St. Francis de Sales

The Feast of St. Francis de Sales was celebrated today, according to the traditional Calendar. It was celebrated last week, on the 24th, in the New Calendar.

A Thought from St. Francis de Sales:
Don't lose any opportunity, however small, of being gentle toward everyone. Don't rely on your own efforts to succeed in your various undertakings, but only on God's help. Then rest in His care of you, confident that He will do what is best for you, provided that you will, for your part, work diligently but gently. I say "gently" because a tense diligence is harmful both to our heart and to our task and is not really diligence, but rather over eagerness and anxiety... I recommend you to God's mercy. I beg Him, through that same mercy, to fill you with His love.


St. Frances has been named a doctor of the Church for the wisdom of his teaching. For anyone desiring to draw closer to God, Tan Books sells a helpful book he wrote: An Introduction to the Devout Life. No matter what job you hold, no matter what kind of life you have led in the past, you can follow Christ more faithfully, starting now.

The book describes how to avoid particular sins and how to strengthen particular virtues, with meditations to stir in the soul a love of its Creator. The book's chapters are short and self-contained, allowing you to jump in anywhere from the table of contents, to find advice on particular issues in your life. The brevity, clarity and sincerity of the chapters also make them suitable for evening devotional reading. It is a book that leads the reader directly to prayer and repentance.