À Madame la comtesse de Sales, sa mère
A Letter of Filial Affection
Saint François de Sales writes to his mother with gratitude for their shared history and a promise of his return.
May 1599. I'm writing this to you, my dearest and good mother, as I set out on horseback for Chambéry. This note isn't sealed, and I have no worry about that; for, by the grace of God, we are no longer in that hard time when we had no choice but to hide in order to write each other and to say a few words of friendship and consolation. Praise God, my good mother; it's true that the memory of that time still always produces some holy and gentle thought in my soul.1 Always keep your joy in our Lord, my good mother, and be assured that your poor son is well by the divine mercy. I am preparing to come see you as soon as I can, and to stay with you as long as possible, for I am entirely yours, and you know it—I am your son.
Read the original Latin
Mai 1599.
Je vous écris ceci, ma très-chère et bonne mère, en montant à cheval pour Chambéry. Ce billet n'est point cacheté, et je n'en ai nulle inquiétude; car, par la grâce de Dieu, nous ne sommes plus en ce fâcheux temps où il falloit nécessairement nous cacher pour nous écrire, et pour nous dire quelques paroles d'amitié et de consolation. Vive Dieu, ma bonne mère; il est vrai que le souvenir de ce temps-là produit toujours en mon âme quelque sainte et douce pensée. Conservez toujours la joie en notre Seigneur, ma bonne mère, et soyez assurée que votre pauvre fils se porte bien par la divine miséricorde, et se prépare à vous aller voir au plus tôt, et à demeurer avec vous le plus longtemps qu'il lui sera possible, car je suis tout à vous, et vous le savez, que je suis votre fils.
Notes
- 1 ↩French 'Vive Dieu' is a Salesian exclamation of praise and assent; rendered as natural contemporary 'Praise God' rather than the stiffer formula 'Long live God.'
Letters of Spiritual Direction (de Sales and de Chantal) companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit