Treatise on the Love of God

By Francis De Sales and Bernard Bangley

Heavenly Love comes as a wound that is a gift of God.

Francis de Sales's spiritual masterpiece, Treatise on the Love of God, was originally published in 1616 while he was Bishop of Geneva. This contemporary English edition preserves St. Francis's gentle prose, his enthusiasm for God, compassion, and good humor. For all spiritual pilgrims seeking comfort and guidance, this book offers the assurance that "a deep and satisfying prayer life is not only possible, but within the reach of anyone who will accept what God is forever offering."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paraclete Press
• Release date: Mar 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781557259059

Francis De Sales

Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622) was born in France to a wealthy family. Though he initially followed his father's direction and became a lawyer, he was drawn to the priesthood, and became the Bishop of Geneva in 1602. Francis was a spellbinding preacher, and a kind and gentle friend to all. His immensely popular writings clarified Catholic teachings in an era of bitter and confusing rivalry between Catholics and Protestants. His Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God introduced lay people to spiritual direction and spiritual formation. Francis became a saint in 1665, and a Doctor of the Church in 1877.  

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Herman Melville observes, Of real knowledge there be little, yet of books there are a plenty. In Moby Dick, he lists twenty-eight authors who have written about whales. Twenty-one of them never saw a living whale. He then provides his own credentials, speaking through his narrator, Ishmael. I have swam [sic] through libraries and sailed through oceans; I have had to do with whales with these visible hands; I am in earnest; and I will try.

It is with this same firsthand knowledge that Francis de Sales, in his Treatise on the Love of God, explores the extreme limits of private devotion. He does not mention himself, even obliquely, yet it is clear that he is writing from personal experience. He demonstrates remarkable knowledge of the nature of prayer and profound understanding of human psychology. Most important, his comments about prayer are natural and free of affected piety. His observations on human behavior are sharp, even cutting, but he expresses himself with such compassionate gentleness and humor that he cannot be perceived as malicious.

As Luke addressed his Gospel and The Acts of the Apostles to Theophilus, so de Sales wrote as though to an individual. His books are like long letters to a friend. The Treatise is addressed to Theotimus, a generic term for all of us who desire to know more about the love of God. He sprinkles almost every page with this direct address to the reader. While he could produce a work of stuffy scholasticism in the style of his era, he prefers to teach with anecdotes and rele vant illustrations from nature. Any bee lover would be charmed by his use of entomology.

After spending years with the writings of St. Francis de Sales, I gained a natural curiosity about his bizarre and sometimes absurd references to natural history. Each one always makes a valid (even startling) point in spirituality, but often it leaves something to be desired in terms of science.

My curiosity aroused, I turned to his prime source, Pliny’s Historia Naturalis. This multivolume encyclopedia from the first century is a compilation of thousands of facts from thousands of works by hundreds of authors. Pliny did not make a critical evaluation of the material he catalogued. Anything written about astronomy, geography, zoology, botany, medicine, and minerals was included. Pliny supplemented his study with very little personal observation (although he died while examining too closely the erupting crater of Mt. Vesuvius). I found familiar reference after reference that de Sales appropriated from Pliny’s work to illustrate spiritual lessons.

By definition, a treatise is a thorough, systematic study of a single subject, resulting in enough material for a large book. Throughout this book de Sales remains focused on his topic—a definitive study on the love of God. Even his digressions spring from and elucidate the subject. If his Introduction to the Devout Life is written for a popular audience, his Treatise is geared more toward an educated and experienced readership. He states in his preface, I am presenting this material to souls already experienced in devotion. It is natural to write one way for beginners and another way for master craftsmen. The guidance in this book, however, is valuable for anyone interested in strengthening spirituality, even if a few ideas may be esoteric.

The original version of Treatise on the Love of God is an exhaustive study that can be exhausting to read. It has long been overdue for modernization in English. This book reduces the size of the original while attempting to remain true to both its character and its content. I have attempted a paraphrase without taking misleading liberties. Nothing has been added. Every idea and illustration is from the pen of St. Francis de Sales.

St. Francis began writing this book as the Jamestown settlement was founded in 1607, and the work was published in 1616. He wrote in an antique French manner that was already old-fashioned when he put it on paper. A strictly precise translation today gets bogged down with the complexity of his sentence structure. Paraphrasing frees his ideas from this stylistic cage.

St. Francis’s enthusiasm for God spills over repeatedly in numerous verbal ejaculations. Only a few of the Ahs, Ohs, and Dieus that pepper the work are included in this version until near the conclusion, when St. Francis becomes almost ecstatic.

De Sales makes important points using venerable religious terms such as complacency, charity, and recollection. These are properly understood by the initiated, but in common usage have a completely different meaning today. I occasionally retain these words, but always attempt to make the meaning clear in context by careful paraphrasing of the author’s original sentences.

De Sales prepared his Treatise in twelve books, each containing eleven to twenty-two brief chapters, averaging about three pages each. He considered it important to let the reader see there was not far to go on each topic, even if the complete book itself was quite heavy. In this edition his twelve books have become chapters.

