August
August 1
On this day, the feast of Saint Peter in Chains, it pleased our guardian angel to strike at our side and wake us up, giving us a loving attention to the presence of God and freeing us from all the bonds of self-love, so as to consecrate us decisively to divine love. How fortunate was Saint Peter when the Lord repeatedly asked him "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" [Jn 21:16] It was not that Jesus doubted that he did, but to have the great pleasure of hearing him say, repeat and protest that he loved Him. So we must either love or die, because he who does not love remains a dead person. (Letters 798; O. XV, p. 252)
August 2
What love can we have proportionate to the infinite goodness of our Creator, Who from all eternity has determined to create, preserve, govern, redeem, save and glorify all people in general and each person in particular? What was I when I was not? What was I, I who even now when I am something am still only a mere pitiful creature of earth? Yet from the depths of His eternity God thought thoughts of blessings on my behalf? He meditated and planned, yes, determined the hour of my birth, of my baptism, of all the inspirations He would give me, and, in sum, all the benefits He would provide and offer to me. Ah, is there any kindness like this? (T.L.G. Book 12, Ch. 12; O. V, pp. 343-344)
August 3
Eternal God, how is it possible for a soul that has the love of God ever to lose it? Where that love is, it resists sin. How, then, can it happen that sin makes entry into such a soul, since "...stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion..."? [Sg 8:6] How can a reasonable soul that has once tasted such great sweetness as that of heavenly love ever willingly swallow the bitter waters of sin? The heavens themselves are astonished and the angels of peace are bewildered at such abysmal misery in a human heart that has abandoned a good so worthy of love in order to attach itself to things so lamentable. (T.L.G. Book 4, Ch. 1.; O. IV, p. 216)
August 4
The person who has a real desire to serve the Lord and avoid sin should in no way get upset about the thought of death and divine judgment. Although we should fear both, that fear should not be something terrible or terrifying so as to cause depression or lower our spiritual vigor and strength of spirit. It ought to be a fear so totally fused with confidence in the goodness of God as to become something beautiful and peace-giving. (Letters 1974; O. XXI, p. 12)
August 5
O free will of my heart, how good a thing it will be for you to be bound and laid upon the cross of your divine Savior! How desirable a thing will it be for you to die to yourself so as to burn forever as a holocaust to the Lord! Our free will is never so free as when it is a slave to God's will, just as it is never so servile as when it serves our own will. It never has so much life as when it dies to itself, and never so much death as when it lives to itself. (T.L.G. Book 12, Ch. 10; O. V, pp. 340-341)
August 6
How beautiful is the face of Jesus transfigured on Mount Tabor [cf. Mt. 17:2] and how beautiful it is to keep Him company on that mount of glory! There we must center our desires and our affections, not in this land of miseries, where we can find only vain beauty of beautiful vanity! By the grace of our Savior, however, we are climbing Tabor, because we have made stable and firm resolutions to love deeply and to serve the Divine Goodness. But we must encourage ourselves with holy hope and climb without getting tired, until we have that heavenly vision of God. So let us detach ourselves, little by little, from base and earthly affections, and look forward to the heavenly happiness that awaits us. (Letters 614; O. XIV, pp. 338-339)
August 7
Self-love, esteem of ourselves and false liberty of spirit are roots that are not easily eradicated from our hearts. We cannot stop them from producing sinful fruits. As long as we are in this life, we cannot even totally prevent the first shoots and branches; namely, the first indications and the first acts. We can only moderate them and lessen their number and influence by the practice of contrary virtues, especially the virtue of the love of God. (Letters 1173; O. XVII, p. 60)
August 8
"Your name spoken is a spreading perfume..." [Sg. 1:3] As the bridegroom has poured out his love in the soul and heart of the bride, so in turn the bride pours out her love into the heart of her bridegroom. A honeycomb, struck by the burning rays of the sun, melts and loses it original form to flow toward the part that was touched by the sun. So the soul of this lover melts and flows in the direction from which the sun of its delight comes, losing its natural form to follow Him Who is speaking to it. (T.L.G. Book 4, Ch. 12; O. IV, p. 345)
August 9
We must be patient and little by little root out our bad inclinations, overcome our aversions and control our emotions. This life is truly a continual warfare, and there is no one who can say, "I am never tempted." Peace is reserved for Heaven, where the palm of victory awaits us; on earth there is a continual struggle between hope and fear. However, our hope must be strong, relying on the omnipotence of God, Who is always ready to help us. So never tire of fighting for your growth and perfection. (Letters 1173; O. XVII, pp. 160-161)
August 10
Often raise your eyes to Heaven, and you will see that this present life is nothing but a passage toward eternal life. If our way of living and our senses, numbed at seeing and esteeming the world and this earthly life, make us feel quite foreign to spiritual things, let us amend this error in the light of faith. Only faith makes us consider those people happy who, in a brief time, have brought their voyage to an end. (Letters 852; O. XV, pp. 346-347)
August 11
