Fenelon was a spiritual compatriot of Madame Jeanne Guyon, and like her sought the way to the deeper inner life of total abandonment to God in Christ. And like Madame Guyon, he found it, and taught it to hundreds in his lifetime, and to hundreds-of-thousands since then through his writings.

Fenelon was a spiritual compatriot of Madame Jeanne Guyon, and like her sought the way to the deeper inner life of total abandonment to God in Christ. And like Madame Guyon, he found it, and taught it to hundreds in his lifetime, and to hundreds - of - thousands since then through his writings.

Fenelon was a spiritual compatriot of Madame Jeanne Guyon, and like her sought the way to the deeper inner life of total abandonment to God in Christ. And like Madame Guyon, he found it, and taught it to hundreds in his lifetime, and to hundreds - of - thousands since then through his writings.

Do you struggle through family problems, battle with the tensions of raising children, or find yourself overwhelmed with pressures on the job? Are personal failures and disappointments on the increase as you face each day? What a fountain of life it would be to discover how to let go of those distresses and learn to embrace the joy and peace that God has promised! With amazing insight, Fénelon speaks firmly yet lovingly to those whose lives have been an uphill climb, and reveals just how to Let Go!

Discover the wisdom of this controversial theologian whose counsel and meditations have found a wide audience for more than three centuries. François Fénelon was a seventeenth-century French archbishop who rose to a position of influence in the court of Louis XIV. Amid the splendor and decadence of Versailles, Fénelon became a wise mentor to many members of the king’s court as well as to the controversial Madame Guyon. Later exiled from Versailles for political reasons, Fénelon set out to improve the lot of peasants of his diocese and to deepen the spiritual life of all with whom he came in contact. Until his death, he corresponded with those at court who had become his spiritual “children.” Twenty-first century Christians are rediscovering the wisdom of this spiritual thinker. Together with Pascal—who was an old man in Fenelon’s youth—he showed how it was possible to have devotion and faith in the Age of Enlightenment. He battled heresies, faced charges of heresy himself, and wrote masterful books of insight into the spiritual life. “Peter Gorday’s life of Fenelon is a gem. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in Fenelon or Christian mysticism in general.” –Dr. Chad Helms, Professor of Modern Foreign Languages, Presbyterian College, and editor of Fenelon: Selected Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality) “Gorday traces the complex situation in Fenelon’s time and the varying perspectives of his interpreters. He declares him not cunning but tough as a thinker. In this book, we get not only a fascinating story but also a subtle guide to self-examination.” -Dr. Eugene TeSelle, Emeritus, Vanderbilt Divinity School

The most engaging collection of the French mystics’ writings now available Twenty-first century Christians are now discovering the wisdom of this controversial theologian and spiritual thinker. Fénelon showed how it was possible to have devotion and faith in the original Age of Reason. In many respects, rationality still rules today in religion and culture, and as a result, Fénelon speaks to modern Christians wanting deeper faith and a meaningful inner life. His writings have never been as accessible as they are now in these lively new translations. The Complete Fénelon includes more than one hundred of Fénelon’s letters of spiritual counsel, as well as meditations on eighty-five other topics. Also translated here into English for the first time are Fénelon’s personal reflections on twenty-one seasons and holidays of the Christian year. An introduction from bestselling translator Robert J. Edmonson and in-depth recommended reading and bibliography make this the first place to start in any study of Francois Fénelon.