Sanctity and Insanity - the curious rapport

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

January 24, 2026 - Celebrating St. Francis de Sales

2 Samuel 1:1-4,11-12,17,19,23-27; Mark 3: 20-21

There is quite a list of saints who were considered out of their minds... Paul, Francis of Assisi, Bro. Juniper, Symeon of Emessa, Don Bosco... they were all considered so because they were fools, fools for Christ as Paul calls himself in 1 Cor 4:10.

Why were they considered so? What made them persons 'out of their mind'? Infact they were not out of their mind but they went out of their way for others sake and the world calls it madness. Isn't it a folly or madness on the part of God to have done all that God did for humanity inspite of their infidelity and weaknesses? Jesus was a chip of that exact block and we are called to follow his footsteps... growing to be more and more mad: getting out of ourselves and loving people genuinely.

The Saint whom we remember today - Francis de Sales, would have been called so today, in a world that rages with vengeance and vehemence. Even in his own times, as many of the authors who have studied him say, he was called the saint of gentleness. His simple but incisive remark, that one can catch more flies with a drop of honey that with a barel of vinegar, is so distinctive of his nature and his convictions.

However, one strange fact that stands out in all these reflections, is that reminder of the Word: sanctity and insanity seem to have more than little that relate them... let us give it a thought!