RMG – Salesian Family Patron's Feast - January 24
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24 January 2020
RMG – Salesian Family Patron's Feast - January 24

(ANS – Rome) – With the fast-approaching 400th anniversary of Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622) in two years, that is, 2022, we may see a growing movement of Don Bosco's Salesian Family to explore their Patron Saint. The overall feeling in many provinces is that the young Salesians don't know much about St. Francis de Sales. There are two new young missionaries ready to enter Mongolia - one has read the Philothea (Lover of God) - Introduction to the Devout Life - of Saint Francis de Sales already 10 times, but the other young missionary (both practical trainees) never even heard about this book! Astounding!

  • When we enter the first Church at Valdocco built by Don Bosco, dedicated to Saint Francis de Sales (1852), we are welcomed by many paintings of St Francis.
  • When we observe the Coat of Arms of our Salesian Society, we can’t miss the figure of Francis de Sales as a writer – journalist depicted on the left side.
  • When we enter any Don Bosco bookshop in recent times, we are welcomed by many new publications about St Francis de Sales and Don Bosco.

For the Feast of today just a simple test: Do you know the five parts of the Christian classic: Introduction to the Devout Life?

Introduction to the Devout Life is composed of five parts or "books", each pertaining to a stage in the Christian's spiritual journey.

  • Part I: Attaining a Firm Resolution to the Devout Life (=loving God)
  • Part II: Prayer and the Sacraments
  • Part III: The Practice of Virtue (patience, meekness, humility, obedience, chastity, poverty)
  • Part IV: Some Ordinary Temptations and how to overcome temptations
  • Part V: Renewing and Confirming the Soul in Devotion

A simple structure, right? Actually, according to Saint Francis de Sales, any Christian believer, disciple of Jesus, can live a holy life, regardless of their age, character, vocation or status in society.

The best way to celebrate the feast of Saint Francis de Sales is probably to read - or reread - his best-known text. And, looking to the future, one can think of preparing for the 400th anniversary by promoting new translations of this text in the different languages that do not yet have the book.

Source: AustraLasia 

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