Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Reflection:

The Beatitudes call us to the heights of morality and holiness. Those who live according to these divine precepts are blessed beyond measure. The promises to those who live this high calling are great: They become children of God and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Furthermore, they receive comfort, satisfaction, mercy, purity, and peace. Though the rewards are great, so are the requirements: spiritual poverty, holy sorrow, meekness, longing for righteousness, a merciful heart, purity, peacemaking, and patient endurance during persecution.

The Beatitudes reveal the culmination of God’s moral teaching and the highest revelation of the Christian life. To fully appreciate their significance, it is helpful to understand the history of moral revelation. Doing so is more than a history lesson on God’s deepening revelation, it also reveals the path for our spiritual journey toward perfection.

Morality begins with the Natural Law—the innate understanding of right and wrong written on the human heart. This Law is from God and is often described as living in accord with right reason or common sense. All people have access to this moral law within their own consciences, enabling them to recognize God as the Creator, honor Him, respect human dignity and the common good, and refrain from acts such as murder, theft, and deception. Though universally present in all people, sin and our fallen human nature cloud our ability to clearly see and follow that law.

In the Old Testament, God slowly revealed Himself and called His people to greater holiness and moral living by adding to the Natural Law through revelation. From Abraham and his descendants, God raised up Moses through whom He revealed the Ten Commandments—a concise moral code rooted in Natural Law but explicitly revealed by God that called His chosen people to right worship, justice, and love for one’s neighbor.

Through the prophets—such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel—God called Israel to move beyond mere external observance of the law to an interior conversion of heart. Isaiah emphasized the virtues of justice and mercy, Jeremiah prophesied a new covenant in which God’s law would be written on the hearts of His people, and Ezekiel promised that God would give His people a new heart and a new spirit, enabling them to follow His statutes.

The wisdom literature—Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom, Sirach—deepened the understanding of moral life by revealing moral gifts, such as the Fear of the Lord, the blessedness of righteousness, and the call to trust in God’s providence and live a virtuous life.

The Beatitudes elevate all laws of the Old Covenant. Jesus not only calls us to profound holiness, He also provides the means to achieve it through His Sacrifice, transmitted through the grace of the Sacraments. To live the Beatitudes is to live in imitation of Christ, who perfectly embodied all virtues in His life, Passion, and Resurrection. Hence, the Beatitudes are not only a moral code we must follow, they are a participation in and union with the Son of God, Who lived the Beatitudes to perfection.

Saint Francis de Sales was born fifty years after an Augustinian priest named Father Martin Luther ignited the Protestant Reformation, and just twenty-five years after John Calvin’s anti-Catholic teachings spread to Geneva, Switzerland. Francis was born into a noble family in the Duchy of Savoy, modern-day France, not far from Geneva. Because of his noble family heritage and his father’s influence, Francis was given an excellent education, eventually earning doctorates in civil law and theology. His father had selected a noblewoman for Francis to marry. He also had planned for his gifted son to enter into politics, but Francis was led in a different direction.

In 1586, at the age of nineteen, Francis attended a Calvinist lecture on predestination, which led him to believe he was destined for hell. This greatly affected him, and he struggled with the idea for months. Eventually, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother and the Memorare prayer, Francis was freed from this error and turned his focus to the pure love of God. After experiencing firsthand the effects that erroneous theology can have on a person, Francis devoted himself to a life of celibacy and began pursuing his God-given desire to be a priest. Though reluctant at first, his father eventually agreed to his son’s ordination and then helped to have him appointed to an important position in the Diocese of Geneva.

Because Geneva was under the control of the Calvinists, Father de Sales preached and resided in a cathedral some twenty miles south of Geneva. As a newly ordained priest, he began to make a name for himself. His sermons were preached with gentlemanlike qualities, showing great respect for those who disagreed with him. He never shied away from the theological truths under attack by the errors of the Reformation. He avoided controversy and criticism, focusing instead on virtues, prayer, holiness, and overcoming sin. Despite his kind nature and charitable approach, he was harshly treated by the many local anti-Catholics, some of whom even threatened his life.

In 1602, at the age of thirty-five, Father de Sales was ordained Bishop of Geneva, and his evangelical fervor moved ahead at full throttle. His intention was to win back the citizens of Geneva to the Catholic Church. So many had left, following the teachings of Calvin. For the first couple of years, Bishop de Sales was ineffective in winning over many converts. But little by little, one soul at a time, he began to have success. His success especially came in the form of placing written explanations of the faith under people’s doors, inviting them back to the Catholic Church. His preaching was clear, respectful, truthful, and charitable. His motto was “He who preaches with love, preaches effectively.”

Bishop de Sales was a very practical man, especially when it came to his theology. He believed that holiness was not reserved for those in the monastery or convent. He believed that everyone, in every state in life, within every occupation, was called to a life of sanctity. This conviction is most clearly seen in his most famous published book, Introduction to the Devout Life. This book was a compilation of letters he had sent to his spiritual directees over the years, which began by giving clear and practical advice on the importance of being purged of sin and of attachment to sinful habits. It then taught how to grow in the virtues, especially humility; navigate temptations; and overcome anxiety and sadness. It also provided exercises on how to renew one’s life of devotion, which was nothing other than loving and pleasing God with one’s life. This book, along with other writings, won many to the faith. In 1610, he assisted one of his spiritual directees, the future Saint Jane de Chantal, to establish the women’s Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. His inspiring letters to her became a source of spiritual formation for the women of her newly founded order.

After turning down advancements within the Church, Bishop de Sales chose instead to devote his time and energy to the salvation of souls within his local diocese. It is said that Bishop de Sales won back as many as 40,000 Catholics who had become Calvinists. After nine years as a priest and twenty years as a bishop, Bishop de Sales suffered a stroke and died soon after. It is believed that one of the last things he wrote were the words “Humility, humility, humility,” his dying exhortation to his flock.

As we honor this holy bishop, try to imagine what it would have been like had he been your shepherd. He would have taken your call to holiness seriously. He would have exhorted you to overcome sin by fully confessing your sins in the Sacrament, and to then grow in virtue, especially humility. He would have helped you to learn and believe every truth revealed by God through His Catholic Church, and to seek every practical way imaginable by daily prayer and meditation to become a saint. He would have regularly reminded you that holiness is not reserved for the monk alone. You, within the context of your state in life, are also called. Respond as one of his flock and resolutely determine to follow the path God has in store for you, seeking to love Him and glorify Him with your life.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-24-saint-francis-de-sales-bishop-and-doctor/