A portion of the written letter by Farcis de Sales (1567 - 1622), a Catholic Bishop of Geneva.
Written on the 11th Feb, 1607 to Madame de Cantal (his daughter).
"My very dear daughter,
I can see that all the seasons of the year meet to give their distinctive challenges to your soul. The winter you feel as being the season of sterility, distractions, disgust, and even boredom. Then comes the month of May with the roses in bloom, and so too are the perfumes of spiritual flowers released by holy desires to please our good God. Then comes the autumn season, when you complain you do not see plentiful fruits. So be it, because it often happens that in thrashing the wheat and pressing the grapes, one fines more blessing in the harvesting and vendage than one would have expected. For it is natural to expect everything to happen in spring and summer of life, but no, my dear daughter, one needs to face the inner difficulties and problems of one's inner life, as well as the apparent successes of outward appearances.
Ultimately, all our seasonal circumstances have to be faced in the reality of our heavenly destiny. There only will be all and in all. The spring may express the beauty of the Christian life, while the autumn may bring forth joy. So what then of the winter? The winter is needed to exercise self-denial, and to exercise in a thousand small ways the struggles we go through to live devotionally. It is a climate of spiritual dryness, perhaps, yet little by little we endure it, provided we have godliness and are determined not to get discouraged, but persist in the fortitude of faith...
Let us then live joyously and courageously, my dear daughter..."
Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"
"O God make me truly to be a child of innocence and simplicity!" - Francis De Sales
Reference
de Sales, F 2006, 'Entering into the Spirit of Advent - December 6: Living Through The Seaons of the Year', in Houston, J M (ed),
Letter of Faith Through the Season Vol 1, USA
: Honor
Books
, pp. 23-24
.
Every Season
Every evening sky, an invitation
To trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration
For freedom that is ours
And I notice You
In children’s games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
You are summer
And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn
And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation
Shivers underneath
And still I notice you
When branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter
You are winter
And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring
Link for the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SqG50ynfdw&feature=related
Yes I ate that much...~
