The Benefits of St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life
Ten Meditations to Transform Your Life From the Inside Out
St. Francis de Sales wrote the Introduction to the Devout Life to help ordinary people seek holiness in the midst of everyday life. The Ten Meditations set forth in the book have stood the test of time - over 400 years- and are still applicable to our lives today!
In This Audiobook, You Will Discover…
The enduring wisdom of St. Francis de Sales
How to apply these meditations in daily life
A practical path to holiness, peace, and joy
Testimonies from the authors
Are you ready to truly transform your life?
How the Audiobook Came Together
Sean Powers
Joe Gummere
Joe Gummere and Sean Powers met at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ in the 80s. They embraced the Salesian educational philosophy of Reason, Religion, and Kindness. Several years ago, the two Salesian friends reconnected over an audio project. Joe and Sean realized they joyfully lived the Salesian charism of a devout life in a secular world. Both men had found joy in their families and were moved by the Salesian maxim to be happy in this life and in the next.
Recently, Sean studied to become a deacon and in formation was assigned Francis’ Introduction to the Devout Life. The meditations and profound wisdom of Francis’ so moved him that he decided that an audiobook was a good modern way to share this.
Sean reached out to his old classmate Joe to provide tech support on the project. They have decided not to charge for the audiobook so they could bring the richness of Francis’ meditation to as many people as possible. Read more of their story below
Meet the Authors
Sean Power
Has given over 1,500 presentations in his professional speaking career, and this is his first audiobook. Originally from New York, Sean attended Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ. He graduated from William and Mary in Virginia with a BA in History. He has been married to Karen for thirty-three years, and they have five children, two of whom are studying to be priests.
Joe Gummere
Has produced over 800 audiobooks for Audible and other publishers in his professional career. A native of the Garden State, Joe attended Don Bosco Prep, a Salesian all-boys high school in Ramsey, NJ. He graduated from Ramapo College with a BA degree in Communications. A devout Catholic, Joe has been married to Barb for thirty-one years and has a son, Joe Jr.
How This Audiobook Came About
Joe and Sean met in the early 80’s at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey. They embraced the Salesian educational philosophy of Reason, Religion, and Kindness. Joe, a talented musician, played the drums in high school. He was also the guy who fixed the projector during driver’s ed class when the film got stuck. Sean admired Joe’s musical and technical expertise. Sean was involved in Track & Field, and he left New York for college in Virginia.
Several years ago, the two Salesian friends reconnected over an audio project. Joe and Sean realized they joyfully lived the Salesian charism of a devout life in a secular world. Both men had found joy in their families and were moved by the Salesian maxim to be happy in this life and in the next.
In the fall of 2025, Sean was accepted into the Deacon program in the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. He was assigned St. Francis de Sales classic The Devout Life for homework. He had to go through each of the ten meditations slowly with a notebook. He was so moved by the meditations that he went through all ten of them three more times over the next month and a half! Sean was so excited about the profound wisdom of St. Francis that he reached out to Joe to share the good news. Joe thought an audiobook was a good modern way to share the four-hundred-year-old wisdom of St. Francis. Sean used the original meditations from the Oblates website as his source material.
Sean’s entire life was transformed by the meditations. He lost weight, reduced his blood pressure and medications, cut his phone usage down over two hours a day, cut the cord on his cable and newspaper subscriptions, and had a deeper relationship with Karen and his family, and experienced a closeness to our Lord that was profound. The miracle of the meditations for Sean was his newfound stillness. An impulsive, loud, critical, witty New Yorker was transformed into a quiet, charitable, sober son of St. Francis who could sit quietly in a room meditating on heaven for an hour. It is a miraculous change that he wants to share with the world.
Joe and Sean worked for over a month on the audiobook. They see the joyful and rich meditations of St. Francis as an antidote to the modern world’s anxiety, loneliness, and nihilism. They have decided not to charge for the audiobook to reach the largest audience possible. They hope you enjoy it and share it with your social network, family, and friends.
And remember the words of St. Francis, “Half an hour meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed!”
