“If charity be milk, devotion is the cream if charity be a plant, devotion is its flowers if charity be a precious stone, devotion is its lustre if charity be a rich balm, devotion is its odour: yea, the odour of sweetness, which comforts men and rejoices angels” (8). The two sides between which we ascend, and in which the rounds are fastened, represent prayer, which obtains the love of God, and the sacraments which confer it the rounds are nothing but divers degrees of charity, by which we advance from virtue to virtue, either descending, by action, to the help and support of our neighbour, or ascending, by contemplation, to a blessed union with God” (7). “The devout life is faithfully represented by Jacob’s ladder. The devout life “renders all such actions easy, pleasant, and grateful” (6). The “devout life is a lovely, a pleasant, and a happy life” (6). True devotion is the perfection of charity. True devotion is when charity “reaches that point of perfection wherein it not only causes us to do good but to do it earnestly, frequently, and readily” (4)… and “in carrying out God’s heavenly inspirations and counsels of perfection” (5). True devotion is the love of God in the highest form.

1st Part: Instructions and exercises for conducting the soul from her first desire for a devout life till she is brought to a full resolution of embracing it. My summary notes for: Francis de Sales, Saint.

Intro to the devout life