St Francis de Sales: He Waited Patiently

 

Today we read about St Francis de Sales in the book In Caelo et in Terra. You can read more about him here.

He wanted very much to become a priest, but his father wanted him to study law. So he obediently studied law and completed his degree, and then obtained permission to become a priest. He served God faithfully for many years, fighting the heresy of Calvinism, and teaching many people through his homilies and through his writings about the Catholic faith.

He is an inspiration to those of us who have to wait for one reason or another. He patiently did what his father asked, and then when the time was right he received a blessing to do what God called him to. It would have been easy for him to assume that what God wanted trumped what anyone else wanted and plunged ahead without permission to become a priest immediately. But he was patient and his relationships remained intact because of his patience.

Is God calling you to do something new? Are you patient enough to find out what it is, and to make the necessary arrangements to do it?

God, thanks for the example of this patient saint. St Francis de Sales, pray for us.