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Introduction

By Pat Gohn

I’m a professional fretter. But I’m in recovery, thanks to Saint Francis de Sales.

For more than twenty years I’ve kept advice from one of his letters tacked under a refrigerator magnet where I can see it every day. As if the letter he wrote once upon a time, a few centuries ago, were written just for me.

That’s how it is with good advice — holy counsel — because truth is timeless.

So why don’t we just start right there, with the words I’ve kept close at hand? But, first, a little context about the woman I was back in 1996, and why I felt Francis’ words were such a Godsend.

At that time, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and experienced all the emotional upheaval and angst that cancer patients often suffer. Despite my faith in God, and the graces I knew I was receiving in the sacraments, my pessimism mounted. I was feeling sorry for myself and fretting over the impact my illness would have not only on me but on my husband and loved ones, especially our three young children. Life as I knew it had changed, and I was fearful.

Then these words, penned long ago by Francis, sliced through my fog of self-pity and reawakened me to the truth of God’s presence in my situation:

Do not look forward in fear

to the changes of life;

rather look to them with full hope

as they arise.

God, whose very own you are,

will lead you safely through all things;

and when you cannot stand it,

God will carry you in His arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;

the same everlasting Father who cared for you today

will take care of you then and every day.

He will either shield you from suffering,

or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace

and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

Those words momentarily stopped my fretful languishing. While I didn’t abandon my fretting completely, whenever things would start me back down the worry path, I would read Francis’ words again. And again. This was faith-filled counsel I could trust, because I knew the God of whom the writer spoke. Yet I needed reassurances of God’s closeness and care in the midst of my trial.

Long before I knew of his groundbreaking book, Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis had captured the attention of my worrisome heart. He reminded me of who God is, and who I am in God’s sight. He spoke this fundamental truth: my fears were no match for the magnitude of God’s hope and love in my life.

It would be some years before I would read, and pray through, the Introduction. Yet it has now become one of the books I most often recommend. For Francis is a humble and wise mentor.

Francis de Sales (1567–1622) was the bishop of Geneva and a gifted communicator, who helped people come to know Christ and to grow in their faith. As a friend and a writer, he encouraged, consoled, and invited all those seeking his counsel and spiritual direction into a deeper union with Jesus Christ. Besides attending to his ministerial duties, he was a prolific letter writer. His pamphlets and books resulted in thousands of conversions to the Catholic faith.

De Sales’ approachable wisdom continues to inspire people today. He is a Doctor of the Church, and specifically a Doctor of the Laity, because of the volume you hold in your hands. Introduction to the Devout Life is considered the Church’s first complete treatise on lay spirituality. Writing four hundred years prior to the Second Vatican Council, Francis de Sales maintained that holiness is not just for priests and religious — it is for everyone.

Long before the documents of Vatican II coined the phrase “the universal call to holiness,” Francis taught that holiness is possible in every vocation. He wrote for ordinary people in ordinary life — people with jobs and families and the pressures of daily living. He maintained that living a devout life offers extraordinary results. Francis said that holiness and devotion perfects one’s vocation and profession!

In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which divine love works in us and causes us to work quickly and with love….

The difference between love and devotion is just like that which exists between fire and flame: love is a spiritual fire which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame….

But true devotion … not only does not hinder any vocation or duty, but it adorns and beautifies it. (Introduction, Part I, chs. 1 and 4)

The goal of the Introduction is to help us grow in union with Christ, for without Christ, there is no Christian life. The Introduction offers us a short course in spirituality that will pay dividends our whole life long.

The book is divided into five parts.

Part I’s purpose is to turn our desire for God toward resolution for God. In spiritual terms, we might call this process purgation. It’s a phase of exploring, and perhaps wrestling with, making a firm decision to choose to live for God. It’s a time of honest assessment and discovering what might be holding us back from living a full life. While that may sound difficult, Francis is a friendly and trustworthy guide who calls us to embrace a brighter path.

The focus of Part I includes ten meditations — reality checks, really — that prepare us to strengthen our resolve for God. Sometimes readers pause to make Part I a personal retreat for ten days, so as not to rush through those first meditations. Francis invites us to conscientiously place ourselves in God’s presence each day, asking for his divine help, and then carefully considering the various topics that are covered.

The central message of Part II contains valuable instructions for prayer. It is filled with good advice on how to meditate and pray. Two things from Part II have proven valuable in my life over the years: creating a spiritual bouquet after my prayer time, and learning to pray with spiritual aspirations as I go through the day.

