God is the meeting place

Letters of Spiritual Direction

Letters of Francis de Sales

Discussion Group 2

David Purdy, Taisali Leuluai, Duoc Le

What struck you:

Francis uses a humanistic approach to woman.

“Francis directs the troubled young woman to a more realistic
appreciation of her own limitations and the imperfections of others,
and to greater trust in God’s providence.” (p. 95)

Have measurable goals, not far reaching goals (p. 96)

•   The virtue of patience that one must be patient with others, but
most importantly we must be patient with ourselves
•   Endure Patiently the imperfections, and not love or embrace our own
imperfections.
•   The richness of themes expressed in the letters (p123)

• Warm expression of personal caring and concern
• Friendships as a gift of God
• Nourishing and sustaining Friendships
• Recognition of maturity of relationship

It is important to know how to support others in times of Trials. Francis doesn’t give them an answer, but gives them a different perspective, challenging them to look at their current situation with
a new perspective

• A perspective of forgiving oneself
• Accepting one’s limitation
• And beginning again as needed with a touch humor
• Worry not, God will render the effort fruitful
• Learn to let go of issues out of your control
• Be at peace and be practical
  

Confirming:

•   For Francis, God is the meeting place for everyone (through prayer)
•   Francis’ approach to spiritual direction in his letters is calmness
and kindness
•   Francis often pulls in examples from the everyday life of the women
he writes to in order to effectively guide the women
•   Francis does not criticize upon hearing of a particular situation,
but rather he helps the directee be in context with the situation
•   Aside from the letters being a spiritual guide, it seems that the
Francis is also guiding the women on how to deal with their emotions.
•   A characteristic of a good Spiritual director is someone who is
always affirming and assuring to those he help (Page 130)

Submitted by Duoc Van Le
Photo by Joe Boenzi: Francis de Sales Writer, St Teresa Parish, Ljubljana (25 April 2006