But “devotion” leads us to obey God’s commandments “earnestly, frequently, and readily”. divine love) leads us to obey God’s commandments. Francis recognized that the souls entrusted to his care needed some guidance along the path to perfection just as much as priests and religious, for whom most spiritual works up to that time had been written.īy the terms “true devotion”, and “the devout life” the author means love of God in its highest, most perfect form. As a parish priest, and later as a bishop, St.

Its author was convinced of the truth that all people in all states of life are called to perfection and holiness. Unlike the “Imitation”, written by a monk for fellow monks, the “Introduction to the Devout Life” was written specifically for the average Christian living and working in the world. An afternoon of skimming or “skipping around” through it can prove very profitable for the curious reader interested in deepening his relationship with God. Francis De Sales (1567- 1622) is another of those great spiritual classics which need not be read in its entirety.

This week’s selection, “An Introduction to the Devout Life” (sometimes called “Philothea”), by St. Last week we recommended Thomas a Kempis’ classic on the spiritual life “The Imitation of Christ” as a possible choice of “just the right book” for summertime park- bench or seaside leisure/spiritual reading.

Intro to the devout life