Vive + Jésus
Saturday, January 24th Readings Reflection: :Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Today is the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church. St. Francis was born to a Swiss noble family in 1567. After completing his doctorate in law at the age of twenty-four, St. Francis decided to answer God’s call to the priesthood, receiving Holy Orders in 1593. This was a tumultuous time to be a Catholic priest, as the Protestant Revolt was still occurring. St. Francis was first assigned as provost of the Geneva cathedral and later as bishop of the same diocese. Geneva was the center of Calvinism at that time, and as a result, St. Francis was not permitted to enter the city, so he instead resided in Annecy.
St. Francis devoted himself to converting the Calvinists in his diocese, patiently persevering despite their initial rejection. Since they would not listen to the gentle priest, he printed pamphlets of Catholic doctrine and slipped them inside the doors of their homes. This is the first record of Catholic pamphlets being distributed to those who had strayed from the fold of Christ. In this way, St. Francis converted tens of thousands of Calvinists. Some reports state that he converted 60,000, while others say as many as 72,000.
An eloquent preacher who was known for his gentleness and patience—virtues that he cultivated by the grace of God, for he was naturally strong-tempered—St. Francis de Sales became a popular confessor and spiritual director. One of his most famous spiritual directees was St. Jane Frances de Chantal, who had been praying for a holy spiritual director and saw St. Francis de Sales in a dream before they met. St. Francis was at first hesitant to be the saintly widow’s spiritual director, desiring to first ensure that such a role was the Will of God, but the two soon formed a holy friendship and later founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) together.
St. Francis de Sales was named a Doctor of the Church due to the great number of works he penned, particularly his letters. He began his letters with the invocation “Vive + Jésus,” which is French for “Live + Jesus.” St. Francis explains this devotion in the dedication to his famous Introduction to the Devout Life: “…[A] canticle of triumph, the words which, with my whole heart, I pronounce, in testimony of my fidelity, amidst the chances of this mortal life: Live Jesus, live Jesus; yea, Lord Jesus, live and reign in our hearts for ever and ever. Amen” (public domain).
In these words lies the key to St. Francis de Sales’s holiness and virtue. This great saint, so renowned for his extraordinary patience, struggled greatly to curb his temper; after his death, there were found deep grooves on the underside of his desk from the saintly bishop’s fingernails. Rather than despairing at his quick temper, he constantly sought divine grace to help him practice virtue rather than giving in to vice. The effects can be seen in the thousands of souls won for Christ through the teaching and patient persistence of St. Francis.
May we, like St. Francis de Sales, pray for Jesus to live and reign in our hearts for ever, so that we might be elevated by grace above our natural weakness and brokenness to the heights of great virtue for the love of God.
St. Francis de Sales, ora pro nobis!
