By:

St. Francis de Sales

SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS (2014)

From the thousands of personal letters by St. Francis de Sales comes this short, practical guide that will develop in you the soul-nourishing habits that lead to sanctity. Regarded as one of the greatest spiritual advisers in the history of the Church, Roses Among Thorns draws from his letters the wisest advice for those prepared to take the next step on their spiritual journey.

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When Dr. Christopher Blum first read "Introduction to the Devout Life," he knew that he would be personally indebted to St. Francis de Sales. Inspired to read various other letters written by the saint, Blum decided to compile a book of meditations that would give readers advice for renewing their spiritual journey. "Rose Among Thorns" is the first English publication in this form of St. Francis de Sales' letters. The book, according to Blum, will help any reader who is "trying to be the rose among the thorns."

"This book seeks to encourage Christians, particularly suited for people in the middle decades of their life, who are really in the thorns of life and struggling with the fact that they have been trying to live a good, Christian life for 30 years and don't feel like they are saints yet. This book is speaking to that person. And since I myself am that person, I found it very helpful," he told CNA.

A philosophy and Catholic culture professor at the Denver, Colo.-based Augustine Institute, Blum read thousands of St. Francis' letters. He translated the letters from French and edited them for the meditations in the book.

"It was not as daunting procedure as you might think," he commented, explaining that he filtered through and picked "only the passages that seemed most likely to be appreciated today." Blum wanted the letters of St. Francis de Sales to be read as if the saint was personally speaking to the reader. "What I did in translating was to remove all the particularities from the letters, anything that would identify it as dealing with this or that person or private concerns, so now they really read like meditations," he said.

The title "Rose Among Thorns" was a prominent illustration St. Francis himself used. "I think it is a nice image of spirituality, which he is famous for having pioneered," Blum reflected, "that a life in the world for a Christian is life among thorns."

The primary spiritual focus of the book is centered on meekness, which Blum explained is "a characteristic that is maybe a little hard for us to understand. We think that to be meek is to be personally unimpressive, or the wallflower at the dance." However, St. Francis describes meekness as a fundamental example of charity. "St. Francis' advice to cultivate meekness is really a concrete way of making us better prepared to express the joy of the Gospel that Pope Francis is calling us to," Blum emphasized.

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If you find it difficult to live amid the clamor of the world with your eyes fixed on Christ alone, let St. Francis de Sales teach you how to live as a true rose among thorns as you learn . . .

• What to do when you stop finding consolation during prayer

• How to place yourself in the presence of God

• How busy people should pray

• Do you fear vice more than you love virtue? A guide to discernment

• How to be patient with your family

• The dangers of too many devotions

• How to know when your feelings are from God or the devil

• What to do about repeated spiritual dryness

• The three things you must do to be at peace

• How to avoid thoughts that give us anxious and restless minds

Absorb the wisdom in these holy pages, and you’ll soon make true progress on your spiritual journey and navigate with confidence the treacherous waters of our secular world.