While I have not attempted a careful study of St. Francis’s use of Scripture, my personal impression is that his favorite books to quote are the Psalms, the Gospels, the Epistles (especially the Corinthian letters), Song of Songs, and Genesis. That he has spent a lot of time reading, and has been influenced by, St. Bernard of Clairvaux is obvious. He also frequently cites St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Jerome. Many others are also mentioned by this widely read and eager student.

Francis de Sales (1567–1622) became bishop of Geneva during the turbulent years of John Calvin’s establishment there of the Reformed Church. His office had to be placed outside Geneva, across the French border at Annecy. His personality and demeanor were warm, courteous, and diplomatic, making him the ideal bishop in that volatile region. He was such a prolific writer that the works now collected at the religious community he founded (with Jane de Chantal) number twenty-seven volumes. Two titles stand out as extraordinary spiritual classics: Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God

Nine years of work preceded the publication of Treatise on the Love of God in 1616. The first edition of his Introduction to the Devout Life was produced in 1609 after the Treatise had already been in preparation for two years. His Introduction consisted of an edited collection of letters of spiritual guidance he had sent to Madame de Charmoisy, wife of the ambassador of the duke of Savoy. The easy-going style, combined with a depth of spiritual insight, made the book extremely popular. Treatise on the Love of God is a more carefully designed, systematic approach to a central Christian theme.

The book had its critics. It even generated open controversy. Fénelon and Bossuet snatched statements from its pages in a well-known scholarly debate. It has been point ed out that these respected religious scholars may not have fully understood what Francis de Sales was attempting to express. The same, of course, can be said of many other challenges to feebly understood Christian mystics such as Meister Eckhart.

Above all else, Treatise on the Love of God is the helping hand of a skilled spiritual director. De Sales is not interested in displaying his own elevated experiences with God. He wants to assure his readers that a deep and satisfying prayer life is not only possible, but within the reach of anyone who agrees to accept what God is forever offering. He gives detailed instruction on how to open the doors to such a prayer life, how to enter, and what to expect. He also is careful to point out the risks and misleading interpretations that are all too common. He then applies the most stratospheric union of the human soul with God to the living of commonplace, everyday life among others.

He tells us we may read some things in his Treatise that will not be easy to comprehend. This is inescapable. I have written this for those who want to move beyond elementary spirituality. A more advanced discussion necessarily involves more obscure details.

—Bernard Bangley

PREFACE

VIV VIVE, JÉSUS! LIVE, JESUS!

Imagine doves in bright sunshine. Their beautiful feathers are like prisms, breaking natural light into a rainbow of colors. There is a gorgeous display of almost infinite variety. It would be difficult to find anything to compare with their beauty. Seeing such a sight, King David sang, Even while you sleep among the campfires, the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold (Psalm 68:13).

The Church is feathered with an outstanding mixture of spoken and written ideas. Love is distributed as a layer of fine gold over all the teachings and doctrines. This gilding gives a unique sheen. All of it belongs to love. The Church functions in love, for love, and by love.

Others have written about this love. There are many excellent books on the subject. Teresa of Avila tells us about it with simple insight. Scholars have studied her work and come away embarrassed that they cannot understand her. God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27).

There is no way I can express anything better than has already been done. I do not even consider myself in the same league with those who have written about the love of God. My desire is that this book will help you, and that it may contain a few thoughts that you have never considered before.

What I am attempting to do is to present the love of God without artistic embellishment or distracting scholarship. Useful insights will appear as we work through the subject. When nature desires to produce grapes, it also produces vines and leaves.

I have tried to keep my readers in mind. What is contained here is presented to our contemporary world. Everything I have written I learned from others. Most of it is impossible for me to trace. I have not taken any substantial passage from another author.

After the publication of my Introduction to the Devout Life, the Archbishop of Vienna sent me some helpful criticism. He particularly encouraged short chapters. He reminded me that travelers will walk a few steps off the path to see a lovely garden, but will hesitate to go a much longer distance. A reader will be more willing to begin reading if it is clear that it is a short distance from the beginning to the end of a chapter.

Another critic chided me for addressing my Introduction to Philothea. Men did not want to read advice given to a woman. This puzzles me. Such men are not very manly. Devotion is for both sexes. Anyway, it is the aspiring soul that I call Philothea. Gender is not involved. Still, rather than ignore my critic, I have addressed this work to Theotimus. Will a woman somewhere take offense? Will she refuse to read instruction given to males? Please under stand that Theotimus is a name I coined for the human spirit that desires to deepen devotion. It applies equally to both men and women.

I have written this for those who want to move beyond elementary spirituality. A more advanced discussion necessarily involves more obscure details. There are valuable pearls and gemstones that are almost out of reach on the ocean’s floor. Only a few divers are willing and able to descend and gather them. If you will make the effort to plumb the depths of what I have written, you will have an experience similar to that of the divers. Pliny says they can see sunlight in the deepest ocean caves. In the same way, the most difficult passages in this book contain spiritual light.

I am presenting this material to souls already experienced in devotion. It is natural to write one way for beginners and another way for master craftsmen. This book goes beyond what I wrote for Philothea in The Devout Life. May God bless you and fill you with divine love.

Annecy, France. 1616.

CHAPTER 1

Our Natural Tendency to Love God

There is a natural attraction between God and the human soul. The slightest contemplation of the divine brings us pleasure. The tiniest sunbeam is brighter than the moon and stars at night. This delight we naturally