Blog Post 8/18/2024 – Sugar & Salt in the Spiritual Life – Become a Lake

 

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St. Francis de Sales recommended that we strive for balance and avoid extremes. “Salt and sugar are both excellent things,” claims St. Francis de Sales, “but too much of either spoils the dish.”

Salt can bring out the flavor of a dish, the salt of prayer can do the same in our spiritual life, too much in either case isn’t good.  The same is true of sugar, so seek balance in your diet both spiritually and physically.

 

                                                                    Reflect on this story.

Once there was a small monastery led by a very wise abbot.  A young man, who had recently entered the monastery, was having a hard time adjusting to the monastic life. He was constantly complaining and criticizing.  The older monks of the community had grown tired of his constant whining and went to the abbot with their concerns about the young novice.

 

 

One morning the abbot sent the novice to fetch some salt.  When the novice returned, the abbot instructed the unhappy monk to put the salt in a glass of water and drink it.  The novice did as he was instructed.  "How does it taste?" the abbot asked.  "Bitter!" spit the novice.  The abbot smiled.  "Get some more salt and follow me."

 

The abbot and the novice, clutching another handful of salt, walked to a small lake near the monastery.  "Throw the salt into the lake."  Again, the novice did as the abbot asked. "Now," Father Abbot said, "take a drink from the lake."  As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the abbot asked, "How does it taste?"

 

"Sweet and clean," the young man, said wiping his mouth on his sleeve.  "Do you taste the salt?"  "No," the novice said.

 

 

The abbot sat next to the serious young man - who so reminded the abbot of himself many years before - and explained, "Brother, the pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less.  The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. But the bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in.  So when you are in pain, when you hurt, when you feel broken, the only thing you can do is enlarge your sense of things.  Stop being a glass. Become a lake."  [Anon.]

 

In our spiritual live we should strive to become a Lake, being careful with salt and with sugar, but following the Lord's Will in all we do.

 

May God Be Praised.

 

*Photo taken by my college classmate [from De Sales University, then Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales] Henry "Doc" Gertzen in 2024.