you must grow
Various Letters. 225
Divine intention.
Ah ! this Saviour has counted
all your pains, all
again ;
let us be God s eternally, ourselves and our
affections and our little pains and our great ones, and
all that the Divine goodness wills to be ours ;
and I
am in him, my dearest mother, absolutely your true
son, &c.
226 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER IX.
To A LADY.
Amen.
Your very humble servant, &c.
228 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER X.
tide, when
the angels come to seek Paradise on earth.
Certainly it has descended into the little cavern of
Bethlehem, in which, my dear child, I shall find you
in these days with all our dear sisters, who doubtless
*
Adapting a proverbial expression (Robin a troitve Marion)
a rogue hath found his like.
Various Letters. 229
will make their abode, like wise bees, with their little
LETTER XI.
To A LADY.
The way not to offend God in the pleasure of the chase.
the chase.
i. Not to do damage to our neighbour, it being
not reasonable that any one should take his recreation
at the expense of another, and specially in treading
LETTER XII. XM
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
body. Ask her for him, she will give him and when ;
yet the rain, but only the first dew-drops of his tears.
It is a marvel how good this liquor is for every sort
LETTER XIII.
To THE SAME.
LETTER XIV.
To A LADY.
tions unchanging.
LETTER XV.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
Same Subject.
liquor, circumcise it, and cut off from it all that can
be disagreeable to your holy eyes. O glorious name,
which the mouth of the heavenly Father has pro-
Various Letters. 235
but when it is
opened, and some drops have been
poured out, every one says It is balm. My dear
:
child, our dear little Jesus was all filled with the balm
of salvation ; but this was not known till with that
knife, lovingly cruel, his Divine flesh was opened ;
and
then it was known that he is all balm and oil poured out,
and the balm of salvation. Wherefore first St. Joseph
and our Lady, then all the neighbours begin to cry
Jesus, which signifies Saviour.
LETTER XVI.
To THE SAME.
Same Subject.
LETTER XVII.
false.
Annccy.
As I could not sooner, my dearest child, I will now
answer the two chief points about which you wrote
to me.
In all that I have seen of this daughter, I find
answered her :
"
imaginations.
Only,my dearest sistc r, you must show a total neg
lect and a perfect contempt of all her revelations and
visions, just as if she were relating the dreams or
Various Letters. 241
prophets to whom
he will say at the end of the world :
what they see not, hear what they hear not, and feel
co-operating with
it by simple suggestions. The
similitude brought forward to explain the mystery of
the Holy Trinity is very pretty, but is not beyond the
LETTER XVIII.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
working days ;
and here I am clothed with an admir
able cope for feasts ; a lovely cope, and of Easter
colour, and also with a rohe for every day, of the
colour of the robe which our Saviour wore on the
Mount of the Passion. May God our Lord clothe you
with his passion and with his glory !
VARIOUS LETTERS.
LETTER I.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
LETTER II.
To THE SAME.
On Temptations and Drynesses. Means to repel them,
and guard ourselves against them.
2ist November, 1604.
vocably.
I come to your cross, and know not whether God
has quite opened my eyes to see all its four ends.
I extremely desire and beg of him, that I may be
able to say to you something thoroughly appropriate.
you tell me, of the facul
It is a certain powerlessness,
glorified
in it*
You have two peoples in the womb of your spirit, as
was said to Rebecca the one fights against the other,
:
* John xi. 4.
Various Letters. 249
satisfaction :
you chew bread, but as if it were tow,
without taste or seems to you that your
relish. It
that you have a little too much ardour for the quarry,
that you are over-eager, and multiply desires a little
too thickly. You see the beauty of illuminations, the
sweetness of resolutions, you seem almost to grasp
them, and the vicinity of good excites your appetite
for it, and this appetite agitates you, and makes you
But, after all, you are not yet in the land in which
there is no light, for you have the light sometimes,
and God visits you. Is he not good, think you ? It
seems to me this vicissitude makes you very agreeable
to God. Still, I approve your showing to our sweet
preaching.
Serve God as he wishes, you will see that one day
he will do all you wish, and more than you know how
to wish.
