St. Francis Study Guide

The St. Francis Study Guide is just published, and Dr. Thursday, avid and knowledgeable Chestertonian (so this means a lot to me), who is a regular reader here, has written an awesome review of it after his first read-through. No, that's wrong, as he says, this is not the review, he will review it later. This is his first reaction.

I just received the GKC SFA Study Guide...WOW, what a work!!! I read it straight through last night. Very good. Now I have to read the GKC book again! [This is what I hoped for when I wrote it, that those who knew Chesterton's work would want to read it again; those that didn't couldn't wait to get their hands on a copy.-ed]...But it is quite wonderful, and also inspiring. The best bit for me was the point about STA [St. Thomas Aquinas-ed]- it sure is funny to think that GKC liked SFA so much he wrote another whole chapter about him in a book about somebody else! ...There are other good points here, and indeed so rich that one could even find a doctoral topic among your questions! ...it is a very nice book, and (like your other) ought to help get GKC into the hands of more people. It certainly will help enlighten more people about St. Francis, too - which is a very Chestertonian thing...once I re-read SFA I will do a review. But for now I will just write one word. Splendid! [emphasis mine-ed]

Thanks, Dr. T.
What do you get when you purchase the St. Francis Study Guide?

In the Introduction, I give you a history of Chesterton's love for St. Francis, and some pertinent background information about the writing of his book. Plus quotes from biographers about Chesterton writing St. Francis.

Next, I explain how to use the study guide, and who the study guide is for.

Who? This study guide is much more in depth than the Blue Cross, so I've recommended it for upper high school students, Juniors and Seniors, and college age. Plus, this book would be ideal for a Chesterton study group, or an upper high school book club. It could also be used at a parish reading club, or in High School religion or lit classes, or Religious Education classes.

I have broken down the study by chapters, and there are questions for each chapter, writing prompts, and deeper thinking discussion questions. There are 10 chapters in Chesterton's book, so this would make an ideal 10 week study, or if you squished together two of them, a 9 month school calendar study.

There is an extensive Resource Listing in the back, as well as a time line of St. Francis's life, and the Canticle of Brother Sun.

The student will think about
* Who was St. Francis?
* What does courtesy have to do with saintliness?
* What was unique about the world Francis was born into?
* What is the meaning of Le Jongleur De Dieu? A Troubadour?
* What is the difference between praising nature and nature worship?
* And much, much more.

Note: You will need the St. Francis book, which you can get here, be sure to join the ACS so you can get the 20% discount on the books.

If you have any questions about this book, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. You can get an autographed copy from me by clicking on the button on the left, or from the publisher.