St. Francis de Sales wrote this New Year’s letter to St. Jane de Chantal. May you profit from it as well!
LETTER XV.
To MADAME DE CHANTAL.
O JESUS ! fill our heart with the sacred balm of
your Divine name, that the sweetness of its perfume
may spread into all our senses, and over all our acts.
But to make this heart capable of receiving so sweet a
liquor, circumcise it, and cut off from it all that can
be disagreeable to your holy eyes. O glorious name,
which the mouth of the heavenly Father has pronounced eternally, be for ever the superscription of our
souls, that, as you are Savior, our soul may be
eternally saved ! O holy Virgin, who, first of all the
human race, have pronounced this name of salvation,
inspire us how to pronounce it fittingly, that all may
breathe in us the salvation which your womb has
brought us !
My dearest child, it was fitting to write the first
letter of this year to our Lord and our Lady; and
here is the second, by which, O my daughter, I wish
you a good year, and I dedicate our heart to the
Divine goodness. O that we may so live this year
that it may serve as foundation for the eternal year !
At least this morning I have on waking cried out unto
your ears : Vive Jesus ! and have longed to spread
this sacred oil over all the face of the earth.
When a balm is well closed in a flask, no one can
tell what liquor it is save him who has put it there ;
but when it is opened, and some drops have been
poured out, every one says : It is balm. My dear
child, our dear little Jesus was all filled with the balm
of salvation ; but this was not known till with that
knife, lovingly cruel, his Divine flesh was opened ; and
then it was known that he is all balm and oil poured out,
and the balm of salvation. Wherefore first St. Joseph
and our Lady, then all the neighbours begin to cry
Jesus, which signifies Saviour.
May it please this Divine darling (poupon*} to steep
our souls in his blood, and to perfume them with his
holy name, that the roses of good desires which we
have conceived may be all empurpled with its colour,
and all odorous with its unction !
My God ! how aptly fits in this circumcision, my
child, with our . little and our great abnegations ! for
these are properly a spiritual circumcision. Your
very affectionate, &c.