A new post from Sr. Joanne

A book I have often recommended to persons interested in Saint Francis de Sales is one that was written in Germany by Dr. Michael Muller in 1933. It was published in the United States in 1937 and in India in 1984. The following is one of my favorite excerpts:

Francis, in his direction of souls and n his own life, works on the assumption that perfect indifference and affectionate love can and should go hand in hand.  There is one more question, however:  How is an outlet formed for this psychical experience in which the heart frees itself from all creatures and nevertheless returns to a warm love for the same creatures?

At first the soul concentrates all its forces, without any exception or any reservation, on God, the unique goal of its being.  Freely it soars up to that highest peak of perfection where God alone stands in overpowering greatness before its eyes.  There the earth disappears from sight, earthly goods have no more charm, and the heart has become indifferent with regard to all earthly things.  But man finds in God the creator of all true, good, and beautiful things in the world, the creator of his own being, Who has ordered human inclinations towards created values.  Hence the soul descends once more the Jacob’s ladder of love.  Once again it loves home, forests, flowers, family, friends, art and science, but with a new love – no longer because the earthly ego hankers and then enjoys selfish satisfaction, but rather for the will of the most beloved Father in Heaven Who has created all these good things and now wills that His child should have joy in them.

Sister Joanne Gonter, VHM