Index of posts on Introduction to the Devout Life. Society and Solitude – As a general rule, we should always preserve a quiet cheerfulness of manner. “The general rules concerning the passions and emotions of our souls is that we should know them by their fruits; our hearts as trees, our affections and passions are the branches, and their actions and deeds the fruit” (281). Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. In stock. Reader Width. The Nature and Excellence of… Next » CHAPTER II. Fast Download Speed ~ Commercial & Ad Free. Price › $14.25; Share this book: Product Description; Product Details; This masterpiece of Christian literature by a 16th-century priest explains how to live a holy life in the secular world. It goes to the heart of becoming good. His fifth and final edition was published in 1619. How to resist temptations – Immediately fly to God and seek His mercy and His help. We can glorify God in a secular world, and be a testimony to the world of God's abounding grace … St. Francis de Sales explains how to turn that desire for sanctity into resolutions that yield grace-filled results. Preparation. Patience – Patience in all trials is the key to possessing our souls. Pick one virtue to cultivate or vice to crush. St. Francis de Sales explains how to turn that desire for sanctity into resolutions that yield grace-filled results. I shall say nothing of these three virtues, when they are solemnly vowed, because this subject concerns religious orders only; nor even when they are simply vowed; for though a vow may add many graces and merits to virtues, yet, to make us perfect, it is not necessary that vows should be made, provided they be observed. 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. which leads ultimately to God and to Heaven. No one will come away without being profoundly impressed and being motivated to enter upon the devout life . The audience to which St. Francis addresses this book is very wide, not only to the Catholics around the world but also to all humanity because it answers some of the fundamental questions of human existence. All our actions must be offered to God. Chastity – has its origin in the heart and its substance in the body. The Nature and Excellence of Devotion: 3. “The devout life is faithfully represented by Jacob’s ladder, True devotion is suitable to all vocations and professions, The necessity of a spiritual guide for progress in the devout life, Part 2: Counsels Concerning the Soul’s Approach to God in Prayer and the Sacraments, Aspirations, Ejaculatory Prayers, and Holy Thoughts, Pick one virtue to cultivate or vice to crush, Part Fourth: Some Needful Remedies Against Ordinary Temptations, Part Fifth: Counsels and Exercises for the Renewing of the Soul, and Her Confirmation in Devotion, click here for the PDF of the 10 meditations, 9 Practical Tips from Dubay’s Fire Within, 7 things I learnt from Catechesi Tradendae by JP2, The Magician's Twin: C.S. If this doesn’t work, do not be disheartened, present yourself before God humbly, knowing that He delights in seeing you. Francis added new material to this edition. . (4) Holy submission to God – Abandon yourself entirely to God’s Providence, “willing that He should do what He will with you amidst your thorns and your desires” (286). ( Log Out /  Poverty – The poor in spirit have not riches in their hearts nor their hearts in riches. For instance, if I have resolved to win those who annoy me by gentleness, I will seek the opportunity of addressing them kindly, but if the occasion does not present itself, I will speak well of them, and pray for them” (75). “Remember then frequently to retire into the solitude of your heart, even whilst you are externally occupied in business or society” (84). Meditation is an act of understanding consisting of one or more reflections made with the view of exciting our affections towards God and the things of Heaven (70). Introduction to the Devout Life Paperback – March 26, 2009 by St. Francis de Sales (Author), Allan Ross (Editor, Translator) 4.7 out of 5 stars 25 ratings * 1 star 2 stars 3 stars 4 stars 5 stars *Rating *Nickname *Summary of Your Review *Review. Special thanks to Al Reichelt and Judi Kenney of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Vienna, Virginia, who developed the first in the series dealing with Wendy Wright's book on the Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God. Tip: Devote 1 hour daily to mental prayer – if you can, let it be early in the morning. Privacy, Devotion is Suitable to Every Vocation and Profession, The Need of a Guide for Those Who Would Enter Upon and Advance in the Devout Life, The First Step Must be Purifying the Soul, The First Purification, Namely, From Mortal Sin, The Second Purification, From All Sinful Affections, Second Meditation - On the End for Which We Were Created, Ninth Meditation - On the Choice Open to You Between Heaven and Hell, Tenth Meditation - On How the Soul Chooses the Devout Life, A Hearty Protest Made with the Object of Confirming the Soul's Resolution