Books of St. Francis de Sales

A classic work that has the potential of benefiting any true believer in God. Written with a humble heart, Francis De Sales outlines the practical points of living/pursuing the devoted life in a way that is able to be followed by the common man. Holy Scripture is interwoven throughout this piece, providing a sure foundation for us all to stand upon.Catholic and Protestant believers alike should find great insight into the the deeper things of walking with Christ, while partaking in this book. It is my prayer that you will draw closer to Jesus and find the hope of truly living the devoted life! Be blessed. 

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 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
* Plus: What scores of saints have said about it, including St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Basil, St. Clement, St. Cyril, St. Cyprian, St. Dionysius, St. Efraim, St. Eugenius, St. Gregory of Tours, St. Hilarion, Saint Hippolytus, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. James, St. Jerome, St. John Chrysostom, St. Lawrence, and many others.

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!”

"Whether you sleep or wake, travel or work, eat or drink, sail on the sea or cross a river, cover yourself with this breastplate, clothe yourself with the saving Sign of the Cross, and evils will not meet you."

Saint Ephraim (d. 373)

In Consoling Thoughts on Eternity, St. Francis de Sales, the beloved Doctor of the Church, speaks to us of the Christian manner in which we should mourn those whom we have lost. Taken mostly from the letters of the saint, this masterful work gives us the consolation he offered to parents on the deaths of their sons, to a lady on the death of her father, a wife on the death of her husband, and others mourning their loved ones. Throughout he gives reason to hope, and explains how much the thought of Heaven should console us, and how agreeable it will be to parents and friends to meet again and converse together in Heaven. Readers of Consoling Thoughts on Eternity 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. 

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. 

In Consoling Thoughts on Trials of an Interior Life St. Francis de Sales, beloved Doctor of the Church, gives us treasured insight from the master of spiritual direction. How can the soul persevere in piety in the midst of affliction? How should we conduct ourselves when suffering interior trials? How can we profit from our own faults? St. Francis de Sales explains all this and more. In this masterful collection, St. Francis speaks to every soul on the riches to be gained from suffering trials and temptations, the advantages we can draw from our own defects, and how to choose and carry the best crosses. Also included are uplifting passages on suffering sadness, or what we would now call depression. Readers of Consoling Thoughts on Trials of an Interior Life 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. 

The saintly bishop, founder, and Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, is known throughout the Catholic world for his great gentleness, learning, and understanding of the human soul. During his lifetime, he converted and guided innumerable souls and reconverted thousands from Calvinism back to the Catholic Faith. His great gifts are likewise evident in his sermons, as he guides his listeners in the ways of prayer. Here St. Francis de Sales shows how prayer is the key to all holiness. He explains very simply the four kinds of mental prayer; meditation, contemplation, ejaculations and simple attention to the presence of God, and gives examples to help the soul progress in these forms of prayer. He also encourages vocal prayer, starting with the daily recitation of the Our Father, Creed and the Divine Office. With the declaration in 1877 the he is a Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales has been presented to all the faithful by Holy Mother Church as a trustworthy teacher of Catholic doctrine and the ways of the spiritual life—and therefore as a certain guide on the pathway to Heaven. 

St. Francis de Sales, famous Doctor of the Church, is one of the greatest masters of the spiritual life—a wise, learned and gently teacher for all. In these 12 sermons, preached to the Visitation nuns in Lent of 1622, St. Francis covers most of the central teachings of the Christian life. Familiar with the foolishness and weakness of the human heart, St. Francis points out to his hearers the manifold ways of getting sidetracked from the practice of solid virtue, as well as the folly of insisting on serving God in our own way. He exhorts those in all states and vocations to have great hope and confidence in God, along with a salutary fear of eternal damnation. In these sermons the Christian attitude toward life comes into clear focus on every page. All who follow the wise and holy counsels of St. Francis de Sales as presented here will indeed be on the truth path of holiness and salvation, measuring all things in terms of eternity and advancing steadily toward Heaven, our only real home.