A Salesian Season

Jan 27

It has often been said that Catholics know how to celebrate. We can take a special day, a holy day, and turn it into a holiday that can last for weeks. The Church has a pattern within the liturgical calendar that begins with preparation and penance and culminates with celebrations spread throughout the year.

The just-completed Christmas season is a great example. For many people, the season concludes on Epiphany, the traditional twelfth day of Christmas. This, in itself, is a custom that challenges the popular notion that the celebration of Christ’s birth ends on December 26. For Catholics, the season continues to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (this year observed on January 11). An even older tradition prolongs the holiday joy until February 2, the Presentation of the Lord - the final feast of the baby Jesus.

For the sons and daughters of St. Francis de Sales, the end of the month brings another week of solemn celebrations and feast days. The whole church remembers St. Francis on January 24, his official commemoration on the liturgical calendar. This day was chosen because it is the date of his burial in Annecy in 1623. Before the calendar changes of the Second Vatican Council, the feast of Francis was kept on January 29. For the Salesian family, this day still holds memories of past celebrations and periods in our lives. In some ways, it gives us another moment in the month to recall our patron and his special place in the life of the Church.

A few days after the liturgical remembrance of de Sales, the Church remembers the Italian priest, John Bosco. Bosco followed the philosophy and spirit of the gentle bishop of Geneva and founded a religious congregation named after his favorite saint. The Society of Francis de Sales was founded 160 years ago to educate and improve the lives of disadvantaged young people in Italy.

This “Salesian season” concludes on February 2, the feast of the Presentation and the anniversary of the death of Blessed Louis Brisson, the founder of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. When Father Brisson was beatified in 2012, his feast day was assigned to October 12 (originally celebrated as Oblate Founder’s Day). However, the congregation still holds February 2 as a sacred day for our religious family.

In the spirit of Church octaves and special occasions, these ten days between January 24 and February 2 highlight our Salesian heritage and family. This short “season” is an opportunity to consider the life, legacy, and lessons of St. Francis de Sales with the help of some of his most devoted and famous followers.

If it can be said that Catholics know how to celebrate, it is undeniably true that Salesians really know how to celebrate! St. Francis de Sales “lived Jesus” with gentleness, joy, humor, and heart. He famously observed that, “a saint who is sad is a sad example of a saint.” I think we can say the same for those of us who follow the example of the “Doctor of Divine Love.”

May we find joy, hope, and peace over these next few days as we continue the celebrations and give thanks for the gift of Francis de Sales and his spirituality.