Teachers and Learners · Week 2 · Grades 9–12
Guided Notes: St. Francis de Sales
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
St. Francis de Sales
A lawyer who chose otherwise
Francis de Sales was born on August 21, blank 1, at the Château de Sales in the Duchy of Savoy. He was the eldest son of a noble family, and his father intended him for the law and the senate.
As a student in blank 2 he went through a severe spiritual crisis. For weeks he feared that God had already rejected him. He found peace while praying in a church, resolving to love God whatever became of him.
He took a doctorate in law at Padua in blank 3, then declined the career and the marriage arranged for him. He was ordained a priest in 1593.
From Savoy to the whole Church
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1567 | Write your answer |
| 1591 | Write your answer |
| 1593 | Write your answer |
| 1594 | Write your answer |
| 1602 | Write your answer |
| 1609 | Write your answer |
| 1610 | Write your answer |
| 1622 | Write your answer |
The mission and the leaflets
The Chablais, south of Lake Geneva, had been blank 4 for about sixty years when the Duke of Savoy regained it. In 1594 Francis volunteered to go there with his cousin Louis.
Hardly anyone would attend his sermons. He wrote short, reasoned leaflets on disputed blank 5, had them copied, and slid them under doors. They were later collected and published.
He argued firmly and treated his opponents as people to be won, not enemies to be beaten. Within about four years most of the region had become blank 6 again.
The picture is not simple. The Duke also used the power of the state, and later banned blank 7 worship there.
What he taught and left behind
Write one detail for each card.
| Card | The detail |
|---|---|
| Introduction to the Devout Life | Write your answer |
| Treatise on the Love of God | Write your answer |
| The Visitation | Write your answer |
| Letters | Write your answer |
| Patron of writers | Write your answer |
Apply it
You find a post that misrepresents what Catholics believe. Which response best fits Francis’s method? Circle one.
- A Ignore it, since arguing never changes anyone
- B Report the account until it is taken down
- C Quote the post with a sarcastic comeback
- D Reply with a calm, accurate explanation
Why is that the right answer?
Apply it
A classmate says real holiness is for priests and nuns. Which idea from Francis answers this best? Circle one.
- A Holiness mostly means leaving the world behind
- B Devotion fits every state of life in its own way
- C Laypeople should copy the routines of monks
- D Only people with free time can pray seriously
Why is that the right answer?
Virtues Francis lived
For each virtue, write how the saint lived it and one way you can practice it.
| Virtue | How the saint lived it | How I can practice it |
|---|---|---|
| Meekness | Write your answer | Write your answer |
| Truthfulness | Write your answer | Write your answer |
| Charity | Write your answer | Write your answer |
Take a side
Francis spent four years trying to change the deepest beliefs of people who did not ask him to. Resolved: you can try to change someone’s mind about what matters most and still fully respect them.
My side: ☐ Agree ☐ Disagree
- Is it more respectful to tell someone you think they are wrong, or to say nothing?
- Francis left leaflets people were free to ignore. The Duke used laws. Where is the line between persuading and pressuring?
- Does it matter that the people of the Chablais were sincere Christians with reasons of their own?
- Online, does arguing with strangers ever persuade, or does it only perform for your own side?
- What would have to be true of your tone, your facts and your motives for persuasion to be an act of respect?
My strongest reason, with evidence from the slides:
The best argument for the other side, and my response:
Let us pray
Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, teach us your way.
Give us courage to speak the truth and patience to speak it with love.
Purify what we write, post and share.
St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Go and write well
A bishop shut out of his own city reached people one leaflet and one letter at a time. His feast day is January 24.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Francis de Sales shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: For seven days, post or send nothing you have not checked for truth and reread for charity. Notice what you end up deleting.