St. Francis de Sales
January 24, 2005
I have a friend, in fact I have several friends, who love to debate with protestants and other non-Catholics. They can quote the Bible, chapter and verse, to make their points. Such and such a verse proves the infallibility of the Pope. Another verse proves the Real Presence, and so on.
I was never very good at that. In fact, even when I was a Baptist, I really only ever learned a couple of verses, like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, he gave His only Son.” I admire people who know the Bible well enough to instantly find what they’re looking for and to be able to prove their point by doing it.
What I’ve discovered is this: The only thing I have to know to back up my faith is the Fifteenth Chapter of John, today’s Gospel.
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”
Let me repeat that. “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” What else do we need to know? That’s it. He loves us as long as we keep His commandments. But, what are His commandments. He goes on to tell us:
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s love for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
His commandment to us is to love one another. If we do that, we will remain in His love. We’ll be His friends. I don’t know about you, but that’s all I really need to know. It’s simple, but it’s not easy, is it?
Today we remember St. Francis de Sales. Francis was a famous preacher in the 1500’s. Francis de Sales believed that our goal is to aim for a life of loving, simple, generous, and constant fidelity to the will of God. Holiness could be attained by anyone, regardless of their status in life. Holiness is love in action. Sound familiar? It’s what Jesus said in today’s Gospel.
Francis de Sales has kind of a connection to St. Louis, even though he died in 1622. Francis was teacher and mentor to a young man named Vincent de Paul. They became friends while Francis was preaching in Paris. Even after Francis’ death, Vincent based much of his work on Francis’ writings. Of course, St. Vincent one of the patrons of our Archdiocese, founded the Daughters of Charity. He based the order on Francis’ idea that you didn’t have to be rich to be holy. He wrote that to obtain holiness, it was enough to follow the humble and gentle way preached by Francis de Sales-love in the actions of one’s life. This was the foundation of what we now refer to as “The Way of Vincent de Paul.”
And, it began with Jesus telling us to love one another.
I have a friend, in fact I have several friends, who love to debate with protestants and other non-Catholics. They can quote the Bible, chapter and verse, to make their points. Such and such a verse proves the infallibility of the Pope. Another verse proves the Real Presence, and so on.
I was never very good at that. In fact, even when I was a Baptist, I really only ever learned a couple of verses, like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, he gave His only Son.” I admire people who know the Bible well enough to instantly find what they’re looking for and to be able to prove their point by doing it.
What I’ve discovered is this: The only thing I have to know to back up my faith is the Fifteenth Chapter of John, today’s Gospel.
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”
Let me repeat that. “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” What else do we need to know? That’s it. He loves us as long as we keep His commandments. But, what are His commandments. He goes on to tell us:
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s love for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
His commandment to us is to love one another. If we do that, we will remain in His love. We’ll be His friends. I don’t know about you, but that’s all I really need to know. It’s simple, but it’s not easy, is it?
Today we remember St. Francis de Sales. Francis was a famous preacher in the 1500’s. Francis de Sales believed that our goal is to aim for a life of loving, simple, generous, and constant fidelity to the will of God. Holiness could be attained by anyone, regardless of their status in life. Holiness is love in action. Sound familiar? It’s what Jesus said in today’s Gospel.
Francis de Sales has kind of a connection to St. Louis, even though he died in 1622. Francis was teacher and mentor to a young man named Vincent de Paul. They became friends while Francis was preaching in Paris. Even after Francis’ death, Vincent based much of his work on Francis’ writings. Of course, St. Vincent one of the patrons of our Archdiocese, founded the Daughters of Charity. He based the order on Francis’ idea that you didn’t have to be rich to be holy. He wrote that to obtain holiness, it was enough to follow the humble and gentle way preached by Francis de Sales-love in the actions of one’s life. This was the foundation of what we now refer to as “The Way of Vincent de Paul.”
And, it began with Jesus telling us to love one another.
posted by Mike at 7:30 PM
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