It was most likely the advent of the Protestant Reformation that brought the issue of conscience\u2014and more precisely, \u201cfreedom of conscience\u201d\u2014to the forefront. In a 1597 letter to Clement VIII, the Provost of Sales lamented the \u201ctyranny\u201d that the \u201cstate of Geneva\u201d imposed \u201con the consciences of Catholics.\u201d He asked the Holy See to intervene with the King of France to ensure that the Genevans would be granted \u201cwhat they call freedom of conscience.\u201d Opposed to military solutions for the Protestant crisis, he glimpsed in libertas conscientiae a possible way out of violent confrontation, provided reciprocity was respected. Claimed by Geneva for the Reformation and by Francis de Sales for Catholicism, freedom of conscience was about to become a pillar of modern thought.<\/p>\n
The Dignity of the Human Person
\n The dignity of the individual lies in conscience, and conscience is first and foremost synonymous with sincerity, honesty, frankness, and conviction. The Provost of Sales acknowledged, for example, \u201cto ease his conscience,\u201d that the project of the Controversies had been somewhat imposed on him by others. When presenting his reasons in favour of Catholic doctrine and practice, he took care to specify that he did so \u201cin conscience.\u201d \u201cTell me in conscience,\u201d he asked his opponents. A \u201cgood conscience\u201d ensures one avoids certain acts that contradict oneself.
\n However, individual subjective conscience cannot always be taken as a guarantee of objective truth. One is not always obliged to believe what someone says in conscience. \u201cShow me clearly,\u201d the Provost said to the lords of Thonon, \u201cthat you are not lying at all, that you are not deceiving me when you say that in conscience you had this or that inspiration.\u201d Conscience can fall victim to illusion, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. \u201cHardened misers not only do not confess their greed but do not even think in conscience that they are greedy.\u201d
\n The formation of the conscience is an essential task because freedom of conscience carries the risk of \u201cdoing good and evil,\u201d but \u201cchoosing evil is not using, but rather, abusing our freedom.\u201d It is a difficult task because conscience sometimes appears as an adversary that \u201calways fights against us and for us.\u201d It \u201csteadily resists our bad inclinations,\u201d but does so \u201cfor our salvation.\u201d When one sins, \u201cinner remorse moves against our conscience with a drawn sword,\u201d but only to \u201cpierce it with holy fear.\u201d
\n A means to exercise responsible freedom is the practice of the \u201cexamination of conscience.\u201d Examining one\u2019s conscience is like following the example of doves that look at each other \u201cwith clear and pure eyes,\u201d \u201cgroom themselves carefully, and adorn themselves as best they can.\u201d Philothea is invited to perform this examination every evening before bed, asking oneself, \u201chow one behaved at various times of the day. To make it easier, one should reflect on where, with whom, and in what occupations one was engaged.\u201d
\n Once a year, we must conduct a thorough examination of the \u201cstate of our soul\u201d before God, our neighbour, and ourselves, not forgetting an \u201cexamination of our soul\u2019s affections.\u201d The examination\u2014Francis de Sales tells the Visitandines\u2014will lead you to \u201cprobe your conscience deeply.\u201d
\n How to lighten the conscience when burdened by error or fault? Some do so poorly, judging and accusing others \u201cof vices they themselves succumb to,\u201d thinking this will \u201csoften their conscience\u2019s remorse.\u201d This multiplies the risk of rash judgments. Conversely, \u201cthose who properly care for their conscience are not at all prone to rash judgments.\u201d The case of parents, educators, and public officials deserves special consideration, for \u201ca good part of their conscience consists in carefully watching over the conscience of others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Self-Respect
\n From the affirmation of each person\u2019s dignity and responsibility must arise self-respect. Socrates and all ancient pagan and Christian thought had already shown the way:<\/p>\n
It is a saying of the philosophers, yet held valid by Christian doctors: \u201cKnow thyself\u201d\u2014that is, know the excellence of your soul so as not to debase or despise it.<\/p>\n
Certain acts offend not only God but also human dignity and reason. Their consequences are deplorable:<\/p>\n
