St. Francis de Sales did not wish great exterior austerities for his Visitandines. On the contrary, he desired a complete interior detachment: "The feet well shod, the heart very bare, and completely stripped of every earthly affection. Where the asperity of corporal mortification is lacking, there must be greater perfection of spirit."
Piety in the Middle Ages stressed severe fasts, frequent vigils, and excessive use of the penitential discipline. This does not mean that St. Francis de Sales was not in favor of exterior penances; according to the text of the lntroduction to a Devout Life he recommends the discipline even for people of the world: "about fifty or sixty strokes or perhaps thirty according to the state of the health"; in addition to this he advises the use of the hair shirt once a week. But these are the means and not the end.
If my Institute requires severe mortifications, I must conform to the Rule, unless common sense demands some reasonable modifications; I must follow the decisions of the superiors in all things. Where there is a choice, I can consult my own preference guided by prudence.
"The devil," says St. Francis de Sales, "fears mortification of the heart more than all the austere macerations of the body."
If my Institute does not exact a special exterior austerity of me, I will be all the more faithful in little mortifications required by custom, such as adapting myself to circumstances, submitting to my superiors and doing all that a liberal generosity permits and desires. I must lead a life of greater interior mortification because exterior penance is denied me.
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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
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