French Mystics (Francis de Sales, Jane de Chantal, Vincent de Paul)
Presentation: March 7, 2009
Wendy Wright, Ph.D.
Brief Description of Presentation
France throughout the early modern era produced some of the most beautiful and distinctive of spiritual traditions. Reaping the fruits of the long Catholic Reformation and riding on the crest of waves of renewal and spiritual engagement, seventeenth century France and its environs saw the rise of the Salesian, Vincentian and Berullian (French) Schools of Spirituality. This brief course will explore the legacies of the towering figures (including Francis de Sales, Jane de Chantal, Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, Pierre de Berulle, Jean Eudes, Jean Jacques Olier and Margaret Mary Alacoque), classic texts (Introduction to the Devout Life, Treatise on the Love of God, Most Admirable Heart of the Sacred Mother of God), and the important themes and practices (among them spiritual friendship, lay holiness, priestly holiness, devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, devotion to the inner life of Jesus, and raising up the poor) that emerge from these enduring schools of Catholic spirituality.
Prayer Exercise
Dr. Wright will lead participants through a prayer process from the French tradition.
Preparation for Session and Bibliography
Preparation Article for the presentation: "Seventeenth Century France" in Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac: Rules, Conferences and Writings. Paulist Press, 1995
Bérulle and the French School: Selected Writings. Ed. W. Thompson. Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1989.
Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction. Eds. J. Powers and W. Wright. Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1988.
Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac: Rules, Conferences and Writings. Eds. J. Rybolt and F. Ryan. Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1995.
Classic Texts:
Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life
Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God
Jean Eudes, Most Admirable Heart of the Most Sacred Mother of God
Jean Eudes, The Kingdom of Jesus
About Wendy Wright
Wendy M. Wright holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is currently Professor of Theology at Creighton University and holds the John C. Kenefick Faculty Chair in the Humanities. She also teaches regularly in several graduate ministerial programs including Creighton's Christian Spirituality Master's program and the National Methodist Academy for Spiritual Formation. She is co-host with Dr. J. O'Keefe of the Creighton University podcast "Catholic Comments".
Her expertise falls in the areas of history of spirituality, family spirituality, spiritual direction and the Catholic devotional tradition. Her academic work has focused on the Salesian spiritual tradition founded by Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal. Listed among her books are Bond of Perfection: Jeanne de Chantal and François de Sales (Paulist Press), Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction (Paulist Press Classics of Western Spirituality Series), Francis de Sales: Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy Series), Sacred Dwelling: A Spirituality of Family Life (3rd ed. Darton,Longman,Todd and Pauline Books), The Vigil: Keeping Watch in the Season of Christ's Coming (Upper Room/Darton, Longman,Todd), The Rising: Living the Mysteries of Lent, Easter and Pentecost (Upper Room/Darton, Longman, Todd), The Time Between: Cycles and Rhythms in Ordinary Time (Upper Room), Sacred Heart: Gateway to God (Orbis Books/Darton, Longman, Todd), Seasons of a Family's Life: Cultivating the Contemplative Spirit at Home (Jossey Bass), Heart Speaks to Heart: the Salesian Spiritual Tradition (Orbis/Darton, Longman, Todd) and Caryll Houselander: Essential Writings (Orbis Books).
She is a frequent contributor to the journals Weavings and Family and Community Ministries. She and her husband, Roger Bergman, are the parents of three young adults.