St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal enjoyed a deep friendship through which they grew in holiness. Each encouraged the other and together they experienced the power of God's love in their lives.

St. Francis de Sales, a Christian Humanist, was a man of vision and holiness. His two classic works, The Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God, remain widely read today. In them one finds the essence of Salesian spirituality.

Francis believed that all are called to lives of holiness and this holiness is to be lived, not in grandiose ways, but quite simply by being who you are in the best way possible, and by integrating the ordinary everyday responsibilities in your life with an extraordinary fidelity. A sense of balance and solid common sense permeate all his writings, especially his letters of spiritual direction.

He encourages those under his direction to live in the spirit of the gospel by fostering in their lives simplicity, gentleness, humility, patience, liberty of spirit, joy, optimism, graciousness, interiority, and faithful response to the will of God as presented in the realities of daily living. Francis saw in these "little virtues," a sure yet simple path to holiness.

St. Jane de Chantal was a woman of prayer and tremendous faith, a faith born in the crucible of great human suffering. She endured the painful reality of a childhood without a mother, experienced premature widowhood after the accidental death of her husband, and suffered the heart-rending loss of three of her children.

This holy woman is an encouraging model for young single women, married women, for those suffering the loss of a husband or a child, and for those in religious life. She grew in holiness in all paths of life, and allowed pain and suffering to mold her somewhat impetuous spirit into one of gentle strength. Her words to a friend might well be taken to heart by all those who have young people in their care.

"Lead those in your care with a kind and understanding heart, give them a holy liberty of spirit and remove from your mind and theirs any unhealthy spirit of constraint."

Jane de Chantal was also a competent woman who supervised the foundation of some eighty monasteries of the Visitation before her death. She had a good mind for business, an ability she fostered while in charge of a large estate while her husband was fighting in the wars so prevalent at that time. Her sensitivity to those less fortunate led her to establish a "soup kitchen" at her castle. Long food lines were not uncommon as she ministered to the homeless and those without the necessities of life.

Another bit of wisdom from our foundress is a succinct but strong statement about the essence of Salesian spirituality: "We cannot always offer God great things, but at all times we can offer God little things with great love."

The combined wisdom and holiness of these two saints have blessed the Visitation Order with a gentle yet strong path to holiness. The asceticism which they encouraged was one of faithfulness to our mission as contemplatives. It is the asceticism of letting Christ relive in us the paschal mystery in its simplicity and its immensity. Generous availability to others in community and a loving presence to the events and circumstances of our lives allow us to live moment by moment the richness of spirit exemplified by Francis and Jane.