A message from the Salesian Studies Office:

During the Lenten season it was customary for French bishops in the 17th Century to be invited to neighboring dioceses and offer a series of sermons. Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, was invited to speak in Dijon by the Archbishop of Bourges, Andre Fremyot, Jane de Chantal’s brother. This initial Lenten meeting in March of 1604 was the beginning of a holy friendship between Francis and Jane, and six years later, the first foundation of the Order of the Visitation was established. Their shared love of God, rooted in the little virtues and heart-to-heart relationships, shows us the way to Live Jesus in the Salesian tradition.

Nearing Holy Week, our focus turns to the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus this fifth week of Lent, and we are invited to find God in all places as we reflect on the passion. For Francis de Sales “...love and death are so mingled in the Savior’s passion that we cannot have one in our hearts without the other,” (Treatise on the Love of God.)  Francis reminds us that the cross is both a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice and death, and God’s true love for us. 

As we prepare to approach the cross, may our hearts be filled with the passion and love of Christ as we Live Jesus this week.

Hollow Place
Sister Péronne Marie Thibert, VHM

Find him in the hollow place
the hollow cave
the ancient tree
    the swaying reed waiting 
                    for the wind
the echo hidden in the hills

Find hm
           find him in
the hollow of your heart
the hollow of your hands 
                   and the touch of his face.
 

Credits:

Image: Crucifixion, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA. Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Poem from Gentle Fidelity by Sister Péronne Marie Thibert, VHM

Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales