Live Today Well

by Fr. Thomas Dailey

Living the Christian life requires a strategy. Most of us won't get to heaven through heroic feats of sanctity, but by learning to live the devout life through our everyday activities.

St. Francis de Sales has developed for you a spiritual plan of action - a plan that will help you acquire holiness despite the many responsibilities and mundane realities that take up all your time and effort.

In these pages, Fr. Thomas Dailey - an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales - gently guides you through St. Francis de Sales's spiritual plan, showing how you can balance time devoted to God with the time needed to complete your many tasks each day. You'll learn St. Francis de Sales's technique of daily prayer and grace-filled awareness that will transform your life one day at a time - no matter how busy your lifestyle.

From making a spiritual retreat during the day to fending off the many temptations you face, Live Today Well will help you commune with God throughout your day. And by practicing the little virtues you learn here, you'll soon find yourself moving toward the heavenly heights as you become the saint you are called by God to be.

You'll also

-Four ways to become aware of God's presence
-Tips for spiritual time-management
-Simple methods of praying, whether in Church or not
How to avoid the three dangerous tendencies that appear in conversations
How to conquer your greatest temptations
-The one virtue which gives greatest assurance for reaching perfection
-The two critical elements of any good confession

Genres: Christian, Catholic, Faith, Religion, Nonfiction, Spirituality

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 14, 2015

Reviews

[Thadeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid contemporary review of St. Francis de Sales’s teachings on holiness. A book with a lot of gems that I will be coming back to.

One great one that I didn’t quote in my progress notes can be found on page 70.

“The good life, then, ‘does not consist in the absence but in the regulation of the passions’; because these interior movements ‘are to our heart what strings are to a lute,’ they need to be tuned regularly so as to be in harmony (Oeuvres, vol. 8, p. 355; cf. Introduction, part 5, chap. 7). That need for self-regulation reflects the tension within us between the inferior part of our souls, with which we naturally seek gratification and avoid pain, and the superior part, by which we focus on what we ought to do as right and good even at the cost of experiencing pain.”

Highly recommended for those seeking holiness.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When the Lord calls us to be saints, he does not call us to something hard or sad. Not at all! It is an invitation to share His joy, to live and offer every moment of our lives with joy, at the same time making it a gift of love for the people around us.”

Easy money introductory spiritual read with some key insights on living the good life. St. Francis de Sales lives up to his name as he could sell me on anything.

[John Luke Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Live Today Well tries to do in 200 pages, what 20 pages at the end of the book does. It tries to bring Francis de Sales writings and teachings to a modern audience, but I feel as if Francis de Sales already lends his own writings to any audience. I struggled through this book to find the essence of the teachings throughout boiled down to 20ish pages in the back in an appendix. When I read spiritual or theological books, my goal is always to find something to latch onto from within the texts, and I was able to find something towards the end of my reading which is why I give 2 stars. I was able to learn new ways to liven my faith, but it took 200 pages to get to that one bright spot.

I think this book could have a lot of wonderful things for someone else, and judging by the other reviews, people get much more out of it than I did, but I think studying Francis’s works themselves might be a better use of time.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest I picked up this book based on the title 'Live Today Well', and did not even notice the subtitle 'St. Francis de Sales's Simple Approach to Holiness' until I went to read it. But having read one book by de Sales last year and having two on my reading plan for this year I was very eager when I began the book. For almost 20 years now I have signed off my personal emails with 'Peace and Strength! Yours, learning to be'; I have seen my life purpose as learning to be and to become good at being. Or as Mathew Kelly puts it so often 'to become the best version of myself'; and therefore the title of the book grabbed my attention, but the subtitle fits with my daily goals, each day to be better than the day before, to grow in holiness and God's grace. And this book really lives up to my high expectations.

The sections in this book are:
Introduction
Part 1 Salesian Spirituality
The Devout Life
St. Francis's Spiritual Directory
Part 2 Our Daily Routine
Our Daily Routine
On Rising: Starting Your Day Right
On the Day's Preparation: Looking to Be Holy
On the Direction of Intention: The Key to Spiritual Perfection
On Meals: Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
On Work: And Taking Spiritual Repose
On Leisure: Interacting with Others
The Examen: Reviewing Our Daily Progress
On Retiring: Practicing Detachment
Part 3 Sacred Moments
Sacred Moments
Prayer: Communing with the Divine
Living the "Little Virtues"
Confession and the Grace of Reconciliation
Mass and the Grace of Encounter
Conclusion
The Universal Call to Holiness
The Spiritual Directory
Helpful Resources for Living Well

This book begins with an excellent quote:

Let us be firmly resolved to serve God with our whole heart and life. Beyond that, let us have no care about tomorrow. Let us think only of living today well, and when tomorrow comes, it also will be today and we can think of it then.

