15 Days of Prayer with Saint Francis de Sales

Francis de Sales (15671622), presented as a young man with opportunities for a brilliant marriage and a successful worldly career, chose instead a life of devotion to Christ as a priest, and, eventually, bishop of Geneva. Francis was a humble servant of the poor and an exceptionally skilled evangelist, preaching Catholic doctrine with tremendous love and patience, often in the face of grave danger. He was influential in the revival of French Catholicism in the 17th century, and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877.

The only way of spiritual progress, Francis teaches, is through an opening to the Holy Spirit. It is he who sanctifies us, it is he who makes us understand the Fathers loving plan, realized in Jesus Christ, the Savior. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). To make a retreat with Saint Francis de Sales, to pray with him under his direction, is to renew our outlook on the grandeur of God and his goodness to us.