Every day with Saint Francis de Sales | July 27

It is a terrible temptation to be saddened and all upset because you have to remain in this world, when you must do so out of necessity. Divine Providence is wiser than we are. To us it may seem the better thing to change ships. Yes, by all means, provided we change our conduct! How much are we, victims of these dangerous and evil desires! On these occasions, even when what we desire is good in itself, it becomes an evil because God does not want us to possess that good at this present time, but something else, to give us a chance to exercise our virtue. The Lord wishes to speak to us amid thorns and briars, as He did to Moses, and we instead want Him to talk amid pleasant, fresh breezes, as He did to Elijah.
(Letters 512; O. XIV, pp. 120-121)


On July 27, 1606, Francis de Sales, on pastoral visitation, went to the parishes of Saint Andrew and Saint Gervasius. He was so happy with the people of both places that he said, "Blessed be the Lord, Who gives us such parishes, so good that I have nothing to do here." Continuing he apostolic journey through the narrow tracks and peaks of those rugged mountains, the saintly bishop was to visit on the following day two churches dedicated to the Madonna, which were called, because of their location, Our Lady of the Gorge and Our Lady of the Brain. A certain person who wanted to tease him by joking about these titles said sarcastically that on the next day the bishop would visit Mrs. X (this was a woman noted for her learning and loquacity). the saint heard of this, and was so upset by the lack of respect for the mother of God, that he forgot his usual kindly manner and publicly and forcefully reprimanded the facetious person, ordering her to offer a candle of white wax to each of the two churches as an act of reparation to the Madonna, "who is", he said, " the protectress of the thoughts, the brain, the eyes, the heart and all that we have both for the soul and body." The same person so strongly corrected, later told of this episode at the process of canonization of Frandis de Sales.


(A.S. VII, p. 652)