Few Protestants raise an eyebrow over the fact that there is a 2,000-year lacuna between the Scripture’s inspiration and their personal copy of sacred Scripture. For them, what transpired in…
Few Protestants raise an eyebrow over the fact that there is a 2,000-year lacuna between the Scripture’s inspiration and their personal copy of sacred Scripture.
For them, what transpired in those intervening years really isn’t very important. What really matters is that they have a Bible and that they can use it to confirm doctrine. As long as we end up with a Bible, what harm is done? But it still begs the larger question: Where did the Bible come from?
The Bible is the product of those missing 2,000 years, and when it is divorced from the Catholic Church from which it came, Scripture’s authority is undermined. The fact is that the Bible is a Catholic book. It was written, authenticated and passed on to us today through the Church. In many ways, the Church is the Bible’s custodian and interpreter. Without the Church, we really have no rational basis to believe with certainty that the Bible we possess is the Bible and that it is capable of confirming doctrine.
“Not Done in a Corner”
Let’s consider this last statement from the perspective of the first Christians. The words and deeds of Christ and His inspired apostles were not done in secret, or, as Paul told King Agrippa, they were “not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26); they were done publicly. The writings of the New Testament were composed by members of the same community that heard, saw and were taught by Jesus and/or His apostles and disciples. Therefore, this first Christian community functioned as a guarantor of the truthfulness or veracity of the Gospels and the rest of Scripture. After all, who would risk their lives, fortunes and honor to promote spurious and inaccurate documents? If the Scriptures simply parachuted into existence, there would be no witness from the early Church. How then would we know whether the Gospels and other books were telling the truth, much less that they are capable of confirming doctrine?
Someone could argue that since the Scriptures are inspired by God, who cannot deceive nor be deceived, they must be trustworthy. But this response misses the point. It’s not a question of whether inspiration conveys truth. It is a question of what basis is there for knowing whether a given document is inspired and truthful. It is similar to the question, “How do you know Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew?” Most Bible Christians would point to the fact that Matthew’s name appears on the book’s cover page. The title, however, was not part of the inspired original. It was added later by Catholics who knew that the Gospel was traced back to Matthew. Without these Catholic witnesses, how would one know the Gospel’s authorship? We can’t. Without the Church, we really can’t establish the veracity of the Gospels or the rest of the contents of the New Testament.
Inspired, Not Spurious
How do we know that the writings of Scripture are from inspired sources and not spurious? The Church had to deal with this difficulty early on. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, we learn that the Thessalonians were upset by “a ‘spirit,’ or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us [the apostles] to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.” How did the Thessalonians determine whether or not this letter was spurious? Paul gives them the means to authenticate his letter in 2 Thessalonians 3:17: “This greeting is in my own hand, Paul’s. This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.” Paul knew that the recipients of his letter would recognize his signature and handwriting based on their own personal knowledge of Paul. By using this knowledge, the Thessalonians were able to confirm the Second Epistle to be authentic. Without the Catholic community’s witness to its authenticity, how would we know whether or not Paul wrote this letter? The original inspired autograph no longer exists, and even if it did exist we no longer have access to the knowledge that the Thessalonians had concerning Paul’s handwriting. Scripture, when removed from the context of the Catholic Church, loses an objective basis for demonstrating the New Testament’s authenticity.
The Canon
There is also the problem of the canon. The New Testament began as separate documents. Who gathered these documents together and placed them into a single volume? A generic answer like “the early Christians did” is simply inadequate. Early on there were several different groups who held to different “canons” of Scripture. For example, one group, called the Marcionites, only accepted the letters of Paul and an adulterated version of Luke as Scripture. On the other hand, the Ebionites rejected Paul’s letters and accepted an altered form of the Gospel According to Matthew. Even among the Jews there was disagreement over the Old Testament. The schools of Shammai and Hallel were split over Ecclesiastes’ sacred status. The Essenes seem to have rejected Esther, but accepted Tobit, Sirach and some of their own writings as sacred. Which one was right? Or, were any of them right? Without a single, authoritative, identifiable Church — that is, the Catholic Church — to show us what was the true canon, there is no adequate way to answer this question.
