MM#313--Saint Francis of DeSales: the Maintenance of Humility

Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser.

Hello, I am David and welcome back to another Mojo Minute Now. We thank you for listening to us here at the Theory to Action podcast. We appreciate you being here. And welcome back to Holy Week for us Christians. This podcast will come out on Thursday and that begins the Easter Triduum. That is a period of three days, starts with this evening on Maundy Thursday and we'll reach the high point with resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Now today, because we are in Holy Week, which is the most important week for Christians week, which is the most important week for Christians, we are venturing into the pages of a book that promises not just to inform but to transform. The book is titled Lift Up your Hearts by Father John Burns. Let me grab the book here. Has a wonderful, has a wonderful subtit, subtitle when, to get it right, a 10 day personal retreat with St Francis of DeSales.

Now I have a question for you. Have you ever pondered how to, or how you can, meld the ancient spiritual wisdom with our 21st century rapid pace of our modern lives? So many of us struggle and even dismiss the old classic books because they have nothing to teach us. We struggle to read them and then we struggle to how they have relevance to us and we should not dismiss them because they offer so much good advice. These come from the masters that have already attempted to try and live a better life, and so the classics for some time have been neglected, and I'm not sure why that neglection is we're probably going to dive into that but I'm going to guess it was some form of spiritual pride that people have where they say we're smarter than the people that have come before us, and that is kind of a spiritual pride. It's a societal pride. It's a pride that is not rooted in anything who says just because you've come past, you come after people that you're living better than they are. You know, if we don't learn from history, we are condemned to repeat. It is the famous quote that we've all heard. Now the classics have begun a resurgence, and that's happening right now, and so these wonderful books are starting to come back, and I love finding these classics because they have golden nuggets of wisdom that are timeless and universal for us. So that's what we're attempting today, so stay with us. Um, some context, for today's book is St Francis of DeSales is a revered figure of deep spirituality. He brought to life. He is brought to life in this contemporary classic by Father John Burns. Lift Up your Heart. And Burns takes us on a compelling journey. Journey Takes us on a compelling journey, blending personal growth and those teachings with the timeless wisdom of St Francis de Sales. Now, you might not know who is this Francis of de Sales.

A brief history about St Francis is he lived during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a period marked by profound religious and social upheaval in Europe. Born in 1567 in the Duchy of Savoy, which is now modern-day France, he came of age amidst the Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The Syriac saw the fragmentation of Christianity, with the Protestant Reformation challenging the authority of the Catholic Church and giving rise to new religious movements. It's against this backdrop that St Francis de Sales emerged as a prominent figure. He'd advocated for Catholic renewal and seeking to reconcile divergent beliefs. Now, desales did live in a time of extreme political turmoil. He witnessed the rise of the absolute monarchies and he witnessed and lived through the 30 Years' War which devastated much of Europe. And that kind of sounds like our day, doesn't it? Our day in time Extreme political turmoil, a war lasting not 30 years but 20 years, our war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. So back to St Francis. I think he can help us. I think he can speak to us as all the classics do. Now, despite these challenges, st Francis de Sales emphasized personal holiness and inner peace, promoting a spirituality grounded in love, humility and devotion.

Now many people confuse St Francis of de Sales with St Francis of Assisi, two totally different people. St Francis DeSales. Back in his day, the Renaissance was in full swing. It fostered a revival of the arts, literature and learning, and himself DeSales was a prolific writer and he's renowned for his spiritual classic, the Introduction to the Devout Life. He also authored other letters of spiritual direction. Now, this classic of the Introduction to the Devout Life is what we're going to touch on today. Now, in summary, st Francis de Sales lived in a time of religious conflict, political instability and a cultural renaissance, yet his legacy endures as a beacon of spiritual guidance and reconciliation amidst adversity.

Now his book, the Introduction to the Devout Life, is a classic and Most, in fact, I would say a lot of Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, have read this book. It's widely acclaimed Now about this book. During his life, francis of DeSales helped many people with their spiritual growth. The book itself, introduction to the Devout Life is a collection of letters and notes he used to guide his cousin, madame Marie de Charmosy. She was the wife of an ambassador and the letters started when the Madame shared her wish to be more devoted in her faith while dealing with the challenges at the princely court. Now, later, she showed these letters to Jesuit, father Jean Fourier, who suggested that de Sales publish them. The book was finally printed in January of 1609. So for some 400, over 400 years, the Introduction to the Devout Life has been a guide to holiness and to loving God.

Now I will say the Introduction to the Devout Life is a tough read. It's not easy. I have tried to read it, so that's why I was super happy when I was given this book by Father John Burns and I started reading the back cover. In fact, let me read the back cover to you, because that is what captured me into wanting to read this book. So let's go to the back cover.

