A Month with… series offers a month-long set quotes from the writings of St. Francis de Sales, St. Jane de Chantal and St. Leonie Aviat for your prayer and reflection.
A/V Resources is a file transfer protocol site for downloading ready-made, turn-key Salesian resources to be used in your apostolate.
Daily with De Sales is an online retreat based upon the book Every Day with St. Francis de Sales, written by Rev. Francis J. Klauder, SDB a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. This wonderful resource was first published in 1985. We offer a thought or saying from the writings of St. Francis de Sales for each and every day of the year.
De Sales Discussions are a series of learning/discussion guides that accompany commercially-published books that deal with some aspect of Salesian spirituality. Special thanks to Al Reichelt and Judi Kenney of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Vienna, Virginia, who developed the first in the series dealing with Wendy Wright's book on the Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God. The books that are paired with each learning/discussion guide may be purchased from De sales Resources & Ministries at desalesresource.org.
Devotional Brochures is based upon our popular Salesian Perspectives series, Devotional Brochures offer a collection of assorted resources that can provide a focus for prayer, recollection, discussion or reflection in a tri-fold format.
Feast Day Prayers and Readings offers prayer and readings proper for the celebration of the Eucharist on the feasts of: St. Leonie Aviat, St. Francis de Sales, St. Jane de Chantal and St. Margaret Mary.
Forty Hours offers three homily/reflection templates, one for each evening during the course of the Forty Hours Devotion. Typically, there are three evening reflections given during the course of a Forty Hours Devotion. These three reflections/homilies offered here bring a specifically Salesian perspective to the Forty Hours experience.
Guide for the Lay Faithful is a reflection by Rev. Francis de Sales, OSFS in which he offers three ways in which the wisdom of de Sales addresses the spiritual vacuum of our age: (1) In a culture of death where there is disregard for the unborn, aging, and disadvantaged, Salesian spirituality offers an optimistic worldview rooted in the dignity of the human person; (2) In a world that craves meaningful relationships and nurtures too few, Salesian spirituality provides practical and accessible ways to address the deepest longings of the human heart; (3) In a world of expedient and shallow responses to life's questions and problems, Salesian spirituality provides the wisdom and sustenance needed for daily living.
Homily Helps are homiletic resources composed by the late William J. Dougherty, OSFS.
Introduction Meditations offer an edited version of ten meditations found in Part I of St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life. The purpose of the meditations is to help a person make a conscious, deliberate decision to pursue a holy life, that is, a life of devotion. Francis de Sales suggested doing one meditation per day. Depending upon your situation, circumstances or needs, perhaps you might wish to do one per week…one per month…however you feel drawn to use these meditations to weed out sin from your heart and to make more room in your heart for the love of God and neighbor.
Knowing God’s Will offers a practical method for discerning God’s Will in the midst of the ebb and flow of everyday life. This guide is based upon both Salesian perspectives and contemporary considerations by Rev. John W. Crossin, OSFS.
Other Assorted Resources is a catch-all selection of other Salesian resources not easily categorized in other section of De sales Spirituality Service’s web site.
Practical Holiness is a brochure written by Rev. John Crossin, OSFS and Sheila Garcia that offers a Salesian perspective on how to live the Gospel in everyday life.
Prayer of the Heart series offers a Salesian method for meditating upon a specific scene from the life and passion of Jesus found in the Gospels. Of all the methods of prayer, Francis recommended "mental prayer, the prayer of the heart, and particularly that which centers on the life and passion of our Lord. By often turning your eyes on Christ in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with him. You will learn Christ's ways and form your actions after the pattern of his." (Introduction, Part II, Chapter 1) This series provides a resource for private prayer or for prayer sharing in small faith/church groups.
Praying with Salesian Images offer a host of Salesian images (already available elsewhere on our web site under Salesian Images) in a monthly format. We encourage you to print each month’s offerings and to use the image(s) provided for your prayer and reflection for each and every day.
Pursuing Happiness provides some qualities or characteristics associated by the Salesian tradition with the pursuit of happiness. St. Augustine once wrote: “All persons want to be happy, and no persons are happy who do not have what they want.” This implies that the things that we choose to desire/obtain have a direct connection with how happy we can be. If we cannot obtain that which we desire, we will be unhappy. By contrast, if what we desire is obtainable, then we truly can strive for happiness. As important as happiness is, defining it – let alone obtaining it – is much more nuanced then one might expect. Perhaps this is why happiness seems so elusive: is happiness indeed something better pursued than achieved?
Recovery & 12-Step Resources offers two resources: Francis de Sales Meets Bill W and Salesian Steps to Salesian Serenity.
Retreats section offers a number of resources for retreats, in particular: Retreats on the Run, an Advent Retreat and a Lenten Retreat.
Retreats on the Run offers sets of daily reflections (thirty in all) that can serve as a great way to begin your day. There are six (6) Retreats on the Run, drawn from the writings of: St. Francis de Sales, St. Jane de Chantal, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. John Bosco and St. Leonie Aviat.
Salesian Curriculum is a file transfer protocol site for downloading Salesian curriculum.
