St. Francis De Sales: A Biography of the Gentle Saint

Although I'm an orthodox (meaning I believe all the teachings of the Catholic Church--not a "cafeteria Catholic") Catholic, I tend to look with disdain on saints who came from wealthy families & had every advantage possible. Saints who speak in sugary-sweet language also tend to turn my stomach. That's the impression I had of St. Francis de Sales. Boy, was I wrong! This was a man who "walked the walk & talked the talk." He did come from a wealthy family, but even though he rose to the episcopacy, he was a very simple man who reached out to the poor & wealthy alike. He lived a very simple life, much like our new Holy Father. But, he did all things out of love for God! He had discovered that this world holds nothing of value for us & did all he could to bring all people to the fullness of the truth that resides solely in the Catholic Church. And, he did it with love, great love! I fell in love with St. Francis de Sales after reading this book, am now enjoying his treatise, "Love of God." So very simple if we are willing to turn off the computer, get off our iPads, & spend daily quiet time alone with God Who loves us infinitely.

The story of St. Francis de Sales is amazing. Religious from his childhood, he never lost sight of God's plan for him. Anyone interested in living a devout life would do well to read the story of this man's life. I had already read some of de Sales' works before reading this, which made it even more personal to me upon reading it. But for someone who is not familiar with the saint, I can still recommend it as a story of love and sacrifice for the good of God's people.The book is easy to read and smooth paced, not heavy in theology but really deals with the story of Francis (and his family) throughout his life. I can honestly say even though I knew how long Francis lived before I started the book, his death unexpectedly brought me to tears after having experienced his life through this book.

This life of St. Francis de Sales, although a bit difficult to read because it was written over 100 years ago, is a classic gem for spiritual growth. It is the story of a gentle giant of a saint. He converted many Calvinists of the time (late 1500's, early 1600's) with kindness, gentleness, and the truth, to the Catholic Faith. He founded a religious order of women, the Visitation Sisters who could not be sisters elsewhere because of fragile health. He was a bishop of Geneva. He brought a dead baby back to life. He was very humble. He said that sermons should be short, to the point, and powerful, but said with love. This book is hard to read at first because of the language, but it is so beautiful in telling how this gentle soul brought so many to God. I highly recommend it, especially for Lenten reading.

The book is well written, a keeper in fact (5 stars) except the book fell apart while reading it (1 star) so it gets 3 stars.

I could not really enjoy this book because it is published by TAN and fell into pieces as soon as I took in out of the package and now is unreadable. This is not the sellers fault. It happens to almost every book I have gotten published by TAN.

The biography is great, but very poor binding. The pages started falling out as I was trying to read.

St. Francis worked tirelessly and unselfishly for the Church and was loved by many.

I am still reading this book. So far, I find it very interesting and full of details. It was well written in an easy to read. manner.