The Gentle and Winning Francis de Sales
Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church, is the patron saint of writers, not surprisingly, given his very readable, apt, direct, clear spiritual works, which have stood the test of time, and can be read today with as much benefit as they could in the 16th century.
After a period of self-doubt, convinced he was predestined to hell, Francis devoted himself to Our Lady, realizing that ‘God is good’, and wills the salvation of all. He decided, against his father’s wishes, to become a priest, and in his ministry was known for his gentleness, and for expressing the moral law and Catholic prescriptions in a way that made them ‘make sense’, full of homey, cheery and realistic advice: That families should indeed be concerned about ‘increasing their income’, and it would be wrong for the head of such a household to spend all day in the church. The monk and priest should be concerned about their own vocations, which bring their own joys, and sorrows, and have their particular form of devotion. We should not be envious of each other, but rejoice that there are as many paths to heaven as there are human beings:
When God the Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each according to its own kind; he has likewise commanded Christians, who are the living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each one in accord with his character, his station and his calling.
… Therefore, in whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection.
Saint Francis, with his priestly ministry of preaching, hearing confession, his words and example, converted untold numbers of newly-minted Protestants back to the one, true Faith, a hearty reminder in this week of Christian unity that unity is something the one true Church already has. The task is to increase this unity, by building ecumenical bridges with those who are distanced from such unity. The best way to do so, as the Second Vatican Council’s document on ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, reminds us, is by our own interior conversion, and by the Church, and all our own local churches, becoming fully who and what they are meant to be.
Bishop Francis would have heartily agreed.
The restless King of France, Henry IV, himself a convert, remarked upon meeting Francis:
A rare bird, this Monsieur de Geneve, he is devout and also learned; and not only devout and learned but at the same time a gentleman. A very rare combination
Indeed. Would that we had far more learned and holy gentlemen.
Ora pro nobis, good and gentle saint.
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→
Saint Gemma Galgani
On this April 11th, in 1903 – the same year that the Italian Guiseppe Sarto was elected Pope later that summer as Pius X – a lovely, young Italian woman died, by the name of Gemma Galgani. She lived a brief life of 24 years, as did a number of other young saints, including Pier[…]Continue reading→
An Ideological and Improper Translation
I noticed something odd with the psalm reading at Mass the other day. Our bishops’ conference here in Canada has decreed that the Mass in English – Novus Ordo – use the ‘NRSV’, the ‘New Revised Standard Version’, an ‘updated’ translation of the original RSV, first published in 1952. This ‘new translation’ has the tendency[…]Continue reading→
Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle: A Teacher for Teachers
Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1651 – 1719), a French nobleman, ordained a priest, founded the first order in the Church’s history entirely without priests, and this came about almost by accident. I say ‘almost’, for, of course, there are no accidents with God. Destined for ordination from an early age, Jean-Baptiste never looked back, even[…]Continue reading→