October
October 1
What a sad thing it is to see that most people never even bother to think about the reason for their existence, but live as if they believe themselves created only to build houses, plant trees, cultivate the garden, pile up wealth or do frivolous things. Consider your own past life. Say, "Lord, what was I thinking of when I was not thinking of You? Whom did I love when I was not loving You? I should have fed upon the truth, but I glutted myself with vanity and served the world instead of serving the truth." (INT. Part I, Ch. 10; O. III, p. 37)
October 2
Francis de Sales had a great devotion to his guardian angel, and not only his own but those of his friends and enemies. When he had a discussion with Protestants, he silently exorcized the demon that possessed them and invoked their guardian angels. When he was absent from his diocese, he entrusted it in a special way to the care of its guardian angel, and never forgot to greet the angels in various kingdoms, provinces and parishes which he visited. In the confessional he often invoked the penitent's guardian angel. Even in his writings it can be seen how he recommended to his clients devotion to their angel. (A.S. X, p.2)
October 3
It seems to me a shameful thing for a person to come to die without ever having thought of death. This will be doubly shameful for those to whom God has granted a long life. Soldiers who train before they go into battle always do better than those who go rushing around looking for their arms just before the battle begins. It is a good thing to leave this world little by little, withdrawing our love for creatures bit by bit. Trees which are bent over by the wind cannot be transplanted elsewhere because they have left their roots in the ground; so we creatures who are to be transplanted to the land of the living must little by little detach our affections from this world. (Letters 230; O. XII, pp. 329-330)
October 4
Let us kiss our Savior, Who grants us so many delights. Now to kiss the Savior is to obey Him, keep His commandments, do His will and follow His desires; in brief, to embrace Him with tender obedience and fidelity. Therefore, whenever we receive any spiritual consolation, on that very day we must be more diligent in doing good and humbling ourselves. (INT. Part IV, Ch. 13; O. III, p. 324)
October 5
Do you want to know with what kind of love you should love your neighbor? With the same love with which God loves us. We must draw this love from the heart of the Eternal Father, so that it will be pure, firm, solid, constant and unchanging. Our love should not depend on a person's qualities or good fortune, nor should it be subject to the changes and dislikes that often occur in our relationships with others. In this way, even if something should happen that displeases us, our love will not grow less. (Sermons 22; O. IX, pp. 200-201)
October 6
If you commit some fault, do not get all worked up or make a big fuss about it; having acknowledged the fact that you have done something wrong, gently humble yourself before God and try to put your soul at rest, saying to yourself, "Ah, well! I have tripped but now I must walk slowly, watching my steps." Every time you fall, do the same and when you fall frequently, even though in minor matters, try to make as many acts of love as you can, because Our Lord says, "If you can trust a man in little things, you can also trust him in greater..." [Lk 16:10] (Letters 444; O. XIV, p. 2)
October 7
The truly patient person neither complains of his hard lot nor desires to be pitied by others. He speaks of his sufferings in a natural, pure and sincere way, without grumbling or exaggerating them. When you are sick, offer up all your grief, pain and weakness in a service to Our Lord, and beseech Him to join them to the torments He suffered for you. Desire to get well so that you may serve Him, but do not refuse to suffer so that you may obey Him and prepare for death, if that is His will, in order to praise Him and be happy with Him forever. (INT. Part III, Ch. 3; O. III, p. 137)
October 8
A heart that practices the virtue of holy resignation is like a ball of wax in God's hands, ready to receive all the impressions of His divine good pleasure. A heart without preferences is equally ready for anything and everything, since it has no object for its will except the will of God. It does not place its love in the things God wills but in the will of God. When God's will is found in many things, it chooses, no matter what the cost, those in which God's will seems most manifest. (T.L.G. Book 9, Ch. 4; O. V, p. 121)
October 9
My God, how deceiving this present life is! How desirable is eternity, and how happy are those who long for it! Therefore, hold on tightly to the merciful hand of God, because He wants to take us all with Him. Let us be loving and humble of heart toward all, but particularly those closest to us; let us walk together in peace, supporting one another, without giving way in time of trials, and never losing heart. God will never abandon us unless we abandon Him first; therefore, let us hold His hand ever so tightly ... just as Saint Denis held His hand. (Letters 1109; O. XVII, p. 44)
October 10
If you want proof that you love God as He should be loved, consider whether in comparison with Him you love anything with a greater love. When we love many things at the same time, the love we have for each is weak and very imperfect. So long as we live in this valley of tears, our capacity to love is very limited; therefore, we must not dissipate our love by spreading it over many objects, but keep it reserved for loving the supreme goodness of God. (Sermons 22; O. IX, p. 200)
October 11
If at times we are tempted to be vain in seeing the grace of God conferred on us, it will be an infallible remedy to consider our own ingratitude, imperfection and misery. If we reflect on how we behaved when God was not with us, we will easily understand that what we do when He is with us is not the result of our own efforts. We will certainly be happy with what we have done, but we will give the glory to God. (INT. Part III, Ch. 5; O. III, p. 146)
