The Art of Loving God

Francis De Sales

май 2004 г. · Sophia Institute Press

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There are as many paths to holiness as there are saints in Heaven . . . but you can't follow them all. Yet there's one thing every saint practices that you can imitate: the simple art of loving God, which the beloved St. Francis de Sales explains for you here.

Under his wise and gentle guidance, you'll discover the secrets to growing holier through the simple things in life — work, play, and rest. You'll learn to avoid the distractions (even religious distractions) that trouble and weary your soul . . . and you'll soon be able to focus your energy simply on loving God.

Listen to the holy words of this saint; take them to heart; make them a part of your life. Soon you'll be well on your way, following that path to Heaven that God, from all eternity, has given you as your very own.

St. Francis de Sales himself will teach you the secrets of developing:

• Patience
• Trust
• Modesty
• Courage
• Simplicity
• Humility
• Obedience
• Generosity
• Perseverance
• Selflessness
• Gentleness
• Love of God
• and other key virtues

A note for the skeptical and discouraged:

Have you tried to grow closer to God using one technique after another, yet still find you haven't made much progress? That's a common problem in today's world, where devotion has become so complicated that the simple art of loving God has been lost.

Don't despair. Generations of Christians have made finding God harder than it need be, which is why, every few hundred years, God sends us a saint like St. Francis de Sales to remind us that anyone can love God and that it's not really so hard to do. Listen to St. Francis, and, no matter how many times you've failed in the past, you'll soon be a master of the art of loving God.

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St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622), bishop, Doctor of the Church, and patron of writers, was ordained a priest in 1593. He reconverted the inhabitants of Chablais from Calvinism. He was elected bishop of Geneva in 1602. With Jane Frances Frémyot, Baroness de Chantal, St. Francis founded the Visitation of Holy Mary in Annecy in Savoy. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Lyons, France, on December 28, 1622. St. Francis de Sales was canonized in 1665.