St. Francis De Sales

De Sales' classic has been described as "a masterpiece of psychology, practical morality, and common sense" and, after The Bible and The Imitation of Christ, is the widest read spiritual book of all time. Unlike many others, Devout Life was written specifically for lay persons and it demonstrates a rare sensitivity to the demands of life in a world that is often antagonistic to spirituality. In this first-of-its-kind edition, Fr. John-Julian offers a fresh translation, a most thorough historical introduction, and notes explaining points of language and theology along the way.

In Consoling Thoughts on Sickness and Death, St. Francis de Sales, the beloved Doctor of the Church, teaches how to grow closer to God through suffering well the most bitter trials.

The bed of sickness is an altar of sacrifice, writes the saint in this treasure of spirituality. He explains what prayers are suitable for the sick, how to persevere in patience, and even how to overcome an excessive fear of death. Most importantly, St. Francis de Sales teaches about abandonment to God's will in both life and death, drawing from his memories of the deaths of his own mother and sister.

Readers of Consoling Thoughts on Sickness and Death will experience firsthand why St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) is known to history as the Gentle Saint. St. Francis was Bishop of Geneva and a tireless preacher, who yet made time to correspond with numerous souls who wrote him for his insight and guidance. His Consoling Thoughts are compiled from these letters as well as from his other spiritual works.

One of the greatest spiritual classics of all time is Introduction to the Devout Life, the St. Francis de Sales masterpiece written in the seventeenth century. Deacon Matthew Newsome breaks open this divine guide from one of the most sought-after spiritual counselors in history and helps you apply it to your life today. In these pages, you will find the direction you need to grow closer to God and practice Christian discipleship regardless of your vocation.

De Sales insisted that devotion is for everyone, not just the professional religious class. He wrote for the average layperson, as Deacon Matt does in bringing de Sales's wisdom to any Christian looking for practical advice on advancing in holiness today.

Deacon Matt aligns short, easy-to-read chapters derived from de Sales's work with relatable circumstances of modern life to prepare you for a life of communion with God. You will learn how to cultivate prayerfulness and virtue, weed out temptations

Introduction To A Devout Life 978-1-937913-75-5
This abridged and adapted edition of the classic work by Saint Francis de Sales, which is written in contemporary English, treats all of the most relevant subjects in his comprehensive spiritual masterpiece. Known as the Apostle of Love, he reaches out to all people through this concise volume, showing that devotion is available to everyone in every walk of life and occupation.
St. Francis de Sales emphasizes that true devotion is not a one-size-fits-all practice but must be adapted to each person's state in life. He encourages readers to cultivate a deep love for God through prayer, sacraments, and daily virtue. He stresses the importance of mental prayer, or meditation, as a way to reflect on God's presence and align one's actions with His will. The book also provides practical advice on resisting temptations, practicing humility, and maintaining inner peace amidst worldly distractions.
One of its key messages is that holiness is not about extraordinary acts but about faithfully carrying out one's duties with love and devotion. St. Francis de Sales teaches that one can find sanctity in ordinary life--whether as a parent, worker, or student--by offering daily tasks to God.

Among the features of this book are:

Sturdy flexible Dura-Lux cover

Size 4-3/8" x 6-3/4"

Durably sewn binding

High-quality paper

Informative Wisdom from St. Francis De Sales

Conveniently sized to accommodate nightstand or purse

Nihil Obstat

Imprimatur

Visit our website for more spiritual resources and Bibles www.catholicbookpublishing.com
Benefits of a compact book

Portability - A small, compact book is easy to carry, making it convenient for travel, commuting, or reading on the go.

Accessibility - Its size allows for quick reference, whether for study, prayer, or casual reading, without the bulk of a larger volume.

Discreetness - A compact book can be read in public or private without drawing much attention, making it ideal for personal reflection or study.

Durability - Smaller books often have sturdier bindings and covers, allowing them to withstand frequent handling and travel.

Efficiency - Concise and well-organized content ensures that the reader gets essential information without unnecessary bulk, making learning or devotion more focused and effective.

Introduction To A Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales is a spiritual classic that offers practical guidance for Christians seeking to grow in holiness in their everyday lives. Written in the early 17th century, the book is addressed to all people--laypersons, married couples, and those in secular professions--showing that devotion is not reserved for clergy and religious but is attainable by everyone.
Ultimately, Introduction to the Devout Life is a timeless guide to deepening one's spiritual life. Its wisdom encourages Catholics to seek holiness in all circumstances, growing in love for God and neighbor while remaining faithful to their vocation. The book remains a valuable resource for anyone striving to live a devout and fulfilling Christian life.

A new translation of this enduring spiritual classic:

In late 1608, St. Francis de Sales, the Catholic Bishop of Geneva, published his first edition of the Introduction to the Devout Life. The Introduction is a collection of letters of instruction de Sales wrote in response to a relative's many questions about how to live a devout life to Christ. It sold out quickly. His fifth and final edition was published in 1619.

On December 28th, 1622, just three years after publishing the final edition, St. Francis died at the age of 55. He was canonized a Saint in 1665 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877. He was one of the Church's preeminent Spiritual Directors and fortunately, because he took the time to write the Introduction to the Devout Life, he can be ours today as well. His insights and practical guidance for committing one's life to Christ and staying daily centered on Christ, are timeless and effective. In the Introduction, St. Francis endeavors to transform lives by transforming hearts.

