Feast Day of Francis de Sales - January 24

(allocution in honor of Francis de Sales on what used to be his feast day, this shows how human and holy he was and how happy and blessed we are to live his spirituality)

From the Allocution Sabaudiae gemma of Pope Paul VI, January 29, 1967

No one of the recent Doctors of the church more than St. Francis de Sales anticipated the deliberations and decisions of the Second Vatican Council with such a keen and progressive insight.  He renders his contribution by the example of his life, by the wealth of his true and sound doctrine, by the fact that he has opened and strengthened the spiritual ways of Christian perfection for all states and conditions of life.  We propose that these three things be imitated, embraced, and followed.

An acute perception of mind, a solid and clear reasoning, a penetrating judgment, an almost incredible good will and kindness, a gentle and loveable suavity of speech and expression, a calm ardor of an ever active spirit, a rare simplicity of manners, a serene and tranquil peace, an ever firm and secure moderation, nevertheless not separated from strength - gentleness emanates from his strength - by which he was accustomed to love affectionately, and also to take a firm stand in order to achieve what he wished, a lofty elevation of mind and a love of beauty, wishing to show others the most beneficial goods both spiritual and cultural, an immense love of souls and a love of God, radiant as the sun, which surpassed all his other virtues, all of this elevated and increased by the superabundance of divine graces; such are, along with others like them, the characteristics with which the portrait of St. Frandis de Sales is sketched.

He bore the labors of the pastoral ministry undertaken even amid dangers and perils; he composed works rich in doctrine; he preached and renewed sacred eloquence; he reformed many monasteries that had grown lax in religious observance, and together with St. Jane de Chantal, with whom he was joined by a bond of spiritual and supernatural friendship, he founded the Institute of the Visitation of Holy Mary.

St. Francis de Sales appears as a new doctor of the spiritual life quite suited to the present age.  His doctrine remains profoundly anchored in the fullness of the faith of the Church, in tradition and in the teaching of the Fathers of the Church.  Nevertheless he applied himself to placing the old in a new light; he wisely strove to adapt it to the use and advantage of a new age, and to fashion it harmoniously and tastefully.

As a result he united the cult of humanism with the mystical ascent and ardor, and in so doing promoted and developed in himself and in his disciples the varied and harmonious progress of all the faculties of the human person.  Rather than speak as has been done of devout humanism, it would be better to speak of a Christocentric superhumanism, applied to the total holiness of the human person.

It has been clearly established and declared that it is greatly desirable that the ensemble of the faithful including the laity strive wholeheartedly for holiness of life since they are capable of attaining it with the help of divine grace.  The Bishop of Geneva presents this variety of the forms of holness under the name and quality of devotion.  St. Francis de Sales, enflamed by the violence of a holy desire, urgently exhorted and aroused all Christians regardless of differences of sex, age, fortune, or condition in life, to cultivate and reap the fruits of this devotion.  "Holiness is not the prerogative of one group or of another or any one person, but an invitation and a commend addressed to all those who bear the name of Christian."

December 9, 2011

Every Day with Saint Francis de Sales

~ Is your life harried and hassled? 

~ Is it difficult to find time to pray and reflect on your calling as a Christian?

~ These portions of a letter or sermon by St. Francis de Sales, reflect on how he lived what he taught in the concrete circumstances of his own life.

~ St. Francis de Sales lived some 400 years ago, and yet his message is still relevant for our world today.  His gentle manner toward everyone he met and his generous service of od and the Church can be an inspiration and example for 20th century Christians of every walk of life.

On December 9, while Francis de Sales was preaching the Advent sermons at Grenoble, he got word of the marvelous cure of Mother Chantal, who was very sick at the time.  He rejoiced about this in the Lord, and having finished his sermon he went on foot to the Reformed Franciscans to celebrate Holy Mass.  He did this with such sentiments of piety that these good religious believed that he was in ecstasy.  The same day, he wrote as follows to the holy convalescent: "I have thought, my dear daughter, that I could not find a better way of thanking the heavenly Physician than through the hands of our most holy mother, Mary conceived without sin, our sovereign and patroness . . . So, after my poor sermon, I came to hide myself in the church of the Franciscans to celebrate Holy Mass, during which our heavenly queen deigned to look upon me with such kindness that I hope to come back to her on other occasions to beg her, as the sovereign medicine, to preserve for a long time our dearest mother, for whom she has without doubt obtained the recovery."
(A. S. XII, p. 171)

Be at peace and let your soul feed upon the sweetness of heavenly love, without which our hearts are lifeless and our life joyless.

