St. Francis de Sales is well known for his use of imagery, especially from nature. Here St. Francis uses the images of Palm and Lily to make his point about perfection.
He states: ” All creatures have something of perfection and imperfection. This is why they can be used to provide examples of both. However I have never found Holy Scripture to use the palm tree to represent anything but perfection, or something excellent or honorable. It seems to find nothing vile or contemptible in it.
Among flowers, the lily seems to have nothing abject, so I have never read in Scripture that it was used for any figure but perfection. The palm tree and the lily are apparently the only exceptions although they also have their origin in the same nothingness from which God created everything.”
St Francis de Sales Sermon for Palm Sunday 1622
Question:
Was St. Francis de Sales correct about the Scriptural use of the Palm and Lily? Let us know!