Good News / Mystic Traditions

Learning to Praise and Love
by St. Francois de Sales 19.08.2004, changed 28.10.2004

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When you are walking alone, or elsewhere, glance at the general will of God, by which He wills all the works of his mercy and justice in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and approve, praise and then love that sovereign will, all holy, all just, all beautiful.

Glance next at the special will of God, by which He loves his own, and works in them in divers ways, by consolation and tribulation. And then you should ponder a little, considering the variety of consolations, but especially of tribulations, that the good suffer; and then with great humility approve, praise and love all this will.

Consider that will in your own person, in all the good or ill that happens to you and may happen to you, except sin; then approve, praise and love all that, protesting that you will ever cherish, honour and adore that sovereign will, and submitting to God's pleasure and giving Him all who are yours, amongst whom am I.

End in a great confidence in that will, that it will work all good for us and our happiness.

I add that, when you have performed this exercise two or three times in this way, you can shorten it, vary it and arrange it, as you find best, for it should often be thrust into your heart as an aspiration.

[Editor's Note: This selection is quoted by Aldous Huxley in The Perennial Philosophy. The paragraph spacing is my own. A larger version of the image, above, can be found at the Florimont Institute web site.]