St.Francis de Sales

I really like St. Francis. He has great common sense. He lived in the late 16th early 17th centuries, around Annecy in south east France and was Bishop of Geneva at a tough time when much of the city was Calvinist. He is buried in the church in Annecy which we went to once but something I had eaten in the monastery we visited for lunch stopped me ever getting up the hill to his tomb. In his letter in today’s readings he talks about how there is a right devotion/ prayer for each walk of life. You don’t have to be a monk to pray well. “The practice of devotion must differ for the gentleman and the artisan, the servant and the prince, for the widow, young girl or wife…True devotion perfects everything that we do…As precious stones of all kinds, when steeped in honey become more brilliant thereby…so everyone becomes more lovable and more perfect in their vocation if they combine it with devotion…It makes the care of family peaceful, the love of husband and wife more severe, service of one’s king (as it was in those days) more faithful, and every task more pleasant and a joy.” One of the best instructions about prayer. Don Bosco named his Order, the Salesians, after him he had such a regard for him.