The books which you read for half an hour are
Granada, Gerson, the Life of Christ, turned into
French from the Latin of Ludolph the Carthusian,
Mother (St.) Teresa; the Treatise on Affliction*
which I have mentioned in a former letter.
good man N .
for, to tell the truth, he has urged
me so extremely that more could not be, and has not
been willing to give me
time, not even a day ; and I
tell you fairly I should not like to be judge in a cause
will come, I am
only threatened with it. But why do
I tell
you Eh because I cannot help it my
this ? ! :
that is
why it fills hell. But the second produces entire
and well-formed desires; it is for this that Daniel was
called man
of desires. May our Lord deign to give us
the perpetual assistance of his Holy Spirit, my well-
beloved daughter and sister !
LETTER III.
1 8^ February, 1605.
I PRAISE God for the constancy with which you support
your tribulations. I still see in it, however, some little
me, I pray you, cheat your trouble all you can ; and if
you feel it, at least regard it not, for the sight will
give you more fear of it, than the feeling will give you
pain. Thus are covered the eyes of those who are
going to suffer some painful application of the iron. I
think you dwell a little too much on the consideration
of your trouble.
And as for what you say, that it is a great burden
to will and to be unable, I will not say to you that
we must will what we can do, but I do say it is a
it, and as if
you would never more see the sky of
your life clearand serene. What would you ? You
must see and speak to God amid the thunders and
the whirlwinds you must ; see him in the bush, and
amid the thorns and to do ; this, the truth is that we
must take off our shoes, and make a great abnegation
of our wills and affections. But the Divine goodness
has not called you to the state in which you are,
without strengthening you for all this. It is for him
his pleasure.
s 2
260 St. Francis de Sales.
And take from her the hurtful fear which may dis
tress her in. this matter ; for the truth is, that the first
hampering herself.
262 St. Francis de Sales.
siege.
Remember what I told you, I think, once before.
It is a good sign when he makes so much noise and
tempest round about the will; it is a sign that he is
not within. And courage, my dear soul ; I say this
word with great feeling and in Jesus Christ ; my dear
soul, courage, I say. So long as we can say with
resolution, though without feeling, Vive Jesus
! we
must not fear.
And do not tell me that you say it with cowardice,
without force or courage, but as if by a violence which
you do yourself. O God ! there it is then, the holy
violence which bears heaven away. Look, my child,
it is a sign that all is taken, that the enemy has
gained everything in our fortress, except the keep,
which is impregnable, unseizable, and which cannot
LETTER IV.
To THE SAME.
Holy Sacrament ;
if I can, it will be at the first con
venience.
* John xi. 40.
Various Letters. 267
LETTER V.
To THE SAME.
Never to forget the day on which we returned to God.
the prayers of St. John, and St. Francis, and the others
LETTER VI.
To THE SAME.
rejiect on them.
good, my
child but you think too much of them,
;
you them
fear too much, you dread them too much :
yours.
To-day is St. Augustine s; and you may guess,
whether I have besought for you the mother of the
servant (St. Monica). May God be our heart, my
child ; and I am in him and by his will, all yours.
LETTER VII.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
T
274 SV. Francis de Sales.
of the cross ;
she does not mind
she goes into Egypt,
if
far from all comfort, provided she has her dear Son
with her.
LETTER VIII.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
LETTER IX.
To A YOUNG LADY.
January, 1606.
LETTER X.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
LETTER XI.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
On troubles of spirit.
rnind, and leaves the poor thing faint, sad, and trem
bling ; this fear displeases it, and brings forth another
fear lest this first fear, and the fright which it gives,
be the cause of the evil ; and so you entangle your
self. You then you fear the fear of
fear the fear ;
the fear ; you are vexed at the vexation, and then you
are vexed for being vexed at the vexation. So I have
seen many, who, having got angry, are afterwards
your, &c.
LETTER XII.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
We must work with courage at our salvation and perfection,
whether in consolations or in tribulations. What abjection
is ; its difference
from humility. Action which parents
should take with regard to the vocation of their children.
Advice on temptations. God wishes to be loved rather
thanfeared.
6th August , 1606.
you would twist your thread into knots, and stop your
spindle. Let us always be moving how slowly so ;
abject.
A religious suffers patiently a rebuke from his
who would take scandal at it, but not from our own
heart, which is edified by it. / have chosen, says the
prophet, to be abject in the house of God, rather than
to dwell in the tents of sinners*
U
290 6V. Francis de Sales.
sing everywhere.
But you ask me to tell you whether I do not think
that one day you may quit, entirely and for ever,
for the love of God I do not say no, but I say that
:
this world ;
and yon will see that God you will aid
the execution.
As to our little ones, I approve that you should
prepare a place for them in monasteries, provided that
God prepares in their heart a place for a monastery :
the waves and the wind could not make him sink,
but the fear of the wind and the waves makes him
not ; you walk on the sea, amid the winds and the
* Ps. Ixxii.
