Rector’s Reflections
Wednesday 3rd July 2024
A Spiritual Classic from the Seventeenth Century
I finished yesterday’s reflections with the question of whether the teaching of St Francis de Sales leads us to conclude that the pursuit of a holy life is actually only for the few – those with the necessary and commitment. It is a fair question. We have seen that St Francis sets the bar high , posing challenging questions. We have also seen that St Francis himself came from a position of power and privilege, and the Introduction to the Devout Life was written in the first instance for those who were working in the context of the French royal court. And there is another factor to be taken into consideration. In Roman Catholicism down the centuries, there has long been a tradition of a two-tiered approach to Christian discipleship : serious discipleship and the pursuit of holiness tends to be reserved for monks and nuns, whereas a lower standard is expected from the ordinary man or woman in the pew. St Franics de Sales was , of course, writing as a Roman Catholic, so we might be forgiven to thinking that his Introduction to the Devout Life was really intended for monks and nuns.
But St Francis genuinely believed that he was giving advice which was applicable for any Christian who was serious about trying to live a holy life; and thousands of his readers down the centuries have agreed with him. St. Francis made his intention clear in the third chapter of the Introduction , which is given the following title : “That Devotion is fitting for all kinds of Vocations and Professions”. At the end of the chapter, he sums up his position in a short and pithy sentence : “Wherever we are, we are able and ought to aspire to the perfect life”.
St Francis is making three points here. First, he is saying that every Christian is able to grow in holiness. Holiness is not only for monks and nuns. Every Christian has access to God’s grace, and God’s grace is what helps to grow in holiness. We can’t get ourselves off the hook by saying, “living a committed Christian life is beyond me”. All of us are able to life a devout life, not in our strength of course but in the strength which God gives to us.
Secondly, there is an obligation on us all to pursue holiness. It is not an option- it is something we “ought” to do.
Finally, in living out our faith, we should be aiming to achieve a level of perfection : we “ought to aspire to the perfect life”. Note that St.Francis is not content with encouraging us to lead a Christian life which is “good enough”. No. St. Francis is directing us to aim at the highest level.
But St.Francis is also at pains to point out that what perfection in the Christian life looks like will vary according to our own particular circumstances. The context of our lives really matters. For example, a life of personal holiness will look different if are married than if we are unmarried. It will also look different if we have lots of money, rather than living on the bread line. Let me finish with the words of St.Francis on this subject, found at the start of Chapter 3 of Part 1 :
“God at the Creation commanded the plants to yield their fruits, each one after its kind; so does He command Christians, who are living plants of His Church, to produce the fruit of devotion, each according to his [or her] condition and vocation. Devotion ought to be differently practiced by the gentleman, the workman, the servant, the Prince, the widow, the daughter, the wife. And not only this, but it is necessary to adapt the practice of devotion to the powers, the business, the duties of each person”.
I wonder if you would agree with this contextual approach to holiness? And I wonder what you think of the image of each Christian as their own kind of plant, producing “the fruit of devotion, each according to [their] condition and vocation”?
And how do we understand our own context, condition and vocation?
St.Francis has some words to say on this topic, and we will look at this in tomorrow’s reflections.