St Francis de Sales
On Friday, we will celebrate the feast of the great Counter-Reformation Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church, St Francis de Sales. He founded an Oratory at Thonon, on the shore of Lake Geneva, after having met St Philip in Rome and having been inspired by his work there. Sadly for St Francis, he was not able to stay there for very long, because he succeeded to the Bishopric of Geneva upon his predecessor’s death three years later. As Bishop, he laboured to bring the people entrusted to his care back to the Faith — Geneva was, of course, the centre of the Calvinist world.
When we think of the Counter-Reformation, we might think of great institutions founded to fight heresies, like the Society of Jesus or the Inquisition — but St Francis’ efforts were quite different. He preached the Word of God simply and engagingly, drawing people in with the sweetness of our Faith. Nowadays, he is often known as the Doctor of Charity, precisely because the foundation of his approach was to preach that love of God which has no end. He worked hard to bring everyone, from all walks of life, closer to God, following St Philip in teaching the faithful how to dedicate themselves to God in the midst of their ordinary lives.
We might imagine the challenges of our own times to be very different to those faced by St Francis more than four hundred years ago, but, in fact, his example is essential for us as Catholics today. It is so often said that polite conversation does not include money, politics or religion — such things are surely far too personal to be spoken about in public! St Francis de Sales shows us that this need not be the case. Our Faith is not something to be embarrassed about: it is something we must share with others, and there is only one way to share it. We do not need expertise in theology or rhetoric — all we need do is, like St Francis, to talk to our friends, our family, our neighbours — to anyone who will listen — about the love that Our Lord Jesus Christ has for each and every one of us.