25. \ Gen. xv. i.
J Matt. viii.
25.
Various Letters. 297
* Paul V.
298 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XIII.
To THE SAME.
went out now and then to see how the weather was
getting on, but they did not hasten out, occupying
themselves with feeding on their honey. O God !
courage :
light is not under our control, nor any
consolation save what depends on our own will. But
so long as this is under the shelter of the holy resolu
tions we have made, and the grand seal of the heavenly
far as it
likes, never
it get as far as my will
will
knows it, who has willed it so, and has effected it;
with his own sovereign and personal hand.
LETTER XIV.
To THE SAME.
On the Love of God.
Providence, that it
may not uselessly engage your soul,
as it indubitably would do if you let it act and move
at its fancy. I will think very much about it, and will
help for it ;
we must yield to the necessity of our
neighbour.
How consoled am I with the cure of this good
person hitherto attached to profane love or false friend
ship. These are maladies which are like light fevers ;
Love of God."
306 St. Francis de Sales.
am my own.
I am going to take him for a little while into my
arms, this sweet Jesus, to carry him in the procession
LETTER XV.
To A LADY.
November, 1607.
MADAM, MY VERY DEAR SISTER, I am surprised you
receive so few of my letters. I think I leave none
X 2
308 St. Francis de Sales.
* Prov. xxv. 1 6.
Various Letters. 309
LETTER XVI.
To A LADY.
like hers : all the same I tell her simply what I think.
LETTER XVII.
To A LADY.
We must bear our own infirmities with patience. God acts in
different ways towards his servants. Advice on dry nesses in
prayer. The will of God.
for some time after their conversion, and all for their
spleen ;
what I mean to say is that we must little by
little amend these demonstrations, making them less
every day.
As to the desire you have to see your friends very
far advanced in the service of God and the desire of
expedient.
Such things do I fear in such desires ;
whence 1
LETTER XVIII.
To A LADY.
him for me, for I need it, and never do I forget you
in my weak prayers.
If your husband does not hold me for his servant
he is
very wrong ;
for I am such very assuredly, and
of all who belong to you. God be ever with you and
in vour heart. Amen.
LETTER XIX.
To A LADY.
summarily.
But if, after having applied our spirit to this
humble preparation, God still gives us no sweetnesses
and savours, then we must keep patiently eating our
bread dry, and pay our duty without present reward.
I am consoled to know the chance you have
of confessing to the good father Gentil. I know
him well by reputation, and know what a good and
careful servant he is of our Lord you will then do ;
thee behind me, Satan! Thou shall not tempt the Lord
thy God.* My dear child, we are in the way of the
* Matt. iv.
320 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XX.
Holy Mass many graces for your soul, but chiefly and
as everything, divine love ; for, indeed, it is our all ;
LETTER XXI.
To THE SAME.
Y 2
324 St- Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXII.
To ONE OF HIS SISTERS.
spirit
the crosses which our Lord has himself placed
on your shoulders. Do not look whether they are of
a precious or fragrant wood ; they are truer crosses,
when they are of vile, abject, worthless wood. It is
remarkable that this always comes back to my mind,
and that I know only this song. Without doubt, my
dear sister, it is the canticle of the Lamb : it is a little
LETTER XXIII.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
\
326 S/. Francis de Sales.
* Ps. cxxiv.
4.
LETTER XXIV.
To THE SAME.
On the repose of our hearts in the Will of God.
for his holy love, against all the assaults of the world,
or he will save us from being attacked. Ah ! how I
love these birds which are surrounded by waters and
live only on air, who hide themselves in the sea and
see only the sky !
They swim as fish and sing as birds ;
Notre-Dame! Amen.
LETTER XXV.
To A LADY.
We must hate our faults with tranquillity, and not uselessly
desire what we cannot have.
2Oth January , 1609.
MADAM, No
doubt you would explain yourself much
better and more freely by word of mouth than by
33 S/. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXVI.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
The difference between putting and keeping ourselves in the
presence of God.
1 6th January, 1610.
MY DEAREST CHILD, Your manner of prayer is good :
pleasure ;
and he puts us there like statues in a niche ;
kept in his presence, but with our eyes shut and closed.
Now I am wanted good night, my dear sister, my
:
LETTER XXVII.
To THE WIFE OF PRESIDENT DE HERCE.