In this soul-changing 10-day personal mini-retreat, best-selling and award-winning author, reverend John Burns reinterprets St Francis de Sales' famous meditations on the four last things Death, judgment, heaven and hell and pulls you deeply into contemplation of your relationship with God. Easily completed in the midst of a busy life. These ten meditations will inspire you to radically reorder your priorities and live entirely for Jesus. You'll learn the basics of forming a daily prayer routine, which we all need Be challenged to take your prayer life to a new level as you explore the most fundamental questions in life who am I? Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? What happens to me after I die? Now, how about that? I was fired up just reading that and let me share with you. I'm halfway through the book and this book delivers. But what I loved is those questions who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? What happens to me after I die? These are the fundamental questions we ask in the Mojo Academy. So I was super stoked.

Now, like I said, I've been going through the book for the past week or so. I'm halfway through it and in this book, reverend John Burns has made St Francis' Ten Meditations much easier for us modern readers Much, much easier. So you can do this 10 day retreat even if you're busy. It's helped me. Ideally, you will want to do these. You will want to read this book consecutively on consecutive days. I haven't been able to do that my schedule these past two weeks has been quite daunting, with a lot of travel, but, like I said, I'm halfway through the book and it is so good I had to share it with you.

In fact, let me share another portion of the book because we talk about humility all the time on this podcast and humility is one of those primary virtues we need to attain and then keep pursuing in our life, and that's difficult, we know. Humility is the number one attribute in leadership. In fact, jocko Willink, a famous author we share on this podcast often he hammers this nugget of wisdom into us over and over. Great leaders have great humility. So my question often to myself is how can we cultivate and continually grow humility as a virtue within our lives? That's a tough question to answer and I've been searching high and low, small and far, trying to find a good answer. But here is our golden nugget of wisdom for today.

Going back to the book and we're going to pick up this story in the third meditation the root of most problems and the foundation of most sins is pride. Through pride, we allow ourselves to be the center of our own worlds as we embrace the pervasive thought that we are greater and more independent than we really are. Pride is the principal vice that turns the soul away from real relationship with God and into the superficiality of perfunctory faith. Why? Because faith requires an openness to God's help, god's gift, god's love. A proud soul says I am fine as I am, thank you very much. I'll reach out when, and only when, I need you. Contrary to the faith suffocating effects of pride, runs the simple, quiet and beautiful virtue of humility. This crowning virtue opens the soul to God and to holiness, as it keeps us from thinking too much and too highly of ourselves.

Unfortunately, embracing humility does not tend to come easily or naturally. No kidding. Fortunately, we have a very simple entry point Listen Gratitude. When we are grateful, we recognize that everything we have received is a gift. There is no room to thank too much of oneself, because gratitude helps us to recognize our total dependence on the giver. In the gentle act of giving thanks, we find the soul virtuously humbled and pride uprooted. Holy smokes, whoa, did you catch that? I'll share that again. Unfortunately, embracing humility does not tend to come easily or naturally. Fortunately, we have a simple entry point gratitude. When we are grateful, we recognize that everything we have received is a gift. Now Burns goes on for 12 pages of just pure golden nugget. After golden nugget, it's just goodness, 12 pages of it. So I would encourage you to get the book for this reason alone. Meditation 3, 12 pages of just underlining, bracketing, highlighting. So suffice it to say Father Burns gives us a lot of actionable advice. Now saying this, let's go back to the book, because I want to give you some actionable advice as well. This is but a sampling of the type of gratitude list we can devise.

This exercise is absolutely essential to our spiritual growth and to our maintenance of humility against the temptations of pride and self-centeredness. We ought to undertake this exercise often and to conclude it by holding up all of our gifts before the Father's gaze. As we do, we should beg for the grace to always be worthy stewards and joyful recipients of his super abundance. Our maintenance of humility. I love that phrase. That has to be the title of this Mojo Minute. That has to be the title of this Mojo Minute. So in the Mojo Academy, we're all about flourishing and wanting to grow as a person, and our fundamental of faith is an area where we can always grow. We have never reached the pinnacle of our faith journey and we need to keep the virtue of humility Front and center, because that's a paramount importance For that fundamental of faith In this book, lift up your heart by Father John Burns.

It brings us hope and guidance For those looking for meaning, for love and being true to themselves. Now it takes time to grow, so be patient and think and then take action. Get a copy, if you so choose, of Lift Up your Heart and start your journey of discovery. But in today's Mojo Minute let us celebrate each step on your journey of growth and most especially, on your journey of faith. And let me be a little daring to you. This Holy Week, take up the practice of humility, create a gratitude list, use Father Burns' book to access these golden nuggets of wisdom and if you do, you will certainly be on the road to a flourishing life, a life that will certainly be blessed. So keep fighting the good fight and have a wonderful second half of Holy Week to action podcast.

Be sure to check out our show page at team mojo academycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.