About St. Francis de Sales
St. Francis de Sales, the holy bishop, founder, and Doctor of the Church, is known throughout the Church for his great sanctity, learning, theological knowledge, gentleness, and understanding of the human soul. Through these marvelous gifts he converted and guided innumerable souls to God during his own lifetime, and re-converted thousands from Calvinism. He continues to direct many souls through his spiritual writings and published sermons. Today St. Francis de Sales is known as one of the great figures of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and of the 17th-century rebirth of Catholic mystical life.
St. Francis was born in 1567 in the castle belonging to the de Sales family in Thorens, Savoy, located in what is now southeastern France. As he grew older, the young nobleman studied literature, law, philosophy and theology in Paris and Padua. It was during his student days in Paris, in the winter of 1586-1587 (at age 19), that St. Francis de Sales was freed from a terrible temptation through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Profoundly impressed with his own spiritual weakness and nothingness in contrast with the holiness and justice of God, St. Francis de Sales became tormented by an overwhelming feeling that he was not in the state of grace and that he was destined for eternal damnation. With valiant prayer he fought this temptation to despair, but it continued. From the depths of his misery, he poured out desperate prayers. He told God that even if he was going to be damned for eternity, at least in this life he would love Him, would always hope in His mercy, and would continue to praise Him always. Furthermore, he pleaded that God would at least not allow him to be among those who eternally curse His Holy Name.
One day, when he was more than ever overwhelmed by thoughts of perdition, St. Francis de Sales ran on foot to the church of St. Stephen, where he knelt down in the chapel of Our Lady. He renewed his vow of perpetual chastity in front of the holy image of Notre Dame de Bonne of Deliverance, that is, Our Lady of Kind Deliverance. (It was in front of this same statue that he had first pronounced this vow some years earlier.) Then he promised that if he were delivered from his inner agony, he would recite the Rosary every day.
At that moment his eyes fell upon a holy card bearing the Memorare of St. Bernard. He picked it up. As he recited the prayer on the card, St. Francis de Sales felt a profound transformation come over him. He felt like a leper suddenly seeing his sores vanishing before his eyes; a great peace came upon him. He was cured.
The statue of Notre Dame de Bonne Deliverance, the Black Virgin, which dates back to the 14th century, is still honored today. It is venerated in the motherhouse of the Sisters Hospitalers of St. Nicholas of Villanova in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
Upon finishing his studies, St. Francis de Sales received a doctorate in civil and canon law. Though he could have had a brilliant secular career, he set his soul on following the call of God to the priesthood, and was ordained in 1593 at the age of 26. He was consecrated Bishop of Geneva at age 35, and was to remain Bishop of Geneva for the remaining 20 years of his life. Some years after St. Francis de Sales took charge of Geneva, King Henry IV suggested to him the possibility of a transfer to a diocese with more worldly advantages; the saint replied in words that soon became famous all over Paris: "Sire, I have married a poor wife and I cannot desert her for a richer one."
Shortly after becoming a bishop, St. Francis met St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a widow; between these two saints there grew a deep spiritual friendship. St. Francis became the spiritual director of Jane Frances, and with her, he founded the religious order of nuns known as the Order of the Visitation, or the Visitandines. St. Francis de Sales was also for a time the confessor of Blessed Marie of the Incarnation (Madame Barbe Acarie), a wife, mother of six children, Parisian hostess, mystic, and foundress of five Carmelite convents.
St. Francis de Sales wrote two of the greatest Catholic masterpieces on the spiritual life: the Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God. The former shows how holiness is possible for all people in the state of grace, including people living in the world. This book was a bestseller in the 17th century and is still popular today. The Treatise on the Love of God covers all aspects of the virtue of charity, the supernatural love of God. St. Francis de Sales’ pamphlets against the Calvinist heresy have been gathered together into a book and given the title Controversies. The arguments presented in this book are just as unanswerable today as when they were written. Because of his writings, St. Francis de Sales has become the patron of writers and journalists; he has also been designated patron saint of the Catholic press.
St. Francis de Sales died at age 55, in the year 1622. His beatification, which occurred the very year he died, was the first formal beatification ever held in St. Peter's Basilica. He was canonized in 1665, and was declared a Doctor of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX in 1877. With this declaration the Church presented the teachings of St. Francis de Sales to all the faithful as a sure guide to true Catholic doctrine and the ways of the spiritual life — a sure guide to Heaven.
Preface
It is a joy to welcome the English translation of the Sermons on Our Lady by Saint Francis de Sales. It is especially through his masterpiece, Introduction to the Devout Life, that the Doctor of the Church is known throughout the Christian world. The role of Our Lady as the Mother of God is not sufficiently appreciated. The publication of these thirteen Marian sermons will help all to see that Mary is an essential element of his spirituality.
It is especially as "model" of the devout life that Our Lady is depicted by Saint Francis de Sales. With his typical gentleness and contemplative spirit, the saint stresses several times in these sermons the basic beatitude of Our Lady: She hears the Word of God and keeps it. He exhorts us to do the same. To be more precise, it is Mary, the meek and humble Virgin, always obedient to the Word, whom this master of spirituality describes for our imitation. Because the Mother of God is the exemplar of the Christian life, the majority of these "Marian" sermons deal more with the Christian virtues than with Mary herself. His purpose, then, is not to compose a scholarly Mariological treatise. Rather, in his evangelically childlike manner, he preaches on the basic qualities of our life in Christ — especially humility — which so beautifully radiate through Mary. Although these sermons are for the most part directed to his Visitation Nuns, for whom Mary is the "Mother," the "Abbess," they are profitable for all Christians.