to Serve God, as a Conclusion to its Acts of Penitence, The Necessity of Purging Away All Tendency to Venial Sins, It is Needful to Put Away All Inclination for Useless and Dangerous Things, All Evil Inclinations Must be Purged Away, A Short Method of Meditation, and first, the Presence of God, the First Point of Preparation, Invocation, the Second Point of Preparation, The Third Point of Preparation, Representing the Mystery to be Meditated to Your Imagination, Considerations, the Second Part of Meditation, The Third Part of Meditation, Affections and Resolutions, Evening Prayer and Examination of Conscience, Aspirations, Ejaculatory Prayer, and Holy Thoughts, How to Select That Which We Should Chiefly Practise, Humility Makes Us Rejoice in Our Own Abjection, How to Combine Due Care for a Good Reputation with Humility, Gentleness Towards Others and Remedies Against Anger, We Must Attend to the Business of Life Carefully, but Without Eagerness or Over-Anxiety, How to Exercise Real Poverty, Although Actually Rich, How to Possess a Rich Spirit Amid Real Poverty, Friendship: Evil and Frivolous Friendship, The Difference Between True and False Friendship, Conversation; and, First, How to Speak of God, Unseemly Words, and the Respect Due to Others, Amusements and Recreations: What are Allowable, Balls, and Other Lawful but Dangerous Amusements, We Must be Faithful in Things Great and Small, We Must Not Trifle with the Words of Worldly Wisdom, Temptations, and the Difference Between Experiencing Them and Consenting to Them, How to Strengthen the Heart Against Temptation, Spiritual and Sensible Consolations, and How to Receive Them, It is Well Yearly to Renew Good Resolutions by Means of the Following Exercises, Meditation on the Benefit Conferred on us by God in Calling us to His Service, Examination of the Soul as to its Progress in the Devout Life, Examination of the Soul's Condition as Regards God, Examination of your Condition as Regards Yourself, Examination of the Soul's Condition as Regards our Neighbour, Examination as to the Affections of the Soul, The Affections to be Excited After Such Examination, Reflections Suitable to the Renewal of Good Resolutions, First Consideration - On the Worth of Souls, Second Consideration - On the Excellence of Virtue, General Affections Which Should Result From These Considerations, and Conclusion of the Exercise, The Impressions which should remain after this Exercise, An Answer to Two Objections Which may be Made to This Book. Dryness – If you experience dryness, recourse to vocal prayer, or read a book until you feel reassured to enter back into prayer or stir up your heart with actions or gestures. Actions – We must be faithful in things great and small. Its aim is to help you be rid of sin and even the inclinations to sin. It is an audiobook to make your guide for the rest of your life. * The story of St. Catherine of Siena being assaulted with temptations and Jesus revealed that He was within her heart filling it with displeasure and resistance to refuse all consent to the sin. How to prepare for temptations – Once you are aware of your predominate temptations, let your way of life be altogether opposed to them in thought, word, and deed. Humility perfects us towards God. ADDED, FEBRUARY 2013: I created a new post on Introduction to the Devout Life with a more streamlined and easy-to-follow summary of my recommended reading order. ( Log Out /  Written over 400 years ago, the Introduction to the Devout Life is still one of the most popular books for those pursuing holiness. Confession – “Confess yourself humbly and devoutly once every week, and always, if possible, before you communicate, even though your conscience should not reproach you with the guilt of mortal sin: for by confession you not only receive absolution from the venial sins you confess, but likewise strength to avoid them, light to discern them well, and grace to repair all the damage you may have sustained by them. Always follow holy desires – if your affections are greatly kindled towards God after your preparation, yield to them without heeding any formal method. And no better guide to Heaven exists than An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Doctor of the Church. Mass – The most holy, sacred and royal sacrifice is the Sun of all spiritual exercises, the center of the Christian religion, the heart of devotion, the soul of piety; an ineffable mystery which embraces the untold depths of divine charity, and in which God, giving Himself to us, bestows upon us freely all His favours and graces (92). Without it repose is but idleness, labour but trouble; therefore, I beseech you, cleave steadily to it, and never forsake it” (91). Bible Version. The perfection of this humility consists in taking pleasure and delight in order to exalt God’s Majesty and to esteem our neighbors better than ourselves. We must develop a spirit of resistance, strengthened by continual prayer, participation in the Sacraments, and trust in God. Introduction to a Devout Life. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God. Be ready for martyrdom but in the meantime meekly endure all little evils, trifling inconveniences, and unimportant losses, which happen daily; for by using these little opportunities with a good and loving purpose you will overcome your heart and have it entirely under control (222). The book charmed me almost immediately with its familiar, modern voice (at least in Father Michael Day's translation). INTRODUCTION TO A DEVOUT LIFE (cont) by St Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church: PART III. ADDED, FEBRUARY 2019: Self-care with St. Francis de Sales. True devotion is the love of God in the highest form. When I saw in the Life of St. Catherine of Sienna her many raptures and elevations of spirit, her many words of wisdom, nay, even sermons uttered by her, I doubted not but that, with the eye of contemplation, she had ravished the heart of her Heavenly Spouse. Price › $12.95; eBook; Sale Price › $8.76; Book + eBook; Reg. Introduction to the Devout Life Theme. Aa Aa. St. Francis De Sales advice will be a guide for the rest of your life. 1. Use utmost care and diligence in resisting these. Renew the protestation given in Part I after the meditations on the 1st day of each month and when you feel any slackening in your soul. This was the central insight of Saint Francis de Sales, a 16th-century priest whose Introduction to the Devout Life has not gone out of print in almost four centuries. How to make a General Confession: 20. Review: . It provides a series of practical meditations that can enrich the reader's prayer life. Add to Basket. Remember that “one day of devotion is worth more than a thousand years of worldly gratification” (252). (3) Go to your confessor. Devout life does not require withdrawal from the world. “Great fires flame all the more when the wind blows, but a little fire will be altogether extinguished unless it be sheltered” (221). “So humility enfolds and conceals all our virtues and human perfections, producing them only at the call of charity, which is not an earthly but a heavenly virtue, not a moral but a divine perfection, and the very sun of all the other virtues, over which she should always preside; and therefore such humility as is opposed to charity is undoubtedly spurious” (134). “If charity be milk, devotion is the cream; if charity be a plant, devotion is its flowers; if charity be a precious stone, devotion is its lustre; if charity be a rich balm, devotion is its odour: yea, the odour of sweetness, which comforts men and rejoices angels” (8). Let us endeavour then, Philothea, to practise well these virtues, each one according to his vocation; for though they do not place us in the state of perfection, yet they will make us perfect: and, indeed, everyone is obliged to practise them, though not all after the same manner (154). Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. (Marie de Charmoisy, or Louise de Charmoisy? It is an audiobook to make your guide for the rest of your life. Consider what He is doing, and what you are doing. And no better guide to Heaven exists than An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Doctor of the Church. Francis de Sales's Introduction to the Devout Life has remained a uniquely accessible and relevant treasure of devotion for nearly four hundred years. “If you earnestly desire to be delivered from some evil, or to attain some good, above all things calm and tranquilize your mind and compose your judgement and will; then quietly and gently pursue your aim, adopting suitable means with some method” (272). Introduction to the Devout Life By St. Francis de Sales. Let us be firm in our plans and unchanging in our resolutions. 1. Even if you resisted, have you taken pleasure in the temptation? Humility consists in really knowing and freely acknowledging our abasement. This should be fitting in regards to the state of life to which God has called you. You're reviewing: Introduction to a Devout Life How do you rate this product? “Try to meet the occupations which come upon you quietly, and perform them with regularity, one after the other; for if you endeavor to do them all at once, or in confusion, your spirit will be so overcharged and depressed that it will probably sink under the burden without accomplishing anything” (152). Because, answered the huntsman, if it were always bent I fear it would lose its spring and become useless. Realize to whom you made this pledge and in front of whom. As Bishop of Geneva in the first quarter of the seventeenth century, Francis de Sales saw to the spiritual needs of everyone from the poorest peasants to court ladies. Review: . “The devout life is faithfully represented by Jacob’s ladder. ( Log Out /  To be purified from all affections of sin, we must have a “clear and hearty consciousness of the exceeding evil of sin, by which means we attain deep and earnest contrition” (20). Lewis and the Case against Scientism, Summary of Sacramentum Caritatis by Pope Benedict XVI, Summary of Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. 