But couldn’t someone say that these groups do not pose a problem because they were heretical? For example, one could say that post-Christian Judaism can be eliminated because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah? Likewise, the Ebionites can be scratched off because they denied justification by grace. The Marcionites could be eliminated because they were Gnostics and believed in two gods, and so on.
After all these heresies are eliminated, the true Christians would be left and with them we would find the correct canon. Unfortunately, the objection above fails because it begs the question. The objector begins with a specific canon of Scripture in mind (which is presumed to be true) and then de-duces from his canon a set of doctrines (which is also assumed to be true) as the standard to judge other groups. Once all challengers are eliminated by the objector’s set of doctrine, his canon is “proved.” In other words, the objector uses a scriptural canon to form a set of doctrines, then uses the set of doctrines to prove his scriptural canon.
The true canon of Scripture is something more to be discovered than determined. The Church received its sacred writings from the apostles, and the Catholic Church manifests the true canon of Scripture by its continuous use of certain books as sacred Scripture in its liturgies. Without the Catholic Church, the canon cannot be made manifest, and if the canon is not made manifest then it is up to each individual Christian to determine which books should or should not be included in Scripture.
The Bible, therefore, is really a Catholic book in that it came from the very heart of the Catholic Church. Its authenticity, veracity, canon and proper interpretation all depend upon the witness of the Church. When the Bible is taken out of its Catholic context, the very foundation upon which we can know that the Scripture is inspired, true, authentic, complete and properly understood is undermined. Without the Church, the Scripture is no more defensible than if it had one day fallen out of the sky.
The Catholic Context
In regards to the proper understanding of the Bible, Scripture is most properly understood within the context of the Catholic faith. Apart from this faith, Scripture can be distorted and misunderstood, as 2 Peter 3:16 tells us when he warns that “the ignorant and the unstable distort [the Scriptures] to their own destruction.” The words translated “ignorant” (Greek oi amatheis) and “unstable” (Greek astriktos) do not convey their full meaning in English. These words really mean “the undiscipled” and “those who do not remain in the apostolic teaching.” In other words, the people who distort the meaning of Scripture are those who are not discipled by the Church and do not remain in the Church’s teaching. Notice how Peter’s words presumes that there exists a master/disciple succession that comes from the apostles and a rule of faith (regula fidei) that must be continuously held. Without these two factors, the proper meaning of the Scriptures is in peril.
The Task of Interpretation
“The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.” This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.
— Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 85
Gary G. Michuta is an author, speaker and teacher on Catholic apologetics and evangelism.
In 2008, Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco Leandri, the bishop of Gap in the French Alps, celebrated a special Mass to announce the Vatican’s approval of Marian apparitions in that diocese…
In 2008, Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco Leandri, the bishop of Gap in the French Alps, celebrated a special Mass to announce the Vatican’s approval of Marian apparitions in that diocese that occurred between 1664 and 1718.
Although the location of the apparitions to Venerable Benôite (Benedicta) Rencurel and the shrine founded there have been drawing pilgrims since the late 17th century, Our Lady of Laus is relatively unknown outside of France. The website for the shrine is available only in French and Italian, for example, and the nearest airport is in Grenoble, about 60 mountain miles away.
The shrine of Our Lady of Laus may be obscure to those outside the region, but her message of reconciliation, with its emphasis on repentance, the Sacrament of Penance and reparation for sins should be better known. Our Lady of Laus is known as the Refuge of Sinners. As she appeared to Benôite Rencurel for more than half a century, she repeated a call for holiness and devotion among the laity and for faithfulness among priests and religious. The Mother of God also promised miraculous healings for those anointed with holy oil if they had faith in her intercession.
Mary’s calls for repentance, warnings against unfaithfulness and scandal, and requests for a shrine to be built in Laus are all common attributes of the Marian apparitions recognized by the Church. Since they are private revelations, Catholics are not required to believe in them. Like other Marian apparitions — for example, at Rue de Bac in Paris (St. Catherine Labouré and the Miraculous Medal); La Sallette, also in the French Alps; and most famously at Lourdes (St. Bernadette Soubirous) — Our Lady of Laus offers guidance for devotion and personal holiness.
