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The Royal Way of the Cross
"It is very profitable to have realized what one is; but do not add to that weakness, which is inseparable from our human nature, an estrangement from the very means of strength. Only hearken inwardly to him and despise boldly that which is despicable."
Above all, Francois Fenelon desired to love God. Out of this love came a desire to share the truth of a life lived in the light of the Cross. His individual writings document his desire to find truth through the love of his Creator; corporately, they comprise a masterpiece of a recorded spiritual journey.
The Royal Way of the Cross is written with an unblinking honesty that distinguishes it from the murky intellectualism that pervaded the time, and it is this truthfulness that gives this work its enduring appeal. Arrestingly written, The Royal Way is an exceptional account of a man who saw the hand of God in all things and was intimately acquainted with "the royal way of the Cross."
Above all, Francois Fenelon desired to love God. Out of this love came a desire to share the truth of a life lived in the light of the Cross. His individual writings document his desire to find truth through the love of his Creator; corporately, they comprise a masterpiece of a recorded spiritual journey.
The Royal Way of the Cross is written with an unblinking honesty that distinguishes it from the murky intellectualism that pervaded the time, and it is this truthfulness that gives this work its enduring appeal. Arrestingly written, The Royal Way is an exceptional account of a man who saw the hand of God in all things and was intimately acquainted with "the royal way of the Cross."
160 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 1982
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82 people want to read
About the author
François Fénelon
1,722 books72 followersFrançois de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, a Roman Catholic theologian and poet, wrote in France. He today is remembered mostly as one of the main advocates of quietism and as the author of The Adventures of Telemachus, a scabrous attack on the French monarchy, first published in 1699.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 13, 2018
This book was recommended by a friend a few years back, but I finally got around to reading it this year. It's a series of letters to individuals on various topics, so I chose to read it as part of my personal devotions, one or two short letters per day.
His style really grabbed me. I loved both the beauty of the phrasing and the quality of his spiritual insight. He talks a lot about self-love (pride) which is a major issue for me; I felt like he presented information in a fresh way, and I appreciated the conviction in key areas of my life.
Before I even finished the book, I'd already recommended it personally to some individuals that would enjoy or appreciate the style. That's pretty much the highest recommendation I can give any book.
His style really grabbed me. I loved both the beauty of the phrasing and the quality of his spiritual insight. He talks a lot about self-love (pride) which is a major issue for me; I felt like he presented information in a fresh way, and I appreciated the conviction in key areas of my life.
Before I even finished the book, I'd already recommended it personally to some individuals that would enjoy or appreciate the style. That's pretty much the highest recommendation I can give any book.
December 10, 2023
A radically simple and deep perspective on the Christian life.
A collection of letters written by Fenelon to his disciples, this small book compiles Fenelon's wisdom of living in constant submission to God through the crosses assigned for the Christian's growth.
Fenelon believed that the only true, and the most deeply satisfying, way to intimacy with God was through seeing God's hand in all of life and submitting to it freely. The answer to life then lies in humility and self-denial in the face of difficulties both great and small. This self-denial brings true freedom. As we give up our self-bent will to He who willed it, God gives to us joy and satisfaction in Him.
Fenelon's beliefs on submitting to the will and sanctifying hand of God should not be missed. They are especially relevant in the self-obsessed currents of 2023, offering an alternative path to unresting self exaltation and discovery.
Fenelon is a Catholic mystic and this book is a collection of private letters written to address specific issues in personal lives. It should be read as such. This book should not be read as theology nor every line followed to the extreme. A danger here is to over emphasize Fenelon's urgings to "give all to God," resulting in a inaction or a neglectful detachment from real life. I do not think that Fenelon lived or intended readers to neglect the demands of earthly life. It is instead incumbent on the reader to take in Fenelon's insights with right expectations and an understanding of the balance between trusting God and action.
A collection of letters written by Fenelon to his disciples, this small book compiles Fenelon's wisdom of living in constant submission to God through the crosses assigned for the Christian's growth.
