SALESIAN LITERATURE

Spirit of St.Francis de Sales

Author: JEAN PIERRE CAMUS

TRANSLATED BY J.S.

(October, 2005)


PREFACE: The spirit of a Saint we may, perhaps, regard as the underlying characteristic which pervades all his thoughts, words, and acts. It is the note which sounds throughout the constant persevering harmony which makes the holiness of his life. Circumstances change. He grows from childhood to boyhood, from youth to manhood. His time of preparation is unnoticed by the world until the moment comes when he is called to a public activity which arrests attention. And essentially, he remains the same. In private as in public, in intimate conversation as in writings or discourses, in the direction of individual consciences as in the conduct of matters of wide importance, there is a characteristic note which identifies him, and marks him off apart even from other heroes of sanctity.

We owe to a keen and close observer a knowledge of the spirit of St. Francis de Sales for which we cannot be too grateful. Let it be granted that Mgr. Camus had a very prolific imagination; that he had an unconscious tendency to embroider facts; that he read a meaning into words which their speaker had no thought of imparting to them. When all such allowances have been made, we must still admit that he has given to us a picture of the Saint which we should be loath to lose; and that his description of what the Saint habitually thought and felt has made Saint Francis de Sales a close personal friend to many to whom otherwise he would have remained a mere chance acquaintance.

The Bishop of Belley, while a devoted admirer, was at the same time a critical observer of his saintly friend. He wanted to know the reasons of what he saw, he did not always approve, and he was sufficiently indiscreet to put questions which, probably, no one else would have dared to frame. And thus, we know more about St. Francis than about any other Saint, and we owe real gratitude to his very candid, talkative, and out-spoken episcopal colleague.

Many years ago, a brief abridgment of the “Spirit of St. Francis de Sales” was published in English. It served its purpose but left unsatisfied the desire of his clients for a fuller work. To-day the Sisters of the Visitation, now established at Harrow-on-the-Hill, give abundant satisfaction to this long-felt desire. Inspired by the purpose of the late Dom Benedict Mackey, O.S.B., which his premature death prevented him from accomplishing, and guided by the advice which he left in writing, these Daughters of St. Francis of Sales, on the occasion of their Tercentenary, give to the English-speaking world a work which, in its wise curtailment and still full detail, may be called the quintessence of the Spirit of their Master, the Founder of their Institute. We thank them for their labour; and we beg God’s blessing upon this book, that it may be the means of showing to many souls that safe and easy way of sanctification and salvation, which it was the special mission of the saintly Bishop of Geneva to make known to the world.

Francis, Archbishop of Westminster. (May 18th, 1910)

