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How We are Saved: St Francis DeSales-Fully Catholic!

How We Are Saved

God willed, with a genuine will that even after the sin of Adam all should be saved, Therefore, there is no reprobation on account of original sin.

But in a way and with means suited to the condition of our nature; that is,

1. He willed the salvation of all who would give consent to the graces and favors which He would prepare, offer, and distribute for this purpose.
2. Now among those favors, He willed that the call be first, and that it be so tempered to our freedom that we at our good pleasure could accept or reject it.
3. And to those whom He foresaw would accept, He willed to give the sacred movements of repentance.
4. and to those who would follow those movements, He decreed to give holy love.
5. and to those who would have love He planned to give the means needed to persevere.
6. and to those who would use these divine helps, He decreed to give final perseverance and the glorious happiness of His eternal love.

 

God Prepared Heaven for those he Foresaw:

Without doubt, God prepared heaven only for those whom He foresaw would be His . . . 

But it is in our power to be His:

1. for although the gift of being God's belongs to God,
2. yet this is a gift which God denies to no one,
3. but offers to all,
4. and gives to those who freely consent to receive it.
5. But the very consent or acceptance of grace is the effect of grace:

 

Consent does not give efficacy, God Does, but we can hinder it: It is insane impiety to think that you gave effective and holy activity to the divine inspiration because you did not take it away by resisting? We can hinder the efficacy of the inspiration, but we cannot give efficacy to it. 

You have consented, I know it well: the movement of your will freely followed the movement of heavenly grace.

1. But all that-what else is it but to receive the divine working and not to resist?
2. And what do you have in this that you have not received?
3. Yes, even, poor man, you have even received the acceptance of which you boast, and the consent, which you brag about.
4. Is it not the part of most insane impiety to think that you gave effective and holy activity to the divine inspiration because you did not take it away by resisting?
5. We can hinder the efficacy of inspiration, but we cannot give efficacy to it
6. the sole cause of the lack of love is in us: "Just as it would be the part of impious boldness to attribute to the powers of our will the works of holy love that the Holy Spirit does in us and with us,
7. so also it would be the part of impious boldness to wish to attribute the lack of love in an ungrateful man to the lack of heavenly help and grace. 

For the Holy Spirit cries out everywhere, on the contrary, that our destruction comes from us . . . that divine Goodness wills that no one perish, but wills that all come to the knowledge of the truth: He wills that all men be saved.  

MAGISTERIUM:

**Yes, the view you describe from St. Francis de Sales aligns closely with Catholic teaching on God's universal salvific will, the sufficiency of grace for all, human freedom to consent or resist, and the gift of final perseverance.**   It reflects the Church's balanced doctrine—rooted in Scripture, Tradition, and councils like Trent—that rejects both Pelagianism (salvation by human effort alone) and Jansenism (insufficient grace or double predestination), emphasizing God's desire for all to be saved through cooperative grace. 

### God's Universal Salvific Will and No Reprobation for Original Sin

St. Francis de Sales explicitly teaches that **God wills the salvation of all human beings, even after Adam's sin, without any reprobation based solely on original sin**.  He writes: "GOD has made known His desire for our salvation in so many ways... Now although all men be not saved, nevertheless it is His Will that all should be saved, working in us according to His nature and ours; for His Goodness leads Him to give us freely that grace by which we can attain to glory, while our nature requires that we have free choice left us to accept that grace and be saved, or to despise it and perish."

This echoes the Church's doctrine, developed against Jansenism and affirmed in Vatican II-era clarifications: God **desires the salvation of each person without exception**, offering genuine graces to all, and those lost do so by refusing them—not by a divine decree of reprobation for original sin alone.   The *Catechism* states: "The Church prays that no one should be lost... God 'desires all men to be saved' (1 Tim 2:4), and... 'all things are possible' (Mt 19:26)." Councils like Valence III affirm that some fail salvation by their own fault, not lack of opportunity.

### Sequential Graces Offered to All, with Free Consent

De Sales describes a **progression of graces—call, repentance, holy love, means of perseverance, final perseverance—offered to all who consent freely**, matching your outline precisely.   God prepares heaven "only for those whom He foresaw would be His," yet this is "in our power" because **He offers the gift to all, giving it to those who consent**.  As de Sales notes: "We ought to will our own salvation, even as God wills it... Nor does God stop there, but He endows us with all the necessary means, which we should earnestly accept and use." All receive a "superabundance" sufficient for salvation, though varying in degree.

Catholic teaching concurs: Grace initiates (the "call"), but **human freedom must cooperate** without coercion. Trent (Sess. VI, c. xiii) teaches the justified persevere "with the special help of God," combining divine aid and human will—not human power alone (contra Semipelagians) nor God alone (contra Reformers). Aquinas affirms free will elects particular goods, but **perseverance requires ongoing divine assistance**.

### Consent as Grace, Yet Resistible; Efficacy from God Alone

Your emphasis that **consent itself is a grace we receive, yet we can hinder (not cause) its efficacy** is de Sales' exact teaching: "You have consented... but all that—what else is it but to receive the divine working and not to resist? ... We can hinder the efficacy of inspiration, but we cannot give efficacy to it." The "sole cause of the lack of love is in us," as "divine Goodness wills that no one perish."

This is orthodox: **Actual graces enable consent, but resistance is possible** due to free will. The Church rejects attributing damnation to insufficient grace; destruction is from us, while salvation is God's work in cooperative souls.   De Sales integrates this with universal hope: God "endows [all] with all the necessary means."

### Final Perseverance as a Special Gift

**Perseverance to glory is decreed for those who use prior helps**, not a standalone election excluding others.   Trent calls it the "great gift of final perseverance," beyond certain knowledge or strict merit, obtained by prayer. De Sales aligns by urging conformity to God's will through the means He provides.

In summary, St. Francis de Sales' gentle theology harmonizes divine initiative, universal sufficiency of grace, and human responsibility—**fully Catholic, as affirmed by Trent, the *Catechism*, and post-Vatican II scholarship**.   It offers hope without presumption, inviting prayer for perseverance while trusting God's mercy for all.

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