ST FRANCIS DE SALES AND THE NAME OF HIS BELOVED
When I first heard that St Francis de Sales slept in trees when he was traversing the countryside of Switzerland, I thought he did this for penance. But he did it out of dire necessity. He had followed a call to be a missionary among the Swiss Calvinists - many of whom had been cradle Catholics until they had been seduced by Calvin - and now they were being accosted by a French priest who wanted to point out their folly.
As retribution, a few blood-thirsty Calvinists made attempts on Francis's life, but more often Francis was persona non grata, and not given a bed for the night in the homes of the people he sought to bring back to the Catholic Church. Had he slept in a field, he may have been devoured by savage wolves. When he could not find a hayloft, he had to haul himself up a tree, and tie himself to the branches in case he rolled to the ground while asleep.
St Francis was emboldened, and if the Swiss people around him were not going to go to Mass, he would write his sermons on notes of paper and slip them under their doors. Slowly over time, his efforts paid off, and 40,000 souls returned to the Faith. Francis had made many heroic sacrifices, but I am left with the image of him sprawled on a tree branch, the local Swiss folk calling him a pilgarlic lunatic.
The mere fact that he persevered to save the souls of the those who mocked and disparaged him so much is evocative of his love for them and his love for the Lord. When Francis was the spiritual director of Madame Marie de Charmoisy, he wrote to her of love of Jesus being evinced in love of His Holy Name, and that in like manner a person in love will carve the name of their beloved on a tree and always be willing to celebrate the love of their life, so too, do lovers of Jesus exalt His Name and wish to imprint it on the hearts of others, "Just as those who are full of some earthly, natural love are ever turning in thought to the beloved one, their hearts overflowing with tenderness, and their lips ever ready to praise that beloved object; comforting themselves in absence by letters, carving the treasured name on every tree, so those who love God cannot cease thinking of Him, living for Him, longing after Him, speaking of Him, and fain would they grave the Holy Name of Jesus in the hearts of every living creature they behold."
As retribution, a few blood-thirsty Calvinists made attempts on Francis's life, but more often Francis was persona non grata, and not given a bed for the night in the homes of the people he sought to bring back to the Catholic Church. Had he slept in a field, he may have been devoured by savage wolves. When he could not find a hayloft, he had to haul himself up a tree, and tie himself to the branches in case he rolled to the ground while asleep.
St Francis was emboldened, and if the Swiss people around him were not going to go to Mass, he would write his sermons on notes of paper and slip them under their doors. Slowly over time, his efforts paid off, and 40,000 souls returned to the Faith. Francis had made many heroic sacrifices, but I am left with the image of him sprawled on a tree branch, the local Swiss folk calling him a pilgarlic lunatic.
The mere fact that he persevered to save the souls of the those who mocked and disparaged him so much is evocative of his love for them and his love for the Lord. When Francis was the spiritual director of Madame Marie de Charmoisy, he wrote to her of love of Jesus being evinced in love of His Holy Name, and that in like manner a person in love will carve the name of their beloved on a tree and always be willing to celebrate the love of their life, so too, do lovers of Jesus exalt His Name and wish to imprint it on the hearts of others, "Just as those who are full of some earthly, natural love are ever turning in thought to the beloved one, their hearts overflowing with tenderness, and their lips ever ready to praise that beloved object; comforting themselves in absence by letters, carving the treasured name on every tree, so those who love God cannot cease thinking of Him, living for Him, longing after Him, speaking of Him, and fain would they grave the Holy Name of Jesus in the hearts of every living creature they behold."