Table of Contents

  1. Preface

  2. Upon Perfect Virtue

  3. Blessed Francis’ Estimate Of Various Virtues

  4. Upon The Lesser Virtues

  5. Upon Increase Of Faith

  6. Upon Temptations Against Faith

  7. Upon The Same Subject

  8. Upon Confidence In God

  9. Our Misery Appeals To God’s Mercy

  10. Upon Self-Distrust

  11. Upon The Justice And Mercy Of God

  12. Waiting Upon God

  13. Upon The Difference Between A Holy Desire Of Reward And A Mercenary Spirit

  14. Continuation Of The Same Subject

  15. God Should Suffice For Us All

  16. Charity The Short Road To Perfection

  17. Upon What It Is To Love God Truly

  18. Upon The Love Of God In General

  19. All For Love Of God

  20. The Same Subject Continued

  21. Upon The Love Of God, Called Love Of Benevolence

  22. Disinterested Love Of God

  23. Upon The Character Of A True Christian

  24. Upon Not Putting Limits To Our Love Of God

  25. Upon Desires

  26. How Charity Excels Both Faith And Hope

  27. Some Thoughts Of Blessed Francis On The Passion

  28. Upon The Vanity Of Heathen Philosophy

  29. Upon The Pure Love Of Our Neighbour

  30. Upon Bearing With One Another

  31. Upon Fraternal Correction

  32. Upon Finding Excuses For The Faults Of Our Fellow-Men

  33. Upon Not Judging Others

  34. Upon Judging Ourselves

  35. Upon Slander And Detraction

  36. Upon Hasty Judgments

  37. Upon Ridiculing One’s Neighbour

  38. Upon Contradicting Others

  39. Upon Loving Our Enemies

  40. Upon Forgiving Our Enemies

  41. Upon The Virtue Of Condescension

  42. How Blessed Francis Adapted Himself To Times, Places, And Circumstances

  43. Upon The Way To Treat Servants

  44. Another Instance Of Blessed Francis’ Gentleness With His Own Servants

  45. The Holy Bishop Never Refused What Was Asked Of Him

  46. Upon Almsgiving

  47. Our Saint’s Hopefulness In Regard To The Conversion Of Sinners

  48. Blessed Francis’ Solicitude For Malefactors Condemned To Death

  49. Upon The Small Number Of The Elect

  50. To Love To Be Hated, And To Hate To Be Loved

  51. Upon Obedience

  52. Upon The Obedience That May Be Practised By Superiors

  53. An Instance Of Our Saint’s Obedience

  54. Upon The Love Of Holy Poverty

  55. Upon The Same Subject

  56. Upon Poverty Of Spirit

  57. Francis’ Love Of The Poor

  58. Upon The Christian View Of Poverty

  59. Upon Prosperity

  60. Upon Charity And Chastity

  61. Upon Purity Of Heart

  62. Upon Chastity And Humility

  63. Upon Modesty

  64. The Contempt He Felt For His Body

  65. Upon Our Saint’s Humility

  66. Upon Mere Humbleness Of Speech

  67. Upon Various Degrees Of Humility

  68. Upon Humiliation

  69. Humility With Regard To Perfection

  70. Upon Excuses

  71. Upon Our Good Name

  72. Upon Despising The Esteem Of Men

  73. Upon The Virtues We Should Practise When Calumniated

  74. Upon Some Spiritual Maxims

  75. Upon Patience

  76. How To Profit By Bearing With Insults

  77. Upon Bearing With Importunities

  78. That He Who Complains Sins

  79. Blessed Francis’ Calmness In Tribulation

  80. Blessed Francis’ Test Of Patience In Suffering

  81. Upon Long Illnesses

  82. Blessed Francis’ Holy Indifference In Illness

  83. Upon The Shape Of The Cross

  84. A Diamond Cross

  85. Holy Magdalen At The Foot Of The Cross

  86. Upon The Power Of Gentleness And Patience

  87. A Rejoinder Both Striking And Instructive

  88. Blessed Francis’ Favourite Beatitude

  89. His Gravity And Affability

  90. How Blessed Francis Dealt With A Criminal Who Despaired Of Salvation

  91. Upon Mortification

  92. Upon The Same Subject

  93. Upon Fasting

  94. Doubts Solved As To Soldiers Fasting

  95. The Golden Mean In Dispensations

  96. Upon The Words, “Eat Of Anything That Is Set Before You.”

  97. Upon The State Of Perfection

  98. Marks Of Progress In Perfection

  99. Upon The Perfection Aimed At In Religious Houses

  100. Upon Frugality

  101. Blessed Francis’ Esteem Of The Virtue Of Simplicity

  102. Blessed Francis’ Love Of Exactitude

  103. A Test Of Religious Vocation

  104. Upon Following The Common Life

  105. Upon The Judging Of Vocations

  106. Upon Prudence And Simplicity

  107. The Same Subject Continued

  108. Upon Mental Prayer

  109. Upon Aspirations

  110. Upon Interior Recollection And Ejaculatory Prayers

  111. Upon Doing And Enduring

  112. Upon Mortification And Prayer

  113. Upon The Presence Of God

  114. His Unity Of Spirit With God

  115. His Gratitude To God For Spiritual Consolations

  116. Upon The Shedding Of Tears

  117. Upon Joy And Sadness

  118. Upon The Degrees Of True Devotion

  119. The Test Of True Devotion

  120. What It Means To Be A Servant Of God

  121. That Devotion Does Not Always Spring From Charity