October 12
If we have good ideas or good desires but lack strength to put them into practice, we must present them to God with a firm hope that He will help us. Certainly, if we place all our confidence in Divine Goodness, the Lord will not fail to grant whatever is necessary to persevere in His service. (Sermons 61; O. IX, p. 310)
October 13
Every morning, before doing anything else, you must beg God to give you gentleness of spirit, so necessary for souls pledged to His service, and resolve for your part to exercise it particularly toward those persons to whom you owe the most. If you do this you will be very happy, because God will live in the center of your heart, which will remain totally at peace. If, however, it happens that you fail in this matter, do not lose heart, but immediately step back into line, just as if you had never fallen. (Letters 1908; O. XXI, pp. 19 - 20)
October 14
"You must be ready to suffer many great afflictions for the love of Our Lord, even martyrdom itself! Resolve to give Him, if He wants it, all that you hold most dear…those nearest to you, your eyes and even your life, because your heart must be prepared for all such sacrifices. However, as long as Divine Providence does not send you such great piercing afflictions, bear patiently the slight injuries, the little inconveniences, sickness, the unwarranted demands of relatives - in short, all such little trials which, when they are accepted and embraced with love, are highly pleasing to the good God and are a means of storing up vast spiritual riches if only you use them well. (INT. Part III, Ch. 35;O. III, p. 254)
October 15
Sugar sweetens green fruit and corrects whatever is bitter and unwholesome in ripe fruit. Now, devotion is true spiritual sugar, for it removes bitterness from mortification and anything harmful from our consolations. It takes away discontent from the poor, care from the rich, grief from the oppressed, pride from the exalted, melancholy from the solitary, and dissipation from those who live in society. With equal benefit it serves as fire in winter and dew in summer, it fills us with a marvelous sweetness. (INT. Part I, Ch. 2; O. III, pp. 17-18)
October 16
Live totally for God and for the love He has poured out on you. Put up with all your defects. Being a good servant of God does not consist in living in the midst of consolations and delights, without any dislike or repugnance for the good. If that were the case, neither Saint Catherine of Siena nor others would have served the Lord worthily! To be a good servant of God means to have a great love for your neighbor; to have an inviolable resolution to follow the Divine Will; to have a deep humility and simplicity in trusting God and in being able to rise from your falls. It means having patience with yourself in your daily failings and peacefully tolerating your neighbor with all his or her imperfections. (Letters 409; O. XIII, pp. 313-314)
October 17
Jesus Christ Himself said, "Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other." [Jn 13:34] You must give a lot of thought to this statement, because it means that we must love others more than we love ourselves. The Lord always put others before Himself and still continues to do that, making Himself our food every time we receive Him in the Blessed Sacrament. In like manner He wants us to love others and even to prefer our neighbor to ourselves. (Spiritual Treatises IV; O. VI, p. 57)
October 18
The present life is strewn with sorrowful moments, but during such moments we can increase our acts of precious union with the will of God. Such times afford the opportunity of mortifying our self-love, loving our abjection and indeed our own crucifixion. How else can we prove our love if not by accepting these bitter and sorrowful happenings? How often have I referred to the stripping of ourselves, to be reclothed with Jesus Christ crucified? Then and only then will God dwell in our hearts. (Letters 1497; O. XVIII, p. 332)
October 19
We must not allow our minds to flutter curiously around God's judgments; if we do so, we will be like months and burn our wings and perish in the sacred flame. These judgments of God are incomprehensible. We cannot know or plumb His motives. The inscrutable ways in which God brings us to perfection cannot be discerned or recognized by His creatures. Who can penetrate the meaning, the understanding or the purpose of God? "Who has been his counselor" so as to know His plans and their motives? Who has ever gone to Him and rendered any service to Him? [cf. Rom 11:33-35] On the contrary, is it not He Who goes before us with the blessings of His grace, so as to crown us with the happiness of His glory? All things are from God Who is their Creator; all things are by Him Who is their ruler; all things are in Him Who is their protector. (T.L.G. Book 4, Ch. 8; O. IV, p. 244)
October 20
I must say to you sincerely that it is necessary for everyone to stand firm in his or her state of life. All of us should remain willingly in the ship in which we find ourselves, and so cross from this life into the next. True, often we have not been put there by the hand of God, but by man. Now, however, God wants us to remain there, and out of love for Him we should stay there willingly. Where our election is to a minor state, our submission to the Divine Will should be greater. Say often with all your heart, "Yes, my God, I want to be where I am because it has pleased You that this is so." (Letters 1294; O. XVII, pp. 369-370)
October 21
