Francis de Sales A Man for Our Times V

  • HS guides people through stuff, sacramental
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Humility

Walking in friendship with God is not the work of a single day, which why we should be mindful of de Sales’ saying that , “there is a no better path to success in the spiritual life that always to begin again and never to think that you have done enough.” Our own weaknesses can cause us to lose heart. Yet the Christian life requires that we have a certain disregard for our shortcomings because of our confidence in the Lord: “God will hold you in his hand,” de Sales once said, “and if he lets you stumble, it will only so that your realize that you would collapse entirely if he did not hold you, and so that you will tighten your grip in his hand.”[1]

why humility impt, God set things this way to fall 7 times/day, view suffering as an instrument, value you it highly

own sins own life used

thank God for sins

  1. know not perfect, not God
  2. receptivity to God
  3. sin makes compassionate towards
  4. move beyond sin, in charge of that too, God did good with that

Cognizant of sins, that they are bad, leads us to be more generous with the other.

Fail to see the badness, call them for bad, become less deferential of the other, more judgmental. Less charity in the world when sin is not stated honestly.

One can be nice and vicious. Montaigne as an example.

4 levels of person, virtue, continent, incontinent, vicious. Vicious do evil and get pleasure from it.

Humility is honest assessment before God, how we measure to His standard. Our Lady’s fiat was truthful and arrogance.

FdS humility uses sin, why humility

sin reminds us we cannot save ourselves

JC be perfect like heavenly father

rain fall on good & bad

Not worthy, lowly

opposite humility is pride

proud acts, self-love, disordered

TA you are the first mover, root proud act, do things on your own, root proud act

humility allowing God to move us as an instrument

move stuff because receive stuff

gives me stuff have not taken for myself

non servum, I am God, what it is to be God

Sin how does this heal this

vice, saying bad is good, going there (want it)

sin know it is bad, even if do it

sin failure to do right thing

i as an instrument, cannot act alone, fail,

>>missing something, lacking something, who has it depend upon

sin lacking something, cannot do something

all sin leads to this, esp mortal sin lets you know radically deficient

lover of God, devout person, God stills allow venial sin, prone to say I am first mover

>>this must be so terrible, God use anything even sin to get us away

God is foundational piece

knowing I am instrument is foundational piece

[1] Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life (Ignatius Press: San Francisco 2015) Foreword Christopher Blum ix