Spiritual friendship : the contribution of St. Francis de Sales to spiritual accompaniment

Abstract

The importance of spiritual friendship for Salesian spiritual accompaniment is an undisputed fact and it all originates from the innovative pastoral praxis of St. Francis de Sales who trail blazed this new mode of offering spiritual companionship in the Church, gently impacting many with it from then onwards, such as St. John Bosco centuries later. For Bishop de Sales, while being prudent and wise to keep respectful boundaries, healthy spiritual friendship effortlessly flowed and facilitated wholesome spiritual companionship. The link between the two will be closely reviewed, both through a study of his writings and through his concrete way of accompanying St Jeanne de Chantal. The sincere friendship of these two saints is in line with that of others which we find both in Scripture and in the long tradition of the Church. However, to understand the pastoral mindset of this Doctor of the Church, reviewing Aristotle‘s and Cicero‘s insights on friendship is important as both influenced the Savoyard bishop‘s views on the matter in question. In Francis de Sales, pastoral practice and theological contribution are intertwined. In this study, it becomes clear that as a Christian humanist, de Sales walked the talk and touched hearts believing in the inherent goodness embedded within all individuals. His directees were not an anonymous crowd and hence spiritual accompaniment was not one size fits all. He adapted accordingly. Directees were individuals he remained in touch with even through letters as he personally journeyed with them to discover the living God within the sanctuary of their heart, evident in the midst of daily encounters. He revolutionized the monastic axiom of reditus ad cor by replacing the world with the monastery and thus assisted his directees from all walks of life to live Jesus and thus come to perceive holiness in their busy, mundane lives as a viable possibility.