An Orphaned Shepherdess
Benôite Rencurel was an orphan, born on Sept. 16, 1657, in Saint-Etienne d’Avancon. After her father died when she was only 7 years old, she helped her family by serving as shepherdess for a neighbor. Benôite had not learned to read or write; her only source of education was the parish church and the sermons she heard at Mass.
In May 1664, she saw a beautiful lady holding a child in her arms and standing on a rock in the valley of Laus, where Benôite was guarding her neighbor’s flocks and praying the Rosary. Her simple response, offering to share the hard bread she had to eat after softening it in the nearby fountain, made the beautiful lady smile. Her desire to hold the little child made the lady smile again, but she left without saying a word.
Over the next four months, the beautiful lady, whose name Benôite did not know, returned daily to instruct her on her mission. Benôite told her neighbor about the lady, and the neighbor did not believe her. Following Benôite to the valley one day, she heard the lady — although she did not see her — warn Benôite that her neighbor was in spiritual danger: “She had something on her conscience” and needed to confess her sins and do penance, because she took the name of Our Lord in vain. Benôite’s neighbor took this message to heart and did penance for the rest of her life.
Benôite finally asked the lady who she was. “My name is Mary,” she replied. Mary called on Benôite to pray for sinners and work for their conversion. She asked Benôite to meet her at a chapel in Laus which was to be used as a shrine. Once the diocese recognized the authenticity of the apparitions, the same chapel was replaced by a larger church, the present shrine church. The miraculous healings with the oil from the sanctuary lamps continued, drawing more and more pilgrims to Laus. (At the present time, more than 120,000 travel there yearly.)
Like all visionaries, Benôite knew suffering and misunderstanding. After all, she was a simple peasant instructing priests on how to welcome penitents with kindness and charity in the Sacrament of Penance to encourage them to confess their sins and repent. Benôite also urged young girls and older women to be modest, sometimes correcting their dress or behavior. She became a Third Order Dominican and received visions of Jesus in His passion from 1669 to 1679. Among these five visions, Jesus told her once, “My daughter, I show myself in this state so that you can participate in My passion.” Benôite mystically participated in the sufferings of Christ for 15 years, enduring great pain starting every Thursday evening and continuing until Saturday morning. On Christmas Day 1718, she received holy Communion; on the feast of the Holy Innocents, she went to confession, received extreme unction and died. Bishop di Falco Leandri, in addition to urging the Vatican approval of the apparitions — the first approval in this century and the first approved in France since Lourdes — has also supported the cause for Benôite’s canonization.
Our Lady of Laus, Refuge of Sinners, pray for us!
Stephanie A. Mann writes from Kansas
For Catholics, two questions frequently come up in talking about the Mormon faith. Is it a Christian religion? And is Mormon baptism valid? Interestingly, those two questions are closely related…
For Catholics, two questions frequently come up in talking about the Mormon faith. Is it a Christian religion? And is Mormon baptism valid? Interestingly, those two questions are closely related and have been a concern to Church leaders over the last decade because of the controversial Mormon practice of baptizing the dead.
Who Was Joseph Smith?
The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, was born in Vermont in 1805 and was living in New York when, in 1820, God the Father and Jesus Christ supposedly appeared to him and declared that he had been chosen to restore God’s kingdom on earth. Three years later, he claimed to have been visited by an angel named Moroni who revealed the existence of the authentic Gospel that had been taught by the Risen Christ to a lost branch of Israel residing in the Americas prior to the discovery of the New World by Columbus. He received this ancient record in 1827 on a set of golden plates, and the result of the translation was the Book of Mormon, published three years later at Palmyra, N.Y. Smith began preaching his new religion in western New York and northern Pennsylvania and soon after organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (today, often referred to as LDS) at Fayette, N.Y.
Smith and his followers found, not surprisingly, resistance to their new creed, and they were expelled from state after state. In June 1844, Smith was killed with his brother Hyrum by a mob in a jail in Carthage, Ill.
