| I Doubt If a Sermon Would Have Touched Me So Deeply |
Hi Susan,At our Living Jesus Chat this Sunday we will be talking about the following letter of St. Francis de Sales to St. Jane de Chantal, taken from Selected Letters of St. Francis de Sales.To prepare for our chat, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  The small birds trusted their charity.Photo by Sophie Dale on UnsplashTo Mere de Chantal at Lyons, written from Annecy on 5 March 1615 .I wrote to you when I went to Sales, my very dear Mother, and am writing again upon my return. Three consolations came my way and you will like to know about them, for what consoles me affects you as it does myself.Firstly, my dear little sister [Baronne de Thorens, daughter of Madame de Chantal and wife of St. Francis’s brother] whom I find increasingly lovable and determined to be good and devout. Secondly, yesterday, Ash Wednesday, I spent the whole morning alone in the gallery and the chapel [at the castle of Sales] where I remembered with joy the dear and desirable conversations we had at the time of your general confession; I cannot tell you what good thoughts and feelings God gave me on this subject. Thirdly, there had been a heavy snowfall, and the courtyard was over a foot deep in snow. John went and swept a little clearing in the snow and threw some corn to feed the pigeons who all came together to this refectory to eat in the most peace fulfilled sedate way; and I took delight in watching them. You would not believe how greatly these little creatures edified me, for they never made a sound, and those who had finished feeding before the others flew away to a place close by to wait. And when they had cleared about half of what was there, a number of small birds who had been watching from afar came to join them; and all the pigeons that were still feeding retired to one corner so as to leave more room for the smaller birds who then settled down to their meal without the pigeons disturbing them in any way.I admired this charity; for the poor pigeons were so loath to disturb the small birds to whom they were giving alms, that they all clustered together at one end of the table. I admired the discretion of the smaller birds who did not come to beg till they saw that the pigeons had nearly got to the end of their meal and that there was still plenty left over. In short, I could not restrain my tears to see the loving simplicity of the doves and the way the small birds trusted their charity. I doubt if a sermon would have touched me so deeply. This tableau of virtue did me a great deal of good the whole day.But here they come telling me to hurry, my dear Mother. My heart talks to you about my thoughts and my thoughts generally talk to me about your heart which is quite certainly one with mine … You are most precious to my heart, my very dear Mother. May God make us ever more and more his own. I send greetings to our dear Sisters. Francis, Bishop of Geneva. Reflections: Why is it good to find joy in the success (especially spiritually speaking) of others?Why are holy relationships important, even for celibate individuals?St. Francis recalls a serene moment watching pigeons feed while smaller birds waited their turn. Why is it so important to pause our busy lives and drink in such moments of simplicity (which might otherwise be seen as insignificant and ignorable by others)?Share a time you were struck by something in nature.How can we make the most out of what time we have left in this holy season of Lent? Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time |