This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of St. Francis de Sales. The saint was born on Aug. 21, 1567, and died on Dec. 28, 1622. He was buried at Annecy on Jan. 24, 1623. The Church celebrates his memorial each year on Jan. 24. 

St. Francis had a special devotion to Our Lady. During his youth, the saint suffered from intense spiritual dryness and melancholy which even made him physically ill. He was at the point despair of his own salvation, and finally, led by a divine inspiration, he entered a church to pray that this agony might pass. He knelt before a statue of Our Lady and begged that she would be his advocate, and procure him the grace to love God with his whole heart. He ended by reciting the Memorare. That very moment he found himself eased of his grief as of a heavy weight taken off his heart, and peace was restored in his soul.

 The saint made a vow to recite 15 decades of the Holy Rosary each day. He preached many times about Our Lady and he always instructed his spiritual children to hold her in special love and veneration. 

St. Francis was ordained a priest in 1593. As a young priest, he started an expedition to Thonon-les-Bains, France, to convert non-Catholic Christians back to Catholicism. After three difficult years, there was not even one convert. However, St. Francis was an unusually patient man. He wrote out his leaflets, copied them by hand, and slipped them under the doors of the people who would not listen to him. These leaflets were later published in one volume called The Catholic Controversy.

St. Francis won the heart of the people gradually with his patience and kindness. The parents would not come to St. Francis, so he came to their children and played with them. When the parents saw how kind he was as he played, they started to talk to him.

Eventually more and more people came to St. Francis to listen to his sermons, and conversions became increasingly frequent. By the time he left Thonon-les-Bains, St. Francis had brought 40,000 people back to Catholicism. 

On Dec. 8, 1602, St. Francis was ordained Bishop of Geneva. As bishop, the saint brought his diocese into line with the reforms legislated by the Council of Trent. He also worked for the education of the clergy and made regular pastoral visits to the parishes.

 The saint once gave a relative some written notes of spiritual direction. Later on, that relative showed those notes to a learned and devout religious. The religious considered that the notes might be of use to many and strongly urged the saint to publish them. This was how the spiritual classic An Introduction to the Devout Life came about. 

St. Francis was known to be a meek and mild saint. It took him 22 years to acquire the virtue of patience. The saint gave us the following remedies against anger: 1. To forestall its movements, if possible, or at least to cast them aside quickly, by turning the thoughts to something else. 2. In imitation of the Apostles when they saw the sea raging, to have recourse to God, whose office it is to give peace to the heart. 3. During the heat of passion, not to speak, nor take any action as to the matter in question. 4. To strive to perform acts of kindness and humility toward the person against whom one is incensed, especially in reparation for any of a contrary nature.

Francis de Sales was canonized by Pope Alexander VII in 1665, and Pope Pius IX declared him a doctor of the Church in 1877.  St. John Bosco (1815-1888) chose the gentle St. Francis de Sales as patron of the congregation he founded, adopting his motto: “Give me souls, take away the rest.”


『與我靈，取其餘』

 今年是聖方濟各、沙雷氏去世400週年紀念。這聖人在1567年8月21日出生，終於1622年12月28日，於1623年1月24日葬於阿訥西。教會訂每年1月24日為他們慶日。

 聖方濟各對聖母有一個特別的敬禮。在他年青時，這位聖人經歷了靈修上的枯燥和憂鬱，這些甚至使他身體病倒。他是處於對自己的得救絕望的境界下，最後被一神聖的靈感帶領，他進入聖堂內祈求能渡過這苦困。他跪在聖母聖像下，懇求她作他的保護人，為他求取全心愛天主的恩寵。他以誦念『求爾記憶』的聖母禱文結束這祈禱。就在這一刻，他發覺他的悲哀減輕了，一份內心的重壓釋放了，他的靈魂回復平安。

 這聖人發愿每天誦念十五端玫瑰經。他很多次宣講聖母，他也時常教導他靈性的孩子們把聖母放在特別的愛和敬禮中。

 這位聖人在1593年晉鐸。這年青的神父開始他的遠征，他去到托農萊班，法國，去為非天主教基督徒皈依天主教而工作。經過了困難的三年，都沒有一個皈依。可是聖方濟是個耐性很不尋常的人。他編寫他的傳單，手抄多份， 從門縫下面投入不肯聽他說話的人屋內。這些傳單後來被出版稱為『公教辯証』一冊。

 聖方濟各漸漸地以他的耐性和仁慈贏得人們的心。家長們不願意到聖方濟處來，所以他到他們孩子處，跟他們一起遊戲。當家長們看見他跟孩子們遊戲時的仁愛，便開始跟他說話。最後越來越多的人到聖方濟各處聽他講道，皈依便變得越來越頻繁，在他離異托農萊班的時候，聖方濟各把四萬人帶回天主教裡。

 在1602年12月8日，聖方濟各晉升日內瓦主教，這聖人把他教區跟隨了按大公會議立法的改革。他也致力於神職人員的教育，並作探訪堂區。

 這聖人給他的一位親戚寫了不少靈修指導的信。不久他的親戚把這些信給一位有學識的，虔誠的會士看。這位會士認為這些便條對很多人都可以用得著，强烈敦促聖人把它發行。這就是那靈修經典，『熱心生活入門』的由來。

 聖方濟各是位溫和，謙順的聖人。他用了22年修忍耐的德行。這聖人給我們補救忿怒的方法如以下：1. 如可以的話，預先制止它的行為，或者，最少都能快速地，把思念轉到其他來事物，好能把它擱置一旁。2. 效法宗徒門，當他們看見洶湧的波濤，求助於天主，祂的工作是給我們內心的平安。3. 在激情燥急的時候，對這有問題的事物，不要說話，或作任何舉措。4. 對使人盛怒的人盡量以慈愛和謙遜相對，特別是要彌補任何性質相反的事情。

 在1665年教宗亞歷山大七世為他宣聖。教宗庇護九世於1877年宣認他為聖師。聖若望鮑斯高，選這位溫柔的聖方濟各、沙雷氏作他建立的機構的主保，選擇了他的座右銘：『與我靈，取其餘』。