St. Francis de Sales was one of the greatest masters of this art in the history of the Church, and Don Bosco, in giving him to his spiritual children as a model and inspirational source, has undoubtedly opened an extremely fruitful way so that anyone who imitates him can also become an expert in the art of accompaniment, for the benefit of the young people to whom he is sent.
Fr. Michele Molinar, Provincial Vicar and Delegate for Formation of the Piedmont and Aosta Valley Special Circumscription (ICP), who is accompanying the viewers in this series dedicated to St. Francis de Sales, in this fourth video quotes André Ravier, one of the most attentive biographers of Francis, who in a few lines offers an admirable synthesis of St. Francis as a guide of souls: "During our work we were struck by a fundamental and essential law of Francis de Sales in his correspondence. There is no spiritual direction for him, unless there is friendship, meaning exchange, communication, mutual influence. For sure he never renounced the authority he enjoyed as bishop, confessor and counsellor. He was always very humble, very human and I would even dare say very tender with regard to this authority. And who knows but God alone is the one acting in the heart of the man and the woman and it is only the Spirit who gives efficacy to the pastor’s words. He sets out, and taking one step after another he seeks, questions, suffers, hopes and prays and feels fully at ease only when he forms one heart and one soul and is one in spirit with his correspondent."
As in the three previous videos, accessible with hyperlinks - Man Explained by God; Salesian Gentleness; and Francis de Sales and his Philotheas - Fr. Michael's presentation of this theme is interspersed with the reading of excerpts from St. Francis de Sales or his biographer Ravier. The video lasts 17'38" and is designed as an animation tool for communities during the time dedicated to spiritual reading or "good night" thinking.
As with the previous videos, the original in Italian was produced in voice-over for the other main languages: video IT, video EN; video ES; video FR; video PT (visible and downloadable from the respective hyperlinks).
Those interested in the text can download it from the following hyperlinks: Text IT, Text EN, Text ES, Text FR, Text PT.
The Formation Sector also takes this opportunity to remind you that from Friday, November 18 to Sunday, November 20, the international conference "St. Francis de Sales: Posterity - Spirituality - Pedagogy" will take place at UPS.
All useful information can be accessed at: https://www.facebook.com/francescodisales2022