The remaining Mormons, led by Brigham Young, pushed westward and ultimately settled in Utah. In fact, one of the first encounters between Catholics and Mormons occurred in the fall of 1846, when the famed Jesuit missionary Pierre De Smet met the migrating Mormons near Council Bluffs, Mo. They asked many questions about his travels across the West and were much impressed with his description of the Great Salt Lake. Father De Smet did not claim that they chose Salt Lake to be their headquarters because of him, but choose it they did. They founded Salt Lake City and established themselves as a theocracy. Poor relations with the U.S. government over such issues as polygamy and the theocratic government climaxed in the Utah Mormon War (1857-1858), which ended with the arrival of a non-Mormon governor and the resignation of Young as head of both church and state. Utah entered the Union in 1896. Polygamy was finally abolished in 1890, with further prohibitions issued over the next years. Today, there are some 14 million members around the world, with Mormon missionaries sent out to many different countries.
Three Gods into One
In 2001, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) responded to a question about whether Mormon baptisms should be considered valid by Catholics. The answer was in the negative (see sidebar). And one of the main reasons for this conclusion was that LDS theology is polytheistic.
At first look, the baptismal formula used by Mormons appears Trinitarian: “Being commissioned by Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” However, as the CDF determined, this is not a true invocation of the Trinity, because the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the teachings of the Latter-day Saints “are not the three persons in which subsists the one Godhead, but three gods who form one divinity. One is different from the other, even though they exist in perfect harmony” (L’Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, Aug. 1, 2001, Page 4).
As the CDF further pointed out, God the Father was once a mortal man from another planet who, through a series of progressions, achieved divinity. He and his wife, the heavenly mother, share the responsibility of creation and have sons in the spiritual world. Their firstborn son, Jesus Christ, equal to men, “has acquired his divinity in a pre-mortal existence. Even the Holy Spirit is the son of heavenly parents. The Son and the Holy Spirit were procreated after the beginning of the creation of the world known to us.”
The Celestial Kingdom
There are numerous other points of divergence between LDS and Catholic beliefs.
Mormons accept the idea of celestial marriage, a form of marriage that “seals” the husband and wife and their children together through eternity. The afterlife consists of a complex set of destinations for spirits, a Celestial Kingdom for the faithful and a spirit prison for sinners. The Celestial Kingdom is a three-tiered heaven: the highest heaven is for those believers sealed by celestial marriage; the second is for those who lived honorably but not heroically in their testimony of Christ; and the third is for unrepentant sinners. Even the sinners, however, will eventually be saved through the atonement of Christ, and sinners in the spirit prison and the lower levels of heaven may advance through accepting Mormon baptism. Missionary work also continues among those in spirit prison, which is why the Mormons famously baptize the dead by proxy.
These teachings, of course, are subject to some changes over time as the LDS believe in ongoing public revelation through the current leadership of the church, a notion entirely contrary to the Church’s clear teaching that public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nos. 66, 73), although private revelations can still be given which in no way change or correct the Faith.
Common Ground
Despite these differences, there is much cultural ground that Catholics find with the members of the LDS. Mormons are supportive of a strong family life and are noted for their opposition to abortion and gay marriage. These make for considerable points of commonality, and we should be mindful always to treat our Mormon sisters and brothers with charity and justice. As the CDF noted in its assessment of Mormon baptism: “Catholics and Mormons often find themselves working together on a range of problems regarding the common good of the entire human race. It can be hoped therefore that through further studies, dialogue and good will, there can be progress in reciprocal understanding and mutual respect.”
The Question of Mormon Baptism
LDS teaching denies both that baptism was instituted by Christ and the existence of original sin. Mormons perform baptism only for those have reached the age of reason and are at least 8 years old. Notably, they claim that infant baptism was one of the ways that the Church sank into apostasy in the first centuries and that Catholic baptisms are invalid.
In 2001, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded to questions about the validity of Mormon baptisms in the negative. The response cited several problems with Mormon baptism:
The form: Because of the severe problems in the doctrine of the Trinity, the form was judged invalid.
The intention of the celebrating minister: Owing to the problems with the form and Mormon beliefs regarding baptism and original sin, the minister of the LDS cannot do what the Catholic Church does in conferring baptism.
