This work was written by Saint Francis de Sales and translated into
English. Although this book is mainly for religious, consider this
letter to a widow: "My DAUGHTER-I am so greatly pressed that I have
not the leisure to write you anything more than the great word of
our salvation, JESUS. Yes, my daughter, can we not at least once
pronounce that sacred name of our heart. Oh what a balm would it
spread throughout all the powers of our spirit How happy should we
be, my daughter to have in our understanding Jesus only, in our
imagination Jesus only. Jesus would be everywhere in us and we
everywhere in him. Let us make trial of this, my very dear
daughter, let us pronounce it as often as we can; and if for the
present it is but with stammering, still at last we shall be able
to pronounce it properly. But what is the pronouncing it properly,
that sacred name?-for you ask me to speak plainly to you. Alas my
daughter, I do not know. I only know that to express it duly there
needs a tongue all of fire; that is, there needs nothing less than
love divine, which by itself expresses Jesus in our life by
impressing him in the depths of our heart. But courage, my
daughter; undoubtedly we shall love God, for he loves us. Make
yourself happy in this, and permit not your soul to be troubled
about anything. I am, my dear daughter, I am in this same Jesus,
yours most absolutely." Saint Francis de Sales wrote this on
humility to a superioress of the Visitation: "IT is the truth, my
very dear sister, my daughter, that you have greatly pleased me by
the trouble which you have taken to write to me, since also, as I
see, you are the one to whom God has disposed to have the charge of
superior committed. You will be granted leisure to well prepare
yourself, by an entire submission to heavenly Providence, and a
perfect strengthening of heart to exercise yourself well in
humility, and in sweetness or mildness of heart-the two dear wishes
which Our Lord recommended to the Apostles whom he had destined to
the superiorship of the universe. Ask nothing and refuse nothing
about all matters of the religious life; this is the holy
indifference which will preserve you in the peace of your eternal
Sponse, and it is the one only teaching that I want practised by
all our sisters, whom my heart affectionately salutes, with yours,
my dear daughter." This advice on meditation is very good:
"Touching meditation, I pray you not to distress yourself, if
sometimes, and even very often, you do not find consolation in it;
go quietly on, with humility and patience, not on this account
doing violence to your spirit. Use your books when you find your
soul weary, that is to say, read a little and then meditate, then
read again a little and meditate, till the end of your half-hour.
Mother St.] Teresa thus acted in the beginning, and said that she
found it a very good plan for herself. And since we are speaking in
confidence, I will add that I have also tried it myself and found
it good for me. Take it as a rule that the grace of meditation
cannot be gained by any effort of the mind; but there must be a
gentle and earnest perseverance full of humility. Continue all your
other exercises in the manner I have marked them out for you." And
here is some good advice on getting sufficient rest that we all
should take, for how many spend their 'night vigils' in useless
pursuits: "With regard to going to bed, I will not change my
opinion, if you please; but still, if you do not like bed, and
cannot stay in it as long as the rest do, I will permit you to rise
an hour earlier; for, my dear sister, it is incredible how
dangerous long night vigils are, and how much they weaken the
brain. It is not felt during youth; but it comes to be felt so much
the more afterwards, and many persons have rendered themselves
useless in this way."
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