Francisco De Sales

This book is a collection of pamphlets written by St. Francis de Sales as a young priest (27 to 29) struggling to reach people who would not listen to him: the 72,000 Calvinists of the French Chablais region, who had lost the Faith 60 years previous. The task looked hopeless yet in four years 72,000 had returned to the Catholic Faith. Here are some of the most cogent arguments against Protestantism ever penned, presenting a defense of the Faith that has never been equaled.

St. Francis de Sales' Defense of the Faith

The Catholic Controversy

Christopher Blum

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. 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!"

The Fifteen Most Powerful Words in the English Language

The Sign of the Cross

Saint 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.

The Complete Introduction to the Devout Life

De Sales Francis, Saint

For four hundred years this book has taught and inspired Christians. It provides step-by-step instructions in the form of a long letter addressed to Philothea, or one who loves God. The book teaches that anyone can live a life devoted to God, even while remaining in ordinary life. Contents include how to cultivate the desire for a devout life; the means of raising the soul to God by prayer and the sacraments; the practice of virtues; advice against temptations; and renewing the soul and confirming it in its devotion. Francois de Sales (1567-1622) was bishop of Geneva and an energetic evangelist in the Savoy region of his native France. The wisdom of St. Francis' advice is confirmed by the fact that the book's spiritual value has been proved in four centuries of Christian lives.

Francisco De Sales

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