A special day

Today is a special and long-awaited day for me.

About 4 years ago, I went to a Salesian retreat. I didn't know then what "Salesian" meant; I only knew that I wanted to draw closer to God than I was at the time. As luck would have it, this retreat was being held just a few miles from my home.

It turns out that "Salesian" is a term used to refer to a spirituality based on the teachings of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. They lived around the turn of the 16th century. De Sales was a prolific writer, and we are fortunate to have many of his letters of spiritual direction, a number of sermons, and two spiritual Classics - Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God - to refer to as well. Francis and Jane developed a close and enduring spiritual friendship, and together they co-founded a religious community, the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. The Visitation Sisters continue to serve God today. Other religious orders - the Salesians of Don Bosco, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians - also live Christian lives following the model of St. Francis de Sales. The Saint Francis de Sales Association is a lay group which does the same.

At some point along the way since I attended that conference, I found the following list of some of the highlights from Salesian spirituality:

• God is love, and all creation is an outpouring of that love.
• All creation has been made for Christ, with Christ and through Christ.
• All creation should be treated with respect and care.
• Jesus is the model for all fully human living.
• You possess divine dignity and are worthy of profound respect.
• God has testified that you are good, worthy of divine love and mercy.
• Despite your weakness and sinfulness, God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to become man.
• You are called to be holy, that is, to grow in union with God.
• Pursuing a holy life is called "devotion," that is, doing what is both commanded and counseled by God promptly, actively, and diligently.
• The pursuit of holiness must be practical. It must transform your attitudes, attributes, and actions.
• Acknowledge your sins and failing, learn from them, but do not dwell on them.
• God gives you talents and abilities, gifts that should be discovered, developed and used for the good of others.
• Relationships are essential to living a fully human, that is, a holy life.
• Each moment of each day comes from the hand of a loving God and is graced for your salvation.
• The only time you have is each present moment. Don't live in the past; don't dwell on the future.
• Living each moment to the fullest with an eye to loving God must lead you to show compassion for others.
• The challenge of each moment is discerning God's will, that is, the particular, unique way that God may be calling you to love Him, yourself, and others.
• God's will is frequently communicated through the events, circumstances, and relationships in which you find yourself.
• God seldom requires you to perform great or extraordinary feats, but He always challenges you to perform everyday actions with extraordinary attention and enthusiasm.
• The "little virtues" of patience, humility, gentleness, simplicity, honesty, and hospitality are powerful means for growing holy.
• All prayer and meditation must lead to action.
• The motivation with which you perform some action may be far more important and powerful than the action itself.
• Freedom is one of the most precious and powerful gifts that God gives you.
• You are to use that freedom to grow in conformity to God's will.
• Intellectual learning, prayerful reflection, social interaction, work, play and all things creative should be valued as graced by God and viewed as means for growing into a fully human person.
• Each new day is a new beginning, a new opportunity for growing in holiness.
• Let your passion be disciplined.
• Let your discipline be passionate.
• Keep things in perspective.
• Develop a sense of humor.

Not a bad way to live, eh?

Over the course of the years since I attended that conference, my attraction to St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal has grown. I have been "in formation" to become a member of the Saint Francis de Sales Association, and today I will become a full member of the Association through a process called "consecration". I ask you to pray that I will be able to live a life worthy of the Association and of the Savior we love and serve.

If you're interested in learning more about Salesian spirituality, here are some links you can check out:

• St. Francis de Sales Association
• Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
• Monastery of the Visitation (Georgetown) - Live Jesus blog
• Visitation Monastery of Minneapolis

Live Jesus!

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Also visit Conversion Diary each Friday for 7 Quick Takes!