If we want to enjoy interior peace, it is necessary to have one will and one desire: to love Jesus crucified, employing all our faculties and energies for this purpose. Different indeed is the peace resulting from this love - a peace that the world does not give. The worldly boast of their peace, but certainly it is a false peace that eventually will be destroyed. (Sermons 30; O. IX, p. 301)
August 12
The Christian must love his or her own body as a living image of the incarnate Savior, as a shoot from the same trunk, and, as a consequence, bound to Him by blood relationship. In a special manner we must love our body after having received the divine body of the Redeemer in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist. In Communion we renew our alliance with Christ's body, having been dedicated and consecrated to the Divine Goodness by means of baptism, confirmation and the other sacraments. (T.L.G. Book 3, Ch. 8; O. IV, p. 193)
August 13
It is a common saying that as one lives, so shall he die. What kind of death do you think the blessed virgin had, if not a death filled with love? In her life we do not read of raptures or ecstasies, because her whole life was a continual rapture of burning love. Now, when the moment comes to leave this miserable earth, love separates the soul from the body. As nothing was found in her that prevented her from the possession of glory, since her whole being was pervaded by purity and beauty, she immediately flew to Heaven after her death. (Sermons 21; O. IX. pp. 182-183)
August 14
After the soul of the blessed virgin had left its most pure body, her body was laid in the tomb and restored to the earth. The same thing happened to the body of her Son. It was reasonable and just that the mother should not enjoy more privileges than the Son, but as Our Lord rose after three days, so she was restored to life, but in a different manner. The Savior rose by His own power, the Virgin Mary rose by the power of her Son, Who commanded her soul to be reunited with her body. It was right that her most holy body should not be subject to corruption. From that body Our Lord Jesus Christ has taken His bodily existence, remaining in her most chaste womb for the space of nine months. (Sermons 21; O. IX, p. 184)
August 15
In the presence of our queen assumed into Heaven, we profoundly vow our heart that she may flood it with the "dew of Hermon," distilled from the holy fullness of grace. How sublime is the perfection of this love in comparison to all of us! Oh, how I have desired that amid the immensity of our miseries she will find and bring the olive branch of holy love. In purity, in gentleness and in prayer, may she carry it as a sign of peace to our dear Jesus! Long live Jesus, long live Mary! (Letters 1230; O. XVII, p. 271)
August 16
Soon we shall be in eternity, and then we shall see how very petty are the things of this earth and how inconsequential it is whether we are involved in them or not. Now we get all worked up as if they were terribly important! When we were small children, how carefully we collected pieces of wood, stone and such to build huts, and if someone knocked them down we cried; then we were all put out, but now we understand how unimportant these things were. We will feel the same way one day in Heaven, when we see that all our preoccupations in this world were nothing but childish concerns. Be faithful to your duties, but be convinced that there is nothing more worthy or more important than eternal salvation and the perfection of your soul. (Letters 455; O. XIX, p. 22)
August 17
While we must resist great temptation with unconquerable courage, and while the victory we gain over them is in the highest degree helpful to us, it may be that we will profit more by resisting small temptations. Although great temptations exceed in quality, small ones immeasurably exceed in number, so that victory over them may be comparable to that gained over greater temptations. Therefore we must carefully prepare ourselves for such combat. (INT. Part IV, Ch. 8, O. III, p. 307)
August 18
Raise your eyes to Heaven and you will see that no one arrives there without hard work and continual afflictions. When things go wrong, say to yourself, "This is the road to Heaven. I see the harbor and I am sure that the tempests will not stop me from reaching it." (Letters 1281; O. XVII, p. 347)
August 19
God undoubtedly prepared paradise only for such as He foresaw would be His. Therefore let us be His both by faith and by works, and He will be ours by glory. It is in our power to be His, for although to belong to God is a gift from God, yet it is a gift that God denies to no one. God offers it to all and gives it to those who sincerely consent to receive it. Note well, I beg of you, how ardently God desires us to be His, since to this end He has made Himself entirely ours. He gives us both His death and His life: His life, so that we may be freed from eternal death; His death, so that we can enjoy eternal life. Let us live in peace, then, and serve God so as to be His in this mortal life and still more so in life eternal. (T.L.G. Book 3, Ch. 5; O. IV, pp. 186-187)
August 20
Are not the crosses of God sweet and full of consolation? I say yes. If Providence should so desire, we should be willing even to die, in imitation of the Savior. Indeed, if need be, let us die on the cross! Then the storms and tempests which assail our hearts and often destroy our calm will not influence us. Let us mortify ourselves in the inmost part of our being, so that our spirit of faith remains steadfast. No matter what happens to us, we will live in peace; even if we lost everything, what does it matter when there is still God? (Letters 402; O. XIII, pp. 294-295)
August 21
