Recently a Salesian quote attributed to Louis Sempe, an early biographer of St. Francis de Sales caught my attention. Sempe wrote: “The very name of St. Francis de Sales seems to evoke the secret causing the flowers to bloom, the bees to hum, the honey to be odiferous, the lakes to sparkle and the snow of the Alps to scintillate.” Words of admiration proclaimed by Sempe in his book, Saint Francis de Sales.
The Patron of Journalists consistently used metaphors from nature in all its creative aspects to explain the facets of the spiritual life with simplicity and beauty. That is why his name is so readily credited with metaphors in nature, and why I appreciate his spiritual guidance so much.
In the preface of The Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis describes Glycera, a little flower girl, who arranged lovely bouquets of flowers. Francis will use this imagery to describe good deeds which form a spiritual bouquet. Later in the same classic text, he repeats this imagery in another way: “At the end of your meditation linger a while, and gather, so to say, a little spiritual bouquet from the thoughts you have dwelt upon, the sweet perfume whereof may refresh you through the day.”
Bees make many different sounds, but the most familiar is the hum. Bees encountered many of their kind in their travels for food and gave humming alerts to other bees, warning of the potential for danger. Sempre noted that bees observed de Sales, not as a predator, but as a trusted friend.
How naturally our saint connected flowers to bees! The metaphor of bees is found throughout his writings. He wrote: “The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged, and fresh, just as he found them.” Francis, the Gentleman Saint, notes how gently bees can function.
I am not sure if this qualifies as “odiferous” but when Francis said, “a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a barrel full of vinegar,” it is safe to assume that the aroma of the honey was its drawing card!
Francis lived near Lake Annecy in France. Can you imagine its sparkling waters? Although I have never seen it, I can visualize it sparkled as Francis passed by! And when he traveled as a young priest through the Savoy, surrounded by the Alps, it must have been a scintillating, snowy, sight to behold!
Could it be safe to say that some of his use of nature metaphors made a strong case for the title Patron of Journalists? Surely, these metaphors from nature led his readers to the spirituality he chose to communicate to them!
Sr. Antoine Therese Lawlor, IHM, DMin
Vice President for Mission and Ministry
Immaculata University
