There are many who want me to tell them of secret ways of becoming perfect and I can only tell them that the sole secret is a hearty love of God, and the only way of attaining that love is by loving. You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving. Begin as a mere apprentice and the very power of love will lead you on to become a master of the art.
Saint Francis de SalesWhen charity requires it we must freely and mildly communicate to our neighbor not only what is his instruction, but also what is profitable for his consolation.
Saint Francis de SalesThere are no galley-slaves in the royal vessel of divine love - every man works his oar voluntarily!
Saint Francis de SalesHumility consists in not esteeming ourselves above other men, and in not seeking to be esteemed above them.
Saint Francis de SalesOne of the most evil dispositions possible is that which satirizes and turns everything to ridicule. God abhors this vice, and has sometimes punished it in a marked manner
Saint Francis de SalesThere are many who say to the Lord, "I give myself wholly to Thee, without any reserve," but there are few who embrace the practice of this abandonment, which consists in receiving with a certain indifference every sort of event, as it happens in conformity with Divine Providence, as well afflictions as consolations, contempt and reproaches as honor and glory.
Saint Francis de Sales