2. Resolutions – “You must not rest satisfied with general desires and aspirations, but rather turn them into special resolutions for your individual correction and amendment… to proceed to some practical resolutions… [because] mere desires will have but few and tardy results” (71-2). (223). (1) Begin all prayer, whether mental or vocal, by placing yourself in the presence of God. Written to help lay people to live in the world without being influenced by its spirit, Introduction to the Devout Life is a timeless classic on spiritual growth. External Mortification – We must begin mortification from within. We are not always able to banish the temptation but we can take no pleasure in the sin and refuse consent. Summary 'What was revolutionary, in Francis, was his belief that one could remain in the world and yet be holy.' His writings on the perfections of the heart of Mary as the model of love for God influenced Jean Eudes to develop the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. “Never was anything done well that was done with haste and hurry” (152). Picture Jesus looking down from heaven on you. Gather your spirit into the “oratory of your heart” and lay open your soul and speak face to face with God (84). St. John said to him: Why do you not carry your bow always bent? Prayer, united to this Divine Sacrifice, has unutterable power (92). Introduction to the Devout Life is a classic guide for lay people seeking to live a devout Christian life. Have you voluntarily brought on the sin yourself? GET THE LATEST UPDATES. The many aspects that are shown to help one understand what it really means to live a devout life, not a religious life were very good. 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. “But my object is to teach those who are living in towns, at court, in their own households, and whose calling obliges them to a social life, so far as externals are concerned." Cross, Introduction to the Devout Life , Sermons, Spiritual Conferences, and Letters. If your virtue is deeply rooted you can enter into unimportant activities out of charity’s sake but be careful if you are only starting out on this path. ... *Summary of Your Review *Review. Show footnotes. Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis of Sales attempts to help Christians discern what it means to be a child of God in a secular world. Spiritual Retreat During the Day –  “As often as you can through your day, recall your mind to the presence of God by some one of the 4 methods. Tags: « Prev: CHAPTER II. Share. Anxiety – anxiety is the soul’s greatest enemy, sin only excepted. Good Introduction I got this ARC via audiobook boom. If you possess them preserve your heart from loving them. “In all our actions and prayers we should seek, dwell upon, and meditate on our Saviour” (62). Let your speech be gentle, frank, sincere, clear, simple, and truthful. Additional authorized editions were printed in 1609, 1610, 1612, 1613, 1618, etc. “There is always greater benefit and comfort to be derived from the public service of the Church than from private devotions” (95). If you will not be as sincere and plain as a little child, you shall not then have the sweet reward of childlike simplicity. “Should you relish the fruits, or any of them, stop without going further, like the bees, who never quit the flower as long as they can suck any honey from it; but if, upon trial, you do not succeed according to your wishes, proceed to another consideration with a calm and tranquil mind, without hurrying yourself or fatiguing your soul” (70). Introduction to the Devout Life. Font. Text Size. Grouped product items; Paperback. If you have glutted yourself with worldly pleasures, it is no wonder that you should find an unsavoury taste in spiritual delights (285). Don’t waste your time dwelling on any trifling temptation. True devotion is the love of God in the highest form. A different exercise of devotion is required of each--the noble, the artisan, the servant, the prince, the maiden and the wife; … It goes to the heart of becoming good. But I was no less comforted when I found her in her father’s kitchen, humbly turning the spit, blowing the fire, dressing the meat, kneading the bread, and doing the meanest offices of the house with a courage full of love and affection for her God; for I esteem no less the little and humble meditation she made amongst these mean and abject employments, than the ecstasies and raptures she so often had, which, perhaps, were given her only in recompense of her humility and abjection. £9.99. Get any books you like and read everywhere you want. Conclusion of this First Purification: 22. Publication date 2010-01-07 Topics Audiobook - Nonfiction, Religion, spirituality. Avoid immodest persons. For example, in February 1609, he wrote Madame de Chantal to ask her to return to him “all the letters and memoirs I have ever sent you, if you still That desire for sanctity into resolutions that yield grace-filled results Sale price › $ 8.76 ; +... 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