Fenelon believed that the only true, and the most deeply satisfying, way to intimacy with God was through seeing God's hand in all of life and submitting to it freely. The answer to life then lies in humility and self-denial in the face of difficulties both great and small. This self-denial brings true freedom. As we give up our self-bent will to He who willed it, God gives to us joy and satisfaction in Him.
Fenelon's beliefs on submitting to the will and sanctifying hand of God should not be missed. They are especially relevant in the self-obsessed currents of 2023, offering an alternative path to unresting self exaltation and discovery.
Fenelon is a Catholic mystic and this book is a collection of private letters written to address specific issues in personal lives. It should be read as such. This book should not be read as theology nor every line followed to the extreme. A danger here is to over emphasize Fenelon's urgings to "give all to God," resulting in a inaction or a neglectful detachment from real life. I do not think that Fenelon lived or intended readers to neglect the demands of earthly life. It is instead incumbent on the reader to take in Fenelon's insights with right expectations and an understanding of the balance between trusting God and action.
April 15, 2022
A book of short, simple, proverb like chapters with deep, deep meaning and value for the Christian life. Fenelon has a clear understanding of the “cross bearing” life, something most modern evangelicals seem to have long forgotten…
June 2, 2023
Wise and sharp. Amazing read.
March 22, 2023
THE FRENCH MYSTIC OFFERS A SERIES OF BRIEF MEDITATIONS
The Introduction to this 1982 book explains, Francois de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon was born of noble parentage in … France in 1651… he was ordained priest in 1675, and quickly rose to a position of importance and responsibility… In 1688 Fénelon became acquainted with Madam Guyon, whose fame as a teacher of spiritual depth had spread through much of France… From that time on, Fénelon’s own teaching developed along much the same lines as hers, and he rose to her defense when she was suspected of heresy and condemned by a theological commission in 1695… she called for a theological conference to examine her work… at its conclusion, 34 articles were drawn up condemning certain errors of Quietist teaching. These articles were signed by Bousset, Fénelon, and Madame Guyon herself. Fénelon, however, was concerned lest the truth be lost in such condemnations, so the next year he published [a book] … in which he set forth the difference between true and false spirituality…. Bousset immediately attacked the book, and in the years following waged a prolonged and bitter literary battle against Fénelon. The controversy cost Fénelon the confidence of Lous XIV, who dismissed him as tutor of his grandson… Pope Innocent XII issued a bull condemning 23 propositions in Fénelon’ book… Thenceforth Fénelon was banished from the royal courts and exiled in his own diocese… He submitted completely to the judgment against his writing…” (Pg. vii-ix)
It continues, “This compilation seeks to set forth a multfaceted view of the ‘royal way of the Cross,’ as Fénelon saw and experiences it. He believed that God was in all things in his own life and in the lives of his readers… And he invites us to share this way of looking at life.” (Pg. x)
In the first chapter, he says, “All I would ask of you is simply now to follow the leadings of your inmost heart towards what is good, as you once followed those of your worldly passions towards evil. Whenever you examine the foundation of your religion, you will easily see that there is nothing substantial to be said against it, and that those who oppose it do so only to evade the rules of holy living, rejecting God out of self-seeking. But in all honesty, is it fair to be so broad-minded on behalf of self, and so narrow where God is concerned?” (Pg. 4)
He suggests, “What right have we to complain? We suffer from an excessive attachment to the world---above all to self. God orders a series of events which detach us gradually from the world first, and finally from the self also. The operation is painful, but our corruption makes it needful. If the flesh were sound, the surgeon would not need to probe it. He does the knife only in proportion to the depth of the wound and the extent of proud flesh. If we feel his operation too keenly, it is because the disease is active.” (Pg. 23)