In his prologue, de Sales explains that he arranged the material not for those in the monasteries, but for those who worked and lived in the world and, like those living in monasteries and religious orders, desired a greater devotion to Christ. He addresses his reader as "Philothea," which means "one who loves God." The book is witty, straight forward, biblical, intensely practical, and deeply challenging. He logically arranges the Church's time-honored strategies, teaching, and practices of devotion to make them easy to understand and implement into daily life.

As de Sales says: "LIVE JESUS! Yes, Lord Jesus, live and reign in our hearts forever and ever. Amen."

Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: First-Time Author, Spirituality Softcover (First Place) and a 2018 Association of Catholic Publishers Award: Inspirational (Second Place).

For more than four-hundred years, Introduction to the Devout Life by Doctor of the Church St. Francis de Sales has been regarded as the essential guide to holiness and loving God. This spiritual classic takes on new life in Lift Up Your Heart, where Rev. John Burns has interpreted ten meditations for the modern reader and distilled them into a ten-day mini-retreat that can easily be completed in the midst of a busy life.

This practical book goes right to the heart of helping you kick the habit of floating along on your spiritual journey to start actively pursuing holiness and devotion to God. During the course of the retreat, you'll learn the basics of forming a daily prayer routine, including how to offer yourself to God, meditate on his love, and maintain peace in the face of suffering and clarity in the midst of temptation. The meditations will help you:

Adopt gratitude as a daily prayer practice.

Examine and reorder your priorities and relationships to better reflect your love for God.

Discern between good and evil in your life.

Desire to love and serve as Jesus did.

In a very real sense, Burns helps you take St. Francis de Sales as your spiritual director for ten days. As you do so, you'll feel God's fatherly love and restart your faith life, equipped with the tools to connect with God and live for heaven now.

In this new book, Patrick Madrid uses the example of St. Francis de Sales to illustrate the zeal, spiritual principles, and attitude of one who sets out to live and share the faith. Christ sent his apostles into the whole world to make disciples of all nations, and by virtue of our baptism, we, too, are called to be apostles on this same mission. But how do we start? How can we accomplish in today's culture? In this book, Patrick shares his own time-tested methodology for teaching Catholics how to prepare themselves to:

Explain their faith more intelligently

Defend it more charitably

Share it more effectively

His methodology, derived from more than twenty-five years working in the field of apologetics, involves both practical techniques and theological truths revealed to us in Scripture and exemplified in the lives of the saints. It includes emulating the apologetics techniques of the original apostles, as well as the Fathers and Doctors of the Church in ensuing centuries. More importantly, it details the sanctifying process of cooperating with God's grace as he lovingly forms an apostolic heart for others within each of us.

The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.

Steeped as he was in Sacred Scripture, St. Francis de Sales gives totally fresh and surprising insights into the truths of our religion including: the Sacred Name of Jesus, Our Lady's wisdom at Cana, St. John the Baptist\'s temptation, etc. Nine insightful sermons. Published here for the first time in English. Great wisdom from a great saint and Doctor of the Church; excellent spiritual reading for Advent or any other time of the year!

From the young St. Francis de Sales's heroic efforts to bring Calvinists back to the Faith comes this succinct, eloquent defense of the age-old Catholic practice of making the Sign of the Cross, which sixteenth-century Calvinists denounced as a Popish invention and many Protestants scorn even today.

Embodying the zeal of youth and the wisdom of age, this gentle jewel of Catholic apologetics traces the origins of the Sign of the Cross back to the Fathers of the Church, to the Apostles before them, and finally to our Lord Himself.

Along with St. Francis's other lucid explanations of our Catholic Faith and his undaunted love even for those who hated him, this modest book helped restore to their native Catholic faith tens of thousands of heretics who not long before were intent on killing him.

As they did for the Calvinists in St. Francis's day, so in our day these pages will bring you a better understanding and a renewed love for the Sign of the Cross, that brief and lively exterior prayer by which, from time immemorial, God has been invoked by serious Christians before all of their endeavors.

Among the other things you'll learn here:

Why now is always the right time to make the Sign of the Cross

Why God chooses to attach power to the Sign of the Cross

Why it is made on the forehead

How to convince skeptics to value and pray with it

Two uses of the Sign of the Cross: do you know both of them?

How the Sign of the Cross is the antidote to the Mark of the Devil

Errors in the claims of those who oppose this practice

The theological significance of the motions, vertical and horizontal

Two reasons it has particular power against the Enemy

Why you should make the Sign of the Cross publicly and often

Outside the Creed itself, there are few topics to which the Fathers testify as universally and unanimously as the pious practice of making, frequently and well, the Sign of the Cross. With the help of these holy pages, the saints' love for it will enkindle yours. Soon you'll be saying with St. Jerome, "With every work, with all of my comings and goings, may my hand make the Sign of the Cross!"

Heavenly Love comes as a wound that is a gift of God.

Francis de Sales's spiritual masterpiece, Treatise on the Love of God, was originally published in 1616 while he was Bishop of Geneva. This contemporary English edition preserves St. Francis's gentle prose, his enthusiasm for God, compassion, and good humor. For all spiritual pilgrims seeking comfort and guidance, this book offers the assurance that "a deep and satisfying prayer life is not only possible, but within the reach of anyone who will accept what God is forever offering."