He consoles her under the motions of the passions which she fdt y
have I you for I say to you with all fidelity and cer
;
you should, but not doubting that you would, and then
I could write more at large. But if you had waited
longer, believe me, my very dear daughter, I could
have waited no longer any more than I can ever leave
;
out your very dear self and all your dear family in
the offering which I make daily to God the Father on
the where you hold, in the commemoration
altar,
which I make of the living, a quite special rank ; and
indeed you are quite specially dear to me.
Oh ! I see, my dearest child, in your letter, a great
reason to bless God which keeps holy in
for a soul
new ;
two laws, the law of the flesh, and the law of the
tained consent ;
and this virtue of indifference is so
LETTER XXVIII.
To A LADY.
Human respect is Nameworthy in matters of religion. Advice
on interior drynesses.
LETTER XXIX.
To ONE OF HIS SISTERS.
of this life.
yours, &c.
LETTER XXX.
To A LADY.
LETTER XXXI.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
O God my !
daughter, let us put ourselves thus
before our crucified sun, and then say to him lovely :
LETTER XXXII.
To A RELIGIOUS.
1615.
OH ! would to God, my dearest child, that it was the
treatise of heavenly love which kept me occupied all
the morning ! It would soon be finished, and I should
Various Letters. 345
from us.
more than our own election ;praising God for the good
which one sees in others, and beseeching him to con
tinue it, and so of other ill-feelings.
We must be in no way surprised to find self-love
LETTER XXXIII.*
To ONE OF HIS SPIRITUAL DAUGHTERS.
who would not love him, who would not bear with
him? Who would not suffer his imperfections?
Who would find him ill-favoured ? Who would find
LETTER XXXIV.
To A SUPERIOR OF THE VISITATION, HIS NIECE.
LETTER XXXV.
To A LADY.
spirit,
if there are other people at table with her ;
if
hurry, she can get there in time ; and then let her
return quietly to take her refection for our Lord ;
did not wish that even Martha should serve him with
a troubled eagerness.
for itself ; but they are the books of that father and
of that heart whose dear daughter you are, since it has
so pleased God, to whom be honour and glory for
ever.
LETTER XXXVI.
To A LADY.
11
We must not be surprised at spiritual coldness, provided we are
I will go, can, for your feast, and will give you
if I
LETTER XXXVII.
To A LADY.
God does not give good desires without giving the means to
accomplish them.
divine goodness ;
and your rocks into
this will convert
ness.
your good and the service of your dear soul, which may
God will to bless for ever with his great benedictions.
I am then, in him, all
yours, &c.
LETTER XXXVIII.
To A LADY .
LETTER XXXIX.
To A LADY.
The will of God gives a great value to the least actions. We must
love nothing too ardently, even virtues.
LETTER XL.
To MADEMOISELLE DE TRAVES.
The Saint removes two scruples which she had.
4.th July, 1620.
IT the truth that not only are you my very dear
is
I am
very faithfully yours him, and the very
in
humble servant of yourself, and of your dear sister,
and of all your house.
LETTER XLI.
To A LADY.
years.
God has hidden in the secret of his Providence the
mark of the time when he means to hear you, and the
way in hear you ; and perhaps he will
which he will
LETTER XLII.
28 th November, 1621.
THE truths of the faith, my dearest child, are some
times agreeable to the human
spirit, not only because
God has revealed them by his word, and proposed them
by his Church, but also because they suit our taste,
and because we enter into them thoroughly, we un
derstand them easily, and they are according to our
inclinations. As, for example, that there is a Paradise
after this mortal life, this is a truth of faith which
in truth.
LETTER XLIII.
To A LADY.
f A
medicine in which one of the ingredients was the head of
the viper. It was used against poisons.
Various Letters. 367
* Mat. xiv.
31. t Gal vi. 14.
Various Letters. 369
LETTER XLIV.
To A LADY.
baby to your heart, that you may, with that soul, ine
briated with heavenly love, breathe forth these sacred
words of love: My beloved to me, and I to him. He
shall abide between my breasts.^
LETTER XLV.
To ONE OF HIS SISTERS.
how lovely is his face, and his eyes, how mild and
wondrous in sweetness, and how good is it to be with
him on the mount of glory ! It is there, my dear
* Cant. i. 12.
B B 2
372 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XLVI.
To THE SAME.
The Saint exhorts her to communicate often, and to abandon
herself to Providence in contradiction.
you live all in yourself, and all for God, who indeed
alone merits to be served and followed with passion ;
for thus doing, my dear sister, you will give good ex
it.
you wish to give account of it to some one,
If
you may well say that you need to eat this divine
food so often because you are very weakly, and with
out this refreshment, your spirit would easily faint
LETTER XL VII.
