Bro. Dan (left) with Fr. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, Provincial, Kathleen McNutt, Head of School, Fr. Noah Morey, School Minister and Fr. Bob Bazzoli, OSFS, Oblate Director of Administration.
During Labor Day Weekend, I spent time with my sister and brother-in-law at the shore in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey and as I observed people trekking back and forth to the beach, walking their dogs, and taking bike rides, I thought of how our pace of life changes in September. This is especially true for families with school-aged children who exchanged beach walks and bike rides for early morning bus rides, after-school activities, not to mention student homework assignments. A product of the Catholic school system in Philadelphia, I always associate Labor Day with the end of summer. As I watched vacationing families pack up their cars on Labor Day morning to travel home because “the kids have school tomorrow,” I smiled and reminisced a bit.
Pondering the faster pace of life when school is in session, I recalled the recent apostolic letter Totum Amoris Est (“Everything Pertains to Love”) by Pope Francis. In preparation for a retreat presentation for the faculty and staff, and then for the Board of Governors of Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, VA, I decided to use this letter as the outline for sharing key aspects of the ministry of Saint Francis de Sales. Written for the 400th anniversary of the saint’s death (December 28, 2022), the title of this letter reflects a line in Francis de Sales’s masterwork Treatise on the Love of God (1616): “In holy Church all is by love, in love, for love, and of love.” In this quote, we see why Francis de Sales has been given the title “Doctor of Divine Love.” His life and spirit were rooted in the love relationship he had with God, demonstrated by how and what he taught through his spiritual guidance of people from all walks of life.
Bro. Dan delivers a presentation to Bishop Ireton High School faculty and staff at their retreat.
In the final section of his letter, Pope Francis discusses how “Saint Francis de Sales… came to view the entirety of the Christian life as ‘the ecstasy of work and life’” quoting a phrase from the Treatise where de Sales notes that as with any love, there are “highs” or ecstasies. However, the ecstasy he writes about is not like some drug-induced rapture or hallucination, nor is it just an emotional experience. Rather, following the example of Jesus Christ, when we reach the “ecstasy of work and life,” we not only “feel good” but we do good for others and for ourselves – love in action! Pope Francis notes that “Saint Francis traces [the deepest source of this ecstasy] to the love made manifest by the incarnate Son” and so describes how Salesian Spirituality is the fruit of lessons the saint learned at “the school of the Incarnation.” Francis de Sales learned how to love by modeling his life on that of Jesus, who says, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29), the saint’s favorite scriptural passage.
The phrase “ecstasy of work and life” caught my attention as we approach a new school year with all the hustle-and-bustle it entails. Included with a new school year is a lot of “work” of many forms (intellectual, physical, spiritual, emotional) often intertwined. Francis de Sales sees “the ecstasy of work and life” coming from our ongoing relationship with a loving God that spills over into our daily activity of work. May the lesson our patron learned be ours: to live Jesus in all we do, being a gentle and humble presence in our fast-paced work, school and otherwise.
Brother Dan Wisniewski, OSFS
Assistant Provincial & Director of Oblate Education
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