Francis de Sales Quotes
In no other action can our Savior be considered more tender or more loving than in this, in which He, as it were, annihilates Himself and reduces Himself to food, that He may penetrate our souls and unite Himself to the hearts of His faithful.
de Sales, Francis. Introduction to the Devout Life. Translated by John K. Ryan, Image Books, 1966.
when he ingests the wafer at holy communion He was referring to the Roman Catholic communion where the bread wafer is believed to be the body of Christ. This really offended many Protestants who saw it as blasphemous and to many justified their intolerance. And yet, as Locke herein observed, there was really no injury that a Roman Catholic taking communion inflicted on a Protestant who had nothing to do with the Catholic service. Of course, the same logic did not then apply to the Roman Catholic intolerance of Jewish and Muslim religious customs in which they were not involved.
Francis de Sales was a Bishop of Geneva and is honored as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.