Several times during the day, but especially in the morning and evening, ask yourself for a moment if you have your soul in your hands or if some passion or fit of anxiety has robbed you of it. Consider whether you have command of your heart or whether it has slipped into some disorderly passion of love, hatred, envy, covetousness, fear, uneasiness or joy. If you have gone astray, quietly bring your soul back to the presence of God, subjecting all your affections and desires to the obedience and direction of His Divine Will. Just as men who are afraid of losing a precious pearl hold it firmly in their hands, so we must keep a close watch on the precious pearl of our soul. (INT. Part IV, Ch. 11; O. III, p. 312)
October 22
Oh, how happy are those who keep their hearts open to holy inspirations! They never lack anything conducive to a devout life. According to their condition, they thus advance in holiness. Now, if we do not resist grace, God will also supply us wit opportune inspirations to live, to work and to progress in the spiritual life. (T.L.G. Book 8, Ch. 10; O. V, pp. 91-92)
October 23
Know that the virtue of patience is the one that more than any other insures our perfection. We should practice it with our neighbor, but we should practice it still more with ourselves. Those who aspire to pure love of God have not as much need to practice patience with others as with themselves. To acquire perfection, one must not look for temptations but simply tolerate them with patience; humility is reinforced with this tolerance. We must face the truth: we are poor people who cannot do much good, but God, Who is infinitely good, is quite happy with the little good that we do. (Letters 190; O. XII, p. 203)
October 24
He who looks upon his neighbor outside of the breast of the Savior runs the risk of not loving him purely, constantly or fairly; but if he considers him nestling in the breast of his Savior, how could he help but love him? Who would not put up with him? Who would not tolerate his imperfections? Who would consider him crude or troublesome? But our neighbor is precisely there, in the sacred breast of the Savior, so worthy of being loved that the Divine Lover died for love for him. (Letters 1202; O. XVII, pp. 213-214)
October 25
Turning to my most gracious and merciful God, I desire to serve Him and to love Him now and forever. But if, through temptation by the enemy or human frailty, I should chance to transgress in any point, or fail to adhere to this my resolution and dedication, I protest from this moment and am determined, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to rise as soon as I perceive my fall and return again to God's mercy without any hesitation or delay whatsoever. (INT. Part I, Ch. 20; O. III, p. 60)
October 26
On certain occasions it is necessary to speak to people whom you heartily dislike. Then you must do so with greatest respect and esteem. This point is of such great importance for the perfection of our souls that I would willingly write these words with my blood. Should we not show our love for God? Jesus suffered so much for us amid repugnance and adversions! Should we not do the same in similar circumstances? It is necessary that the thorns of difficulties pierce our brain and the lance of contradictions pass through our hearts. We must also drink the gall and gulp down the vinegar, and chew upon absinth and the hemlock because He wants us to do so. (Letters 1294; O. XVII, p. 370)
October 27
What does it mean to love God with all one's heart? It means to love Him with the totality of our love, loving other things little in comparison. To love God with all one's mind and with all one's thoughts is to keep our intellect occupied in thinking of Him with a pure and simple devotion. To love God with all one's strength is to love Him with a firm love, one that is constant and generous, that never allows itself to be overcome by tribulations but is forever persevering. To love God with one's whole being is to give ourself and to abandon ourself entirely with our whole existence, so as to remain totally subject in obedience to His love. (Sermons 22; O. IX, p. 199)
October 28
God is greater than our heart, and our heart is greater than the world. So when our heart in meditation prepares itself to do all it can in the service of God, it works marvels and raises our actions to a degree of uncommon perfection. It is determined to serve the Lord and honor Him, to help our neighbor, to mortify our internal and external feelings and carry out other good resolutions. Now all this perfection, even though it is not in proportion to the greatness of God, is greater than the world and all human forces and exterior actions. (Letters 190; O. XII, pp. 203-204)
October 29
We have the liberty to do good or evil, but to choose evil is not to use but to abuse liberty. Let us renounce such misguided liberty and subject our free will forever to the rule of heavenly love. If our souls should ever will to use their liberty against our resolutions to serve God eternally and without reserve, let us generously sacrifice this free will and make it die to itself so that it may live in God! (T.L.G. Book 1, Ch. 17; O. V, p. 80)
October 30
Eagles have strong hearts and great power of flight; yet their eyesight is even greater than their ability to fly, and they extend their vision much more quickly and much farther than their wings. So, too, with our souls: since they are animated by a natural inclination toward God, they have far more ability to see how worthy of love God is than strength of will to love Him. (T.L.G. Book 1, Ch. 17; O. V, p. 80)
October 31
You must forge straight ahead, treading the path that is nearest in order to live the first day well, without worrying about the final one. Bear in mind what I am about to tell you: too often we spend a lot of our efforts trying to be good angels (of Heaven) and forget all about becoming good men and women (in this world). Our imperfections will accompany us to the grave. We cannot walk without touching the ground; and if it true that we must not go to sleep or sit down and do nothing, it is also true that we must not try to fly without wings. (Letters 90; O. XII, pp. 204-205)
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
