Saint Francis de Sales

Saint Francis de Sales

Saint, Bishop

Saint Francis de Sales was a 17th-century bishop and writer known for his teachings on love and spirituality, particularly in 'Introduction to the Devout Life.'

Heart Saint Soul Spiritual Humility Men
Born
August 21, 1567
Died
January 28, 1622
Quotes
201
Rank
#724

Quote collection

Saint Francis de Sales quotes (page 2 of 11)

201 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"The enemy often tries to make us attempt and start many projects so that we will be overwhelmed with too many tasks, and therefore achieve nothing and leave everything unfinished. Sometimes he even suggests the wish to undertake some excellent work that he foresees we will never accomplish. This is to distract us from the prosecution of some less excellent work that we would have easily completed. He does not care how many plans and beginnings we make, provided nothing is finished."

Excellent Work Enemy Wish
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"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."

Spiritual Peace Upset
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"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."

Spiritual Way Should
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"It is to those who have the most need of us that we ought to show our love more especially."

Saint Needs Our Love
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"Those who pray from the heart do not think about the prayer they are saying, but about the God to whom they pray."

Prayer Heart Thinking
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time."

Encouragement Trying Encounters
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"The highest degree of meekness consists in seeing, serving, honoring, and treating amiably, on occasion, those who are not to our taste, and who show themselves unfriendly, ungrateful, and troublesome to us."

Ungrateful Taste Degrees
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"You can attract more bees with a spoonful of sugar than a cupful of vinegar."

Kindness Generosity Sugar
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"A heart-memory is better than a mere head-memory. Better to carry away a little of the love of Christ in our souls, than if we were able to repeat every word of every sermon we ever heard."

Memories Heart Soul
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"We have freedom to do good or evil; yet to make choice of evil, is not to use, but to abuse our freedom."

Evil Choices Abuse
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"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."

Blessed Heaven Earth
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"We must never undervalue any person. The workman loves not that his work should be despised in his presence. Now God is present everywhere, and every person is His work."

Appreciation Should Workmen
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"To lose ourselves in God is simply to give up our own will to Him. When a soul can truly say Lord I have no other will than Thine it is truly lost in God and united to Him."

Giving Up Soul Lord
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"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. How are we to be patient in dealing with our neighbour's faults if we are impatient in dealing with our own? He who is fretted by his own failings will not correct them. All profitable correction comes from a calm and peaceful mind."

Courage Mean Imperfection
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"The elephant, not only the largest but the most intelligent of animals, provides us with an excellent example. It is faithful and tenderly loving to the female of its choice, mating only every third year and then for no more than five days, and so secretly as never to be seen, until, on the sixth day, it appears and goes at once to wash its whole body in the river, unwilling to return to the herd until thus purified. Such good and modest habits are an example to husband and wife."

Husband Animal Intelligent
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Saint Francis de Sales Saint, Bishop
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"Without a doubt, one of the things which keeps us from attaining perfection is our tongue. When one has reached the point of no longer committing faults in speech, he has surely reached perfection, as was said by the Holy Spirit. The worst defect in talking is talking too much. Hence, in speech be brief and virtuous, brief and gentle, brief and simple, brief and charitable, brief and amiable."

Simple Attachment Talking
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