The likeness and image of God we bear within us is stained and disfigured, the dignity of our spirit dishonoured, and we are made similar to irrational animals [\u2026], enslaving ourselves to our passions and overturning the order of reason.<\/p>\n
There are ecstasies that elevate us above our natural state and others that debase us. \u201cO men, how long will you be so senseless,\u201d writes the author of Theotimus, \u201cas to trample your natural dignity, voluntarily descending and plunging yourselves into the condition of beasts?\u201d<\/p>\n
Self-respect helps avoid two opposite dangers: pride and contempt for one\u2019s gifts. In a century where honour was highly exalted, Francis de Sales had to denounce crimes, particularly duelling, which made his \u201chair stand on end,\u201d and even more, the senseless pride behind it. \u201cI am scandalised,\u201d he wrote to the wife of a duelling husband; \u201ctruly, I cannot fathom how one could have such unbridled courage even over trifles.\u201d Fighting a duel is like \u201cbecoming each other\u2019s executioner.\u201d
\n Others, conversely, dare not acknowledge their gifts and thus sin against gratitude. Francis de Sales condemns \u201ca certain false and foolish humility that prevents them from seeing the good in themselves.\u201d They are wrong, for \u201cthe goods God has placed in us must be acknowledged, valued, and sincerely honoured.\u201d
\n The first neighbour I must respect and love, the Bishop of Geneva seems to say, is myself. True self-love and due respect demand that I strive for perfection and correct myself if needed, but gently, reasonably, and \u201cfollowing the path of compassion\u201d rather than anger and fury.
\n There exists a self-love that is not only legitimate but beneficial and commanded, \u201cCharity well-ordered begins with oneself,\u201d says the proverb, reflecting Francis de Sales\u2019 thought\u2014provided one does not confuse self-love with self-centredness. Self-love is good, and Philothea is asked to examine how she loves herself:<\/p>\n
Keep good order in loving yourself? For only disordered self-love can ruin us. Ordered love requires that we love the soul more than the body and seek virtue above all else.<\/p>\n
Conversely, self-centredness is selfish, \u201cnarcissistic\u201d love, fixated on itself, jealous of its beauty, and concerned only with self-interest. \u201cNarcissus, say the profane, was a youth so scornful he would offer his love to none; finally, gazing at his reflection in a clear fountain, he was utterly captivated by his beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cRespect Due to Persons\u201d
\n If one respects oneself, one is better prepared to respect others. Being \u201cthe image and likeness of God\u201d implies that \u201call human beings share the same dignity.\u201d Francis de Sales, though living in a deeply unequal society marked by the ancient regime, promoted thought and practice marked by \u201crespect due to persons.\u201d
\n Start with children. St. Bernard\u2019s mother\u2014says the author of Philothea\u2014loved her newborns \u201cwith respect as something sacred God had entrusted to her.\u201d A grave rebuke from the Bishop of Geneva to pagans concerned their contempt for defenceless lives. Respect for a baby about to be born emerges in a letter written according to the Baroque rhetoric of the time to a pregnant woman. He encourages her by explaining to her that the child forming in her womb is not only \u201ca living image of the Divine Majesty\u201d, but also an image of its mother. He advises another woman:<\/p>\n
Offer often to the eternal glory of your Creator the little creature whose formation He has wanted to take you as His cooperator.<\/p>\n
Another aspect of respect for others concerns the theme of freedom. The discovery of new lands had as a disastrous consequence, the re-emergence of slavery, that recalled the practice of the ancient romans at the time of paganism. The sale of human beings degraded them to the level of animals.<\/p>\n
One day, Marc Antony bought two youths from a merchant; back then, as still happens in some lands, children were sold\u2014men procured and traded them like horses in our countries.<\/p>\n
Respect for others is subtly threatened by gossip and slander. Francis de Sales insists heavily on \u201csins of the tongue.\u201d A chapter in Philothea which deals explicitly with this subject, is titled Honesty in Words and Respect Due to Persons states that ruining someone\u2019s reputation is \u201cspiritual murder,\u201d robbing them of \u201ccivil life.\u201d When condemning vice, one should spare the person involved as much as possible.
\n Certain groups are easily scorned. Francis de Sales defends the dignity of common people, citing the Gospel. He comments that \u201cSt. Peter was rough, coarse, an old fisherman of low station; a trader of low condition. Saint John, on the contrary, was a gentleman, sweet, lovable, wise; saint Peter, instead, was ignorant.\u201d Well, it was St Peter who was chosen to guide others and to be the \u201cuniversal superior\u201d.
\n He proclaims the dignity of the sick, saying that, \u201cthe souls who are on the cross are declared queens.\u201d Denouncing \u201ccruelty towards the poor\u201d and exalting the \u201cdignity of the poor\u201d, he justifies and specifies the attitude to be taken towards them, explaining \u201chow we must honour them and, therefore, visit them as representatives of our Lord.\u201d No one is useless; no one is insignificant. \u201cThere is no object in the world that cannot be useful for something; but you must know how to find its use and place.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cone-different\u201d Salesian\u201d
\n The eternal human that has always tormented human society is reconciling individual dignity and freedom with that of the others. Francis de Sales offered an original solution by coining a term. In fact, assuming that the universe is made up of \u201call things created, visible and invisible\u201d and that \u201ctheir diversity is brought back into unity\u201d, the Bishop of Geneva proposed to call it \u201cone-diverse\u201c, that is, \u201cunique and diverse, unique with diversity and diverse with unity.\u201d<\/p>\n
For him, every being is unique. People are like Pliny\u2019s pearls, \u201cso unique in quality that no two are perfectly equal.\u201d His two major works, Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God\u2014are addressed to individuals, Philothea and Theotimus. What variety and diversity among beings! \u201cWithout doubt, as we see that two men are never perfectly equal as to the gifts of nature, so they are never perfectly equal as to the supernatural gifts.\u201d The variety also enchanted him from a purely aesthetic point of view, but he feared an indiscreet curiosity about its causes:<\/p>\n
If someone asked why God made melons larger than strawberries, or lilies bigger than violets; why rosemary isn\u2019t a rose or a carnation a marigold; why peacocks are prettier than bats, or figs sweet and lemons sour\u2014we\u2019d laugh and say: poor man, the world\u2019s beauty requires variety, it is necessary that in things there are diverse and differentiated perfections and that the one is not the other. This is why some are small, others large; some harsh, others sweet; some more beautiful, others less. [\u2026] All have their value, their grace, their splendour, and all, seen in the totality of their varieties, constitute a wonderful spectacle of beauty.<\/p>\n
Diversity does not hinder unity; on the contrary, it makes it richer and more beautiful. Each flower has its characteristics that distinguish it from all the others. \u201cIt is not exactly of the roses to be white, it seems to me, because those vermilions are more beautiful and have a better scent, which however is proper to the lily.\u201d Of course, Francis de Sales does not tolerate confusion and disorder, but he is equally an enemy of uniformity. The diversity of beings can lead to dispersion and rupture of communion, but if there is love, \u201cbond of perfection\u201d, nothing is lost, on the contrary, diversity is exalted by the union.
