Fr. Thomas Dailey - Live Today Well

Fr. Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S.

Live Today Well

St. Francis de Saless Simple
Approach to Holiness

SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS
Manchester, New Hampshire

Copyright 2015 by Fr. Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S.

Printed in the United States of America.

All rights reserved.

Interior illustrations by John Folley.

Cover design by Perceptions Design Studio.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Quotations from Francis de Sales, Jane de Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction , Classics of Western Spirituality series, translated by Pronne Marie Thibert, V.H.M., selected and introduced by Wendy M. Wright and Joseph F. Power, O.S.F.S., copyright 1988 by Pronne Marie Thibert, V.H.M., Wendy M. Wright, and Joseph F. Power, O.S.F.S. New York / Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1988. Used with permission.

Quotations from Joseph Tissot, How to Profit from Your Faults: Based on the Writings of St. Francis de Sales , copyright 2004 by Joseph Tissot, New York: Scepter Publishers, 2004. Used with permission.

Quotations from Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life , translated by John K. Ryan, copyright 1950, 1952, 1966 by John K. Ryan, New York: Image Books, 1972 / 2003. Used with permission of Random House LLC.

Imprimi potest : Very Reverend James Greenfield, O.S.F.S., Provincial Superior

Nihil obstat : Reverend Monsignor James J. Mulligan, S.T.L., Censor Librorum , Diocese of Allentown

Imprimatur : Most Reverend John O. Barres, D.D., Bishop of Allentown

March 16, 2015

The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dailey, Thomas F.

Live today well : St. Francis de Saless simple approach to holiness / Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-62282-301-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) ePub ISBN 978-1-622823-024 1. Spiritual life Catholic Church. 2. Francis, de Sales, Saint, 1567-1622. 3. Holiness Catholic Church. I. Title.

BX2350.3.D345 2015

248.4'82 dc23

2015013830

Let us be firmly resolved to serve God with
our whole heart and life. Beyond that, let us
have no care about tomorrow. Let us think only
of living today well , and when tomorrow comes,
it also will be today and we can think of it then.

St. Francis de Sales, letter CXC,
to Mademoiselle de Soulfour, July 22, 1603

Contents

Part 1

Salesian Spirituality

Part 2

Part 3

Conclusion:

Acknowledgments

This guide to a good life comes from long ago and far away.

It originates with St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church. Recognized for his sanctity in his own lifetime, and revered by those who knew him as the gentleman saint, Francis de Sales has bequeathed a corpus of writings that shape what is now called Salesian spirituality. Differing from the spiritual legacies of the great monastic schools (Augustinian, Benedictine, et cetera), the Salesian tradition exhibits a particular focus on living a life of holiness in the midst of the world.

Today Salesian spirituality serves as the cornerstone not only of religious orders and congregations but also of a growing number of lay movements in the Church. Its principles have been shaped into an educational philosophy at work in a number of apostolates affiliated with those groups. One such apostolate DeSales University gave rise to this guide.

In my dual roles there as a faculty member in theology and as founding director of the Salesian Center for Faith and Culture I have enjoyed the beauty of teaching Salesian spirituality, directly or indirectly, to traditional undergraduate students, to university employees, and to community members engaged in the centers programs and activities. From that experience I have rediscovered the appeal that this tradition holds and the power that it exercises on those who embrace it. That appeal, that power, that wisdom all come originally from the writings of St. Francis de Sales.

His classic devotional work, Introduction to the Devout Life , is the one with which St. Francis de Sales is most often and most readily identified. Even todays college students will read it! Some of them also study it, as do those who enroll in my course about the Devout Life as a great work of literature. It is from those students that I have learned. It is for those students and others that I write. And it is to all my students at DeSales University past, present, and future that I gratefully dedicate this work.

The writing of this book has benefited from the generosity of many persons, some of whom I mention here:

• The religious congregation of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.): My provincial superior, the Very Reverend James Greenfield, and my confreres in the Wills Hall Oblate Community, graciously accepted and made provision for the sabbatical leave during which the writing of this book took place. Their religious witness to Salesian spirituality is the lived experience on which this guide is based.
• The faculty, staff, administration, and trustees of DeSales University: DeSales University afforded me the opportunity to work on this project by granting a sabbatical leave from my faculty position during the 2013-2014 academic year. A particular debt of gratitude goes to Fr. John Fisher, O.S.F.S., and Lore McFadden-Westwood, who generously fulfilled my multiple responsibilities in the Salesian Center for Faith and Culture during my absence. The universitys environment and the centers work form the context out of which this book grew and provide the arena in which I hope it will flourish.
• The faculty, students, staff, and administration of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook, Pennsylvania: The historic seminary in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia provided a peaceful locale in which to write, and the people there graciously offered a fraternal spirit and prayerful community in which to live. By appointing me the inaugural John Cardinal Foley Chair in Homiletics and Social Communications at the seminary for the 2013-2014 academic year, Archbishop Charles Chaput allowed me to fashion a position that would carry on the work of St. Francis de Sales in the context of todays social communications.

My hope and my prayer is that this book will help to spread the Salesian charism, further the educational missions of DeSales University and Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, and contribute to the Churchs continuing work of evangelization. To one and all I express my deep gratitude.

Introduction

Long after his election, Pope Francis continues to garner the worlds attention. His simple approach to holiness shows people how to see God in all things. His captivating words speak straight to the heart of all who hear or read them. His joyful exhortation to be near one another comes alive in so many hugs and smiles.

Four centuries ago, another Francis had a similar, although smaller, impact on the world of his day. One might even say that Francis de Sales bishop, saint, and Doctor of the Church was a precursor to todays more famous Francis.

Both share a name linked to Francis of Assisi. The pope explained his choice of a unique papal name as a remembrance of the patron saint of Italy, a man of peace and an advocate for the poor.

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