St. Francis de Sales teaches us that the essence of true perfection is charity and the regulation of exercises of piety should be according to one’s state of life.
He wrote “I hear of nothing but talk of perfection on every side, but I see very few people who really practise it. Everybody has his own idea of perfection. One person thinks that it consists in the tailoring of his clothes, another in fasting, a third in almsgiving, or in frequenting the sacraments, in meditation, in some special method of contemplation, or in extraordinary gifts or graces. But it seems to me that these people are quite mistaken because they confuse the effects with the causes. To my mind, the only perfection I know is to love God heartily and to love one’s neighbour as oneself. There can be no real perfection without these. The only bond of perfection between Christians is charity, the one virtue which truly unites us to God and man. And this union is our ultimate end and goal … all else is mere delusion.”
The exercise of devotion should conform to our vocations and duties. The saint wrote, “Devotion must be differently practised by a gentleman, by an artisan, by a servant, by a prince, by a widow, by a maiden, by a wife, and not only must the practice of devotion be different, but it must in measure and in degree be accommodated to the strength, occupations, and duties of each individual. I ask you, Philothea, would it be proper for a Bishop to wish to lead the solitary life of a Carthusian monk? If a father of a family were as heedless of heaping up riches as a Capuchin; if an artisan spent the whole day in church like a monk; if a monk, like a Bishop, were constantly in contact with the world in the service of his neighbour, would not the devotion of each of these be misplaced, ill-regulated, and laughable? Yet this mistake is very often made, and the world, which cannot or will not distinguish between devotion and indiscretion in those who think themselves devout, murmurs against and blames piety in general, though in reality piety has nothing to do with mistakes such as these.” He added: “Devotion or piety, when it is real, spoils nothing, but on the contrary perfects everything. Whenever it clashes with the legitimate calling of those who profess it, you may be quite certain that such devotion is spurious.”
According to St. Francis de Sales, devotion has three degrees: 1. When a person performs exercises which relate to the service of God with sluggishness. 2. When a person performs them with readiness. 3. When a person runs to perform them with joy and with eagerness.
St. Francis illustrates this by a comparison: “Ostriches never fly, barn door fowls fly heavily, close to the ground, and but seldom; eagles, doves, and swallows fly often, swiftly and high. Thus sinners never fly to God, but keep to the ground, nor so much as look up to Him. Those who are in God’s grace but have not yet attained to devotion, fly to God by their good actions rarely, slowly, and very heavily; but devout souls fly to God frequently and promptly and soar high above the earth.”
St. Francis de Sales urges us to desire for greater love but not for sensible devotion. It is easy for us to focus on oneself by seeking spiritual consolation in devotion. St. Francis said, “We all know that our good works are better to the degree that there is less of self in them. The I, me and mine render worthless over half that we do. They are like an ugly cobweb clinging to a beehive and spoiling all the honey.” The saint teaches us that if a person wants to make rapid progress in divine love, that person must always be filled with an earnest longing for greater love. St. Francis loved the saying of St. Bernard: “I love because I love, I love that I may love more!”
從虔敬中找尋天主
聖方濟各、沙雷氏教導我們真正的，完美的本質在於仁愛，而虔誠的規律卻因各人生命的狀態而有所不同。他寫道：『我從每一方面都聽不到什麼，只有是完美的論調，但我所見的只有很少的人認真的履行。每人對完美都有自我的意見。一人以為它包括裁製他的衣裳，另一以為是齋戒，第三位以為是行哀矜或勤領聖事，多作默想，或以特別的方法作沈思，或非凡的恩賜或恩典。但對我來說，他們都有所失誤，因為他們是倒果為因，都混淆了。在我心目中，我所知悉唯一的完美是全心去愛天主和愛你的鄰人就如愛你自己一樣。除此之外再沒有真正的完美。基督信徒和完美的連結是仁愛，這德行真實的把人跟天主結合。同時，這結合是我們最終的結局和目標—其他所有的都是幻象。』
虔敬的履行應與我們的使命和責任相符。這位聖人寫道：『虔敬的實行為每人都是不同的，一位男士，一位工匠，一位僕人，一位王子，一位寡婦，一位少女，一位妻子，不單虔敬的實行是不一樣，它也是在衡量中，在程度上按各人的能力，職業和責任所影響。我問你，菲洛西婭，要一位主教活出加爾都西隱修會僧人的生活是適當嗎？如果一位父親如嘉布遣兄弟會般對財富掉以輕心；一位工匠花一整天在聖堂裡如隱修士一樣；一位隱修士如主教般，經常與世界接觸為鄰人工作；他們的虔敬是否顛倒，錯誤規劃和可笑？可是這種錯誤是經常發生的，而這世俗不能，也不會分別出虔敬和那輕率的失誤，只會抱怨著這份—般的熱心，雖然真的熱心與這些錯誤無關。』他添加說：『虔敬或熱心當它是真的時候，不會有任何的破壞，但卻相反地完滿了一切。當它與宣稱擁有它人的召叫有所衝突的時候，你會相當肯定這虔敬是虛假的。』
根據聖方濟各、沙雷氏所說，虔敬有三種程度：1)當人們以緩慢的態度履行與服務天主有關的神業。2)當人們準備就緒作這些神業。3}當人們以喜悅和渴望勇於作這些神業。聖方濟各用比較作闡明：『鴕鳥不飛，家禽近地笨拙地，不多地飛；鷹，鴿和燕子經常輕快高飛。所以罪人永不飛往天主，時常靠近地面，也不多望向祂。那些在天主寵愛中的，但仍未達虔敬的以他們的善行僅有地，慢慢地，笨拙地飛；那些虔敬的靈魂經常地，迅速地離地疾飛。』
聖方濟各、沙雷氏敦促我們追求更大的愛但不是追求情感的虔敬。聚焦於在虔敬中追求一己的慰籍是容易的。聖方濟各說：『我們全體都知道我們的善工愈沒有自我在其中就愈好。這個我 令我們所作的超過一半的都失去價值。他們似是一道醜陋的蜘蛛網附掛在蜂巢上糟蹋了所有的蜜糖。』這位聖人教導我們如果有人要在神聖的愛中快速進步，這人要充滿為得到更大的愛最懇切的渴求。聖方濟各喜歡聖伯爾納德的話：『我愛因為我愛，我愛以圖多愛一些！』