To A LADY.
The means to ~be all to God is to crucify our strongest
inclinations.
LETTER XLVIII.
To A SUPERIOR OF THE VISITATION.
God regards us with love, provided that we have good will. Our
imperfections must neither astonish nor discourage us.
mother, and still not only does she not cease to love
it,but even loves it tenderly and with compassion in ;
the same way, though God does not love our impcr-
* Mat. xxvi.
38. f Rom. vii. 24.
380 .5V. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XLIX.
To A LADY.
A Confessor mayfor various reasons withdraw frequmt communion
from certain persons ; this privation must ~be borne with a
humble obedience, to make it advantageous.
LETTER L.
To A LADY.
infidelity it falls, it is
by infirmity; it needs then to be
corrected gently and calmly, and not to be more
vexed and troubled. We ought to say to it : Well
now, my heart, my friend, in the name of God take
LETTER LI.
my life ! Amen.
LETTER LIL
To A LADY.
LETTER LIII.
To A LADY.
Advice on Confession.
your, &c.
LETTER LIV.
To A LADY.
The consideration of the sufferings of our Saviour ought to console
us in our pains.
LETTER LV.
To A LADY.
The Saint recommends her peace of the soul and trust in God.
October, 1617.
a saint It is only to
my sister as among religious.
recommend them to your prayers that I say just this
word.
Your husband is quite right to love me ; for I wish
ever to honour him and you, my dearest daughter.
I figure myself that you always have a cordial
to
affection for me, and your soul will answer you for
me that I am yours, since the Lord and Creator of
our spirits has made this tie between us. For ever
may his name be blessed and that he may make you
!
LETTER LVL
To AN ECCLESIASTIC.
September , 1617.
LETTER LVII.
and amusements.
LETTER LVIII.
LETTER LIX.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
The Saint deplores the misfortune of a lady who had fallen
into heresy.
2nd December, 1609.
O GOD ! What This poor thing then
a misfortune !
What
thanksgivings do we owe to this great God,
my dear child
? To think that I, so many ways
tempted, in a frail and unstable age, to surrender
myself to heresy, and that I have not cared so
much as even to look upon it except to spit in
its face, and that my feeble and young going soul,
my ingratitude.
But let us calm ourselves in the loss of these souls ;
LETTER LX.
To HIS BROTHER, COADJUTOR OF GENEVA.
spiritual ?
Is it possible that what brought back and kept St.
sin.
LETTER LXT.
by the command
my most devout and virtuous pre
of
modesty ;
in his great solicitude for devotion, an equal
How grateful,
how precious to me should be the memory of this
man ! For he as it were brought me forth again in
Christ." And when he saw that I had a desire of
by many inspirations ;
but T felt myself, from my
weakness, so by contrary temptations, that
agitated
altogether despondent in my soul, I was seriously
thinking of marriage ; and the affair had already
gone so far among my friends that it seemed almost
done.
"
so/ Nor from that time did the man of God cease
his efforts till he had seen me enrolled and joined to
this most venerable Congregation.
From which it is easy to understand how great was
the power of the great Juvenal Ancina in preaching,
his wisdom in counselling, and his perfect and con
stant charity in helping his neighbour. For this very
* John v. Mat. v.
35. -f 15.
J John x. 3.
414 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER I.
LETTER II.
weight of glory. %
5-
LETTER III.
LETTER IV.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
He speaks to her of the fruit of his Lent-preaching at Annecy,
in 1607.
myrrh ;
it will be to you a sovereign epithem for all
LETTER V.
To THE SAME.
daily ;
for I never applied my communions so
earnestly
to your soul as I have done this Lent, and with a
May God be for ever their God ; and the angel who
has guarded their mother bless them for ever Yes, !
Amen.
LETTER VI.
To THE SAME.
LETTER VII.
To THE SAME.
* See Love
of God, Book VII. ch. 12.
Letters of the Saint about himself. 425
LETTER VIII.
prayer.
LETTER IX.
To THE SAME.
AH, WELL !
my dear daughter ;
and is it not reasonable
that the most holy will of God should be done, as
much in the things we cherish as in others ? But I
must hasten to tell you that my good mother has
drunk this chalice with an entirely Christian con
: all
It is
you, how did you bear yourself? Yes, for you want
to know what I am doing. Ah my child, I am as !
should ever have thought. But the truth is, that the
*
Wisdom, iv. n.
Letters of the Saint about himself. 429
pains.
Here, then, are my movements represented as far
not say that we must not wish and pray for their pre
servation ; but we must not say to God, leave this and
take that ; my dear child, we must not say so. And
we will not. No, no no, my ; child, by help of the
world ;
and this not only in bearable occurrences, but
in the most unbearable. You will find more than I
can describe in the little book of the Spiritual Combat,
which I have so often recommended to you.
Ah !
my child, to speak truth, this lesson is high ;
patience.
I pour myself out, meseems, a little too much.
But why ? I follow my heart, which never feels it
God here for this soul, and will properly do its little
honours. shall not send for its quarantal * no,
We
my child, so much ceremony (mystere) is not becom
ing for a child who has had no rank in this world ;
LETTER X.
To THE SAME.
He sends copies of the Introduction to the Devout Life
for several persons.
End of February , 1609.
MY GOD how ! welcome
you my dear child
will be, ;
right.
M. de Ballon so greatly desires that you should
make your stay with him, that I am forced to desire
it also, good friendship he bears us.
for the
one : if you give him the one you have, I will give
you a better one here besides, we must console him.
;
LETTER XL
To MADAME DE CORNILLON, HIS SISTER.
LETTER XII.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
for ever ;* all his wills are just, and his judgment is
most amiable.
*
Ps. cxxxv. f Ps. cxviii. 137*
Rom. xii. 2.
Letters of the Saint about himself. 437
stop"
under
this blow, but I do not
should dare to cry
feel that I
and lifts her up and walks her about and helps her
with essences, imperial- waters, and other things which
are judged proper in such accidents, so that she wakens
yours
Now I run over the chief points of your letter.
LETTER XIII.
O GOD !
my poor dearest sister, how troubled I am
for the pain which your heart will suffer in the decease
of this poor brother, who was so dear to all of us !
* Janus de
Sales, Knight of Malta.
44 2 Sy. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XIV.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
an incomparable manner.
LETTER XV.
To THE SAME.
humility. He
permits ladies some innocent recreations, under
the name of halls. He announces that he is going to work at
the Treatise on the Love of God.
purpose.
O my dearest child ! what great pleasure you gave
me one day on recommending to me holy humility !
rain which falls from all parts of it, calms down the
wind, great as may it be. When I am there some
* Matt. viii.
Letters of the Saint about himself. 445
But I scarcely move one step away from it, and the
wind begins again.
I do not know where you will be this Lent accord
ing to the body ; according to the spirit I think yon
will be in the cavern of the turtle, and the pierced
was greatly pleased that this was so, and that all our
ladies had communicated in the morning, and that
LETTER XVI.
To THE SAME.
thank you for the zeal which you have for its good,
which is not separate from the good of yours, if the
words yours and mine can still be used between us on
this point. I will say more to you : it is that I find
LETTER XVII.
To A LADY.
G O
450 St. Francis de Sales.
My daughter, I am
but vanity, and yet I do not
esteem myself as much as you esteem me. I greatly
nothing.
Yesterday, after having read your letter, I walked
two turns, with my eyes full of tears, at seeing what I
am, and what I am thought to be. I see then that
LETTER XVIII.
fully all round about this fold ; and often tell them :
* Heb. xiii. I.
f John x. 14.
G G 2
45 2 St- Francis de Sales.
LETTER XIX.
To A FRIEND.
* Ps. Ivii.
5. f Ps. cxxv. 5.
454 -5V- Francis de Sales.
LETTER XX.
To AN ECCLESIASTIC.
On friendship.
friendships pass ;
but ours is of God, in God, and for
God : Thou art always the self-same, and thy years
shall not fail.\ The world passeth away, and the
concupiscence thereof: Christ passeth not away, nor
his dilection. Infallible conclusion.
*
Friendship which could end was never true.
Ps. ci. 28.
Letters of the Saint about himself .
455
LETTER XXI.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL, AT PARIS,
The Saint expresses his disgust for the court, and for the
condition of a courtier.
* Ps, xxxviii. 7.
456 St. Francis de Sales.
LETTER XXII.
To THE SAME.
LETTER XXIII.
To THE SAME.
LETTER XXIV.
To M. FAVRE.
the following.
LETTER XXV.
To A LADY.
THE END.
*-
Francis, de Sales,
Saint, 1567-1622.
Letters to persons in
the world /
AWT-9653 (sk)