“For acting thus you will remain innocent among the hissings of the serpents, and like a sweet strawberry you will receive no venom from the contact of venomous tongues.”
— Francis de Sales
“Examine your heart often to see if it is such toward your neighbor as you would like his to be toward you were you in his place. This is the touchstone of true reason.”
— Francis de Sales
“Ought we not to love dearly the neighbor, who truly represents to us the sacred Person of our Master? And is this not one of the most powerful motives we could have for loving each other with an ardently burning love?”
— Francis de Sales
“I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was cold and you clothed me; come, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ He who is the the King of the poor and of kings will say this at His great judgment.”
— Francis de Sales
“Frequently give up some of your property by giving it with a generous heart to the poor … It is true that God will repay us not only in the next world but even in this.”
— Francis de Sales
“There are two sorts of good wills. The one says, “I would do well, but it gives me trouble, and I will not do it.” The other, “I wish to do well, but I have not as much power as I have will; it is this which holds me back.” The first fills Hell, the second Paradise.”
— Francis de Sales
“The whole world is not worth one soul.”
— Francis de Sales
“One of the best exercises in meekness we can perform is when the subject Is in ourselves. We must not fret over our own imperfections. Although reason requires that we must be displeased and sorry whenever we commit a fault we must refrain from bitter, gloomy,spiteful, and emotional displeasure. Many people are greatly at fault in this way. When overcome by anger they become angry at being angry, disturbed at being disturbed and vexed at being vexed. By such means they keep their hearts drenched and steeped in passion.”
— Francis de Sales
“Everybody finds themselves sometimes deficient in what they need, and put to inconvenience … the richest people may easily be without something they want, and that is practically to suffer poverty. Accept such occurrences cheerfully, rejoice in them, bear them willingly.”
— Francis de Sales
“Take patiently the petty annoyances, the trifling discomforts, the unimportant losses which come upon all of us daily; for by means of these little matters, lovingly and freely accepted, you will give Him your whole heart, and win His.”
— Francis de Sales
“God’s favor floats as it were over all this and finds joy in turning all those miseries to the greater profit of those who love Him. From toil He makes patience spring forth.”
— Francis de Sales
“Oppose vigorously any tendency to sadness … You must persevere. By means of sorrow the enemy tries to make us weary of good works, but if he sees that we don’t give them up and that being done in spite of his opposition they have become very meritorious, he will stop troubling us.”
— Francis de Sales
“We must unceasingly ask for [perseverance] by making use of the means which God has taught us for obtaining it: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, frequenting the sacraments, association with good companions, and hearing and reading Holy Scripture.”
— Francis de Sales
“If we walk steadily and faithfully…God will lift us up to greater things.”
— Francis de Sales
“He will unfailingly be pleased with our patience and take note of our diligence and perseverance.”
— Francis de Sales
“Be patient and one day you will be in Heaven, where there will be only peace and joy … You will possess an enduring tranquility and rest.”
— Francis de Sales
“During the night we must wait for the light.”
— Francis de Sales
“Never be hurried in anything. Do all things calmly and in a spirit of repose. Do not lose your inward peace even if everything seems to be going wrong. What is anything in life compared to peace of soul?”
— Francis de Sales
“He would never exhort the faithful to persevere if he were not ready to give them the power to do so.”
— Francis de Sales
“Fits of anger, vexation,and bitterness against ourselves tend to pride and they spring from no other source than self-love, which is disturbed and upset at seeing that it is imperfect.”
— Francis de Sales
“Truly it is a blessed thing to love on earth as we hope to love in Heaven, and to begin that friendship here which is to endure for ever there.”
— Francis de Sales
“Let us make our way through these low valleys of the humble and little virtues. We shall see in them the roses amid the thorns, charity that shows its beauty among interior and exterior afflictions, the lilies of purity.”
— Francis de Sales
“A man who can own pearls does not bother about shells, and those who aspire to virtue do not trouble themselves over honors.”
— Francis de Sales
“If after all your efforts you cannot succeed, you could not please our Lord more than by sacrificing to Him your will, and remaining in tranquility, humility, and devotion, entirely conformed and submissive to His divine will and good pleasure.”
— Francis de Sales
“The King of Glory does not reward His servants according to the dignity of their office, but according to the humility and love with which they have exercised it.”
— Francis de Sales
“Little deeds that proceed from charity please God and have their place among meritorious acts.”
— Francis de Sales
“Certainly all virtues are very dear to God, but humility pleases Him above all the others, and it seems that He can refuse it nothing.”
— Francis de Sales
“Humility consists in not esteeming ourselves above other men, and in not seeking to be esteemed above them.”
— Francis de Sales
“When we find that we have been aroused to anger we must call for God’s help like the apostles when they were tossed about by the wind and storm on the waters. He will command your passions to cease and there will be a great calm.”
— Francis de Sales
“Grace is never wanting. God always gives sufficient grace to whoever is willing to receive it.”
— Francis de Sales