He states, “Do not let your natural activity consume you amid the irksome details around you. You cannot take too many pains to subdue your natural temperament by prayer, and by a frequent renewal of God’s presence through the day. A Christian who grows anxious over worldly trifles and suddenly awakes to the sense of God’s presence amid such eagerness, is like a child whose mother catches him suddenly having lost his temper in a game---he is quite ashamed at being found out.” (Pg. 45)
He observes, “There is a simplicity which is merely a fault, and there is a simplicity which is a wonderful virtue. Sometimes it comes from a lack of discernment, and an ignorance of what is due others. In the world when people call anyone simple they generally mean a foolish, ignorant, credulous person. But real simplicity, so far from being foolish, is almost sublime. All good men like and admire it. They are conscious of sinning against it, observe it in others, and know what it involves, and yet they could not precisely define t.” (Pg. 71)
He says, “Nothing is harder to bear than lukewarmness and lack of a conscious inward life. But it seems to me you have only two things to do, one of which is to avoid whatever excites and scatters you. In this way you can cut off the source of dangerous distractions, which dry up prayer.” (Pg. 91)
He states, “God does two things for the soul, while he does but one for the body. To the body, he gives nourishment together with the hunger and pleasure in eating, all of which are sensible. To the soul, however, he gives the hunger of desire and food, but while giving these gifts, he hides them, list the soul derive self-satisfaction through them. Thus, while purifying us with trial, he deprives us of delight, of conscious zeal, of acutely felt desires. As the soul in its pride turned al sensible power to poison, God reduces it to feel nothing but dullness, distaste, weakness, temptation. Notwithstanding these feelings, the soul always receives real help; it is warmed, kindled, upheld in perseverance---with without the conscious enjoyment of all this.” (Pg. 105-106)
He suggests, “So long as we are centered in self, we shall be prey to the contradiction, the wickedness, and the injustice of men. Our temper brings us into collision with other tempers; our passions clash with those of our neighbors; our wishes are so many tender places open to the shafts of those around; our pride, which is incompatible with our neighbors’, rises like the wave of a stormy sea. Everything arouses, attacks, rebuffs us. We are exposed on all sides by the sensitiveness of passion and the jealousy of pride.” (Pg. 121)
He says in the closing chapter, “The more we fear to bear crosses, the more we need them. Let us not, therefore, in hopeless discouragement, when the hand of God lays them heavily upon us. We should realize the magnitude of our disease by the severity of the remedies which our spiritual Physician sees good to apply. Truly must we be most diseased, and God most merciful, since, notwithstanding our opposition, he deigns to heal us.” (Pg. 147)
This book will appeal to those interested in such ‘spiritual’ literature.
The Introduction to this 1982 book explains, Francois de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon was born of noble parentage in … France in 1651… he was ordained priest in 1675, and quickly rose to a position of importance and responsibility… In 1688 Fénelon became acquainted with Madam Guyon, whose fame as a teacher of spiritual depth had spread through much of France… From that time on, Fénelon’s own teaching developed along much the same lines as hers, and he rose to her defense when she was suspected of heresy and condemned by a theological commission in 1695… she called for a theological conference to examine her work… at its conclusion, 34 articles were drawn up condemning certain errors of Quietist teaching. These articles were signed by Bousset, Fénelon, and Madame Guyon herself. Fénelon, however, was concerned lest the truth be lost in such condemnations, so the next year he published [a book] … in which he set forth the difference between true and false spirituality…. Bousset immediately attacked the book, and in the years following waged a prolonged and bitter literary battle against Fénelon. The controversy cost Fénelon the confidence of Lous XIV, who dismissed him as tutor of his grandson… Pope Innocent XII issued a bull condemning 23 propositions in Fénelon’ book… Thenceforth Fénelon was banished from the royal courts and exiled in his own diocese… He submitted completely to the judgment against his writing…” (Pg. vii-ix)
It continues, “This compilation seeks to set forth a multfaceted view of the ‘royal way of the Cross,’ as Fénelon saw and experiences it. He believed that God was in all things in his own life and in the lives of his readers… And he invites us to share this way of looking at life.” (Pg. x)