If one were to examine these sermons according to the criteria stipulated by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI, in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (On the Right Ordering of Devotion to Mary), their beauty becomes clearer. For although the sermons antedate the Apostolic Exhortation by approximately three and a half centuries, these works fulfill the requirements of Paul VI for solid devotion to the Mother of God.
The first two guidelines given to us by Marialis Cultus can be summarized by declaring that the ultimate source of all devotion to Mary must be Scripture as lived, prayed and taught by Holy Mother Church. Nothing characterizes these sermons more than their scriptural and liturgical foundations. Fidelity to the Word of God as preached by the Catholic Church is the very spirit of this Bishop of Geneva who tended his flock during the upheavals of the post-reformation era. He therefore constantly quotes Scripture, betraying his predilection for a mystical interpretation of the Song of Songs. The teachings of the Church are his constant guide.
Saint Francis de Sales' allegorical, mystical use of Scripture — typical of many of the Fathers of the Church — seems foreign to contemporary scientific studies. Also, the teachings of the Church concerning Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, have been further developed and clarified during the centuries since these sermons were delivered. However, one is not to search for modern scriptural interpretations or a contemporary Mariology in these conferences which date from the early part of the seventeenth century. It is their solid, contemplative insight into Mary as model of Christian life which has lasting value.
The second pair of guidelines given to us by Paul VI is especially important in understanding the thought of Saint Francis de Sales. Marialis Cultus calls for a Mariology which is ecumenical and anthropological; ecumenical in the sense that the truth must be proclaimed in a way that will attract, and not unnecessarily offend, our separated brethren: anthropological in the sense that the preaching must be in accord with the culture and needs of the people addressed — always, however, remaining within the ambit of the Catholic Faith.
Some may deny that these Marian sermons are ecumenical. There are expressions (e.g., the divine Mary), opinions (e.g., endowed with the use of reason from the first moment of her conception, Mary is from the beginning of her existence a true contemplative), which some contemporary scholars would classify as offensive to many non-Catholics and Catholics alike. However, it must never be forgotten when reading these sermons that this mild-mannered seventeenth-century Bishop of Geneva is boldly preaching in the language of his age, expressing the opinions of his time. How could it be otherwise? Saints too are children of their times.
Moreover, Saint Francis de Sales attracted untold numbers to "the Church by observing the primary rule of ecumenical dialogue: Never dilute the truths of the Faith in order to achieve a facade of unity. Although he espouses opinions of his time which some today would term "extravagant," he does differentiate between what is necessary for the profession of the Catholic faith and what is not, These sermons are intended not for a theological convocation nor for an ecumenical gathering, but primarily for the contemplative Order he founded with Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, the Visitation Nuns.
These sermons admirably fulfill, therefore, the criterion of "anthropological": Their expressions and style mesh with the culture of the times, they speak to the mindset of the audience, they address the needs of his people, primarily his Visitation Nuns. To expect to find in these works the concise style of contemporary preaching, the insights of modern theological studies, is not only unrealistic but does no honor to this Bishop of Geneva who had the difficult task of proclaiming the Gospel amidst the turmoil of the early 1600's. That the sermons of this Doctor of the Church spoke powerfully to the hearts of his people is beyond doubt, since so many lapsed Catholics returned to the faith because of his preaching.
What proves the importance of these sermons is the fact that they are, as Marialis Cultus demands of all Marian devotion, centered on Christ, the Incarnate Second Person, of the Trinity, the Head of His Body, the Church. These works of Saint Francis de Sales are distinctly Christocentric. Mary, explains this Doctor of the Church, receives all her gifts from the Father through the Son so that she may praise God and be a living example of total surrender to Christ Jesus. Mary is never taken out of this necessary Christological context. She is the model who leads all of us to a deeper life in Christ. Nothing demonstrates this thought of Francis de Sales better than the final words of his sermon on the Immaculate Conception: "... if you ask her: 'Mother, what do you wish us to do for you?' no doubt she will answer that she desires and wishes that you do what she asked to be done at the celebrated marriage feast of Cana in Galilee when the wine gave out. She said to those who came to tell her of their need: Do whatever my Son tells you. If then you listen faithfully, you will hear in your heart those very words addressed to you: Do whatever my Son tells you. May God give us the grace to listen to her in this life and in the other. Amen."
Surely a debt of gratitude is owed to the Visitation Nuns for making these Marian sermons available to the English-speaking world. The quiet contemplative soul will readily experience their beauty. All readers will be led by their peaceful pace and depth of personal insight to a more intense union with the Lord.
John Joseph Cardinal Carberry
Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Louis
May 31, 1985
Feast of the Visitation
Translator's Note
The thirteen sermons on Our Lady contained in this book were translated from St. Francis de Sales' Oeuvres, vols. VII, IX, and X (Annecy: Nierat, 1892-1964).
The first volume of this series, Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Prayer, includes an Introduction on the Origins and Value of the Sermons which was also taken from the Annecy edition.
Books | Quotes | 27 Volumes | Pictures | Videos | Audio Books | Articles | Prayers