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This time of year is oddly silent in the Church calendar. The lights of Christmas have dimmed, and Lent hasn’t yet begun. Spiritually speaking, we’re somewhere in between—caught in the grey, sluggish weeks of January, when our resolutions falter, our energy dips, and the days stretch long with little liturgical colour to rouse the soul.
It’s exactly the kind of season St Francis de Sales understood well.
The patron saint of writers, confessors, and spiritual directors, St Francis—whose feast falls on 24 January—had no time for melodrama in the spiritual life. His advice was often quiet, practical, and above all, gentle. He didn’t demand fireworks. He simply asked us to begin again. And then, when we fail, to begin again. And again.
“Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections,
but instantly set about remedying them—every day begin the task anew.”
These are not the words of someone shocked by weakness. Francis knew the reality of souls: our good intentions, our fits of zeal, our discouragement, our procrastination. He knew how easily we wait for perfect conditions to “get serious” about holiness—the right moment, the ideal retreat, the clean slate of Lent.
But God doesn’t work on our timelines. His grace is always now. And so Francis urges us to begin where we are. Have you neglected prayer? Begin again. Have you fallen into gossip, laziness, resentment? Begin again. Not with fanfare or crushing guilt—but gently, firmly, humbly. Begin again.
He writes:
“It is necessary to begin again a hundred times a day and not to be surprised at our faults, but to be humble about them.”
This is realism animated by love. The saint does not excuse sin, but he does refuse to let our failures become idols. He wants us to fall—if we must—into the arms of Christ, not into ourselves.
In the world of self-help, failure is shameful or a source of pride. In the kingdom of God, it is an invitation to trust. And trust, for Francis, is the soul of progress.
“Have patience with all things, but chiefly with yourself.
Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections.”
He speaks like a father to a fidgeting child. Don’t scold yourself harshly. Don’t give up. The saints did not sprint to heaven. They stumbled toward it, one act of trust at a time.
If you feel spiritually weary this January, take heart. This is fertile ground. The quiet weeks before Lent are not dead time, they’re hidden time. The Lord may be working more deeply now than you realise.
So if you’ve drifted, return. If you’ve fallen, rise. If you’ve forgotten your resolutions, smile and start again. The saints are not shocked. And neither is God.
St Francis de Sales would remind you that sanctity isn’t about dramatic conversion moments. It’s about faithful repetition. It’s about dusting yourself off and saying, with calm resolve: "Right. Let’s try again."
And if tomorrow you forget this, don’t worry. Just begin again.
