From St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life
Translated by John K. Ryan, published by Image, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Random House LLC, New York 1966
“( . . . ) [W]hen Satan, the world, and the flesh see a soul espoused to the Son of God, they send temptations to it. By these temptations (1) sin is proposed to the soul; (2) it is either pleased or displeased by this proposal; (3) finally, either it gives consent or it refuses. These are the three steps in the descent into iniquity: temptation, delight, and consent” (226).
“You must have great courage in the midst of temptation, Philothea. Never think yourself overcome as long as they are displeasing to you, keeping clearly in mind the difference between feeling temptation and consenting to it. That is, we may feel temptation even though they displease us but we can never consent to them unless they please us, since to be pleased by them usually is a step toward consent to them” (227).
“(. . . ) [O]ur soul does not always have the power not to feel the temptation but it can always refuse to consent to it” (227).
“Hence by means of the continued practice of prayer, the sacraments, and confidence in God, our strength will return and we will live a healthy and happy life” (231).
“As soon as you are conscious of being tempted, follow the example of children when they see a wolf or bear out in the country. They immediately run to the arms of their father or mother or at least call to them for help and protection. Turn in the same way to God and implore his mercy and help. This is the remedy our Lord himself has taught us: ‘Pray that you do not enter into temptation’” (233).
“If you find that the temptation still continues or even increases, run in spirit to embrace the Holy Cross as if you saw Christ Jesus crucified before you. Insist that you will never consent to the temptation, implore his assistance against it, and continue steadfastly to protest that you will refuse consent as long as the temptation continues” (234).
“Turn your thoughts to some good, commendable activity. When such thoughts enter and find place in your heart, they will drive away temptations and evil thoughts” (234).
“Never argue with your enemy or answer him with any words but those of our Savior when he put him to rout: ‘Begone, Satan, the Lord your God shall you adore and him only shall you serve’” (234).
“So also when a devout soul sees itself attacked by temptation, it must not lose time in argument or discussion but with all simplicity turn toward Jesus Christ, its spouse, and affirm again its fidelity to him and its desire to be solely and entirely his forever” (235).
“In a word, these little temptation to anger, suspicion, jealously, envy, fond love, frivolity, vanity, affection, craftiness, and evil thoughts continually attack even the most devout and resolute. For this reason, my dear Philothea, we must carefully prepare ourselves for such combat” (236).
“Now then as to these smaller temptations to vanity, suspicion, impatience, jealousy, envy, foolish, and such like deceptive things which like flies and gnats continually hover before our eyes and sometimes sting our cheeks or nose, since it is impossible to be completely free from being plagued by them our best defense is not to disturb ourselves too much over them. They may annoy us, but they can never harm us as long as we remain firmly resolved to serve God” (236).
“( . . . ) [T]urn your heart gently toward Jesus Christ crucified and lovingly kiss his sacred feet. [ . . . ]
As the love of God contains within itself every perfection of every virtue and more excellently than the virtues themselves, so also it is the sovereign antidote against vice of every kind” (237).
“Consider from time to time which passions are most predominant in your soul. When you have discovered them adopt a way of life that will be completely opposed to them in thought, word, and action” (237).
“Anxiety is not a simple temptation but a source from which and by which many temptations arise and for this reason I will say something concerning it” (238).
“With the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil that can happen to a soul. [ . . . ] Anxiety proceeds from an inordinate desire to be freed from a present evil or to acquire a hoped for good. Yet there is nothing that tends more to increase evil and prevent enjoyment of good than to be disturbed and anxious.” (239).
“When you perceive that anxiety begins to affect your mind, recommend yourself to God. Resolve to do nothing that your desire insists on until your mind has regained peace, unless it is something that cannot be put off. In that case you must meekly and calmly try to check the current of your desires and restrain and moderate them as much as possible” (240).
“If you can reveal the cause of your anxiety to your spiritual director, or at least to some faithful and devout friend, you may be sure that you will speedily find relief. To share your heart’s grief with others produces the same effect in the soul as bleeding does in the body of a man in a constant fever” (240).
“God conserves this great world in existence amid constant change wherein day unceasingly turns into night, spring into summer, summer into autumn, autumn into winter, and winter into spring. One day is never perfectly like another [ . . . ] Such variety gives great beauty to the universe” (243).
“[Man] never remains in the same state. His life on earth flows away like waters that float and undulate in a perpetual diversity of movement. Sometimes they buoy him up in hope and sometimes they cast him down in fear. Sometimes they carry him to the right hand by consolation, sometimes to the left by affliction. Not one of his days, not even one of his hours, is completely like another” (243).
“For us there is a great lesson in all of this. We must try to keep our heart steadily, unshakeably equable during such great inequality of events. Even though everything turns and changes around us, we must always remain unchanging and ever looking, striving, aspiring toward God” (243).
“This absolute resolution never to forsake God and never to abandon his merciful love serves our soul as a counterweight to keep it in a holy equilibrium amid all the inequality of the various changes brought to it by the conditions of this life. [ . . . ] So also when our soul has made its resolution and firmly embraced God’s precious love, it keeps steady amid the inconstancy and change that come from consolations and afflictions, whether spiritual or temporal and whether exterior or interior” (244).
