Finding Perfect Joy With St. Francis of Assisi: 30 Reflections Book

The whole world's looking for happiness. But few seem to find it. And no wonder--they can't even agree about where to look for it. Some think we can find happiness by seeking pleasure. Others claim that to be happy, we have to look out for Number One. Still others insist that we need to own more and more "stuff" if we ever want to find true happiness. Amid so much confusion, one voice pierces through the clamor about the pursuit of happiness and speaks instead about finding "perfect joy"--St. Francis of Assisi. This thirteenth-century Italian friar sought for contentment as a restless youth, but for years he sought in vain. When at last he uncovered the path to joy, it lay in a direction he had never dreamed of. What did this saint discover? Here are thirty reflections on what Francis has to teach us all about living joyfully. Each reflection includes an anecdote from his life, a thought expressed in his own words, a confirming insight from another spiritual teacher, and questions to help you apply it all to your own life. St. Francis' radiant joy was so contagious that it turned his world upside down and won countless men and women to a new way of living. Join him in the search for true happiness--the only kind that can last--and your world, too, will never again be the same.

AUTHOR BIO: KERRY WALTERS is William Bittinger Professor of philosophy at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He is the author of sixteen books, including Soul Wilderness (Paulist, 2001) and Growing God (Paulist, 2002).