Whenever I’m reading Scripture or some spiritual book, or even when something strikes me during Mass, I employ Francis de Sales’ recommendation to make a spiritual bouquet to carry with me through the day. Francis recommends taking time for prayer in the morning, before the work of the day begins. That way, we can recall the prayer and let it bear fruit throughout our day. He describes how to gather and appreciate a spiritual bouquet this way:

When walking in a beautiful garden, most people like to gather a few flowers as they go, to keep and enjoy their scent during the day. So, when the mind explores some mystery in meditation, it is good to pick out one or more points that have particularly caught your attention and are most likely to be helpful to you through the day. (Introduction, Part II, ch. 7)

For me, coupled with creating a spiritual bouquet is developing the habit of spiritual aspirations. These are little prayers that I pray aloud, or silently, depending on my situation. Francis describes these as “short, ardent movements” of the heart toward God. He writes:

Praise his excellence, invoke his aid, cast yourself in spirit at the foot of his cross, adore his goodness, offer your whole soul a thousand times a day to him, fix your inward gaze upon him, stretch out your hands to be led by him as a little child to its father, clasp him to your breast as a fragrant bouquet, praise him in your soul as a standard….

Neither is this a difficult practice. It can be interwoven with all our duties and occupations, without hindering them. (Introduction, Part II, ch. 13)

Part III offers instructions on growing in the virtues. And who among us doesn’t need a dose of that? None of us are ready-made saints; we have to work diligently to grow in virtue.

I have to admit the instructions on humility get me every time. But as I get older, they seem to sting a little less than when I first read them years ago. Today I am so much more in agreement with Francis’ assessment of my needs — I’m slowly starting to “get it.” Francis has a gentle touch with people like me, who need repeated instruction in overcoming weaknesses.

Among my favorite lessons from Part III is, get this: “We must not fret over our own imperfections.” Such times are opportunities to practice meekness toward ourselves — with a touch of humor and candor! Like this:

“Poor heart! So soon fallen again into the snare! Well now, rise up again bravely and fall no more. Seek God’s mercy, hope in him, ask him to keep you from falling again, and begin to walk the path of humility anew. We must be more on our guard from now on.” (Introduction, Part III, ch. 9)

Part III also instructs us to remember our dignity as children of God, to trust in God’s presence and accompaniment in all that we do … starting with never letting go of God’s hand: “Imitate little children who with one hand hold fast to their father while with the other they gather strawberries or blackberries from the hedges” (Introduction, Part III, ch. 10).

The lesson could not be plainer. Look to God as you work, and always keep one hand in his, for God will work in you as you work. This is how we become ever more convinced that we should not spend a single day, or moment, without God.

For Francis de Sales, it’s all about Jesus, to love and live as Jesus did … to “live Jesus.”

Therefore, my daughter, above all things I would write that precious and holy name, JESUS, in your heart, certain that having done so, your life … will bear the stamp of that saving name in every act; and if the dear Lord dwells within your heart, he will live in your every action, and will be traced in every member and part of you, so that you will be able to say with Saint Paul, “[I]t is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). (Introduction, Part III, ch. 23)

If we truly desire to “live Jesus,” we can understand the reasons for Parts IV and V. Part IV is dedicated to combatting the most frequent temptations we experience, both large and small, especially after we’ve committed ourselves to Christ. Part IV also provides tips for dealing with anxiety, sorrow, spiritual dryness, and more.

Part V offers chapters on renewing our soul and confirming our devotion. Francis means to equip us for the long haul, to be faithful through the years. His call in Part V is for ongoing renewal so that we never stop living for Jesus:

You should frequently reiterate the good resolutions you have made to serve God, for fear that, failing to do so, you fall away, not only to your former condition, but lower still….

Just as the clockmaker applies a delicate oil to all the wheels and springs of a clock, so that it will work properly and be less prone to rust, so the devout soul, after taking the works of his heart to pieces, will lubricate them with the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist. These exercises will repair the damage caused by time, will kindle your heart, revive your good resolutions, and cause the graces of your mind to flourish anew. (Introduction, Part V, ch. 1)

Francis de Sales is a spiritual director for a world suffering from lack of direction. Reading Introduction to the Devout Life is like resetting your spiritual compass to point to your true north. It is a book every Christian should read at least once in life — but, truly, it is designed to be returned to again and again. For truth is timeless.

Saint Francis de Sales, pray for us!