Memorial of Saint
Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church
(Hebrews 10:1-10; Mark 3:31-35)
Some commentators see Jesus rejecting Mary and his
relatives in this gospel passage. But it
seems fairer to say that he is only declaring God the priority of his life. Francis de Sales did much the same as a young
man.
Francis came from an aristocratic family. After sending him to study law, his father expected
him to serve as a local magistrate. He even
picked out a noblewoman to be Francis’ wife.
Francis, however, wanted to serve the Lord as a priest. Through the intervention of the bishop of
Geneva, he was ordained. In time he
became a marvel – converting Calvinists and sharing his possessions with the
poor. He served as bishop and wrote a
much acclaimed treatise on spirituality.
Two centuries later he was declared a doctor of the Church.
We all have preferences – baseball rather than football,
CBS news rather than ABC, tea rather than coffee. What Jesus asks of us is that we make God our
first choice. We place him above family,
friends, even our own life. He promises that
we will never be disappointed when we do so.
We will find that we can become a better relative, friend, and person by
making God our priority.