"It can be said that religious perfection is the real pearl of the Gospel; to acquire it one must be prepared to abandon everything in a vastly different manner from that which is required for common Christian perfection.  While this latter can be attained simply by observing the commandments of God, for religious perfection it is necessary to keep not only the precepts but also the evangelical counsels, by following secret inspirations and interior promptings.  This is done by entering the religious state and renouncing all the vanities of the world and one's own possessions.  Everything must be left, without exception, no matter how small that may be."
(Sermons 44; O.X, p. 23)

29th National Salesian Conference

DeSales Resources and Ministries, Inc.
invites you to the
29th NATIONAL SALESIAN CONFERENCE
presented locally by Visitation Monastery
(7 location live simulcast)

Consider God's love for you as you travel the
spiritual journey of the gospel with
St. Francis de Sales.

JOIN US on SATURDAY, AUGUST 6
8:00 a.m.-2:30p.m.

Visitation Academy & Monastery
3020 N. Ballas Rd.
Saint Louis, MO  63131

REGISTRATION: DeSales Resources at 1-800-782-2270 or http://www.desalesresource.org/
COST: Free will offering

FATHER EUNAN McDONNELL, SDB
Salesian of Don Bosco from Ireland
will present on "God Desires YOU" including:
- The Human Heart
- The Heart of God
- The Heart of Jesus
- Heart Speaking to Heart
- A Communion of Hearts





What will the day include?
... presentations
... Liturgy in the Visitation Chapel
... Shared opening and closing prayer among ALL sites
... Additional materials available on site including Salesian Marketplace
... Continental breakfast and lunch

Sister Marie Therese retreat musings

Last summer during our annual retreat I wrote about my delight in

watching mother and father mourning doves prepare for and take

care of their babies. The nest was in a tree whose limbs brush

against my window so I had a box seat.

To my wonderment this year a mother robin chose almost that

spot to build her much more carefully constructed nest, piece by

piece. Then she settled down to warm and protect her beautiful blue

eggs. In blazing St. Louis sun that sifted through the leaves or in the

heavy rains amid thunder and lightning, she spread out her

protecting wings and braved the storm.

After a week or two  of patient sitting, I noticed that she had to

perch on the edge of the nest for lack of room and that three pink

mouths vied frantically for the worms she and her mate deposited

in each one. Day by day the baby robins grew in feathers, size, and

rambunctiousness. Mother Robin was unfailingly patient first with

the babies and then with the “teenage” behavior of her brood. Again

when the heavy rains came, they all four seemed to hunker down

in the nest, and she was still able to spread her wings over the bulges

below and protect them.

Gradually the three little birds spent their time flapping their wings,

pushing each other aside, and even teetering to a near-by branch,

only to hop right back into the nest.

I had hoped to see their departure. They were all still there one

morning, but when I came back after lunch, the nest was completely

empty. Neither the mother or babies returned.

Throughout this drama, I was ever aware of the parallel of God’s

nurturing, faithful care for us in sunshine and storm. I thought often

of Paul Claudel’s observation: “Jesus did not come to explain away

suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with his presence.”

Please click on the link below and watch this video of a mother

robin feeding her chicks.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9479342&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_
portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Feast of the Sacred Heart

On June 6, 1610, 401 years ago, the Visitation Order began
in Annecy, France.

St. Francis de Sales wrote to St. Jane de Chantal:

"Truly our little congregation is a work

of the heart of Jesus and Mary.

The dying Savior gave birth to us

through the wound of his Sacred Heart."

The Sisters of the Visitation invite you to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Friday, July 1, 2011

7:30 p.m. Eucharistic Liturgy

Rev. Tom Landgraff, OSFS

Visitation Chapel

3020 North Ballas Road

Saint Louis, Missouri  63131

Please enter at Monastery door.  Reception follows. 