In the first chapter, he says, “All I would ask of you is simply now to follow the leadings of your inmost heart towards what is good, as you once followed those of your worldly passions towards evil. Whenever you examine the foundation of your religion, you will easily see that there is nothing substantial to be said against it, and that those who oppose it do so only to evade the rules of holy living, rejecting God out of self-seeking. But in all honesty, is it fair to be so broad-minded on behalf of self, and so narrow where God is concerned?” (Pg. 4)
He suggests, “What right have we to complain? We suffer from an excessive attachment to the world---above all to self. God orders a series of events which detach us gradually from the world first, and finally from the self also. The operation is painful, but our corruption makes it needful. If the flesh were sound, the surgeon would not need to probe it. He does the knife only in proportion to the depth of the wound and the extent of proud flesh. If we feel his operation too keenly, it is because the disease is active.” (Pg. 23)
He states, “Do not let your natural activity consume you amid the irksome details around you. You cannot take too many pains to subdue your natural temperament by prayer, and by a frequent renewal of God’s presence through the day. A Christian who grows anxious over worldly trifles and suddenly awakes to the sense of God’s presence amid such eagerness, is like a child whose mother catches him suddenly having lost his temper in a game---he is quite ashamed at being found out.” (Pg. 45)
He observes, “There is a simplicity which is merely a fault, and there is a simplicity which is a wonderful virtue. Sometimes it comes from a lack of discernment, and an ignorance of what is due others. In the world when people call anyone simple they generally mean a foolish, ignorant, credulous person. But real simplicity, so far from being foolish, is almost sublime. All good men like and admire it. They are conscious of sinning against it, observe it in others, and know what it involves, and yet they could not precisely define t.” (Pg. 71)
He says, “Nothing is harder to bear than lukewarmness and lack of a conscious inward life. But it seems to me you have only two things to do, one of which is to avoid whatever excites and scatters you. In this way you can cut off the source of dangerous distractions, which dry up prayer.” (Pg. 91)
He states, “God does two things for the soul, while he does but one for the body. To the body, he gives nourishment together with the hunger and pleasure in eating, all of which are sensible. To the soul, however, he gives the hunger of desire and food, but while giving these gifts, he hides them, list the soul derive self-satisfaction through them. Thus, while purifying us with trial, he deprives us of delight, of conscious zeal, of acutely felt desires. As the soul in its pride turned al sensible power to poison, God reduces it to feel nothing but dullness, distaste, weakness, temptation. Notwithstanding these feelings, the soul always receives real help; it is warmed, kindled, upheld in perseverance---with without the conscious enjoyment of all this.” (Pg. 105-106)
He suggests, “So long as we are centered in self, we shall be prey to the contradiction, the wickedness, and the injustice of men. Our temper brings us into collision with other tempers; our passions clash with those of our neighbors; our wishes are so many tender places open to the shafts of those around; our pride, which is incompatible with our neighbors’, rises like the wave of a stormy sea. Everything arouses, attacks, rebuffs us. We are exposed on all sides by the sensitiveness of passion and the jealousy of pride.” (Pg. 121)
He says in the closing chapter, “The more we fear to bear crosses, the more we need them. Let us not, therefore, in hopeless discouragement, when the hand of God lays them heavily upon us. We should realize the magnitude of our disease by the severity of the remedies which our spiritual Physician sees good to apply. Truly must we be most diseased, and God most merciful, since, notwithstanding our opposition, he deigns to heal us.” (Pg. 147)
This book will appeal to those interested in such ‘spiritual’ literature.
December 26, 2012
I am not much of a fan of devotionals. This book of 52 Fenelon letters and meditations is filled with sage advice for the Christian even though the contents were written over 300 years ago.
I will put it on my 'read again' list.
I will put it on my 'read again' list.
August 28, 2019
Took this slim paperback as my only reading on a 10 day trip and needed nothing more; beautifully profound and thought provoking. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews