Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/538372
Summer 2015 — www.ncsf.com 31 SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES 1567 to 1622 Patron Saint of Educators, Journalists, Writers Francis was a patient man. He knew for thirteen years that he had a vocation to the priesthood before he mentioned it to his family. Why did Francis wait so long, because throughout his life he waited for God's will to be clear. God finally made His will clear to Francis while he was riding. Francis fell from his horse three times. Every time he fell his sword and scabbard came to rest on the ground in the shape of the cross. Perhaps he was wise to wait, for he wasn't a natural pastor. His biggest concern on being ordained was that he had to have his lovely curly gold hair cut off. And his preaching left the listeners thinking he was making fun of them. Then Francis had a bad idea – at least that's what everyone else thought. Francis decided he should convert 60,000 Calvinists back to Catholicism. His expedition consisted of himself and his cousin because his father refused to give him any aid for this crazy plan and the diocese was too poor to support him. For three years, he trudged through the countryside, had doors slammed in his face and rocks thrown at him. In the bitter winters, his feet froze so badly they bled as he tramped through the snow. And after three years, he had not made one convert. Francis' unusual patience kept him working. No one would listen to him, no one would even open their door. So Francis found a way to get under the door. He wrote out his sermons, copied them by hand, and slipped them under the doors. This is the first record we have of religious tracts being used to communicate with people. The parents wouldn't come to him out of fear. So Francis went to the children. When the parents saw how kind he was as he played with the children, they began to talk to him. By the time Francis left to go home he is said to have converted 40,000 people back to Catholicism. He is patron saint of journalists because of the tracts and books he wrote. If you move? Answer: Contact us with your new address information. If you change your phone number or email address? Answer: Contact us with your new information. If you have a legal name change? Answer: Send us a copy of the legal documentation that authorizes the change. If you have a Financial Power of Attorney document? Answer: Send us a copy of it for our records. &KDQJHRI%HQHÀFLDU\ 'HDWK&ODLPV RUFHUWLÀFDWH information? Answer: Contact the Members' Service Department at (800)344-6273 DON'T FORGET ABOUT US! © CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / PRAWNY Celebrating Back-to-school