Reviews for Francis de Sales: Sage and Saint

The average rating for Francis de Sales: Sage and Saint based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-01-08 00:00:00 Morten Pedersen Did you know that more has been written about this obscure book of Jewish antiquity than any other in the canon? (Maybe it's just among OT books... shoot.) It immediately becomes apparent when glossing over the sources for the numerous quotations from the commentaries by saint after saint: John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, and the sacred monster of mysticism, Bernard of Clairvaux...the list goes on and on. Arminjon has a deft awareness of them all, yet incorporates the insights of literary criticism into his interpretation in such a way that sheds immense clarity over this baffling "footnote" in the Scriptural canon. He starts by dividing the work into five poems and identifies the various voices that speak. This alone is instructive in itself--who hasn't read this and gotten lost in who is speaking to whom? Over and above the justifications for his interpretive choices comes a theologico-poetic commentary of his own that is truly marvelous. It awakens a desire for the majesty and beauty of the spiritual life that has remained with me for months afterward, recasting it all in the most enriched and embroidered language of love without falling into the wilting sentimentality typical of such writing. It made me want to learn Hebrew simply to read the Song of Solomon in the original ... and to memorize it. Make your way slowly through this book. If it does not suit your taste, put it down and take it up again when you are inspired to. Lend it to no one from whom you cannot one day retrieve it. And in the meanwhile, think on these words of St. Theresa: This divine prison of the love with whom I live made of God my captive and freed my heart. To see God as my prisoner causes such passion in me that I am dying of not dying.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-09-12 00:00:00 Steven Rossi I cannot express how much this book resonated with the deepest parts of my being and my heart. What a blessed book of Scripture I never understood before and what a blessed guided journey through it is this book. I would leave prayer bursting with love after reading this book. Deep waters. Also it greatly unpacks the spiritual journey, specifically the unitive way. I recommend for any Christian who has been walking with the Lord for years and seeks to understand the depths of love to which the Lord invites us.