- St. Francis de Sales, letter CXC, to Mademoiselle de Soulfour, July 22, 1603

And the book only gets better from there. Father Dailey states: "The seminal insight of the Salesian tradition remains as relevant today as it was in the saint's time - namely, that a life of devotion is a universal human calling, that holiness is possible in all walks of life, that a meaningful and fulfilling existence awaits all those who live well." And the book goes on from there to give real, concrete examples of what this spirituality is, and how to live it out, and through living it out learning to live today well.

This book does an excellent job of giving guidance in living a spiritual life, but balancing that with living in the world and all of our responsibilities. The book is very well written. It is not a complicated theological treatise, it is intended as a simple guide and it meets that goal. There are tricks and tips for the spiritual life. You will learn about overcoming your greatest temptation, yow to make good confessions, yow to manage your time, and different ways to become aware of God's presence.

This book is an excellent read. It is a great introduction to Salesian spirituality. It was way more than I expected and I was hoping for a lot from this book. Father Thomas writes in a very engaging manner. This is another excellent resource from Sophia Institute Press and I commend it to you if you are serious about growing in your spiritual life!

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2017 Catholic Reading Plan!

(Note: this books is part of a series: A Year of Reading Intention - Catholic Reading! But did not get read until 2017.)

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This introduction to the writing of St. Francis de Sales synthesized many books and letters into one volume. The book emphasizes the Salesian traditions of using attention and intention to focus on the spiritual, even while we do the most mundane of tasks. St. Francis de Sales emphasizes that holiness is not connected to our state in life, and that everyone can pursue holiness. As intentional living is such a trendy phrase right now, it's good to unite it with its spiritual origin and seek to intentionally live in a way that brings us ever closer to Christ. I'm interested in reading the primary sources upon which this book is based.

[Michelle (michellereadsandspins) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Live Today Well is a wonderful book that I would highly recommend to everyone who is looking to learn more about Salesian Spirituality and how to live a devout Christian life amidst the busyness of our day-to-day lives. Through the charism of Salesian Spirituality and the life and teachings of St. Francis de Sales, Fr. Thomas Dailey’s book offers the reader practical insight and tools to living a devout and holy life.

It is clear in Dailey’s writing the inspiration that St. Francis de Sales has instilled in him. It is an easy and quick read that makes one yearn for more. Living in a day and age that is tremendously different from St. Francis de Sales’s time, Dailey was able to connect and relate all of St. Francis de Sales’s teaching to today.

By taking St. Francis de Sales' spiritual plan, Fr. Thomas Dailey created a resource that can be read and used for a lifetime!

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful for those living a busy life and seeking to integrate their spiritual life more closely to their day-to-day living. The notion of intentional living helps tremendously in the small and mundane tasks of life and helps us see God in our lives. Of course, the author makes clear too that we still need to make conscious time for God in our busy lives - this is where we meet God in the Sacraments as well as time to just pray, listen and sit in silence.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. This book was a gift and I am so blessed to have read it. Making every moment of our day intentional and a gift back to the Lord is an incredible concept. I will revisit this book often.

[Jonathan O'Konek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fr. Dailey skillfully incorporates the writings of St. Francis De Sales into a practical and easily implemented daily guidebook. Through the use of affirmations and prayer, Fr. Dailey summarizes St. De Sales' teachings to help us "Live Today Well" by practicing the virtues of gentleness, humility, and simpleness. This book has helped me apply prayer and piety in my daily actions and encounters to better accomplish the Lord's work.

I highly recommend this book to those individuals interested in Salesian Spirituality and for anyone who wants to honor and apply God's work each and every day.

[Photovy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good primer on Salesian spirituality and the writings of Saint Francis de Sales. Reiterates the Universal Call to Holiness and how we can pray throughout the day even if we have little free time.

[Richard Grebenc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this right after devouring Francis de Sales "Intro to the Devout Life," i particularly appreciated the author's insights based on Francis's works. Chapters are not long, and each has subsections, so for purposes of daily spiritual reading, even a very short time in the text will yield much to ponder. Very much a whole life (and holistic) guide to holiness.

[Jill Yacu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Richard Hannay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una excelente guía para darse "a la buena vida". Ahora que tan de moda está el concepto de " morning routine" el Padre Dailey extracta y actualiza las enseñanzas de San Francisco de Sales para incorporar la Presencia de Dios durante todos los momentos del día. Una consideración melancólica: después de 8 años de estudiar en los Salesianos ni una sola vez recuerdo haber oido a uno sólo de los curas mencionar la espiritualidad salesiana y a penas si a San Francisco de Sales. Y por eso nos pasa lo que nos pasa.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I have read about St. Francis De Sales. It provides great introductory-level advice that is very applicable to everyday life. For the more advanced reader, or someone that is already familiar with the Salesian approach to spirituality, it might be more advantageous to hop right into Francis's: "Introduction to the Devout Life", as it is referenced in almost every chapter of "Live Today Well". On the whole, a very good book that I want to read at least bi-annually as a refresher.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great introduction to the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. It stresses the importance of sanctifying every moment of the day from the most glorious to the most mundane. I would recommend it to anyone living in the world.