The Mormon church also practices baptism for the dead, the belief that those who have died as non-Mormons can become Mormons in the afterlife through baptism by proxy. This is one reason why Mormons are so active in genealogy and also why in 2008 the Congregation for Clergy urged bishops around the world to refuse the Mormon genealogical society access to the parish registers as there is the risk that deceased Catholics might be “re-baptized.” This has also been condemned by other faiths, such as Jewish leaders who consider it dis-respectful to the dead, especially victims of the Holocaust.
The theme of prayer is central to the Fatima apparitions, and, indeed, a variety of prayers arose from the supernatural visions received by the three shepherd children. Several of those…
The theme of prayer is central to the Fatima apparitions, and, indeed, a variety of prayers arose from the supernatural visions received by the three shepherd children. Several of those prayers are now a treasured portion of many of the faithful’s prayer life. It’s noteworthy in this Fatima centenary year to take a look at aspects of the Faith that some of these prayers emphasize as well as what some of these prayers teach us.
The Pardon Prayer
In the prefatory visits of the angel at Fatima, several prayers were taught to the shepherd children, the first of which is the Pardon Prayer: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love thee! I beg pardon for all those that do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love thee.”
The prayer fosters an expression of the three theological virtues — faith, hope and charity. These virtues “dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1812). This prayer at the onset of the Fatima apparitions indicates our desire to advance in our participation of the divine life. While these apparitions add nothing new to the Faith, Fatima can offer much assistance in our Christian journey. As Pope Benedict XVI noted during a 2010 visit to Fatima, the “Blessed Mother came from heaven, offering to implant in the hearts of all those who trust in her the love of God burning in her own heart.”
The context of the prayer also is helpful for our consideration. Fatima’s apparitions came as many nations were engaged in World War I — the result of a lack of recognition of God’s love in the hearts of many. Mary’s message is in continuity with the message of all of Scripture: When we allow God’s love in our hearts, God blesses us.
The Decade Prayer
The Decade Prayer, called such because Our Lady instructed its recitation at the end of each decade of the Rosary after the Glory Be, is very much part of the lexicon of Catholic prayers today. The Blessed Mother proposed its use after the children received a vision of hell during her third apparition at Fatima on July 13, 1917. That vision and this prayer can be said to focus on two realities: love of God and love of neighbor. After all, these two themes are at the heart of her Son’s teaching, in the greatest commandment (see Mt 22:34-40, Mk 12:28-34, Lk 10:25-28).
Legitimate love for God stirs within our hearts a true sorrow for those times we have damaged our relationship with him through sin. Likewise, our love for God leads us to love our neighbor, which is possible only when we truly want their good and take the initiative to help procure it. The greatest love we can have for our neighbor — the greatest good we can desire for them — is the gift of eternal life. In many ways the Decade Prayer is an expression of the greatest commandment. It leads us to desire holiness more than anything else for ourselves and others. And this desire must be met resolutely with rejection of the devil and his attempts to lure us from God.
The Rosary
Although the Rosary had been in use for more than a millennium, it is the one prayer that Mary spoke about at each of the six apparitions to the shepherd children at Fatima.
On May 13, at the first apparition, Our Lady asked that the children devote their lives to the Blessed Trinity. She then requested them to “pray the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war,” a request she renewed at each apparition. This request presents several noteworthy observations.
First, why the Rosary? Recall that Mary is speaking to little children with little education. Her apparition to them is iconic of the reality that the Gospel is offered to all people, regardless of their academic abilities. This message is exemplified by the simple and memorizable nature of the Rosary; reading is not required.
Why does Mary ask us to pray the Rosary daily? It takes faithfulness and commitment. Many people acknowledge that as much as they might try, there are days they forget or become too busy to pray. Commitment is an essential quality for any follower of the Lord. The kingdom of God should be our utmost concern — consider the parable of the pearl of great price (see Mt 13:45-46).
Why the daily Rosary and not daily Mass? The Rosary can be prayed anywhere at any time. A priest or church is not needed. Many people will even turn to using their fingers if they do not have the blessed beads of a rosary at their disposal. Moreover, Mary would never request anything more than what God and the Church already expect of us (i.e., the Sabbath).
While it’s meant to be a simple prayer, accessible to all regardless of ability or place, the Rosary also has catechetical and evangelizing components. In many ways the Rosary presents the Gospel in miniature. As Pope Blessed Paul VI taught, the Rosary is “a Gospel prayer.” In meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, the life of Christ and the unfolding of salvation is made known to us. This is one reason that it’s helpful to pray the Rosary with our children.
Meditating on the mysteries, we are drawn into contemplation of Christ himself. Our ordinary human experiences find resonance in Christ’s joys and sorrows. This encounter with the Lord leads us to experience the luminous power of his life and the glory we hope to attain.
In contemplating Mary, hope is nurtured by knowing that God, rewarding trust and obedience, works through the poor and lowly and bestows abundant life upon them. Mary is egotism’s opposite in her request to pray the Rosary. The purpose of the prayer is consonant with her life’s goal — to bring us to her Son.
World peace is the conclusion of Mary’s request to pray the Rosary daily. Peace comes through Christ, the Son of God who entered human flesh to model for humanity how we are to live. We cannot achieve peace on our own, for we need God’s grace. When our lives are rooted in faith, hope and charity, and when we seek to emulate Christ in our thoughts, words and deeds, we are daily choosing to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:14). Then the peace of Christ that resides in the human heart will extend through ripples of transformation to all the world.
The Rosary is a potent tool for us. The late archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis E. George, called the Rosary “a powerful prayer because it helps us identify our lives with those of the Lord and his Blessed Mother.”
When we identify our lives with Christ and his Mother — when we allow God to reign in our hearts — we are learning to live in God’s realm. And it’s then, and only then — when God reigns over every human heart — that true peace will be known.
Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael. This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor.
Prayer of Pope Francis at Fatima |
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Pope Francis prayed in the Little Chapel of the Apparitions in Fatima in 2017. The following is an excerpt from his prayer:
As a pilgrim of the Light that comes to us from your hands, I give thanks to God the Father, who in every time and place is at work in human history; As a pilgrim of the Peace that, in this place, you proclaim, I give praise to Christ, our peace, and I implore for the world concord among all peoples; As a pilgrim of the Hope that the Spirit awakens, I come as a prophet and messenger to wash the feet of all, at the same table that unites us. … Show us the strength of your protective mantle. In your Immaculate Heart, be the refuge of sinners and the way that leads to God. In union with my brothers and sisters, in faith, in hope and in love, I entrust myself to you. In union with my brothers and sisters, through you, I consecrate myself to God, O Virgin of the Rosary of Fatima. And at last, enveloped in the Light that comes from your hands, I will give glory to the Lord for ever and ever. Amen. |
When Saint Francis de Sales was born in 1567 in Thorens-Glières, France, his father had his life planned out for him. This life would be one of nobility, with a…
When Saint Francis de Sales was born in 1567 in Thorens-Glières, France, his father had his life planned out for him. This life would be one of nobility, with a career in law that would culminate with his appointment as a magistrate. Francis’ earthly father planned a prosperous and prestigious future for him, but it turned out that his heavenly Father had other plans.
The saint’s early life began with academic training close to home at a school for sons of noblemen, specializing in composition. He then studied philosophy, rhetoric, and theology at a Jesuit-run college in Paris. After obtaining his baccalaureate degree in 1584, Francis continued to study theology in Paris as he grew in his own practice of the Faith. He earned two more masters’ degrees, followed by a doctorate in law in Padua, Italy, in 1591. During his doctoral defense, his oratory skills and intellectual prowess left all forty-eight professors amazed.
Because he was of noble origin, Francis was accompanied during most of his studies by a servant and a priest-tutor. In addition to his academic pursuits, he also received “gentlemanly formation,” including lessons in dancing, fencing, and boxing. He excelled in horsemanship, especially jumping and dressage.
As Francis was receiving his education, the doctrine of Calvinism was taking root throughout Europe, causing many Catholics to break away from the Faith. This would touch Francis’ life in many ways, both professionally and personally. As various Calvinist doctrines were debated publicly, especially in Paris during his time of study there, briefly he became convinced of predestination, a primary tenet of Calvinism.