  122. Upon Perfect Contentment In The Privation Of All Content

  123. Upon The Will Of God

  124. His Resignation To The Will Of God

  125. That We Must Always Submit Ourselves To God’s Holy Will

  126. His Sublime Thoughts On Holy Indifference

  127. Nothing, Save Sin, Happens To Us But By The Will Of God

  128. Upon The Same Subject

  129. Upon Abandoning Ourselves To God

  130. Upon Interior Desolation

  131. Upon The Presence In Our Souls Of The Grace Of God

  132. Upon Our Desire To Save Our Soul

  133. Upon Good Natural Inclinations

  134. How To Speak Of God

  135. Upon Eccentricities In Devotion

  136. Upon Confraternities

  137. Upon Intercourse With The World

  138. Against Over-Eagerness

  139. Upon The Same Subject

  140. Upon Liberty Of Spirit

  141. Upon Nature And Grace

  142. Upon Exaggerated Introspection

  143. Upon Interior Reformation

  144. His Vision Of The Most Holy Trinity

  145. His Devotion To Our Blessed Lady

  146. His Devotion To The Holy Winding Sheet Of Turin

  147. Upon Merit

  148. Upon Good Will And Good Desires

  149. Against The Making Of Rash Vows

  150. Upon The Pro-Passions Of Our Lord

  151. His Victory Over The Passions Of Love And Anger

  152. Upon Our Passions And Emotions

  153. How He Came To Write His Philothea

  154. Upon The Example Of The Saints

  155. Upon The Love Of God’s Word

  156. His Love Of Retirement

  157. How He Sanctified His Recreations

  158. What He Drew From Some Lines Of Poetry

  159. Upon Being Content With Our Position In Life

  160. Upon Self-Sufficiency And Contentedness

  161. The Reverence Of Blessed Francis For The Sick

  162. Upon The Care Of The Sick

  163. Upon Speaking Well Of The Dead

  164. Upon Death

  165. Upon Wishing To Die

  166. Upon The Same Subject

  167. Upon The Desire Of Heaven

  168. What It Is To Die In God

  169. Upon Length Of Life

  170. Upon Purgatory

  171. Upon Penance

  172. Upon Penitent Confusion

  173. Upon Interior Peace Amidst Anxieties

  174. Upon Discouragement

  175. Upon Rising After A Fall

  176. Upon Kindliness Towards Ourselves

  177. Upon Imperfections

  178. The Just Man Falls Seven Times In The Day

  179. Upon The Purgative Way

  180. Upon Venial Sin

  181. Upon Complicity In The Sins Of Another

  182. Upon Equivocating

  183. Upon Solitude

  184. Upon Vanity

  185. Upon The Knowledge Which Puffs Up

  186. Upon Scruples

  187. Upon Temptations

  188. Upon The Same Subject

  189. Thoughts On The Incarnation

  190. Upon Confession And Communion

  191. Upon Confession

  192. Upon A Change Of Confessor

  193. Upon Different Methods Of Direction

  194. Advice Upon Having A Director

  195. Upon True And Mistaken Zeal

  196. His Defence Of His New Congregation Of The Visitation

  197. Upon The Odour Of Sanctity

  198. He Rebukes Pharisaism

  199. Upon Religious Superiors

  200. Upon Unlearned Superiors

  201. Upon The Founding Of Convents

  202. Upon Receiving The Infirm Into Communities

  203. Upon Self-Pity

  204. Upon The Government Of Nuns By Religious Men

  205. That We Must Not Be Wedded To Our Own Plans

  206. His Views Regarding Ecclesiastical Dignities

  207. His Promotion To The Bishopric Of Geneva And His Refusal Of The Archbishopric Of Paris

  208. A Bishop’s Care For His Flock

  209. On The First Duty Of Bishops

  210. Upon The Pastoral Charge

  211. Upon The Care Of Souls

  212. Upon Learning And Piety

  213. Advice To Bishop Camus As To Resigning His See

  214. The Joyous Spirit Of Blessed Francis

  215. Upon Daily Mass. His Advice To A Young Priest

  216. A Priest Saying Mass Should Be Considerate Of Others

  217. Blessed Francis Encourages The Bishop Of Belley

  218. Upon A Compassionate Mind

  219. Upon Doing One’s Duty, Without Respect Of Persons

  220. The Honour Due To Virtue

  221. Upon Memory And Judgment

  222. A Priest Should Not Aim At Imitating In His Sermons Any Particular Preacher

  223. Upon Short Sermons

  224. Upon Preaching And Preachers

  225. Blessed Francis And The Bishop Of Belley’s Sermon

  226. Upon Controversy

  227. The Same Subject Continued

  228. Upon Reason And Reasoning

  229. Upon Quoting Holy Scripture

  230. Upon Political Diplomacy

  231. Upon Ambition

  232. Upon Courts And Courtiers

  233. Upon The Carnival

  234. An Instance Of His Compassion For Animals

  235. Upon Hunting

  236. Upon The Fear Of Ghosts

  237. His Portrait

  238. Upon Blessed Francis’ True Charity


Downloadable links:


  1. Link-1: https://ia800309.us.archive.org/4/items/thespiritofstfra09184gut/7fran10.txt


  1. Link-2: http://www.malankaraworld.com/library/eBooks/FDeSales/Default.htm


  1. Link-3: http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Spirit-of-St-Francis-de-Sales4.html