In a season like ours,
which "seeks freedom with violence and unrest", the principle remains
that "the true spirit of freedom" culminates in the reality of divine
love.
St. Francis de Sales used to say this to his
disciples, and Benedict XVI repeated it Wednesday dedicating his general
audience to the saint that is "an exemplary witness of Christian
humanism, with his family-style, with his parables that verge on the
poetic, recalling that man has inscribed in his deepest being longing for God and that only Him does he find true joy and his fullest realization".
This "Doctor of the Church" was a "great master" to whom
we owe, among other things, "care for the consecration of temporal
things and for the sanctification of everyday life, which was emphasized
at the Second Vatican Council and the spirituality of our time. He
expressed the ideal of a reconciled humanity, in harmony between prayer
and action in the world, between its secular condition and search for
perfection, with the help of the grace of God that permeates the human
being and, without destroying it, purifies it, raising it to divine heights. "
Francis was born in 1567 in a border region of France, his father was the lord of Boisy in Savoy. He
received a "very accurate" education, pursuing higher studies in Paris,
where he also devoted himself to theology, and law at the University of
Padua, where he received his doctorate in canon law and civil law.
But,
reflecting on the thought of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, "he
had a deep crisis that led him to question his eternal salvation and
predestination of God towards him, living a true spiritual drama over
the main theological issues of his time. "
His crisis came to an end in the Dominican church in
Paris. Here, he opened his heart and prayed, "Whatever happens, Lord,
you who keep it all in your hand, and whose ways are justice and truth,
whatever you set out for me ... you who are always just judge and merciful Father, I will love you, Lord. "
Overcoming the resistance of his father, on December 18, 1593 Francis was ordained a priest. In
1602 he became bishop of Geneva, at a time when the city was a
stronghold of Calvinism, "a poor and troubled diocese”, so much so that
the bishop's seat was in exile in Annecy. "
And yet the influence of his life and his teaching on Europe of the period and the following centuries is immense." Not
surprisingly, Benedict XVI recalled "at the source of many ways of
teaching and spirituality of our own time we find the trace of this
teacher, without which there would be no St. John Bosco nor the heroic
little flower of St. Therese of Lisieux. "
Francis de Sales is an "apostle, preacher, writer, man of
action and prayer, committed to achieving the ideals of the Council of
Trent; involved in the dispute and dialogue with Protestants, and
experimenting more, beyond the necessary theological confrontation, the
effectiveness of personal relationship and love; charged with diplomatic
missions in Europe, and social tasks of mediation and reconciliation. "
But above all, St. Francis de Sales is the "guide of
souls: from an encounter with a young woman, Madame Charmoisy, he drew
inspiration to write one of the most widely read books in the modern
age, Introduction to the Devout Life, by his profound spiritual
communion with the exceptional personality of St. Jane
Frances de Chantal, there emerged a new religious family, the Order of
the Visitation, characterized - as the Saint desired – by a total
consecration to God, lived in simplicity and humility in doing ordinary things exceptionally well.
"That of St. Francis de Sales - the Pope said - was a relatively short-lived life, but one lived with great intensity. From
this holy figure radiates a rare fullness, as demonstrated in the
serenity of his intellectual pursuits, but also the wealth of his
affections, in the sweetness of his teachings which have had a great
influence on the Christian conscience. The word
humanity, he embodied with different meanings that, today as yesterday,
our era may make use of : culture and courtesy, freedom and tenderness,
nobility and solidarity. In appearance, he had something of the majesty of the landscape in which he lived, preserving its simplicity and naturalness. The
ancient words and images in which he expressed himself sound
unexpectedly, even to the ears of people today, like a native and
familial language".