Spiritual Friendship of St. Jane and St. Francis
Love showed through all of Jane’s letters, She loved her sisters with real affection and loved them enough to encourage them to spiritual heights. She cherished the friendships that existed between herself and the first sisters of the Visitation. Her letters to them were full of details of her interior life as well as those special confidences friends share with one another. The confidence she had in her sisters shines through every letter because of the tender loving way she dealt with all of them.
But the one, true, and important friendship of her life was the one she enjoyed with Francis de Sales. The Visitation Order was possible only because of the love and friendship that gave it birth–that between Francis and Jane. Theirs was a very human love, a genuine love that each one experienced while at the same time possessing the very deepest possible love of God. He was her confidant, her spiritual director, her father in every sense of the word, and because of her genuine love for him, Jane was able to reveal herself completely to him. She revered him as the special friend sent to her by God who would lead her to the pinnacle of divine love. Her complete confidence in him is expressed in the following letter:
There is a great desire in me to accomplish the Will of God, and for this reason I beg of you, once more, to teach me how to do it, for I have emotions which I cannot express, and a certain joy that tells me that this great God will lead me on and make me capable of his love, although I see the incapacity of my soul. Ask him to give me strength to do what he requires of me. I beg your holy blessing.
Reflection questions:
I. Friendship was at the core of Jane’s life. Her love for her friends was an outpouring of her love for God. Why were love of others and love of God so intertwined For Jane?
2. Jane’s and Francis’ relationship has been described as a spiritual
friendship. Have you ever experienced a friendship like this?
APPLICATION
Scripture
When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (I Samuel 18:1-3)
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. (John 15.1215)
JANE’S WORDS:
I repeat with all my strength, dear Sisters, be kind to one another, respect one another’s opinions, do not criticize, and I beg you, interpret everything positively.
Show to one another, my dear daughters, a goodness and childlike amiability, bearing with one another in charity, and never let the faults of the community astonish. Charity seeks no evil.
Lead those in your care with an understanding heart; removing from your heart and theirs any unhealthy spirit of constraint.
As regards love of neighbor, may we give according to the measure with which our Divine Master has given to us. Then we truly will love each person as ourselves. This saying is true, “Do to your neighbor only what you like done to you. Oh, how happy we would be if we were mindful of this in all our relationships with others.