Salt and Light: The Spiritual Journey of Élisabeth and Félix Leseur

by Bernadette Chovelon

Élisabeth and Félix Leseur began their life together in France as a carefree young couple with a bright future ahead of them. They were beautifully and compatibly matched, except for one major difference—Élisabeth was a devout Catholic, and Félix was a firmly decided atheist. As they faced the seasons of life together, their relationship was tested, and both were called to deep spiritual transformation. Out of love for her husband, Élisabeth spent her life offering her many sufferings for the sake of his conversion. After her death, and in response to the profound love he encountered in her writings, Félix converted and offered the rest of his life to God as a Dominican priest. This biography is a lovely narrative of their marriage and the transformative power of God's love and grace in their lives. It also presents a charming picture of upper-middle-class French society at the turn of the last century. The cause for the canonization of Élisabeth Leseur has been opened by the Catholic Church.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Catholic, Marriage

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2020

Reviews

[Maddie Farber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a wonderful read that shared the heart of what it means to truly love amidst differences. It was moving, uplifting, heartfelt, and gut wrenching all in one. Five stars for this read.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book five stars on the merits of the subjects, not necessarily the author. I feel this is a book that every married Catholic woman would benefit from reading as Élisabeth Leseur provides an example of a woman who lived as a wealthy woman in the material modern world, amongst atheists and people who did not offer her opportunity to share the spiritual journey. She was not so different than many of us, surrounded by a culture that is predominantly anti-Christianity, and absorbed in our daily modern lives. Yet she used this life of hers to grow into a deep spirituality which she journaled about. These journals allow us to follow her path, to see how she used her daily trials to grow closer to Christ and to, benefit her atheist husband, Félix. Hers was a life that we can look to as a guide for our own.

If I were to rate this book on the merits of the author I would probably give three stars. I was often looking back to confirm dates as the timeline between chapters was off by several years and, even more frustrating to me, the final few chapters have a gap of five (or more) years which are not clearly accounted for. The project which was disrupted during the war was apparently not taken up again and I believe that I can assume why but there really isn’t a clear explanation of what happened after 1940. The next date we are given is in 1950. With a timeline so scattered and events told without any reference to date or time it is challenging for the reader, or at least this reader, to fully grasp the sequence of events. In my opinion, the big project (which I will not specify so as to avoid spoiling the journey for other readers) needs to be addressed at the end of this book so the reader can be up-to-date with all of the facts.

In summary this is a book which I recommend. The life of these two people and the example of their strong marriage is something we all need to learn about and to strive towards in our own lives.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend reading this before reading Elisabeth Leseur’s diary, as her personal writings are much more meaningful in the context provided by this book.

In Salt and Light, we read about the marriage and lives of Felix and Elisabeth, who loved each other deeply and enjoyed a happy marriage, but were separated by disparity of belief: Elisabeth a devout Catholic, Felix an ardent and vociferous atheist. After spending a considerable amount of energy on trying to dissuade Elisabeth of her beliefs, Felix discovers Elisabeth’s personal writings after her death which, gradually, lead him towards conversion and ultimately the priesthood.

Most of us will probably find Felix much more relatable than Elisabeth. His faith is faltering, he often finds himself questioning whether his faith is simply a reaction to grief, but over a period of reflection, study, and prayer he finds himself unable deny the truth of the faith his wife professed. By this point he is already almost 60, and so the impact it has on his bourgeois Parisian lifestyle, and the sacrifices he has to make in terms of material comforts and relationships, are significant.

It is heartening to see this example of reform after a life more or less built upon an atheistic and anticlerical spirit. Although a relatively small part of his life remained after conversion, Felix was able to bear much fruit by relinquishing his attachments to comfort and prestige and staying attuned to the voice of God.

My only criticism is that the book is very poorly translated - as a French speaker, I was very alert to the many instances of “franglais”. It could have done with a better editor.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Élisabeth and Félix Leseur married in 1889. You may ask what relevance would their marriage have to the 21st century reader? A huge amount. At the turn of the 20th century, France was in a huge flux with a growth of atheism that seemed to be sweeping among the intellectuals. Among them was Félix Leseur who abandoned his Catholic faith to fully embrace atheism. His wife Elisabeth was initially quite swayed by her husbands worldly life and let her faith slip.

