“My Dear Brother,
I close the year with giving myself the pleasure of wishing you all good for that which is coming. These mortal years pass away, dear brother; their months melt into weeks, weeks into days, days into hours, hours into moments; and after all, these moments are all that we can really call our own!
Even these we only possess as they pass away, setting forth how swiftly we too are passing away; a fact which might be willingly accepted if we consider how full of sorrow this life is, and how when it is ended it will be merged in that blessed Eternity which God in His Merciful Goodness has prepared for us, and to which our hearts continually tend, not through our own natural instincts, but through His Gracious drawing.
Dear brother, I never dwell upon the thought of Eternity without great delight, and this because I cannot do so without feeling that my soul would not be able to reach after so mighty a thought, were there not some true affinity between them. There must be some correspondence between the soul and that to which it tends; and when my longings fix themselves upon Eternity, my satisfaction becomes exceeding, because I know that we never long intensely save for that which God wills us to attain. Therefore my longing is a proof that I may attain that Eternal life; what more need I save to hope for it? And that hope is confirmed to me through my knowledge of the Infinite Goodness of Him Who would not have created a soul capable of meditating upon and longing after Eternity, without giving it the means whereby to attain thereto.
So, dear brother, we find ourselves at the foot of the Crucifix, which is the ladder by means of which we pass over these temporal seasons to the Eternal years. Well then, I wish for your dear self that the coming year may be followed by others here, and that they may all be well spent in winning Eternity. May you live long in holiness and happiness among those who love you in this brief life: and then live forever in that unchangeable blessedness to which we look. This is what my heart asks for you, pouring itself out with the confidence which rises from our deep affection, and makes me ever yours.1”
The Heart of a Saint
This is a letter that St. Francis de Sales wrote to a nobleman of Savoy, reflecting upon the turn of the New Year and the passing of former ones. They are probably not unfamiliar sentiments to most of us, “months melt into weeks, weeks into days, days into hours, hours into moments.”
In this book of letters of Francis de Sales, we need only to look at the table of contents to learn two things that will tell us much about the character of the man behind this letter.
The first is that he knew, probably was sought by, many women who had lost children, husbands, beloved brothers.
The second is that he also took the time to write and console them.
In this letter to his friend, we know not if there was a particular tragedy in Francis’s mind, but he certainly had borne suffering with his people as a priest and a bishop.
He sees another year before him, and he knows it will not be a year without its own hardships. He tells us that he finds himself, “at the foot of the Crucifix, which is the ladder by means of which we pass over these temporal seasons to the Eternal years.” This is a wonderful thought, to be able to bear the realization that there will be no easy way in life. Yet to believe there will be a blessed way. To find oneself perpetually at the foot of the cross could be a discouraging thought to some, but not for a saint, as we will see.
Certainly St. Augustine is echoed in Francis’ words, “when [life] is ended it will be merged in that blessed Eternity which God in His Merciful Goodness has prepared for us, and to which our hearts continually tend...” As Augustine said: “our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” What hope he must have had, that every time he found himself faced with sharing the grief and sorrow of another soul, he could not help but still believe in the love of God.
“Therefore my longing is a proof that I may attain that Eternal life; what more need I save to hope for it? And that hope is confirmed to me through my knowledge of the Infinite Goodness of Him Who would not have created a soul capable of meditating upon and longing after Eternity, without giving it the means whereby to attain thereto.”
When St. Francis de Sales was confronted with the reality of love and goods that had been lost permanently in this life, he set his hope in prayer. He believed God was so perfect in goodness, he would never let a soul feel a greater sorrow in this life than He would overcome with joy in the next.
Although the sorrow is an impenetrable mystery, and we have not the imaginations to conceive of any glory that could allow such sadness, St. Francis de Sales is able to echo the Gospel words of Martha to Christ, upon the loss of her brother Lazarus: “Yes, Lord, she told him, I have learned to believe that thou art the Christ; thou art the Son of the living God; it is for thy coming the world has waited.”2
This must be why relics of his heart were kept after he died. A heart of this magnitude has much to teach us about the Lord. St. Francis de Sales, Pray for us.
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been four days in the grave. Since Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs away, many of the Jews had gone out there to comfort Martha and Mary over the loss of their brother.
Martha, when she heard that Jesus had come, went out to meet him, while Mary sat on in the house. Lord, said Martha to Jesus, if thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died; and I know well that even now God will grant whatever thou wilt ask of him.
Thy brother, Jesus said to her, will rise again.
Martha said to him, I know well enough that he will rise again at the resurrection, when the last day comes.
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and life; he who believes in me, though he is dead, will live on, and whoever has life, and has faith in me, to all eternity cannot die. Dost thou believe this?
Yes, Lord, she told him, I have learned to believe that thou art the Christ; thou art the Son of the living God; it is for thy coming the world has waited.
John 11:17-27, Knox Bible
Letter To a Friend, On the New Year, in A Selection from the Spiritual Letters of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Prince of Geneva
John 11:27, Knox Bible