In a December 1626 letter to one of her sisters in charge of forming young Visitation sisters, St. Jane de Chantal gives some very wise spiritual counsel that speaks to how we ought to relate to one another in a Christ-like and Salesian manner.
She writes, “Try to foster a spirit founded on deep humility which results in sincere obedience, a sweet charity which supports and excuses all, and an innocent, guileless simplicity which makes us even-tempered and friendly toward everyone.”
Jane’s own spiritual friend and mentor used to speak of the “little virtues” which everyone can practice frequently throughout the day in their relational lives with one another. In this letter, Jane is underscoring some “little virtues” that speak directly to relationships in a religious community, but many of them speak just as well to our every relationship with family, friends, and all others.
Let’s start with “deep humility.” Both Francis and Jane wanted every Christian to live Jesus by imitating the virtues that he himself loved and practiced: “Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart.” For both Jane and Francis, humility is truth, the truth of who we are before God, that is, created, good, and loved. This is the truth for every other human being as well. Honoring and reverencing that truth in both ourselves and in others is the foundation for relating with ourselves and them in the gentle and welcoming manner and the way that Jesus himself related to people. “Deep humility,” then, is the foundation and source of the Christian and Salesian manner of relating to others in the spirit of love.
“Sweet charity” is how Jane describes the concrete love of neighbor in this letter. The adjective, “sweet,” is key to appreciating the Salesian character of love of neighbor. From the context of this letter and from the whole Salesian corpus, “sweet” means a genuine, gentle, unfeigned, and caring concern for others. Thus, “sweet charity” does all in its power to support the other in his or her life journey to God, even to the point of “excusing” faults, foibles and failings, that is, in not permitting human weakness from supporting one another in our efforts to live Jesus and make our way to God. Together, as a communion of hearts and lives, we make our way to God.
“Innocent, guileless simplicity” is central to the Salesian character. Simplicity implies a singleness of purpose, that is, a disposition that desires only whatever God wills or permits. Here is how St. Jane once expressed this simplicity in another writing: “To be faithful, we must live simply. Then being free from attachments, we are possessed by nothing. We live in such absolute openness to Divine Love that whatever pleases God becomes our heart’s desire.”
The Creator is good, loving, and provident. Trusting completely in God as good, loving, and provident is how we become like the children, the “little ones,” whom Jesus praises so highly in the Gospels. They are innocent and guileless in their total surrender to the care and love of their parents. A similar childlike simplicity toward a loving and provident God is what Jane is asking for here.
“Even-tempered and friendly toward everyone” Jane greatly appreciates the virtues of moderation, good balance, evenness of temper, and a friendly and welcoming disposition toward everyone. This disposition is what “wins hearts” through love, never force. This is how God wins the human heart and how we are to win the hearts of one another. As Francis wisely notes, if you win the heart you gain the whole person.
All one has to do is look at the way Jesus interacts with others in the Gospels to see the profile of what St. Jane is asking for each of us in this letter. It is her contribution to the Salesian invitation –and challenge-- to Live Jesus!
Rev. Lewis S. Fiorelli, OSFS
Provincial
Wilmington-Philadelphia Province