However, she soon rediscovered her faith and lived it with great fervour, documenting it in her diaries. She prayed intensely that her husband would return to the faith and told him that after her death he would become a religious and a priest. Félix thought she was mad.

Nevertheless, when she died at the age of 47, he read her diaries and was transformed. He spent the remainder of his life publishing her writings which became instant best sellers and furthering her cause for canonisation. Six years after Élisabeth's death, Félix became a Dominican monk and received holy orders. He gave up an incredibly successful career, a lavish lifestyle, influential friends to follow God.

Élisabeth and Félix Leseur have so much to teach us about married life, living the Catholic faith in a deeply cynical atheistic world and how to give everything to God. What a great book.

[Sharon Hardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual book that is a fascinating story of two wealthy, intelligent, cosmopolitan Parisians who marry despite very different belief systems toward the end of the 19th Century. Both are raised as Catholics, but by the time of the marriage, Felix has strongly renounced anything to do with the Church, priests, etc. While this is a shock to Elizabeth, she loves Felix and vows she will not try to argue or defend her beliefs, no matter his criticisms. She will be salt and light to his atheism as an example. She turns to her journal and to like-minded friends in letters that fortunately survived after her death. They chronicled her life of faith, her deepening comfort in her closeness to God as severe illness began shortly after the marriage and led to her early death. Felix is converted by her journals after she dies, becomes a priest, and spends the rest of his life promoting her writings and life, thus influences thousands who never knew of her while she lived. The book is romanticized and sentimental, as befits the time period and the subject matter. Elizabeth's concerns about the ridiculing of faith and rise of humanism and materialism are as valid for today's society as for the Parisian society she inhabited.

[Kara]

I am not Catholic, but an evangelical (an identity I use loosely based on current cultural context), so while I don’t practice or follow some of what is part of this story, it was not the main focus. I actually felt much of it was evangelistic in nature and I was personally affected by so much beauty. Although focused on the life and relationship between Elisabeth and Felix, I very much drew theological meaning from the diary/letter entries given throughout, and now I want to go and read the actual books Felix put together on those. This is a story on how to suffer well, a surrendering as a Christ follower without leaving your brain or emotions behind-It was beautiful, inspiring, encouraging, and deeply challenging all at the same time. I found myself stopping to pray frequently throughout- both in gratitude and supplication. The best of stories, to God be the glory.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story of a beautiful marriage and exquisite practice of true Christianity by Elisabeth Leseur. She lived her faith; not preaching or try to coerce her atheistic husband, who ultimately returned to his native Catholic faith after her death, upon the discovery of her journals. He was humbled and in awe of a deep interior faith that was never overtly verbalized but lived in its truest sense. They are both testaments to the beauty that flourishes when souls turn away from the trifles of this world and abandon themselves to the Divine. They also happen to have lived during a fascinating time in the history of Europe and France!

[Kaycee Monnens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know that I have ever related to a Saint more. Elisabeth Leseur is a perfect example of being holy in one’s state of life. Spending her entire life married to a stubborn atheist while cultivating her own rich interior life was no small feat, but she shows that small acts of love and constant prayer can turn the hardest of hearts, even in her secular society. I will constantly ask for her prayers. What an amazing woman!

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

one word: Lifechanging

[Joy Domangue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently reading - Beautiful, heartfelt book so far!

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested to read the story of Félix and Élisabeth LeSeur, especially with Elisabeth’s diary being a book I want to read.

Elisabeth’s faith was inspirational and powerful. Felix’s transformation after Elisabeth’s death was nothing short of miraculous given how against religion he was for so much of his life.

Parts of this book were a little too long and repetitive, I thought.

Overall, I am glad to know the backstory and look forward to reading the diary next knowing more about how much her writing impacted her husband.