For the Memorial of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal:
12 December
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, religious
OPTIONAL MEMORIAL
Jane Frances was born at Dijon in France in 1572. As a young woman she married and had six children, but then in 1601, she was widowed as the result of a shooting accident. At first she gave way to depression, but overcame that and sought instead to live a more spiritual life. She had always been pious. In 1604 she met Se Francis de Sales and placed herself under his direction.
In 1610 she founded the first convent of the Visitation at Annecy. By the time she died in 1641 sixty-four further convents had been founded.
St Jane Frances was purified by sufferings in her affections and in her faith.
St Vincent de Paul rated her among the holiest souls he had met.
As a reading, a letter from St Jane Frances to St Francis de Sales is offered.
This is the first of her letters to St Francis to be preserved. It was written in 1617. It concerns her prayer-life: she had obviously attained a high form of prayer.
I have many things to tell you, my unique Father, but I know not where they are, so overwhelmed and distracted is my poor mind with a thousand worries. I no longer feel that abandonment and sweet confidence (which I used to have in prayer), nor can I make any acts of those virtues, although it seems to me they are more solid and firm than ever. In its superior part, my soul is in a state of very simple union. It does not bring about this union itself; for when, on certain occasions, it wishes to make acts of union, it feels a difficulty in doing so. It clearly sees that it cannot unite itself, but can only remain united. It has no inclination to change this state for any other. It neither thinks nor acts, if I except the consciousness of desire, formed almost imperceptibly that God may do with it and with all creatures, in all things, whatever he shall please. It would wish to do nothing but this for the morning exercise, at holy Mass, in preparation for holy communion, and in thanksgiving for all benefits; in a word, for everything. It wishes only to remain in this most simple unity of mind with God, without looking elsewhere, and whilst in this state to say sometimes vocally an Our Father for the whole world, for individuals and for itself, without, however, diverting its attention or thinking for whom or for what it prays.
Frequently, according to occasions, necessity, or inclination, which last comes without being sought, my soul flows into this union. With regard to this manner of prayer, I believe indeed that it suffices for everything; nevertheless, my unique Father, I am very often assailed by fears on this head, and I force myself (which I find very difficult) to make acts of union, adoration, the exercise of the morning, of Mass, and of thanksgiving. If I do wrong in this, please do tell me. Tell me, also, whether this simple union suffices, whether it will satisfy God for all the acts I have just mentioned, which are of obligation for us; nay, even, if it will suffice during spiritual aridity when the soul has no perception or consciousness of such union, except in its very highest point. I do not ask you for a long answer on the subject. In a dozen words you can tell me all that, repeating my question if you choose, and assuring me that this simple union will suffice for everything; then I shall, with God's help, be faithful to make no more acts.
St Jane Frances de Chantal, 'Letter to Francis de Sales', 1617
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See Review from Amazon com: Francis De Sales, Jane De Chantal: Letters
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Adorable!, March 18, 2012
By
Timothy Abraham "A former Muslim" (Knightdale, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Francis De Sales, Jane De Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction (Classics of Western Spirituality) (Paperback)
I have always been a big fan of Francis de Sales for his deep piety and intimacy with Christ. To know that he had had spiritual friendship with women and corresponded with them is even more appealing to me as I know what a woman is capable of spiritually and how much she can add to a relationship. Women generally tend to see what men can't see; women can see behind the corners because the Lord has given them the sixth sense. While we men see with just our two eyes, women definitely tend to have 3 eyes, if only they would choose to use them by constantly connecting with the divine. In this book you will not meet a woman and a man walking around with a halo on their heads, too holy to be touched, but instead you will meet real people like you and me. What took place between 1567 and 1641 is possible to occur once again in our too busy world where our loneliness increased more than ever before. From this book I learn that you can experience real close and mutuality with a woman if Jesus the center of this relationship, and here love would be pure, and not driven by hormones. Indeed, such loved can be attested to as having "the bond of perfection" as the Bible says. But your relationship with a lady has to be anchored in your common love for God. A lady is not just your friend, girlfriend, wife, lover, etc. but she is somebody with whom you enjoy spiritual friendship, and so you enjoy mutually your spiritual gifts and support each other in your commitment to faithfulness. You are there to assist each other humbly as you grow together day after day in your companionship of Jesus, seeking to be more and more like Jesus, to be perfect as our Father who is in Heaven is perfect. Because of Jesus, you will recognize tendencies to become possessive of each other which lead to violence. Jesus is there to purge us of that because the the relationship from the beginning is founded on Jesus. Because of Jesus, you will respect each other as individuals and your spiritual friendship will bear fruit. Francis and Jane will here teach us that the deepest intimacy we may experience as men is not in having just "a partner" in our lives but Christ is here in our midst and gives us to each other, and we together incarnate divine love. The relationship has to be also founded upon mutuality in sharing and confession. To share is to confess. To confess is to be vulnerable and completely open to the other person. This produces healing, genuine intimacy and reconciliation.
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Friendship Quote of the Week
Henri Nouwen (Preface) on the friendship between Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal
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