| He Lived for God in Body, Heart and Soul |
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  Death of St. Louis IX (Public Domain)…(excerpt) …I forgot to mention that the will of God is known not only by the claims of necessity and charity but also by obedience, so that if you receive a command, you should believe that this is the will of God. Am I not writing too much? But my mind runs on more quickly than I wish, carried away by my ardent desire to serve you.For the next point, remember the feast day of blessed King Louis, the day on which you took the crown of your kingdom from your own heart so as to put it at the feet of Jesus, the King; the day on which you renewed your youth like the eagle’s, plunging into the sea of penance; the day which heralded the eternal day for your soul. Remember that I said ‘Amen’ to your great resolution of belonging to God in body, heart and soul; I said it on behalf of the whole Church, our Mother; and at the same time the Blessed Virgin with all the angels made heaven resound with a great ‘Amen’ and ‘Alleluia’. Remember that all the past is as nothing and that you must say with David every day: ‘Even now have I begun’ to love my God as I should. Do a great deal for God and do nothing without love; refer everything to this love; eat and drink with this in mind.Be devoted to St. Louis and admire his great constancy. He became King when he was twelve years old, had nine children, was continually waging war either against rebels or enemies of the faith, was king for over forty years. And at the end of it all, when he was dead, his confessor, a holy man, swore that he had never fallen into mortal sin, and he had confessed him all his life. He made two journeys overseas. In the course of both of them he lost his army and on his last journey he died of the plague after he had spent much time visiting, helping, serving those who were plague-stricken in his army. He bandaged their sores and cured them, and then died joyfully and with fortitude, a verse from David on his lips. I give you this saint for your special patron throughout the year; the following year, please God, I will give you another, after you have profited much in this saint’s school.Finally, believe two things with regard to me: first, that God wants you to make use of me, so do not hesitate; and secondly, that in the things which regard your salvation God will give me light to serve you; and as to the will to serve you, he has already given me that in such great measure that it could not be greater. I have received the note with your vows and am keeping it carefully, looking upon it as a fit instrument of our union which is wholly rooted in God and which will last to all eternity by the mercy of God who is the author of it . . .My mother is very devoted to you. I was happy to hear that you so gladly call Madame des Puis d’Orbe ‘sister’; she is a great soul if she is loyally helped, and God will use her for the glory of his name. Help her and visit her by letter; God will reward you. It really looks as though I shall never get to the end of this letter, the only point of which is to try and reply to yours. And yet I really must finish it now, asking for the great help of your prayers; and how I need them! I never pray without including you in my prayers, and never salute my angels without saluting yours. Do the same for me and let Celse-Benigne do it too; I always pray for you and your little company. Do believe me, I never forget them in my Mass, nor yet their dead father, your husband.May God be your heart, your mind, your soul, my very dear sister; and I am in his merciful love, Your very devoted servant,Francis, Bishop of Geneva. Pray sometimes for the conversion of my unhappy Geneva .Reflections: What does it mean that the love of God is known by obedience? Are we supposed to blindly do whatever anyone tells us to do?How do we “do nothing without love”?Why is it important to try to emulate a particular Saint, and perhaps focus on just one at a time in the aid of growing in virtue and holiness?What makes a vow different from a promise?How is being a “relative” in the bloodline of Christ’s Church different than having merely biological blood relations with a relative?By worldly standards, King St. Louis IX was in many ways a failure. He made two crusades overseas, lost his army each time, and died of the plague away from his home. How are we called to imitate his faithfulness? Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time |