In 1586, a period of depression and spiritual darkness struck Francis, growing out of an experience in which he became convinced that he was predestined for eternal damnation. This consumed him for nearly two months, leaving him emotionally and physically exhausted. While visiting a famous chapel in Paris, dedicated to Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Deliverance, Francis completely abandoned himself to the will of God, promising to love and serve God no matter what was in store for him. His eyes were drawn to an inscription of the Memorare, a prayer to Our Lady composed by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, on the chapel’s wall. He felt immediate peace and tranquility as a result of his newfound trust and confidence in God through Mary’s intercession, and he vowed to recite this prayer every day of his life from then on.
During this spiritual trial, Francis felt an intensified call to the priesthood. The call seems to have been there from an early age, but he kept it secret, especially from his father. His father wanted for his son what he considered to be the best, so in obedience to him, Francis spent a short time practicing law after earning his degree. His father purchased an estate for Francis, assembled a law library for his use, and arranged an engagement to the daughter of a prominent judge. Francis gave it all up, however, to pursue the priesthood. Supported by his mother and given approval, albeit with great reluctance, by his father, Francis was ordained a priest in 1593. (Sadly, by the time his father died in 1600, the two had never fully reconciled.)
Francis’ ordination came about quickly when he was nominated (without his knowledge) by a priest-cousin to be provost of Geneva, a position second to the bishop. He rose to prominence quickly within the local Church of Geneva, although Catholic leadership was exiled to eastern France because of the Calvinist occupation of the city.
Through his preaching and teaching, Francis manifested great evangelical skills for overcoming the divide between Catholics and Calvinists. He accomplished this mostly through tireless efforts of preaching and the publication of various tractates in which he put forward the teachings of the Church in simple, understandable language. More than two-thirds of the population of Chablais, the region in which Francis labored for about four years, returned to the Church, and a revival of Catholic practices thrived thanks to his leadership. It is believed that a deceased Protestant child came back from the dead long enough for the saint to perform the baby’s baptism. And Pope Clement VIII even asked Francis to seek out Calvinist leader Theodore Beza, then in his early eighties, and persuade him to come back to the Church.
None of Francis’ missionary work among the Calvinists came without great personal cost to him, however. On several occasions, he came close to martyrdom. Forced to live in a garrison, his health deteriorated. Once, he even had to spend a night in a tree in order to avoid being attacked by wolves. Interestingly, even while he preached the truth of the Catholic faith, old theological doubts tempted him again, especially regarding the primary Calvinist tenets on predestination, grace, free will, and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. To make matters worse, his father cut off all material assistance to him in hopes that he would abandon his mission. Yet, through it all, Francis persevered, forced to depend solely on the providence of God, something in which he rejoiced greatly.
The Protestant Reformation, which was gaining much traction throughout Europe, was just as divisive politically as it was religiously. Church and state were very much intertwined, and Francis found himself capable of shrewd negotiations with political entities for the good of the Church, even forging alliances between the pope and French king Henry IV. Henry, who had returned to Catholicism but had been poorly committed to it, was quite fond of the saint, calling him “a rare bird, indeed . . . devout, learned, and a gentleman. A very rare combination.”
Francis eventually was named coadjutor to the bishop of his exiled Geneva see, succeeding him in 1602. As the diocesan bishop, he was responsible for implementing the reforms of the Council of Trent, saying, “The first duty of the bishop is to teach.” Much of his tenure as bishop was spent doing just that, especially as he fulfilled the task set out by Trent to visit all the parishes and ecclesial institutions in his diocese.
Francis forged a strong bond with his people and left a major mark through his teaching, preaching, and example. During this time, he also developed a deep, loving, spiritual friendship with a widow named Jane Frances de Chantal. Together the two founded a new women’s religious community, the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, which was less strict than many orders of the time and open to older women and widows who wanted to live a life dedicated to development of the interior life, particularly humility and gentleness. Francis served as Jane’s spiritual director for many years, and their correspondence remains among the most treasured in that genre of spiritual writing.
Francis is remembered as a uniquely gifted spiritual director, and his writings were unique because of his strong belief that anyone could serve God in any vocation. This was a striking departure from the common thinking of the day, which held that entrance to a religious community or the clerical state was really the only path to holiness. But Francis insisted that everyone is called to holiness, and this was the major theme of his Introduction to the Devout Life, a collection of letters between himself and a cousin’s wife, whom he served as spiritual director. Considered too lax at the time, the work is now noted for its spiritual rigor. It was an immediate best-seller and remains one of the most loved spiritual books of all time.
