The Counter Reformation: St. Francis de Sales

This book tells the story of Francis de Sales' life. He lived from Augustus 21, 1567 until December 28, 1622 - a tarnished period of religious wars, excessive luxury and poverty-stricken farmers. That environment was part and parcel of Francis' life. He was a modest man who radiated kindness. The secret of his life was his friendship, an inexhaustible love that started in God and flowed towards everybody. His numerous letters are witnesses thereof. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church and he became the patron saint of journalists and writers. People still feel attracted to his charming friendliness and several religious communities live in his spirit up to this day.

Most Christians know and love St. Francis de Sales's classic guide to holiness, the Introduction to the Devout life. Few, however, have heard the lively details of his courageous life as priest and bishop in a land where priests dared not preach and Catholics trembled for their lives! It's an exciting tale told with drama and flair by master biographer Michael de la Bedoyere. Here you'll find heart-stopping scenes such as the time that Francis, dressed in full bishop's regalia, openly rode his horse down the main street of a town filled with anti-Catholics who would have loved to see him dead. You'll learn how, in such a threatening environment, Francis was able to win even his enemies to Christ. And you'll see how Francis, in times far worse even than ours, formed the souls of thousands, including many whom the Church now considers saints. Not only will his adventures thrill you; his example and teachings will lead you to Heaven. -Jacket

"St. Francis de Sales: The Man, The Thinker, His Influence is the fruit of an immense labour of research and reflection. Using unpublished manuscripts the author has drawn the synthesis of a wealth of materials which he collected for more than 30 years. He reveals to us, the holiness of St. Francis de Sales, his optimism, his kindness,his powerful gentleness, his serene intelligence, his radiant personality and how these characteristics stemmed from his faith and love of God. The holiness of the Saint was outward-going and all-conquering. Fr. Lajeunie presents in this monumental work, the best existing scientific study in English, a fresh picture of the saint with valuable sources and information. It contains cross-currents and synthesis of Ignatian, Franciscan, French and Spanish spirituality. -Jacket.

"St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), bishop of Geneva and founder of the Visitation Order of nuns, was renowned for his teachings on spirituality. His masterpiece in the field of spiritual literature was The Introduction to the Devout Life. Revolutionary in its day and noted for its charm, warmth, and clarity of language, it set forth a spirituality oriented toward life in the world, an approach quite different from that of St. Francis de Sales's contemporaries, who saw spiritual perfection as possible only in the religious life." "While the message of The Introduction to the Devout Life is still valid today, the fact is that its expression is quite dated. In this book, as in Bringing "The Imitation of Christ" into the Twenty-First Century, Father Meninger is not offering a news translation or paraphase of a spiritual classic. Rather, he is attempting to express the teachings of the original in a wholly contemporary idiom. Father Meninger has not hesitated to change, omit, or add to the original where necessary, the better to highlight the heart and charisma of St. Francis de Sales's teachings." -- Book jacket.

St. Francis de Sales, renowned author of "An Introduction to the Devout Life", was also a dearly beloved pastor, famous for his gentle, sensible advice on matters spiritual and practical. Like a seventeenth-century "Dear Abby", this holy priest wrote more than twenty thousand thoughtful, fascinating, personal letters to people who approached him for guidance. These letters to persons in all walks of life show that the spiritual difficulties people had three hundred years ago are largely the same that you and I have today: impatience, anger, discouragement, difficulties in prayer, family strife, sickness, and fear of death. In his touching letters to people suffering these and other common troubles, St. Francis shows how God wants each of us to deal with such problems and how we can gain the strength and courage to do so. Indeed, he shows how we can even learn to see God's will in them and to do His will joyfully. -Jacket.

"The Catholic Controversy" is a collection of pamphlets written by St. Francis de Sales as a young priest (from 27 to 29 years of age) struggling to reach people who would not listen to him. He had volunteered to re-evengelize the Chablais, a region in France south of Geneva consisting of some 72,000 souls, almost all of whom were now Calvinists, their ancestors having succumbed to protestantism 60 years before. It was a hopeless-looking mission of reaching people who would not listen to Catholic preaching for fear of reprisals. St. Francis' first few months saw mostly failure, as he spent a very cold winter tramping over the countryside, receiving a frigid welcome and sometimes sleeping in haylofts at night. So he resorted to writing pamphlets - which he posted on walls and slipped under doors. By this method he was able to reach the souls he was after, such that at the end of four years almost the entire population of 72,000 had returned to the ancient Catholic Faith. The reconversion of the Chablais is truly one of the most remarkable conversion stories in Catholic history. -Jacket.

There are as many paths to holiness as there are saints in Heaven... but you can't follow them all. Yet there's one thing every saint practices that you can imitate: the art of loving God, which the beloved St. Francis de Sales teaches you here. Under his wise and gentle guidance, you'll discover the secrets to growing holier through the simple things in life - work, play, and rest. You'll learn to avoid the distractions (even the religious distractions) that trouble and weary your soul... and you'll soon be able to focus your energy simply on loving God. Listen to the holy words of this beloved saint; take them to heart and make them a part of your daily life. Soon you'll be well on your way, following that path to Heaven that God, from all eternity has given you as your very own. -Jacket

The present book attempts an introduction to the spirituality of "St. Francis de Sales: Its sources and Influences." It contains papers presented during the seminar on "Studies in Salesian Spirituality" in 1985 in Bangalore. However a few articles relevant to the Studies, originally published by the Institute of Salesian Studies, Md., USA, have been added. The book as a whole deals with various currents of thoughts and spiritualities that influenced Francis de Sales to mould a philosophy of life and a synthesis of spiritualities which is typically Salesian. Efforts have been made to formulate a salesian spirituality in the Indian context. Here, the valuable contributions of all who cooperated with us bringing out this book is gracefully acknowledge. -Foreword

If your life seems to make no sense, or if you don't know which path to take, these pages will console and inform you. In them, St. Francis de Sales explains God's will and how He reveals it - yes, even to you - and even in seemingly random events. No matter what you're going through now (or may have gone through), you'll see why you should love and trust in God's will and long for its fulfillment. Best of all, you'll learn a sure method for discovering God's will in any situation - today! -Jacket.