... and No One Is Troubled

Once again, this comes from Boylan’s spiritual masterpiece:

“... The series of calls upon one’s time from members of the family, from visitors, and from the hundred and one other sources of interference with one’s plans, is almost endless.  We may have to draw a line somewhere if we wish to keep up regular practices such as prayer and reading.  Still, we should be on our guard against feeling that time devoted to family functions and to family fun is wasted.  There is a proper measure in everything; and each has a right to his own private life for some part of the day.  But those who live with their family need have no scruple in spending much of their time in sharing the life of the family.

“If they maintain a healthy interior life, they can find Christ in their family and be united to Him, even in family fun. To make a fourth at family bridge, to help to entertain some guests, to take a walk with one’s parents and one’s children—all such things can be more meritorious and more pleasing to God than private prayer or even, say, a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. A saint should be a very easy person to live with. Unfortunately, those who try to be saints are often quite the opposite. Might we refer them to the example of St. Jane Frances de Chantal? While she was still living in the world, St. Francis de Sales became her director. The result of his influence may be gathered from the comment of one of her servants: ‘The first director that Madame had made her pray three times a day, and we were all put out; but the Monsignor of Geneva (St. Francis de Sales) makes her pray all day long and no one is troubled.’”

Boylan goes on to recommend de Sales’s Introduction to the Devout Life, urging the reader to ignore the bits that are dated (advice which I cannot forbear repeating to any prospective reader of Boylan!).  The basic principle, in any case, at work in both de Sales and Boylan seems to be the same as that found in the Gospels: by their fruits you shall know them.  A good spiritual life will show itself in a person’s interactions with those with whom they spend the most time—and conversely, those who hope to maintain even ordinary charity (if that is not an oxymoron!) with those around them need to have a good spiritual life (whatever that means—on that, de Sales of course has much good concrete advice, and Boylan as well).