By TARA CONNOLLY Staff writer
When people hear the name St. Francis, they usually conjure up an image of the Italian friar dressed in a brown cloak with doves flying around him and surrounded by animals.
His full name is St. Francis of Assisi and he is one of the more popular saints.
But St. Francis de Sales is equally relevant to the Catholic Church and faithful learned more about the 16th century bishop and doctor of the church March 18 during “Faith and Spirits.”
Maggie Riggins, campus minister of DeSales University, Center Valley, led the discussion “Salesian Spirituality: Getting to Know the ‘Other’ St. Francis” at P.J. Whelihan’s, Reading.
Riggins began the discussion with biographical details of the 16th century priest, who was born into an aristocratic family in the Savoy region of France. His mother had difficulty conceiving a child and was granted a son, Francis, and 12 other children after praying to God.
“She dedicated him to God. But he was expected to study law, which he did, but also secretly studied canon law and theology,” she said.
“He never let his love of God and theology take the back seat.”
A clear sign came to Francis on the way to a diplomatic mission. His horse threw him off three times, and each time he fell off, his sword and scabbard would fall to the ground in the shape of a cross.
“He went on to become a priest and quickly became a bishop. His mission was to go to the newly Calvinist land of Switzerland and bring the people back to the Catholic faith,” said Riggins.
Most people were not interested in the faith and would slam doors in his face. He resorted to writing letters and slipping them under the doors of the residents.
“He was an amazing go-getter. He developed a lot of spiritual pen pals and it is estimated that he wrote more than 10,000 letters – which is why he is the patron saint of journalists,” said Riggins.
St. Francis de Sales also formed a deep spiritual friendship with St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a widow at age 28 and mother of four children, who took a vow of chastity after her husband was killed.
“St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal go hand-in-hand. Their spiritual friendship gave birth to Salesian spirituality – which is grounded in their good and holy friendship,” said Riggins.
The Salesian spirituality, according to Riggins, is rooted in the universal call to holiness.
“All of us are called to have a relationship with God. It was a radical idea in the 16th century. Only priests and nuns were thought to have a relationship with God,” she said.
“We are called to do the ‘ordinary’ in ‘extraordinary’ ways. If Francis was alive today, he would tell us to show honor and glory to God with passion and intentionality – right now and right here in our daily lives,” said Riggins.
In addition, she stressed that St. Francis de Sales would encourage them to not just go through the motions and to realize that God is in every moment.
“It’s all about the little virtues that get us through everyday life. The first virtue is gentleness. Gentleness takes guts. There is nothing so strong as gentleness,” said Riggins.
She also told the adults that St. Francis de Sales would remind them of humility.
“Humility is accepting the things we are good at. We all have good and bad points.”
Although St. Francis de Sales coined the popular phrase “Be who you are and be that well,” Riggins said the rest of the quote is “to give honor to the master craftsman whose handiwork you are.”
There are also things St. Francis would remind people of “what not to be,” said Riggins.
“He would tell us not to be fake. You are supposed to be you.
“Don’t worry about cultivating someone else’s garden. Take care of your own lawn. Grow where you are planted.”
St. Francis de Sales would also encourage people not to be frivolous or fear the unknown.
“We aren’t supposed to be irresponsible in our state of life. And ‘be not afraid’ tells us not to fear. It is written in the Bible 365 times. When we are fearful, we can’t live in the present,” said Riggins.
Finally, she said St. Francis de Sales would tell people to live by four words: “He wants all of us to be happy, healthy, holy and passionate.”
“Holiness is a constant renewal with our relationship with God. We are to live out our lives with passion and what energizes you,” she said.
