In Part Two of Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, has exhorted his reader—the generic “Lover of God” named Philothea—to make grace the foundation for the pursuit of holiness, specifically accessed through prayer and the sacraments. In Part III, De Sales maintains his objective of helping Philothea answer the call to holiness. Here, the holy pastor provides eminently practical moral advice, along with a plethora of moral treasures, that can help every reader fulfill the deepest desires of his or her heart.
Echoing the constant teaching of Christianity, De Sales begins by identifying two key virtues that are hallmarks of the life of discipleship: charity, the form of all the virtues, and prudence, their charioteer. Quickly, though, he moves to a consider some other “little virtues” that “must mark all our actions in life.” Specifically, he lists meekness, temperance, integrity, humility, patience, self-mortification, obedience, poverty, chastity, and “tenderness toward our neighbors” as the ordinary daily habits that identify an authentic Christian life; and those that can combat the mundane vices that will derail spiritual progress. Pursuing holiness, he concludes, is about recognizing which virtues are more suitable to our state in life; and about preferring “the more excellent to the more obvious” (III.1-2).
From there, De Sales instructs Philothea on the ways these mundane, yet essential, virtues operate in her life. Patience, he begins, is the virtue that allows us to “work out our salvation by sufferings and afflictions, enduring with all possible meekness the injuries, denials, and discomforts we meet.” As an antidote to evil and sufferings, he recommends that Philothea “apply whatever remedies you can…in a way agreeable to God.” After trying to alleviate affliction, De Sales instructs, “wait with resignation for the results it may please God to send. If it is his will that the remedies overcome the evil, then humbly return him thanks. If it is his will that the evils overcome the remedies, then bless him with patience” (III.3). Even more fruitfully, he points his reader toward the crucified Lord: “Look often with your inward eyes on Christ Jesus, crucified, naked, blasphemed, slandered, forsaken, and overwhelmed by every kind of weariness, sorrow, and labor” (III.3). Suffering borne patiently, then, is at the foundation of any Christian’s moral and spiritual growth.
After patience, De Sales spends a fair amount of time and space on several other moral virtues of chief importance. The first of these is humility, the queen of the virtues “honored and cherished…more than any other among all the moral virtues.” The shepherd’s robust treatment considers how humility manifests within one’s soul and how a devoted soul might maintain a humble disposition toward others in a world that is sometimes hostile in social interactions. St. Francis exhorts Philothea, again, to prefer the humiliations that are “most contrary to our inclinations” and those “in keeping with our vocations” (III.4-7). At every turn, he equips the reader to live holiness and devotion very practically in the secular world.
Next, relying on the words of Jesus recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel, De Sales spends two sections on the connection between humility and meekness. When these two virtues operate in a devoted soul, “they preserve us from the inflammation and swelling that injuries usually cause in our hearts” (III.8). Meekness, coupled with humility, then develops a tranquility in our minds and hearts, which elicits gentleness toward ourselves and our neighbors. To help Philothea—a lay woman—in a specific way, De Sales makes sure she knows meekness must be applied toward ourselves and our children. We must learn to forgive and begin again, many times over. In every case, a Christian disciple must have “great courage and confidence in [God’s] mercy,” and must “return to the path of virtue” he has forsaken (III.9).
Diligence is another virtue most applicable to the laity. In his brief treatment (only three paragraphs in one section), St. Francis writes, “Be careful and attentive, Philothea, to all the matters God has committed to your care.” After this direction, the wise teacher makes a promise that should comfort any of us: “God will work with you, in you, and for you, [if you learn diligence], and after your labor consolation will follow” (III.10). Again, readers hear this great spiritual director guiding them toward fulfillment and flourishing with what seems to be the simplest, most obvious advice!
After dealing with diligence, De Sales turns toward obedience, chastity, and poverty—known as the evangelical counsels by consecrated men and women who take religious vows. While it may not be obvious at first, each of these also apply in the lives of lay persons seeking holiness. “We must obey all our superiors [both civil and domestic], at least in what concerns the authority each of them has over us,” De Sales teaches (III.11). Chastity, he continues, is the “unspotted virtue of both soul and body,” the absence of which may cause one to “plunge into ruin and perish” (III.12). Finally, poverty is the “surpassingly rich and beautiful” virtue by which a person is “open to heaven alone and impervious to riches and all other transitory things.” To prevent falling prey to avarice, that “profane, unholy fire that both consumes and devours” (III.14, 16), our spiritual guide directs Philothea to take the attitude that “our possessions are not our own. God has given them to us to cultivate and he wants us to make them fruitful and profitable” (III.15). Effectively, the bishop has laid out a program of stewardship through generosity and almsgiving, which will lead Philothea more surely into God’s presence.
The largest portion of Part Three of the Introduction (roughly half of the total number of sections) instructs Philothea how to exercise virtue within the social interactions of mundane life. De Sales begins with friendship, because it provides real support for the Christian life and secular activity. Within the several ensuing sections, the author goes on to cover both true friendship and false imitations of friendship that arise from pleasure, vanity, and even evil. His ultimate admonition is to “form friendships only with those who can share virtuous things with you” (III.19); and to avoid maintaining unholy relationships that present near occasions of sin (III.21). Clearly, a person’s actions and relationships must be ordered toward Heaven and towards assisting others in their journey there, too.
De Sales knows, however, that social interactions in the world involve people other than the virtuous. Thus, he spends time recommending how Philothea ought to maintain composure and an orientation to holiness, even when approaching “vicious, dissolute persons” (III.24). When called into social interaction “for some just reason”—family, work, civic interaction, and so on—“go as one sent by God and visit your neighbor with a benevolent heart and good intention.” To accomplish that disposition, Philothea must also “love real, physical solitude” (III.24). It is only quiet time with the Lord that can transform one’s heart before trying to transform social dynamics.
After helping Philothea find repose, De Sales turns to discuss modesty in attire, entertainment, and speech. In every case, he considers not only the actions but the dispositions of the heart behind the actions. This pattern becomes especially apparent when he addresses habits of speech. For example, when dealing with slander, he notes that this “true plague of society” emanates from pride and self-satisfaction; and that it is a source of grave spiritual and social damage. As ever, he is quick to recommend the antidote: “Drink as deeply as you can of the sacred wine of charity. It will set you free from the perverse moods that cause you to make such tortured judgments” (III.29).
To conclude, De Sales recapitulates many of the truths he has already laid out for the reader. He instructs Philothea to “practice those little, humble virtues which grow like flowers at the foot of the cross” and to perform the works of mercy for others “with all that useful diligence which will not let you stand idle” (III.35). Writing of dispositions of mind and heart, he mandates that Philothea not be duplicitous, but “just and equitable.” Finally, he returns the reader to the regimen of daily prayer he laid out in Part II (III.36). What Philothea must have realized—and what we ought to realize—is that the life of grace and the life of virtue ebb and flow together.
We need to know this truth at least as much during Lent as in other seasons of the year: grace paves the way for virtue, and virtue is built from grace. We ought to see this penitential season as an extraordinarily rich opportunity to let the Lord transform our hearts by prayer. And we ought to work to transform ourselves by exercising and strengthening virtues which may have been absent or weak previously, especially the little virtues that augment devotion. Once we learn that grace and these virtues increase together, surely we will begin the sustained progress De Sales hoped for Philothea.
Editor’s Note: This Lenten series aims to unpack De Sales’s rich spiritual wisdom, applying it to the penitential season and to our lives as disciples generally. Catch up on the rest of the series here!
Image by Sailko via Wikimedia Commons
