Local author applies wisdom from St. Francis de Sales to the lives of modern Catholics in ‘The Devout Life’
Devotion is a central theme in Deacon Matthew Newsome’s life. He is especially devoted to his wife and their seven children, his ministry, and God. It’s also a key component of his writing, a decades-long endeavor now experiencing a fresh flowering with the publishing of his first book, “The Devout Life: A Modern Guide to Practical Holiness with St. Francis de Sales” to be released June 20 by Sophia Institute Press.
“I’m very excited by it,” he said. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to be a published author.”
Deacon Newsome writes a regular column for the Catholic News Herald, and his articles have appeared in other Catholic publications including The Deacon, This Rock (now Catholic Answers Magazine) and Envoy. He is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University, and his home parish is St. Mary Mother of God in Sylva.
As an adult convert to the Catholic faith, he said he never would have guessed his first book would be about St. Francis de Sales, a 17th-century bishop he credits with being 300 years ahead of the Universal Call to Holiness promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1964.
In “An Introduction to the Devout Life,” first published in 1609, St. Francis de Sales gives practical advice to attain holiness in ways that fit the lives of laypeople. Deacon Newsome’s book takes the saint’s teachings from this spiritual classic and applies them to Catholics in the 21st century.
“St. Francis de Sales has a lot of wisdom, and how many people aren’t reading it because they don’t think that they can pick up and read a 400-year-old book by a French bishop?” Deacon Newsome said.
Like the original, the book is organized in five sections that Deacon Newsome likens to the Parable of the Sower. The book starts by helping readers “prepare the soil of their hearts” and progresses through the planting, growing and tending of their spiritual gardens with practical advice for incorporating prayer into their daily lives and growing in virtues. Each chapter is short and accessible with discussion questions at the end.
“The person who is going to benefit from this book the most is someone who is already a committed Catholic,” Deacon Newsome said. “They’re going to Mass.
They’re committed to the faith, but they’re looking for the next step. They might not be satisfied with just being a Sunday Catholic.”
The inspiration for Deacon Newsome’s book on the saintly French bishop surfaced four years ago as he and his wife Joannie were seeking to increase their own holiness. They were looking for a devotional book to read after their evening prayers. Deacon Newsome recommended “An Introduction to the Devout Life,” and they started reading it together for the first time.
“St. Francis de Sales was most famous for his down-to-earth homilies that explained the complexities of the Christian faith in simple ways the people of his age could understand,” Deacon Newsome said, “and that came through in his writing as well.”
As they went through the book, Deacon Newsome said he did a fair amount of translating in the sense of culture and context. That’s when Joannie suggested that he write a book so he could help others understand the teachings more thoroughly as well. A prolific reader who has taught grammar and writing to their homeschooled children for years, she also worked with her husband to refine the manuscript and write the discussion questions.
“My wife is the best editor I know,” Deacon Newsome said, noting they worked in tandem throughout the writing process.
Authoring an update to a spiritual classic is a notable first foray into book publishing for anyone, but the seeds of “The Devout Life” were planted long ago.
“For the past 15 years I’ve been working in campus ministry helping young adults understand and appropriate the faith and put it into practice,” Deacon Newsome said. “I’ve worked as part of our lay ministry program. I’ve engaged in catechist training. My whole vocation, my whole work is helping people to understand these things, but it’s very humbling to think that I could update a saint because I am not a saint.”
If you’re looking for your next read, consider taking one step closer to ‘The Devout Life’ with Deacon Newsome.
— Annie Ferguson
TO ORDER: www.sophiainstitute.com/product/the-devout-life