CHAPTER 12 - FRANCE
“My very dear daughter,
“During these months exchanging letters of spiritual direction back and forth, and our occasional visits, I believe that I have come to know you well. You are dispensed, and I say this more as you are spiritual friend than as a bishop, from the vows you made in a state of un-freedom, prompted and made worse by your former spiritual director. A vow is always made to God, not to another human being. You are completely at liberty to speak with me freely about your spiritual life and can certainly pray the way your heart prompts you to, rather than being burdened with a multitude of rote prayers.
“You told me that you know you belong to God. Your family and friends keep trying to marry you off to someone, but you will have none of it. At the same time, you know that you and your children would be a lot more secure if you had a husband. Our true security comes only from God, and if we make a choice out of fear rather than out of love, it will not be fruitful. If we make a mistake, however, or a superior makes one for us, it will still be fruitful. Let your heart be at peace. Do not be afraid of making the wrong choice, but rather, of making a choice with the wrong motive.
“I so appreciate the fact that you understand that we are all called to holiness, and that we find true intimacy with God by doing the duties of our state in life. Being a bishop is no holier than being a wife, yet, it is clear to me that you feel drawn to some sort of monastic life. The religious orders which are most popular today emphasize external penances a great deal. My sense is that God wants me, and the people to whom I minister, to emphasize more internal penances. Dealing with what life hands us is the key to holiness.
“There we have it—no husband and no appropriate religious order. What is one left to do? Maybe it's not up to you or me. Perhaps our good God has something in mind that neither of us completely understands yet. Something is germinating in my heart and I will share the idea with you when we next meet. I know that patience is not your favorite virtue, I'm not all that fond of it myself, but waiting a few more weeks until we are able to talk face to face will give both of us time to reflect, as well as the spaciousness in our hearts and minds for the Holy Spirit to operate more clearly.
“Have you thought about where your children will live or go to school should life take you away from living with them? It appears that you have done a wonderful job of raising the four of them and that they are now getting older. No matter where your life takes you, it is a parental duty to help a child plan for his or her future and to be there for them. Because you live such a simple life, I believe you have managed to save a few coins to help them in that regard.
“No one knows better than you do that worldly realities have to be dealt with. You take care of the supplies and the bookkeeping at your father-in-law's castle. This very much goes against your grain. You are a good administrator but do not like doing it. I have seen your soul soften in this area. You are now able to perform these duties with a more peaceful heart. This is surely a sign of the Holy Spirit's presence within you. I am sure that God will use the talents you have, and the skills you have developed during these years, for something which will bear much fruit one day.
“I continue to be criticized by my Church colleagues because the sermons I preach are simple and without a lot of Latin and Greek quotations sprinkled throughout them. It is my desire to talk to the hearts of people and have those hearts be set aflame for the love of God. It doesn't seem likely to me that this will occur with much ease if all they hear are big words and fancy sounding ideas. When I was a missionary the printing press had barely been invented. I used to print up little tracts to give out to people because it was dangerous to speak freely about the Gospel. One time some people who were not very favorable toward me found my printing press and destroyed it. They didn't destroy me, however. I just kept right on doing what I thought God wanted of me. I can't say that I felt wonderful. The lower part of my soul was actually pretty low, so to speak. I acted out of the higher part of my soul, where choice and will reside.
“My dear daughter, I tell you these things so that you will understand that I am a human being like everyone else. As we continue to get to know one another, you will see my faults more and more clearly. As the Holy Spirit illuminates our hearts and minds, we all tend to see ourselves more clearly also, blemishes and all. As you see my blemishes, that will help you to relate to me more as a spiritual friend and peer than as a bishop.
“It is time to close this letter. I take what scraps of time I can find to work on writing a spiritual book these days. It is called Introduction to a Devout Life. A Jesuit found letters I had written to some people who came to me for spiritual direction. Most of them were written to my own cousin. The Jesuit urged me to have these letters published in book form. I am editing them at the moment for possible publication and only doing this because I believe that God's will is found not only in the hierarchy of the Church, but also in the suggestions of friends and loved ones, as well as in the promptings of our own hearts. There will really be nothing new in this book. I have simply rearranged ancient teachings, something like a flower girl who takes the same types of flowers and rearranges them, creating a new look or a new expression of the beauty of nature each time.
“I share these things with you, my very dear daughter, so that you will see my humanity and perhaps get a glimpse of God's goodness and strength within me. It is not me, but Christ in me that makes anything useful of me and my poor words such as these.
“It will be a joy to meet with you and share with you my sketchy ideas about our future.”
Affectionately yours in the One who strengthens us,
+ Francis, Bishop of Geneva”