Introduction to the Devout Life

This book is a new translation of St. Francis de Sales' 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 St. Francis wrote in response to a relative’s many questions about how to live a fully devoted 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, St. Francis explains that he arranged the material not for those who lived in monasteries and religious orders, but for those who lived and worked 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, well organized, 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 St. Francis passionately says and prays: “LIVE JESUS! Yes, Lord Jesus, live and reign in our hearts forever and ever. Amen!”