\n In Francis de Sales there is certainly a real culture of the individual, but this is never a closure to the group, the community or society. He spontaneously sees each person marked by their \u201cstate of life,\u201d which marks the identity and belonging of each one. It will not be possible to establish an equal programme or project for all, simply because it will be applied and implemented in a different way \u201cfor the gentleman, the artisan, the servant, the prince, the widow, the maiden, the married.\u201d It must also be adapted \u201cto the strengths and duties of each individual. The bishop of Geneva sees society divided into vital spaces characterized by social belonging and group solidarity, as when he deals with \u201cthe company of soldiers, the workshop of craftsmen, the court of princes, the family of married people.\u201d
\n Love personalizes and, therefore, individualizes. The affection that binds one person to another is unique, as demonstrated by Francis de Sales in his relationship with Chantal\u2019s wife, \u201cEvery affection has a peculiarity that differentiates it from the others. What I feel for you possesses a certain particularity that comforts me infinitely, and, to say everything, is very fruitful for me.\u201d The sun illuminates each and every one, \u201cilluminating a corner of the earth, it does not illuminate it less than what it would do if it did not shine elsewhere, but only in that corner.\u201d<\/p>\n
The human being is in a state of becoming
\n A Christian humanist, Francis de Sales ultimately believed in the human person\u2019s capacity for self-improvement. Erasmus had coined the phrase: Homines non nascuntur sed finguntur (Men are not born but made). While animals are predetermined beings driven by instinct, humans, in contrast, are in perpetual evolution. Not only do they change, but they can also change themselves, for better or for worse.
\n What entirely preoccupied the author of Theotimus was perfecting himself and helping others to perfect themselves, not only in religious matters but in all things. From birth to the grave, man is in a state of apprenticeship. Let us imitate the crocodile, which \u201cnever stops growing as long as it lives.\u201d Indeed, \u201cremaining in the same state for long is impossible. in this traffic, whoever does not advance falls behind; on this ladder, whoever does not climb, descends; in this battle, whoever does not conquer is conquered.\u201d He quotes St. Bernard, who said, \u201cIt is written especially for man that he will never be found in the same state: he must either advance or regress.\u201d Let us move forward:<\/p>\n
Do you not know that you are on a journey and that the path is not made for sitting but for moving forward? He is so made for progress, that moving forward is called walking.<\/p>\n
This also means that the human person is educable, capable of learning, correcting themselves, and improving themselves. And this holds true at all levels. Age sometimes has nothing to do with it. Look at these choirboys of the cathedral, who far surpass their bishop\u2019s abilities in this domain. \u201cI admire these children,\u201d he said, \u201cwho can barely speak yet already sing their parts; they understand all musical signs and rules, while I, a grown man who might pass for a great figure, would not know how to manage.\u201d No one in this world is perfect:<\/p>\n
There are people naturally frivolous, others rude, others still reluctant to listen to others\u2019 opinions, and others prone to indignation, others to anger, and others to love. In short, few are free people are free from one or another of these imperfections.<\/p>\n
Should we despair of improving our temperament, correcting some of our natural inclinations? Not at all.<\/p>\n
For though these traits may be innate and natural in each of us, if they can be corrected and regulated through disciplined effort, or even eradicated, then, I tell you, Philothea, it must be done. Bitter almonds have been made sweet by piercing them at the base to drain their juice; why should we not drain our own perverse inclinations to become better?<\/p>\n
Hence, the optimistic yet demanding conclusion. \u201cThere is no good nature that cannot be corrupted by vicious habits, nor any nature so perverse that it cannot, first by God\u2019s grace and then through diligent effort, be tamed and overcome.\u201d If man is educable, we must never despair of anyone and guard ourselves well against prejudice in regard to people:<\/p>\n
Do not say: That man is a drunkard, even if you have seen him drunk; \u2018an adulterer,\u2019 for having witnessed his sin; \u2018incestuous,\u2019 for catching him in that disgrace, because one action is not enough to define a thing. [\u2026] And even if a man were long steeped in vice, you\u2019d risk falsehood by calling him vicious.<\/p>\n
The human person has never finished tending their garden. This was the lesson the founder of the Visitation nuns instilled when urging them to \u201ccultivate the soil and garden\u201d of their hearts and minds, for no one is \u201cso perfect as to need no effort to grow in perfection or preserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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