DIVINE MERCY AND YOUR VOCATION, ACCORDING TO SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES
St. Francis de Sales had profound thoughts about the Divine Mercy of God, pre-dating the revelations to St. Faustina.
In fact, Divine Mercy is deeply related to His Call to you in your vocation.
St. Francis de Sales said. “ ..It is quite certain that when God calls any one to a state of life, He binds Himself, in consequence, by His Divine Providence, to furnish that person with all the aids required to become perfect in his vocation.
God binds Himself of His own Will, urged and incited to do this by the bonds of His endless and boundless kindness and mercy.
When I enter religion, Our Lord obliges Himself to furnish me with all that is necessary to make me a good Religious. He does this out of His mercy and infinite goodness.
We must not think that on entering religion we become perfect all at once; it is enough that we aim at perfection and embrace the means of perfecting ourselves.
It is necessary to have that firm and constant will and to embrace all the means likely to make us perfect in the vocation unto which we are called. See how secret and mysterious are the judgments of God!”
St. Francis de Sales also remarks that the greater the knowledge of ourselves and our weaknesses the “more profound will be our confidence in the goodness and mercy of God; for between mercy and misery there is so close connection that the one cannot be exercised without the other. If God had not created us He would still have been perfect in goodness, but He would not have been actually merciful, since mercy can only be exercised” towards us who need it!
Source: Spiritual Conferences of St. Francis de Sales
Reflection:
How have you experienced the Mercy of God?
When did you discover the devotion to Divine Mercy?
Does St Francis de Sales’ perspective on mercy enlarge your own?