Fenelon Quotes & Sayings

There is practically nothing that men do not prefer to God. A tiresome detail of business, an occupation utterly pernicious to health, the employment of time in ways one does not dare to mention. Anything rather than God. — Francois Fenelon

Let the water flow beneath the bridge; let men be men, that is to say, weak, vain, inconstant, unjust, false, and presumptuous; let the world be the world still; you cannot prevent it. Let every one follow his own inclination and habits; you cannot recast them, and the best course is, to let them be as they are and bear with them. Do not think it strange when you witness unreasonableness and injustice; rest in peace in the bosom of God; He sees it all more clearly than you do, and yet permits it. Be content to do quietly and gently what it becomes you to do, and let everything else be to you as though it were not. — Francois Fenelon

Little faults become great, and even monstrous in our eyes, in proportion as the pure light of God increases in us; just as the sun in rising, reveals the true dimensions of objects which were dimly and confusedly discovered during the night. — Francois Fenelon

The Christian life is a long and continual tendency of our hearts toward that eternal goodness which we desire on earth. All our happiness consists in thirsting for it. Now this thirst is prayer. Ever desire to approach your Creator, and you will never cease to pray. Do not think it necessary to pronounce many words. — Francois Fenelon

Avoid all refined speculations; confine yourself to simple reflections, and recur to them frequently. Those who pass too rapidly from one truth to another feed their curiosity and restlessness; they even distract their intellect with too great a multiplicity of views. Give every truth time to send down deep root into the heart. — Francois Fenelon

We may as well tolerate all religions, since God Himself tolerates all. — Francois Fenelon

God felt, God tasted and enjoyed is indeed God, but God with those gifts which flatter the soul, God in darkness, in privation, in forsakenness, in sensibility, is so much God, that he is so to speak God bare and alone. Shall we fear this death, which is to produce in us the true divine life of grace? — Francois Fenelon

Pure love is in the will alone; it is no sentimental love, for the imagination has no part in it; it loves, if we may so express it, without feeling, as faith believes without seeing. — Francois Fenelon

Let gratitude for the past inspire us with trust for the future. — Francois Fenelon

Make this simple rule the guide of your life: to have no will but God's. — Francois Fenelon

As the reflections of our pride upon our defects are bitter, disheartening, and vexatious, so the return of the soul towards God is peaceful and sustained by confidence. You will find by experience how much more your progress will be aided by this simple, peaceful turning towards God, than by all your chagrin and spite at .the faults that exist in you. — Francois Fenelon

To be faithful in prayer it is indispensable that we arrange all the activities of the day with a regularity that nothing can disturb — Francois Fenelon

We must have faith during the period of our grief. We think that our afflictions will be greater than we can bear, but we do not know the strength of our own hearts, nor the power of God. He knows all. He knows every folding of the heart and also the extent of the sorrow that he inflicts. What we think will overwhelm us entirely only subdues and conquers our pride. Our renewed spirit rises from its subjugation with a celestial strength and consolation. — Francois Fenelon

We must truly serve those whom we appear to command; we must bear with their imperfections, correct them with gentleness and patience, and lead them in the way to heaven. — Francois Fenelon

True piety hath in it nothing weak, nothing sad, nothing constrained. It enlarges the heart; it is simple, free, and attractive. — Francois Fenelon

If God bores you, tell Him that He bores you, that you prefer the vilest amusements to His presence, that you only feel at your ease when you are far from Him. — Francois Fenelon

Had we not faults of our own, we should take less pleasure in complaining of others. — Francois Fenelon

There is never any peace for those who resist God. — Francois Fenelon

Nothing will make us so charitable and tender to the faults of others as by self-examination thoroughly to know our own. — Francois Fenelon

The most essential point is lowliness. — Francois Fenelon

Do we accustom ourselves to see all things in the light of faith? Do we correct all our judgments by it? Alas! The greater part of Christians think and act like mere heathens; if we judge (as we justly may) of their faith by their practice, we must conclude they have no faith at all. — Francois Fenelon

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they who are stripped of every thing, even of their own wills, that they may no longer belong to themselves. — Francois Fenelon

Children are very nice observers, and they will often perceive our slightest defects. It general those who govern children forgive nothing in them, but everything in themselves. — Francois Fenelon

Those who are wholly God's are always happy. — Francois Fenelon

Let me follow in Thy footsteps, O Jesus ! I would imitate Thee, but cannot without the aid of Thy grace! O humble and lowly Saviour, grant me the knowledge of the true Christian, and that I may willingly despise myself; let me learn the lesson so incomprehensible to the mind of man, that I must die to myself by an abandonment that shall produce true humility. — Francois Fenelon

O God, the creature knows not to what end Thou hast made Him; teach him, and write in the depths of his soul that the clay must suffer itself to be shaped at the will of the potter. — Francois Fenelon

Simplicity brings back the joys of Paradise. Not that we have pure pleasure without a moment's suffering, but when we are surrendered to God, we are not grasping for pleasure, and even our troubles are received with thanksgiving. This inner harmony, and this deliverance from fear and the tormenting desires of self, create a satisfaction in the soul which is above all the intoxicating joys of this world put together. — Francois Fenelon

Give yourself up to His plans. Be led wherever He wills by His providence. Beware how you seek aid from man when God forbids it. Men can only give you what He gives them for you. Why should you be troubled that you can no longer drink from the aqueduct when you are led to the perennial spring itself from which its waters are derived? — Francois Fenelon

It is only by fidelity in little things that the grace of true love to God can be sustained, and distinguished from a passing fervor of spirit ... No one can well believe that our piety is sincere, when our behavior is lax and irregular in its little details. What probability is there that we should not hesitate to make the greatest sacrifices, when we shrink from the smallest? — Francois Fenelon

How rare it is to find a soul quiet enough to hear God speak. — Francois Fenelon

I love my country better than my family; but I love humanity better than my country. — Francois Fenelon

Violent excitement exhausts the mind and leaves it withered and sterile. — Francois Fenelon

Do not make best friends with a melancholy sad soul. They always are heavily loaded, and you must bear half. — Francois Fenelon

God, who is liberal in all his other gifts, shows us, by the wise economy of His providence, how circumspect we ought to be in the management of our time, for He never gives us two moments together. — Francois Fenelon

We may be sure that it is the love of God only that can make us come out of self. If His powerful hand did not sustain us, we should not know how to take the first step in that direction. — Francois Fenelon

When we are truly in this interior simplicity our whole appearance is franker, more natural. This true simplicity ... makes us conscious of a certain openness, gentleness, innocence, gaiety, and serenity. O, how amiable this simplicity is! Who will give it to me? I leave all for this. It is the pearl of the Gospel. — Francois Fenelon

God never ceases to speak to us, but the noise of the world without and the tumult of our passions within bewilder us and prevent us from listening to him — Francois Fenelon

Thou lovest like an infinite God when Thou lovest; Thou movest heaven and earth to save Thy loved ones. Thou becomest man, a babe, the vilest of men, covered with reproaches, dying with infamy and under the pangs of the cross; all this is not too much for an infinite love. — Francois Fenelon

Genuine good taste consists in saying much in few words, in choosing among our thoughts, in having order and arrangement in what we say, and in speaking with composure. — Francois Fenelon

There is no more dangerous illusion than the fancies by which people try to avoid illusion. — Francois Fenelon

Can we be unsafe where God has placed us, and where He watches over us as a parent a child that he loves? — Francois Fenelon

There were some who said that a man at the point of death was more free than all others, because death breaks every bond, and over the dead the united world has no power. — Francois Fenelon

Simplicity is that grace which frees the soul from all unnecessary reflections upon itself. — Francois Fenelon

The art of cookery is the art of poisoning mankind, by rendering the appetite still importunate, when the wants of nature are supplied. — Francois Fenelon

Pity enlarges the heart. — Francois Fenelon

Most people I ask little from. I try to give them much, and expect nothing in return and I do very well in the bargain. — Francois Fenelon

Alas! how many souls there are full of self, and yet desirous of doing good and serving God, but in such a way as to suit themselves; who desire to impose rules upon God as to His manner of drawing them to Himself. They want to serve and possess Him, but they are not willing to be possessed by Him. — Francois Fenelon

God is so good that He only awaits our desire to overwhelm us with the gift of himself. — Francois Fenelon

We are never less alone than when we are in the society of a single, faithful friend; never less deserted than when we are carried in tne arms of the All-Powerful. — Francois Fenelon

Wine is the source of the greatest evils among communities. It causes diseases, quarrels, seditions, idleness, aversion to labor, and family disorders ... It is a species of poison that causes madness. It does not make a man die, but it degrades him into a brute. Men may preserve their health and vigor without wine; with wine they run the risk of ruining their health and losing their morals. — Francois Fenelon

Be content with doing calmly the little which depends upon yourself, and let all else be to you as if it were not. — Francois Fenelon

Accustom yourself to unreasonableness and injustice. Abide in peace in the presence of God Who sees all these evils more clearly than you do, and Who permits them. Be content with doing with calmness the little which depends upon yourself, and let all else be to you as if it were naught. — Francois Fenelon

The smallest things become great when God requires them of us; they are small only in themselves; they are always great when they are done for God. — Francois Fenelon

God is merciful, showing us our true hideousness only in proportion to the courage he gives us to bear the sight. — Francis Fenelon

All earthly delights are sweeter in expectation than in enjoyment; but all spiritual pleasures more in fruition than in expectation. — Francois Fenelon

There is no real elevation of mind in a contempt of little things; it is, on the contrary, from too narrow views that we consider those things of little importance which have in fact such extensive consequences. — Francois Fenelon

The greater our dread of crosses, the more necessary they are for us. — Francois Fenelon

On this earth all is temptation. Crosses tempt us by irritating our pride, and prosperity by flattering it. Our life is a continual combat, but one in which Jesus Christ fights for us. We must pass on unmoved, while temptations rage around us, as the traveler, overtaken by a storm, simply wraps his cloak more closely about him, and pushes on more vigorously toward his destined home. — Francois Fenelon

So long as we are full of self we are shocked at the faults of others. Let us think often of our own sin, and we shall be lenient to the sins of others. — Francois Fenelon

Exactness and neatness in moderation is a virtue, but carried to extremes narrows the mind. — Francois Fenelon

People who have no secrets from each other never want for a subject of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back, neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of their heart, without consideration they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God. — Francois Fenelon

Let us pray God that He would root out of our hearts every thing of our own planting, and set out there, with His own hands, the tree of life, bearing all manner of fruits. — Francois Fenelon

Nothing is so costly as the pursuit of a cure for imaginary ills. — Francois Fenelon

Discouragement is simply the despair of wounded self-love. — Francois Fenelon

It is when God appears to have abandoned us that we must abandon ourselves most wholly to God. — Francois Fenelon

Commit yourself then to God! He will be your guide. He Himself will travel with you, as we are told He did with the Israelites, to bring them step by step across the desert to the promised land. Ah! what will be your blessedness, if you will but surrender yourself into the hands of God, permitting Him to do whatever He will, not according to your desires, but according to His own good pleasure? — Francois Fenelon

The blood of a nation ought never to be shed except for its own preservation in the utmost extremity. — Francois Fenelon

What then are we afraid of? Can we have too much of God? Is it a misfortune to be freed from the heavy yoke of the world, and to bear the light burden of Jesus Christ? Do we fear to be too happy, too much deliver from ourselves, from the caprices of pride, the violence of our passions, and the tyranny of this deceitful world? — Francois Fenelon

Little opportunities should be improved. — Francois Fenelon

The greatest defect of common education is, that we are in the habit of putting pleasure all on one side, and weariness on the other; all weariness in study, all pleasure in idleness. — Francois Fenelon

The passion of acquiring riches in order to support a vain expense corrupts the purest souls. — Francois Fenelon

As long as anything in this world means anything to you, your freedom is only a word. You are like a bird that is held by a leash; you can only fly so far. — Francois Fenelon

How does our will become sanctified? By conforming itself unreservedly to that of God. — Francois Fenelon

All wars are civil ones; for it is still man spilling his own blood, tearing out his own bowels. — Francois Fenelon

In the light of eternity we shall see that what we desired would have been fatal to us, and that what we would have avoided was essential to our well-being. — Francois Fenelon

If we had strength and faith enough to trust ourselves entirely to God; and follow Him simply wherever He should lead us, we should have no need of any great effort of mind to reach perfection. — Francois Fenelon

Temptations are a file which rub off much of the rust of our self-confidence. — Francois Fenelon

How desirable is this simplicity! Who will give it to me? I will quit all else; it is the pearl of great price. — Francois Fenelon

I am not in the least surprised that your impression of death becomes more lively, in proportion as age and infirmity bring it nearer. God makes use of this rough trial to undeceive us in respect to our courage, to make us feel our weakness, and to keep us in all humility in His hands. — Francois Fenelon

Nothing is more false and more indiscreet than always to want to choose what mortifies us in everything. By this rule a person would soon ruin his health, his business, his reputation, his relations with his relatives and friends, in fact every good work which Providence gives him. — Francois Fenelon

A general rule for the good use of time is to accustom oneself to live in a continual dependence on the Spirit of God. — Francois Fenelon

Before putting yourself in peril, it is necessary to forsee and fear it; but when one is there, nothing remains but to despise it. — Francois Fenelon

You can often help others more by correcting your own faults than theirs. Remember, and you should, because of your own experience, that allowing God to correct your faults is not easy. Be patient with people, wait for God to work with them as He wills. — Francois Fenelon

Looking back over my own life I here declare without apology that it is the study of God's Word, year after year, close communion with Christ, and great books that have nourished my soul in wondrous ways. Such authors as Fenelon, Henry Drummond, F. B. Meyer, G. Campbell Morgan, Martyn Lloyd Jones, A. W. Tozer, Hannah Whitehall Smith Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray and John Stott have each, with their own special insights, enriched my life beyond measure. — W. Phillip Keller

I had often heard Mentor say, that the voluptuous were never brave, and I now found by experience that it was true; for the Cyprians whose jollity had been so extravagant and tumultuous, now sunk under a sense of their danger and wept like women. I heard nothing but the screams of terror and the wailings of hopeless distress. Some lamented the loss of pleasures that were never to return; but none had presence of mind either to undertake or direct the navigation of the menaced vessel. — Francois Fenelon

God is our true Friend, who always gives us the counsel and comfort we need. Our danger lies in resisting Him; so it is essential that we acquire the habit of hearkening to His voice, or keeping silence within, and listening so as to lose nothing of what He says to us. — Francois Fenelon

Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential and yet more neglected than prayer. — Francois Fenelon

To will everything that God wills, and to will it always, in all circumstances and without reservations: that is the kingdom of God which is entirely within. — Francois Fenelon

The kingdom of God which is within us consists in our willing whatever God wills, always, in every thing, and without reservation; and thus His kingdom comes; for His will is then done as it is in heaven, since we will nothing but what is dictated by His sovereign pleasure. — Francois Fenelon

God bears with imperfect beings even when they resist His goodness. We ought to imitate this merciful patience and endurance. It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are, the more gentle and quiet we become toward the defects of other people. — Francois Fenelon

Let us endeavor to commence every enterprise with a pure view to the glory of God, continue it without distraction, and finish it without impatience. — Francois Fenelon

Worry is the cross which we make for ourselves by over anxiety. — Francois Fenelon

A good historian is timeless; although he is a patriot, he will never flatter his country in any respect. — Francois Fenelon

Good taste rejects excessive nicety. — Francois Fenelon

God's treasury where He keeps His children's gifts will be like many a mother's store of relics of her children, full of things of no value to others, but precious in His eyes for the love's sake that was in them. — Francois Fenelon

In short, what ought to help most to open their eyes serves only to close them faster; — Francois Fenelon

Peace does not dwell in outward things but within the soul; we may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from acquiescence to, not an exemption from, suffering. — Francois Fenelon

I believe that we are conforming to the divine order and the will of Providence when we are doing even indifferent things that belong to our condition. — Francois Fenelon

True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him. The true prayer is that of the heart, and the heart prays only for what it desires. To pray, then is to desire
but to desire what God would have us desire. He who asks what he does not from the bottom of his heart desire, is mistaken in thinking that he prays. — Francois Fenelon

Nothing is more despicable than a professional talker who uses his words as a quack uses his remedies. — Francois Fenelon