If you plan to attend, please respond to 314-625-9235.



Sister Lucy's Reflection at the Mothers' Club Lenten Day of Recollection

Sister Lucy

Lent is upon us - a time to reflect on what Jesus Christ, in His great love, has done for us and how we have responded to this great love.

Christ in His passion did not have the support of His friends (apostles).  They slept as He agonized.  He even asked God His Father to relieve Him: "Father let this chalice pass from me, but not my will but Thy will be done."  When we are distressed and feel no support - and this does happen whether in great things or small things - can we respond as He did?  If not, we can turn to One who knows how it feels to be bereft.  We can also be a support to others in their distress.

Christ was beaten so badly with whips that His flesh was ripped open.   He suffered that for me and for you.  Have we ever thought that we may be the cause of some of those lashes when we lash out in anger or gossip about another?  It is well to think of our tongues as whips.  For a positive Lenten practice, perhaps we can curb our tongues when we speak out of impatience, anger or lack of charity.  It might also be well to examine and ask, "Why am I impatient?  Why am I angry?  Why am I feeling uncharitable?"  We need to be honest with ourselves and admit that the fault is with ourselves.

Christ was crowned with a circle of thorns; they were not small thorns and they were beaten onto His head, not gently placed.  Can you imagine the pain!  There are times when we may feel like we have a crown of thorns because of tensions we are under at home, at work or other circumstances.  Christ suffered that for us without complaint; can we offer our suffering up to Him, ask His help, calmly and peacefully ease the situation if possible?

Mothers' Club Lenten Retreat
Visitation Academy Chapel

Christ was forced to carry the heavy cross beam on badly bruised back and shoulders - again no complaint.  We have many crosses in our lives - heavy, medium and small ones - how do we carry them?  Sometimes we think we are the only ones who have crosses, but if we look around near us and far away from us, we will see that there are others carrying crosses.  Christ is always there to help us for He knows our capacity for suffering.  Remember in Scripture He said: "Take up your cross daily and follow me."

Christ is stripped and utters no complaint but suffers this indignity for love of us.  There are times when we are "stripped" of our job/income, ourhealth, our families, our reputation.  I am sure that you can think of other strippings.  Do we turn to God and ask His help?

Now we come to Christ being nailed to the cross.  The hammering of the nails - spikes! into His hands and feet.  Can you imagine the pain!  I believe we all have pains, some worse than others.  Can we offer our suffering in union with Christ's suffering?   There is so much in us, in our families in the world that needs explanation.

Christ did all this for love of us and He sees and knows our splendor, each and every one of us.  He said to St. Margaret Mary: "Behold this heart so full of love for men and have received so little love in return." 

l-Sister Lucy, r-Sister Margaret Mary

Can we be those who return love?

Sisters Adopt L'Arche St. Louis as a Prayer Partner

This past Wednesday Franciscan Sister Janet Ryan and Visitation associate Helen Rissi came to update the Sisters on the progress of the L’Arche project in St. Louis. As found on their website, “L’Arche enables people with and without disabilities to share their lives in communities of faith and friendship. Community members are transformed through relationships of mutuality, respect, and companionship as they live, work, pray, and play together.” Author Henri Nouwen popularized this ministry by living in a L’Arche community and writing about his experiences.

In St. Louis, core members—developmentally disabled adults—are being identified to live in community in the tradition of founder Jean Vanier and associate members—those who dedicate themselves to living with them-- are being recruited. The renovation of the former Immaculate Conception convent in Maplewood is only a week away from being complete.

This project has been in the process of planning by Helen and a small group of inspired people whose dream it is to see marginalized persons live in a small loving community rather than an institution. Sr. Janet is leading and coordinating the foundation and alumna Margaret Tucker ’77 is a member of the Board.  This project is dear to the Visitation Community as the Sisters are the official prayer partners for the L’Arche community in St. Louis.

The essence of L’Arche is shared life between persons with visible developmental disabilities and those who carry their handicaps less visibly. What an inspiring example for our workplaces, families, parish and religious communities.

Learn more about L’Arche USA here.