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Salesian Talks Index |
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| The following series of talks are reflections based on the six key elements of Salesian spirituality identified and described in Francis de Sales, Jane de Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction, translated by Peronne Marie Thibert, V.H.M., selected and introduced by Wendy M. Wright and Joseph F. Power, O.S.F.S. |
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Theme
I: "I am as human as anyone could possibly be."
(Francis
de Sales in a letter to Jane de Chantal, Oeuvres XIII,330)
Theme II: "So let us live courageously between the one will of God and the other." (Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God, Book 9)
Theme III: "Let us belong to God . . . in the midst of so much busyness." (Francis de Sales, Letter to Mme de Cornillon)
Theme IV: "Walk in the presence of God in holy and absolute liberty of spirit." (Jane de Chantal, Letter to a Superior)
Theme V: "Since the heart is the source of all our actions, as the heart is, so are they." (Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, III, 23)
Theme VI: "We cannot always offer God great things, but at each instant we can offer him little things with great love." (Jane de Chantal)
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| Jane de Chantal is interesting because she was a wife, a mother, and a widow before she became the foundress of the Sisters of the Visitation. The following articles and talks describe her contributions to Salesian spirituality. |
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By describing the importance of St. Jane de Chantal in her own life, Peggy Kerckhoff, so to speak, nominates Jane as a role model for women in today's world. This article first appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of De Sales World. Francis de Sales became Jane's spiritual director in 1604. This talk discusses Jane's development in prayer under his guidance until 1610 when Visitation was founded. Francis de Sales taught his directees how to meditate because he realized that prayer was a sure means for a person to develop a relationship with God, to become God's friend. This talk discusses his advice on meditation.
This talk is actually a meditation adapted from a letter that Francis wrote to Jane. It needs to be read reflectively and prayerfully.
This talk discusses Jane's relationship with her children as seen in her letters to them after she became a Visitation nun.
Francis de Sales, as a man, and Jane de Chantal, as a woman, made unique contributions to the richness of Salesian spirituality; that is the topic of this talk.
This talk speaks about devotion to the Heart of Jesus in the Visitation Order. Besides Francis and Jane, it speaks about Margaret Mary Alacoque who was gifted with visions of the Heart of Jesus.
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At one time, the VIZ VINE carried a monthly feature on the Visitation Charism written by Sr. Marie Therese Ruthmann. This series was adapted for a more diverse readership in "Monastery News." That adaptation appears here.
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