Day 1
“Everything out of love, nothing out of strength”
DAY 1
How good God is to me! Admire God’s goodness. Oh, how good my God is to me! So it’s so good! How rich is your heart, O Lord, overflowing with goodness! O my soul, let us not cease to tell ourselves the story of all the graces He has bestowed upon us.
St. Francis de Sales. Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chap. XI
Day 2
The breath of God, the Holy Spirit, inspires me
The breath of God not only warms, but it enlightens, because the divine Spirit is an infinite light. His breath of life is called “inspiration”. Through inspiration, this supreme goodness breathes into us the desires and intentions of His Heart.
Saint Francis de Sales. Treatise on the Love of God, Book VIII, chap. X
3Th Day
Be who you are
“Whatever our condition, it is the way of encountering the Lord. Do not sow your desires in other people’s gardens, only cultivate your own well. Be what you are and be good to do honor to the Master Workman whose work you are.”
Saint François de Sales
4Th day
Live with peace of heart
Try to keep your heart at peace by the equality of your moods. I do not say keep him in peace, but I say: try to do it; Let this be your chief concern, and beware of many occasions of being troubled by the fact that you cannot quickly calm the variety of feelings of your moods.
St. Francis de Sales. Letter 1548
5Th day
He who has won the heart of man has won the whole man.
Nothing is small to God. Everything is great if it is lived in love: a smile, a look, a kind word, a sharing of goods… All is grace for the giver and for the receiver.
Our Lord nowhere in Scripture does it say to us, “My son, give me your head, your arms… but only: My child, give me your heart.”
He who has won the heart of man, has won the whole man. God is the God of the human heart.
Saint François de Sales
6Th day
“He loved me, he gave himself up for me” (Gal 2:20)
Who was I when I wasn’t? God, from the abyss of His eternity, thought for me thoughts of blessings, He meditated and determined the hour of my birth, of my baptism, of all the inspirations He would give me, and in short, all the benefits He would give me and offer. Is there such a sweetness as this sweetness?
Saint François de Sales
7Th Day
Commune with His Love
He revealed all his secrets to us as one does to the most intimate confidant. And bringing to the height of love the relationship that unites us to Him, He wanted to become our food in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist
St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God, Book II,
Chapter 12
8Th day
The delicacy of bees
“The bee,” says Aristotle, “draws its honey from the flowers without taking any interest in them,” leaving them whole and fresh as it found them; But true devotion does even better, for not only does it not spoil any kind of vocation or business, but on the contrary it adorns and beautifies them.
Saint François de Sales
9Th day
Mary, Mother of Hope
“Incense is the symbol of hope, because when it is put on the fire, it always throws its smoke upwards; Thus hope must be placed on charity, otherwise it would no longer be hope.”
Saint François de Sales
Final Prayer:
Lord God, for the salvation of souls, you have willed that Bishop Francis de Sales should become the servant of all in all things:
in your goodness, grant us to follow his example,
to always manifest your sweet charity in fraternal service.
Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God,
forever and ever.
Amen.
Saint Francis de Sales, pray for us!