Saturday 24^th St. Francis de Sales — Strength Without Harshness

Today’s readings bring us face to face
with a form of holiness
that is often misunderstood.

Not loud.
Not forceful.
Not dramatic.

But deeply faithful.

In the first reading from 2 Samuel,
David receives the news
he has been waiting for.

Saul is dead.
The pursuit is over.
The throne is now within reach.

And yet David does not rejoice.

Instead,
he tears his garments.
He weeps.
He fasts.
He mourns.

“The glory of Israel has fallen.”

David laments not only Saul,
who had tried to kill him,
but Jonathan,
his beloved friend.

There is no bitterness in David’s words.
No quiet satisfaction.
No claim of vindication.

Only grief.

David refuses to define his life
by what was done to him.

He chooses honour over resentment.
Memory over revenge.
Mercy over triumph.

His lament teaches us
that holiness is revealed
not in victory,
but in how we treat others
when the struggle is over.

The Gospel from Mark shows us
another moment of misunderstanding.

Jesus returns home.
The crowd presses in.
There is no time even to eat.

Those closest to him
do not see holiness.

They see excess.

They say,
“He is out of his mind.”

Once again,
faithfulness is misread
as imbalance.

Devotion is mistaken
for recklessness.

Jesus does not defend himself.
He does not explain.
He continues the mission
entrusted to him by the Father.

He allows misunderstanding
without allowing it
to define him.

This quiet strength
brings us to St Francis de Sales,
whose feast we celebrate today.

Francis lived at a time
of sharp division in the Church.
Religious debate was harsh.
Words were used like weapons.

Francis chose a different path.

He preached with patience.
He wrote with clarity.
He corrected with gentleness.

He believed that hearts are won
not by force,
but by love.

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness,”
he wrote,
“and nothing so gentle as real strength.”

Francis himself
was often misunderstood.

His kindness was mistaken for weakness.
His calm was seen as compromise.

But like David,
he refused resentment.

Like Jesus,
he remained faithful
without becoming defensive.

Francis taught that holiness
is not reserved for the extraordinary.
It is lived in ordinary duties,
daily patience,
and quiet perseverance.

Placed together,
today’s readings ask us something important:

How do we respond
when our faith is misunderstood?

Do we grow hard?
Do we become sharp?
Do we defend ourselves at all costs?

Or do we trust
that God sees what others may not?

David mourns the one
who harmed him.
Jesus continues the mission
despite misunderstanding.
Francis de Sales chooses gentleness
in a divided world.

Each shows us
that love is strongest
when it is not reactive.

Holiness does not shout.
It does not retaliate.
It does not seek to prove itself.

It remains faithful.

May we ask today
for the grace St Francis de Sales knew so well —
a heart firm in truth,
gentle in action,
and patient under misunderstanding.

For in that quiet strength,
God’s work is done.