Saint Francis de Sales Quotes

The whole world is not worth one soul.

Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself. I mean do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: 'The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart has trusted in Him and I am helped. He is not only with me but in me and I in Him.'

Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily.

What son would not bring his mother back to life and would not bring her into paradise after her death if he could?

Friendship requires great communication.

Charity and devotion differ no more, the one from the other, than the flame from the fire.

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

Have patience to walk with short steps until you have wings to fly.

It is the mark of a mean, vulgar and ignoble spirit to dwell on the thought of food before meal times or worse to dwell on it afterwards, to discuss it and wallow in the remembered pleasures of every mouthful. Those whose minds dwell before dinner on the spit, and after on the dishes, are fit only to be scullions.

One rarely does well what one rarely does.

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections.

To love our neighbor in charity is to love God in man.

Don't get upset with your imperfections. Surrender to the Power of God's Love, which is greater than our weakness.

A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship.

Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God.

Strive to see God in all things without exception. Do not smother yourself...If you start smothering yourself with a host of cares and longings and wishes ... you will be disabling yourself from serving God with all your heart.

We have freedom to do good or evil; yet to make choice of evil, is not to use, but to abuse our freedom.

Nothing is more like a wise man than a fool who holds his tongue.

Half an hour's meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.

One single day of devotion is worth more than a thousand years of worldly life.

Let the enemy rage at the gate; let him knock, pound, scream, howl; let him do his worst. We know for certain that he cannot enter our soul except by the door of our consent.

Provided that God be glorified, we must not care by whom.

God is present everywhere, and every person is His work.

If you would fall into any extreme, let it be on the side of gentleness. The human mind is so constructed that it resists rigor, and yields to softness.

Cook the truth in charity until it tastes sweet.

The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.

Work hard every day at increasing your purity of heart, which consists in appraising things and weighing them in the balance of God's will.

True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice.

You can attract more bees with a spoonful of sugar than a cupful of vinegar.

Let is walk ... joyously, dear souls, among the difficulties of this passing life ... These pains will have an end when our life ends, after which there will be only joy, only contentment, only eternal consolation.

During the night we must wait for the light.

Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.

Nothing appeases an enraged elephant so much as the sight of a little lamb.

Flowers often grow more beautifully on dung-hills than in gardens that look beautifully kept.

Chastity is the lily of virtues, and makes men almost equal to Angels. Everything is beautiful in accordance with its purity. Now the purity of man is chastity, which is called honesty, and the observance of it, honor and also integrity; and its contrary is called corruption; in short, it has this peculiar excellence above the other virtues, that it preserves both soul and body fair and unspotted.

Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: Now I begin to love my God.

Let us think only of spending the present day well. Then when tomorrow shall have come, it will be called today, and then we will think about it.

He who can preserve gentleness amid pains, and peace amid worry multitude of affairs, is almost perfect.

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew.

You learn to love by loving.

Be who you are and do that well.

Obedience is a consecration of the heart, chastity of the body, and poverty of all worldly goods to the Love and Service of God. Blessed indeed are the obedient, for God will never permit them to go astray.

It is right that you should begin again every day. There is no better way to complete the spiritual life than to be ever beginning it over again.

Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.

If I want only pure water, what does it matter to me whether it be brought in a vase of gold or of glass? What is it to me whether the will of God be presented to me in tribulation or consolation, since I desire and seek only the Divine will?

Every Christian needs a half-hour of prayer each day, except when he is busy, then he needs an hour.

If you have to do with one who is unquestionably a slanderer, do not excuse him by calling him frank and free-spoken; do not call one who is notoriously vain, liberal and elegant; do not call dangerous levities mere simplicity; do not screen disobedience under the name of zeal; or arrogance, of frankness; or evil intimacy, of friendship. No, my friends, we must never, in our wish to shun slander, foster or flatter vice in others: but we must call evil evil, and sin sin, and so doing we shall serve God's glory.