Humility makes our lives acceptable to God, meekness makes us acceptable to men. Saint Francis de Sales More Quotes by Saint Francis de Sales More Quotes From Saint Francis de Sales Lately I was near the beehives and some of the bees flew onto my face. I wanted to raise my hand, and brush them off. 'No,' said a peasant to me, 'do not be afraid, and do not touch them. They will not sting you at all, if you touch them they will bite you.' I trusted him; not one bit me. Trust me; do not fear these temptations. Do not touch them; they will not hurt you. Saint Francis de Sales hurt temptation hands The spirit cannot endure the body when overfed, but, if underfed, the body cannot endure the spirit. Saint Francis de Sales healthy cooking food Those who love to be feared fear to be loved, and they themselves are more afraid than anyone, for whereas other men fear only them, they fear everyone. Saint Francis de Sales one-love love men Do not be ashamed of being poor, or of asking alms. Receive what is given you with humility, and accept a refusal meekly. Frequently call to mind Our Lady's journey into Egypt with her Holy Child, and of all the poverty, contempt and suffering they endured. If you follow their example you will indeed be rich amid your poverty. Saint Francis de Sales humility journey children Provided that God be glorified, we must not care by whom. Saint Francis de Sales care humility Many who confess their venial sins out of custom and concern for order but without thought of amendment remain burdened with them for their whole life and thus lose many spiritual benefits and advantages. Saint Francis de Sales catholic spiritual order Make sickness itself a prayer. Saint Francis de Sales sickness illness prayer 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. Saint Francis de Sales body blessed heart The damned are in the abyss of Hell, as within a woeful city, where they suffer unspeakable torments, in all their senses and members, because as they have employed all their senses and their members in sinning, so shall they suffer in each of them the punishment due to sin. Saint Francis de Sales punishment cities suffering Do not fret under such assistance as is needful; therein lies one great grace of poverty. It were overambitious to aim at being poor without suffering any inconvenience, in other words, to have the credit of poverty and the convenience of riches. Saint Francis de Sales grace suffering lying In no other action can our Savior be considered more tender or more loving than in this, in which He, as it were, annihilates Himself and reduces Himself to food, that He may penetrate our souls and unite Himself to the hearts of His faithful. Saint Francis de Sales faithful soul heart Faith fills a man with love for the beauty of its truth, with faith in the truth of its beauty Saint Francis de Sales faith men Many great persons have been of opinion that love is no other thing than complacency itself, in which they have had much appearance of reason. For not only does the movement of love take its origin from the complacency which the heart feels at the first approach of good, and find its end in a second complacency which returns to the heart by union with the thing beloved--but further, it depends for its preservation on this complacency, and can only subsist through it as through its mother and nurse; so that as soon as the complacency ceases, love ceases. Saint Francis de Sales mother heart love All true and living devotion presupposes the love of God and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind; for that Love one while shining on the soul we call grace, which makes us acceptable to His Divine Majesty; when it strengthens us to do well, it is called Charity; but when it attains its fullest perfection, in which it not only leads us to do well, but to act carefully, diligently, and promptly, then it is called Devotion. Saint Francis de Sales shining real perfection I recommend to you holy simplicity. Saint Francis de Sales holy simplicity simple The highest point of humility consists in not merely acknowledging one's abjection, but in taking pleasure therein, not from any want of breadth or courage, but to give the more glory to God's Divine Majesty, and to esteem one's neighbour more highly than one's self. Saint Francis de Sales humility self giving Represent to yourself a dark city all burning and stinking with fire and brimstone. The damned are in the depth of hell within this woful city, where they suffer unspeakable torments in all their senses and members. Consider above all the eternity of their pains, which above all things makes hell intolerable. Saint Francis de Sales pain cities dark The Devil doesn't fear austerity but holy obedience. Saint Francis de Sales austerity obedience devil There are no galley-slaves in the royal vessel of divine love - every man works his oar voluntarily! Saint Francis de Sales royal love men Do not complain then of your poverty, my daughter, - we only complain of that which is unwelcome, and if poverty is unwelcome to you, you are no longer poor in spirit. Saint Francis de Sales poverty daughter complaining
