Salesian Spirituality for Lent: Prayer & Sacraments

In Part One of the Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales shepherds Philothea—his generic name for the reader, which signifies a soul in love with God—toward transformation of the will; toward a life of devotion and holiness that would be the foundation of a blessed life. In Part Two, then, the bishop begins providing specific instruction and encouragement about the paths and methods for growing in holiness and devotion.

These forty pages of text are some of the most beneficial and fruitful for lay persons who desire a solid foundation for a peaceful, flourishing life. A person who chooses to read and meditate on this section of the Introduction—let alone the entire text—during Lent, would surely make swift, incredible progress in his or her spiritual life.

Part Two focuses specifically on prayer and sacraments as means of transforming Philothea’s will, that is, the seat of a person’s desires. De Sales begins with the assumption that prayer holds an integral place in that transformation, which he expresses in the first two sentences:

Since prayer places our intellect in the brilliance of God’s light and exposes our will to the warmth of his heavenly love, nothing else so effectively purifies our intellect of ignorance and our will of depraved affections. It is a stream of holy water that flows forth and makes the plants of our good desires grow green and flourish and quenches the passions within our hearts. (II.1)

From that initial claim, from that foundation, the spiritual director offers both general principles and specific recommendations for a person to be “successful” in his or her search for transformation. For example, De Sales identifies simple, effective methods of placing oneself in God’s presence and invoking divine assistance (II.2-3). Ultimately, these would lead Philothea—both in the 1600s and in the twenty-first century—to ask, How is God present to me and how can I be more fully present to Him in this moment? All the wisdom available in Part Two relies on, and builds upward from, that foundational question.

Mental Prayer

De Sales continues by identifying mental (or meditative) prayer as a most beneficial tool for lay persons pursuing the devout life. Thus, he recommends Philothea “always give it first place,” because it fosters conformity to the life and action of Jesus (II.1).

Refusing to make a claim without practical examples, the teacher offers several simple tips for preparing for meditation. “Meditation,” he wrote, “produces devout movements in the will, the affective part of our soul, such as love of God and neighbor, desire for heaven and glory, zeal for the salvation of souls, imitation of the life of our Lord…” (II.6). Such movements, then, ought to elicit specific resolutions in one’s soul, which cause transformation to proceed much more quickly. “In this way, Philothea, you will correct your faults in a short time, whereas by affections alone it would be a slow, difficult task” (II.6).

Morning & Evening Prayer

After recommending meditative prayer, St. Francis proposes morning and evening exercises, by which Philothea’s daily activities would be transformed. The morning exercise would allow the day’s activities to be “watered by God’s blessing,” while the evening exercise would “rekindle in your heart the fire of your morning meditation. …By the morning exercise you open the windows of your soul to the Sun of Justice and by this evening exercise you close them against the shadows of hell” (II.10-11). For anyone in pursuit of holiness, a determined commitment to both these daily exercises would be an essential accompaniment to meditative prayer.

De Sales encourages daily habits of prayer, such as these described, because they foster “mental solitude” and “intimacy, privacy, and familiarity with God.” The spiritual guide directs Philothea:

Without this exercise [of sharing the silent movements of one’s heart with God] we cannot properly lead the contemplative life, and we can but poorly lead the active life. Without it rest is mere idleness, and labor is drudgery. (II.12-13)

Like the other masters and doctors of prayer and the mystical life, St. Francis sought to help Philothea and other disciples construct a private sanctum—an “inner room,” as Jesus called it (Mt. 6:6, NAB)—where they could commune intimately with the Lord. The peace and joy of that communion would then spill outward to the various activities and tasks of mundane, devout life.

With all this in mind, De Sales was wont to provide one last, essential instruction about meditative prayer. Thus the saint teaches that general reflections and affections must never crowd out “special and particular resolutions” (II.6). These resolutions, he wrote, must be carried out “on that very day” because they were the way to bring devotion to daily tasks in the world and in our vocations. Without making resolutions and putting them into practice quickly, Philothea might become prey to an inflated, prideful mind, or to other deadly sins (II.8).

Holy Communion and Confession

After his discourse on habits of prayer, De Sales turns to address the public prayer of the Church, specifically the Eucharist and Confession. Of Holy Mass, he wrote that it is “the sun of all spiritual exercises—the most holy, sacred, and supremely sovereign sacrament…[the] center of the Christian religion, heart of devotion, and soul of piety.” Therefore, he recommends daily attendance at Mass, if possible, “so that together with the priest you may offer up the sacrifice of your Redeemer to God his Father for yourself and for the whole Church.” Beyond that, frequent Mass attendance would offer an opportunity to engage in a robust conversation with God, specifically by hearing His word spoken in Sacred Scripture (II.14-17).

De Sales also spends time instructing Philothea in the way to confess one’s sins that would lead to real spiritual growth. Specifically, he recommends weekly confession, or at least always before going to receive the Eucharist. Even if Philothea was not conscious of mortal sin, this weekly practice would provide absolution from venial sin as well as “great strength to avoid them in the future, light to see them clearly, and abundant grace to repair whatever damage you have incurred” (II.19). Frequent confession, then, would lead to the exercise and strengthening of virtue, which would be the subject of Part Three.

All these admonitions and pieces of practical advice had one ultimate objective. De Sales desired Philothea—and every soul who would read his words—to accept the pursuit of the “Spouse” who stood “knocking at the door and speaking to the heart of his bride.” The daily exercises recommended throughout Part Two, from morning and evening exercises to mental prayer to Holy Communion and Confession, would make the best preparation and sustenance for growing in love for Jesus and devotion to the vocation He has given. They are the “inspiration,” “delight,” and “consent” for cultivating the devout, fulfilled life that is possible for every person to attain.

Obviously, prayer and sacraments are not limited to Lent. They are essential to spiritual life and growth in every season. Still, Lent presents a wonderful opportunity to habituate new, updated, or deeper daily prayer exercises. Perhaps we—Philotheas in the contemporary world—can learn and practice meditative prayer. Perhaps we need a simple formula for morning and evening prayer exercises. Perhaps we need to remember the necessary step of making daily resolutions to act according to the grace God gives. Perhaps we need a renewed commitment to weekly Sunday Mass and regular Confession; or perhaps the Lord is beckoning us to attend at least one more Mass each week. In any case, St. Francis de Sales’s instruction on these practices will be, without a doubt, incredibly valuable for our spiritual progress.

Editor’s Note: This Lenten series aims to unpack De Sales’s rich spiritual wisdom, applying it to the penitential season and to our lives as disciples generally. Catch up on the rest of the series here!

Author’s Note: All quotes from Introduction to the Devout Life, by St. Francis de Sales, are taken from John K. Ryan’s translation, published in 1966 by Image/Doubleday (ISBN: 0-385-03009-6). References include the part and the section. For example, Part IV, Section 3 is cited as (IV.3).

Image from Wikimedia Commons