In Heart Speaks to Heart, author Wendy Wright makes reference to St. Francis’ rootedness in Matthew chapter 11 speaking of Jesus’ invitation to learn from his meek and humble heart. It seems to me that the gentleness and humility found in this root and in St. Francis are virtues that are totally contrary to the world. The world demands that we be assertive. Therefore, within our own present time, to live this gentleness and humility is indeed a challenge! There is a story told of a young person named Jacob who was not very intelligent. This 16 year old could not express himself well, but he was deeply in love with God and all who knew him knew this. He was killed in an accident and died holding the Gospel to his heart. This demonstrates the act of abandonment, much like that made by Francis de Sales as a youth. We are called to the same act of abandonment. This is not about the power of the intellect but the power of love and trust. We are called to the same trust, and not only at times of struggle.There is a story that tells of a man who was wrapped in a coat. The northwind and the sun decided to compete against each other to determine which would have the greater power over the man. So, the northwind blew and blew and tried to wrench the coat away from the man, but the wind made him colder, so he pulled strongly on the coat to wrap his body against the wind. The sun came out, then, and simply and gently shone down upon the man until, feeling warm and pleasant, the man removed his coat. The sun won the competition, not by force, but by gentleness and warmth. The ideas evoked in this chapter on St. Francis de Sales is reminiscent of this tale.
There are two questions our group chose for its focus in this discussion, the first two questions on page 2 of the discussion guide dealing with the gifts that St. Francis demonstrated and the fact that these gifts were not natural ones for him. It seems that his own family life, his formation as a child, and his early years of schooling formed within him the sense of total immersion within the love of God according to Scriptures. When he refers to “the sacred sleep” this refers to his trust in divine providence believing that God will always step in and help us. This evokes the image in him of the beloved resting his head against the chest of Jesus at the Last Supper.
When Protestantism speaks of Catholic Spirituality it refers to the universal understanding of St. Francis of Assisi and all of the images associated with him. But Francis de Sales changed these images and brought them to the level of common, everyday things and experiences of life. This step in Catholic Spirituality is insightful and significant. It is in this language and imagery that Protestantism finds common ground and dialogue.
Looking at page 24 in the text referring to “sacred sleep,” we are encouraged by St. Francis de Sales to become contemplatives in action. Going further, referring to the rest of the beloved against the breast of Christ on page 27, this concept of “sacred sleep” was uncomfortable for us in our discussion. Many of us think of contemplation as time alone with God without outside disturbance. This is what conjures up the idea of sacred sleep for many of us. But in reading about St. Francis’ concept of sacred sleep, it suggests that sometimes these private moments can actually become selfish and they can be diminished by that selfishness. Going out and serving others, acting on the Gospels is, then, not a distraction but an act of this contemplative action. Yet, as we read further, Francis makes it clear that any such action and any such moment still depends upon the need of the soul to rest in God. So, the desire to withdraw and to reserve special time is not necessarily selfish, but, in fact, enables the contemplative and the contemplative in action to put their trust in God and not their own powers. God wants us to sit with him regularly!
In my life I have come to know people who speak deeply beyond the intellect. I knew a child who had a low intellect and had challenges in this area of his life. However, whenever I met this person, I felt a peace in his presence that indicated to me that this child was filled with the Holy Spirit. Even though this boy probably did not grasp this himself, he was truly filled by God’s Spirit and it was very obvious that his heart did speak to the heart of God and to my own. Hearts to speak to hearts.
There is a thread that ran through all of our conversations today and it is the idea that Francis’ approach to St. Jane was a radical departure from her first spiritual director. Unfortunately, the first spiritual director was more typical of the spirituality for that time, thus underlining the radical nature of St. Francis’ assertions regarding the inner life. We compared St. Francis’ encounter with this spirituality with the encounter of Jesus with the teachers of the Law in his day. Jesus, too, saw too much emphasis upon the responsibilities and requirements of the Law as opposed to the spirit of the Law. It seems that St. Francis cut through all of that to get right to the essentials of loving and serving God and one another without all of the requirements and burdens of observing all manner of duties or winning God’s favor.
In our reading, an image of a well came to the surface. Francis realized that each person is called to be filled, like a well, with the love of God. Yet that filling was never envisaged to stop at itself, but to overflow into others. This love of God, then, is meant to fill us and overflow into the whole of life. This is an invitation to trust the MYSTERY. Even when we do not know exactly what we are doing or how to go about doing ministry, we are called to be aware that it is God who is filling us and inviting us to overflow into others. This is not the workings of monasticism. This is the stuff of everyday life. It is simple, but it is not easy!
Whenever one visits youth in juvenile detention, their questions about God will usually turn to questions of how God could allow them to end up in their present predicaments. Often times, these vulnerable youth will not see God’s answer to their prayers and their questions. Therefore, this trust of which Francis speaks—the trust we are meant to embody in our own faith and experiences of faith—is not an easy thing. It is a challenge for us to help others discover that place of trust and confidence in God, but this seems to be, in the end, our most important ministry! How can we lead those who are lost or discouraged, like these youth, to the place of sacred sleep? This is an important challenge we need to keep in mind.
John Roche