Salesian Discipleship is a program offered by the De Sales Spirituality Center for establishing a core group to help develop/offering strategies and opportunities for helping others to learn, live and share Salesian spirituality in a ministry. This core group would serve as "go to people" upon whom you could reply to "run with" some of your apostolate’s efforts at offering Salesian spirituality to others
Salesian Images offers you the opportunity to explore much of Francis de Sales’ spiritual insights by an alphabetical compilation of many of the images he employed in his attempt to capture the imagination of the people of his day in his preaching, writing and catechizing.
Salesian Perspectives are a collection of tri-fold pamphlets that examine many aspects of the efforts to pursue a life of holiness from the perspective of Salesian spirituality. Each pamphlet provides encouragement for the journey, food for thought, questions for reflection/discussion and suggestions for further reading. These can be used for individual consumption or for small groups like materials from RENEW, Disciples in Mission and Little Rock Scripture Study. These are a perfect option for small church/faith-sharing groups.
Salesian Perspectives: Discernment is a presentation that examines some contemporary reflections on discernment and offers a few suggestions toward the practice of more effective discernment based rooted in the belief that God is near.
Salesian Seminars provide an alternative approach for using the De Sales Discussions series, offering the opportunity to reflect upon and discuss a book dealing with Salesian spirituality in five (5) installments or sessions: five days in a week, one day a week for five weeks, once a month for five months, five Saturdays in a row, etc. The books that are paired with each learning/discussion guide may be purchased from De sales Resources & Ministries at desalesresource.org.
Salesian Spirituality & Collaborative Ministry is a resource manual for promoting a particular approach to ministry which respects - yet transcends - differences of gender, ethnic origin, ability, vocation, and religious practice. "Salesian collaboration is best conceived as a dialogical, mutual engagement in the art of living Jesus. It means teaching each other, growing together, mining the tradition together, sharing the various wisdoms gained through our diverse life experiences." (W. Wright, Leaven for the Loaf, p. 11)
Salesian Sunday Reflections offers a Salesian perspective on some aspect or dimension of the Sunday Lectionary. Use them to generate ideas for preaching or as a possible focus for personal payer and reflection. All of these were authored by the late Pasqualina Young, a long-time member of St. John Neumann Catholic Community in Reston, Virginia. Pasqualina's joyful, loving spirit was a blessing to all who knew her. We are deeply grateful to her husband, John and their two sons for offering her reflections to be posted on our web site.
Spiritual Conferences are a contemporary translation of St. Francis de Sales' Spiritual Conferences by Rev. William Ruhl, OSFS. The Conferences were a series of reflections that Francis de Sales originally shared with the first Visitation community in Annecy, Savoy. His conferences were recalled, recorded and distributed to other Visitation community’s as the Order grew. While many of the particulars of Francis de Sales' observations are specific to the lived experience of cloistered, contemplative religious women, the overall themes and the spirit of these Spiritual Conferences are applicable to anyone striving to practice “devotion,” that is, to grow in love for and union with God, a love and union that is expressed in authentic love for self and others.
Spirituality Bulletins present the essence of each Salesian Perspectives pamphlets (without discussion questions or suggestions for further reading) in an 8 ½ by 11 inch format that can be easily inserted and/or included in a bulletin, a newsletter or standard mailing.
Spirituality Matters complements Sundays Salesian, Salesian Sunday Reflections and Homily Helps by offering Salesian perspectives for the weekday Lectionary Readings, Mondays through Saturdays inclusive.
St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) provides the name given (and theological/pastoral foundation for) given to “Salesian” spirituality. He was priest, missionary, preacher catechist, bishop and diplomat best-known for his practical, down-to-earth approach to living the Gospel.
St. Jane de Chantal (1572-1641) was a friend of and co-worker with St. Francis de Sales. A widowed mother of four adult children, she founded the Visitation of Holy Mary with St. Francis de Sales. By the time of her death over eight Visitation communities had been established.
St. Leonie Aviat, OSFS (1844-1914) co-founded the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales with the (now) Venerable Louis Brisson, OSFS. Her congregation was founded to provide for both the physical, social and spiritual needs of young women working long days in factories and mills springing up throughout France during the Industrial Revolution. They also served in oversees missions.
Sundays Salesian offers a Salesian perspective on some aspect or dimension of the Sunday Lectionary. Use them to generate ideas for preaching or as a possible focus for personal payer and reflection.
The Advent Retreat offers selected writings from the Salesian tradition for every day of the Advent season.
The Heart of St. Francis de Sales is a series of thirty-one reflections upon the interior virtues of St. Francis de Sales.
The Lenten Retreat offers selected writings from the Salesian tradition for every day of the Lenten season.
The Spiritual Directory offers a practical approach to developing the interior attitudes necessary to recognize the presence of God in all things, people and circumstances, attitudes that likewise assist us in our efforts to embody the humble, gentle love of neighbor so clearly demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ.
Venerable Louis Brisson, OSFS (1817-1908) was a diocesan priest who (along with Mary de Sales Chappuis, VHM) founded the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a congregation dedicated to spreading the optimistic, inspired-common-sense wisdom of St. Francis de Sales in a variety of ministries and apostolates.
|