Francis’ last years were spent dealing with increasing health problems, but his attention shifted also to continued writing and work with the Visitation nuns. In addition, he was called upon numerous times to perform careful ecclesiastical and political negotiations. A variety of arduous and taxing journeys in his last years took a toll on him. He suffered a stroke, and while he lay on his deathbed, a nun begged for some last advice. Given paper and pen, he wrote three times, “Humility.” Francis died on December 28, 1622, in Lyon, France. He was canonized in 1665, named a Doctor of the Church by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1877, and formally named patron of writers in 1923.
Francis’ advocacy for the apostolate of the laity and recognition of the universal call to holiness made him a man ahead of his time. Marking the fourth centenary of the saint’s birth, Pope Paul VI wrote on his enduring relevance: “No one of the recent Doctors of the Church more than St. Francis de Sales anticipated the deliberations and decisions of the Second Vatican Council with such a keen and progressive insight. He renders his contribution by the example of his life, by the wealth of his true and sound doctrine, by the fact that he has opened and strengthened the spiritual ways of Christian perfection for all states and conditions in life. We propose that these three things be imitated, embraced, and followed.”
Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael. This biography was first printed in Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales, part of Our Sunday Visitor’s Noll Classics series.
Our Savior, dearly beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the…
Our Savior, dearly beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity.
No one is kept from sharing in this happiness. There is for all one common measure of joy, because as Our Lord, the destroyer of sin and death, finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the Gentile take courage in that he is called to life. For the Son of God in the fullness of time, which the inscrutable depth of the Divine counsel has determined, has taken on him the nature of man, thereby to reconcile it to its Author: in order that the inventor of death, the devil, might be conquered through that (nature) which he had conquered. And in this conflict undertaken for us, the fight was fought on great and wondrous principles of fairness; for the Almighty Lord enters the lists with His savage foe not in His own majesty but in our humility, opposing him with the same form and the same nature, which shares indeed our mortality, though it is free from all sin.
Truly foreign to this nativity is that which we read of all others, no one is clean from stain, not even the infant who has lived but one day upon earth. Nothing therefore of the lust of the flesh has passed into that peerless nativity, nothing of the law of sin has entered. A royal Virgin of the stem of David is chosen, to be impregnated with the sacred seed and to conceive the divinely human offspring in mind first and then in body. And lest in ignorance of the heavenly counsel she should tremble at so strange a result, she learns from converse with the angel that what is to be wrought in her is of the Holy Ghost. Nor does she believe it loss of honor that she is soon to be the Mother of God. For why should she be in despair over the novelty of such conception, to whom the power of the most High has promised to effect it. Her implicit faith is confirmed also by the attestation of a precursory miracle, and Elizabeth receives unexpected fertility: in order that there might be no doubt that He who had given conception to the barren, would give it even to a virgin.
Therefore the Word of God, himself God, the Son of God who in the beginning was with God, through whom all things were made and without whom was nothing made (see Jn 1:1-3), with the purpose of delivering man from eternal death, became man: so bending himself to take on Him our humility without decrease in His own majesty, that remaining what He was and assuming what He was not, He might unite the true form of a slave to that form in which He is equal to God the Father, and join both natures together by such a compact that the lower should not be swallowed up in its exaltation nor the higher impaired by its new associate.
Without detriment therefore to the properties of either substance which then came together in one person, majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity mortality: and for the paying off of the debt, belonging to our condition, inviolable nature was united with possible nature, and true God and true man were combined to form one Lord, so that, as suited the needs of our case, one and the same Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, could both die with the one and rise again with the other.
Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit, who for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us, has had pity on us.
Pope St. Leo I (the Great) was pontiff from 440 to 461. One of only four popes called “the Great,” he authored the Tome of Leo to explain the two Natures and one Person of Christ and persuaded Attila the Hun from sacking Rome in 452. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1754. His feast day is Nov. 10. The above is an excerpt from Leo’s Sermon 21, on the feast of the Nativity.