Desire either to die or to love God; either death or love, because life without love of God is much worse than death. My God, how happy we will be if with all our hearts we love the Divine Goodness, which has prepared for us so many favors and blessings! We are totally His amid the tumult that the variety of earthly things presents to us. How better can we show our fidelity, if not in the midst of trials and crosses? Solitude has its assaults and the world its annoyances; on all occasions we must have an invincible soul, since help from Heaven is at hand for all who trust in God and with quiet humility implore His loving assistance. Look up to Heaven and say to the Lord: "My God, for you I sail, for You I row; You are my guide and my pilot! Then console me, so that I will safely reach the port and find the sweet pleasures that will make me forget all the hardships undergone to get there." (Letters 614; O. XIV, p. 339)
August 22
Do you want to know if you profit by the receptions of the sacraments? You will know how you are advancing in the virtue that is proper to a sacrament, for example, if from your confession you obtain the love of your abjection and humility; you will then be able to gauge your progress. Again, if by means of Holy Communion you become more gentle and understanding - since this sacrament is all honey - then you will obtain the fruit of it. But if, on the contrary, you do not become more humble and more gentle, you deserve to be deprived of bread because you do not want to work. (Spiritual Treatises XVIII; O. VI, pp. 343-344)
August 23
Look often with your inward eye on Christ Jesus, crucified, naked, blasphemed, slandered, forsaken, overwhelmed by every kind of weariness, sorrow and labor. Remember that your sufferings are not comparable to His, either in quality or in quantity, and that you can never suffer for His sake anything equal to what He has suffered for you. (INT. Part III, Ch. 3, O. III, p. 138)
August 24
It is strange to note that our nature wants nothing to do with anything that hurts. However, the repugnance that it feels concerning suffering is not, in my opinion, an indication of a lack of generosity. If we could persuade ourselves that if we were to be skinned alive like Saint Bartholomew, God would love us just a little bit more, I think that we would let ourselves by skinned, not without repugnance but despite our very repugnance. I think that sometimes, as a test, we should try to win a victory over ourselves with a bit of violence for the love of God, because if we never resist our dislikes, we might well become weaklings. (Letters 1277; O. XVII, p. 341)
August 25
Remember to keep in mind that all the past is nothing and that every day we should say with David, "Now I begin to love my God." To work, to exhaust oneself for God, is love. Therefore, apply everything to this love - eating, drinking, repose. Be very devoted to Saint Louis and admire his great constancy in loving. (Letters 334; O. XII, pp. 367-368)
August 26
Let us consider for a moment our Redeemer on the cross, where He died for us by a death more loving than love itself! Ah, why do we not cast ourselves in spirit upon Him, to die upon the cross with Him Who for love of us has truly willed to die? "I took hold of him and would not let him go..." [Sg 3:4] (T.L.G. Book 7, Ch. 8; O. V, p. 35)
August 27
God sends afflictions, but nothing comes from the divine hand that is not useful to those souls who fear Him. Be happy if they come and receive them with a heart filled with filial love, because God sends them with a heart that is paternally concerned with your perfection. He wishes to purify and refine His holy love in you. Think often about the duration of eternity and do not get upset about the mishaps of this transitory and mortal life. (Letters 1982; O. XXI, p. 21)
August 28
The glorious Saint Augustine, in speaking of effective love, said a sentence that we should engrave on the doors of our rooms, or better still in our hearts: "My God, if we were to love You alone - You in all things and all things in You - how wonderful that would be!" Oh glorious saint, do you wish that we should love nothing but God? Should we not also love our neighbor, friend and enemy? Yes, but in God and for God ... indeed this is true Christian love! Now this is something that should be preached publicly! (Sermons 33; O. IX, p. 337)
August 29
In the opinion of the great Saint Thomas Aquinas, it is not expedient to consult much and deliberate long about an inclination to enter a good and well-regulated religious order. It is sufficient to have a serious discussion with a few people who are truly prudent and capable in such matters. They will be able to help us come to a simple, sure answer to our question. But as soon as we have deliberated and decided, we must be firm and unchanging; we must never let ourselves be shaken by any hint whatsoever of a greater good. (T.L.G. Book 8, Ch. 11; O. V, p. 95)
August 30
We must consider our neighbor in relationship to God, Who wants us to love him ... and we are to be interested in him even when this is distasteful for us. The resistance of the inferior part of our soul will be overcome by the frequent performance of good acts. To this end, however, we must center our prayers and meditations of the love of our neighbor, having first implored the love of God. We must ask for the grace to love especially those we do not like very much. (Letters 217; O. XIII, pp. 268-270)
August 31
It is better to yield to the views of others than to try to force them to follow our desires and opinions. The human mind is a mirror that reflects all the colors that are presented to it; do not imitate the chameleon, that takes on all colors except white. Oh yes, condescension not accompanied by candidness is very dangerous and cannot be shunned sufficiently. (Camus, The Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, I, p. 296)
Used with permission.
Text taken from the book: "Every Day with SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES"
Edited by Francis J. Klauder, S.D.B.
Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number 85-72838
ISBN 0-89944-082-7
