“Most of us wouldn't come away from a walk in a beautiful garden without having picked a few flowers. Likewise, before leaving our morning prayer, we should pick one or two inspiring thoughts and remind ourselves of them during the day, breathing in their fragrance.” These words of our holy patron St Francis de Sales prompted me to collect the most popular teachings of St Francis de Sales. Just one thought is enough for us to make our spiritual journey with Francis de Sales.
The year 2016 marks the 400th year of the publication of the much-acclaimed spiritual classic Treatise on the Love of God of St Francis de Sales and the year 2017 marks the 450th anniversary of his birth. On these auspicious occasions it is most fitting to remind ourselves of the great contributions of this gentleman saint who is known as the doctor of divine love as well as a prophet of love for all times. Although there are various collections of this sort published by my confreres Fr. Noel Rebello, Fr Suresh Babu and so on, the present volume is intended to give just one thought from the teachings of St Francis de Sales for each day. It is a modest collection of the teachings of Francis de Sales, culled from various sources such as Introduction to the Devout Life, Treatise on the Love of God, Spiritual Conferences, Letters, Sermons and other sources from the collected works of St Francis de Sales. It is my earnest hope and prayer that the readers would be inspired, enlightened, and enthused by the ever fresh and up-to-date counsels of St Francis de Sales.
I take this opportunity to place on record my deep sense of appreciation and gratitude to Rev. Fr Joseph Pulloppillil, msfs and Bro. Tony Thomas, msfs who had very meticulously gone through the text and made the necessary modifications. I thank also Rev. Frs Philip Valakodiyil, msfs, Tom Kanat, msfs and the SFS Publications for their technical assistance and cooperation to publish this book. My sincere thanks are due to Bro. Joshy N. George for the beautiful cover design and all the members of Tejas Community for their love, support and encouragement to make this venture a reality.
Fr K. Henry Jose, msfs
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