Today we remember St. Francis de Sales on the Church calendar. The patron saint of the seminary in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was known for his spirituality, compassion, and love for the Church. If you have never read his wonderful spiritual guide, Introduction to the Devout Life, then you don’t know what you are missing.
Francis de Sales understood – well before his time – that holiness is a calling for all people, not just those in Church work. Whether you are a day laborer, stay at home mother, or president of the United States, the universal call to be holy is the duty of every baptized Christian. Francis’ letters of Spiritual Direction to his friend and directee, St. Jane Francis de Chantal, are some of the most beloved correspondence the Church has ever seen. In addition to reading the Devout Life, purchase a copy of this as well!
As an older priest from Saint Francis de Sales Seminary once wisely told the seminarians: “a de Salesman is a salesman for de Sales!”
