By William C. Marceau, CSB

Foreword: In the history and development of Christian spirituality, St. Francis de Sales stands among the distinguished. His reflection upon the Christian mystery coupled with the knowledge culled from his ministry resulted in both a holy life and an instruction of value for many—an instruction that transcends the age in which he lived and worked. The transcendence did not cause him to be irrelevant, for, indeed, he spoke meaningfully to the people whom he directed. He was a man of his time, versed in, but not overwhelmed by the currents of thought and the turmoil of change of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

He possessed the gift of being able to distil the intellectual streams that swirled about him and develop a practical synthesis of Christian living. William C. Marceau. C.S.B., in this work delves into his relationship with the neoStoicism of the period. The result is an excellent presentation of some of the most essential elements of Salesian spirituality.

In a world confused and confounded by materialism, Francis de Sales remains a source of conversion to life according to the revelation of God. Moreover, he presents the Christian with the invaluable example of converting and purifying trends found in society for the benefit and growth of the people of God