2. Past & Future
• Past- We can surrender the past to God's
mercy.
• Future- It's not here yet, so you don't have
control over it. Therefore, put it in God's
loving hands.
3. Salesian Spirituality
• One of the appealing tenets of the spirituality
of St. Francis de Sales is his understanding of
the value of the "present moment."
4. History
• A young nun from Paris named Mademoiselle de
Soulfour was new to being a nun and was a
perfectionist.She had high ideals of what makes a holy
life.She had difficulty in accepting human weakness,
both her own and those of the other nuns.
• She confided to Francis her uncertainties and her wish
to enter the more strict Carmelite order.
5. SpiritualDistress
• She had previously had a spiritual breakdown
because of her lofty desires which she had not
achieved. She wrote to Francis after this
passed. Still, she was sad and nervous and
worried about her spiritual future.
• As always, Francis was very gentle with her.
6. Francis' Words to Mademoiselle de
Soulfour
• I recommend to you holy simplicity. Look straight in
front of you and not at the dangers you see in the
distance. Let us be firmly resolved to serve God with
our whole hearts and lives.
• Beyond that, let us have no care for tomorrow. Let us
think only of living today well, and when tomorrow
comes, it will also be today and we can think about it
then.
7. Whatever happened to the nun?
• Interesting Resolution of Above Mentioned
History
Mademoiselle de Soulfour did not follow
Francis' advice and did transfer to the
Carmelite Sisters where she seems to have
lived happily until her death in 1633.
• A reminder that Francis wasn't seen as the saint he is
today while he was alive on earth.
8. FinalImportant Point
• Keep in mind that when Francis says we
should leave the future in God's hands, he
doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan for the
future. We are bound to do that according to
our responsibilities in life. He does mean,
however, that we shouldn't worry, but trust in
his providence to get us through each
challenge.
9. PROFOUND SALESIAN INSIGHT
• The present moment, the moment we are
living through right now, is the one that is
ours.
- We cannot change any of our actions from the
past if worry about what the future wears us
down. Surrender that to God's hands and
concentrate on living well in the present moment.
10. Why I Love Salesian Spirituality
• This pearl shows how Salesian Spirituality
leads to balance, trust, optimism and
practicaIity.
11. Spiritual Director
• He was a spiritual director, and the most
common two worries that people brought to
him were:
- Shame and guilt for past actions OR
- Fear and dread for what the future might hold
12. Reflectionfor prayer
• To arrive at that state of perfect trust takes a
lot of surrender, and, sometimes, we are just
not comfortable making that surrender
because it means letting go. Letting go can be
very hard. As you reflect on the words of St.
Francis de Sales to Mademoiselle de Soulfour,
see where you stand with his teaching.
