“We cannot always offer God great things, but at each instant

we can offer him little things with great love.”

(Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

There is in the Salesian spirit a deep appreciation for the significance of little things.  The insistence on hiddenness in the process of spiritual growth corresponds to this appreciation.

(Read further in Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

  “We cannot always offer God great things, but at each instant

we can offer him little things with great love.”

(Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

Chief among the Salesian virtues, and the one that belongs distinctively to this tradition, rather than to the wider contemplative heritage, is douceur.  A difficult term to translate, douceur has been rendered in English as “sweetness,” “gentleness,” “graciousness,” “meekness,” and “suavity.” 

(Read further in Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

  “We cannot always offer God great things, but at each instant

we can offer him little things with great love.”

(Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

A second little virtue highly prized in Salesian spirituality is humility.  Long an ideal in the classic spirituality of Christendom, humility retained its centrality in the thought of Francis and Jane.

(Read further in Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

  “We cannot always offer God great things, but at each instant

we can offer him little things with great love.”

(Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

Third of the key Salesian virtues is simplicity.  Simplicity unlocks a whole treasure chest full of Salesian wisdom that is best exemplified in the life of the community of the Visitation.

(Read further in Letters of Spiritual Direction, Theme VI)

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