Discover the secrets to growing holier through the simple things in life work, play, and rest. Learn to avoid the distractions that trouble and weary your soul, and you'll soon be able to focus your energy simply on loving God

As no sensible person would make a long road trip without first consulting a map, so the person intent upon gaining Heaven should first resort to a competent guide to reach that Goal of all goals. And no better guide to Heaven exists than An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Doctor of the Church. It is at once easy to read, being laid out in short chapters, yet thorough, authoritative, reliable, kind and gentle a mirror of its author. It is a book, moreover, for all, because all are called to the devout life. True devotion to God, the author points out,...

During his life, Francis de Sales had a gift for giving spiritual direction to lay people living ordinary lives in the world. He firmly believed that everyone could grow in holiness, even while engaged in very active occupations, and his books and volumes of letters addressing this need remain beloved works to this day. What is the secret of their longstanding value? It is the intimacy and at the same time practicality of the saints direction -- for he speaks to us person to person. We recognize ourselves in what is said because he speaks of those things that each of us has...