Francis Assisi Quotes & Sayings

We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God's sake. — Francis Of Assisi

The modern mind is hard to please; and it generally calls the way of Godfrey ferocious and the way of Francis fanatical. That is, it calls any moral method unpractical, when it has just called any practical method immoral. — G.K. Chesterton

Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society. — Francis Of Assisi

The world is a great stage on which God displays his many wonders. — Francis Of Assisi

Madness, Brother Masseo, is the salt which prevents good sense from rotting. — Nikos Kazantzakis

Be patient in trials, watchful in prayer, and never cease working. — Francis Of Assisi

Grant me the treasure of sublime poverty: permit the distinctive sign of our order to be that it does not possess anything of its own beneath the sun, for the glory of your name, and that it have no other patrimony than begging. — Francis Of Assisi

It is the devil's greatest triumph when he can deprive us of the joy of the Spirit. He carries fine dust with him in little boxes and scatters it through the cracks in our conscience in order to dim the soul's pure impulses and its luster. But the joy that fills the heart of the spiritual person destroys the deadly poison of the serpent. But if any are gloomy and think that they are abandoned in their sorrow, gloominess will continuously tear at them or else they will waste away in empty diversions. When gloominess takes root, evil grows. If it is not dissolved by tears, permanent damage is done. — Francis Of Assisi

Do few things but do them well, simple joys are holy. — Francis Of Assisi

We adore Thee most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here in all Thy Churches, which are in the whole world, because by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world — Francis Of Assisi

Francis of Assisi tells us we should work to build peace. But there is no true peace without truth! There cannot be true peace if everyone is his own criterion, if everyone can always claim exclusively his own rights, without at the same time caring for the good of others, of everyone, on the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this earth. — Pope Francis

Like dear St. Francis of Assisi I am wedded to Poverty: but in my case the marriage is not a success. — Oscar Wilde

The greatest artists, saints, philosophers, and, until quite recent times, scientists ... have all assumed that the New Testament promise of eternal life is valid ... I'd rather be wrong with Dante and Shakespeare and Milton, with Augustine of Hippo and Francis of Assisi, with Dr. Johnson, Blake, and Dostoevsky than right with Voltaire, Rousseau, the Huxleys, Herbert Spencer, H. G. Wells, and Bernard Shaw. — Malcolm Muggeridge

Our actions are our own; their consequences belong to Heaven. — Francis Of Assisi

And St. Francis said: 'My dear son, be patient, because the weaknesses of the body are given to us in this world by God for the salvation of the soul. So they are of great merit when they are borne patiently. — Francis Of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi taught me that there is a wound in the Creation and that the greatest use we could make of our lives was to ask to be made a healer of it. — Alan Paton

And just as He appeared before the holy Apostles in true flesh, so now He has us see Him in the Sacred Bread. Looking at Him with the eyes of their flesh, they saw only His Flesh, but regarding Him with the eyes of the spirit, they believed that He was God. In like manner, as we see bread and wine with our bodily eyes, let us see and believe firmly that it is His Most Holy Body and Blood, True and Living.For in this way our Lord is ever present among those who believe in him, according to what He said: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." — Francis Of Assisi

The servants of God who had been a besieged garrison became a marching army; the ways of the world were filled as with thunder with the trampling of their feet and far ahead of that ever swelling host went a man singing; as simply he had sung that morning in the winter woods, where he walked alone. — G.K. Chesterton

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. — Francis Of Assisi

A man who works with his hands is a labourer. A man who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. A man who works with his haands, his head, and his heart is an artist. — Francis Of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi had a saying, which was, "We are who we are in God's eyes and no more." We should keep this in mind when the spirit of vanity and pride want to rule us! How — Victoria Spalding

Water is the mirror of nature. — Francis Of Assisi

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence, we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. — Francis Of Assisi

Woe to those who die in mortal sin! — Francis Of Assisi

I've had the sort of day that would make St. Francis of Assisi kick babies. — Douglas Adams

Pure, holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh. — Francis Of Assisi

The Lord called me by the way of simplicity and humility, and this way He hath shown me in truth for me and those who will believe and imitate me. And therefore I would that ye name not to me any rule, neither of St. Augustine, nor St. Benedict, nor of Bernard, nor any way or form of living, but that which was mercifully shown and given me by the Lord. — Francis Of Assisi

True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice. — Francis Of Assisi

Holy obedience confounds all bodily and fleshly desires and keeps the body mortified to the obedience of the spirit and to the obedience of one's brother and makes a man subject to all the
men of this world and not to men alone, but also to all beasts and wild animals, so that they may do with him whatsoever they will, in so far as it may be granted to them from above by the
Lord. — Francis Of Assisi

Nothing can tend so much to humble us before the mercy and justice of God as the consideration of His benefits and our own sins. Let us, then, consider what He has done for us, and what we have done against Him; let us call to mind our sins in detail, and His gracious benefits in like manner, remembering that whatever there is of good in us is not ours, but His, and then we need not be afraid of vainglory or of taking complacency in ourselves ... — Francis Of Assisi

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching. — Francis Of Assisi

The only thing ever achieved in life without effort is failure. — Francis Of Assisi

Ask the beasts and they will teach you the beauty of this earth. — Francis Of Assisi

Make me an instrument of thy peace. — Francis Of Assisi

I don' mean to be at all ... St. Francis of Assisi or something, but anyone can shout obscenities. Why should I become like her? Why not think that sometimes- just sometimes- you can overcome evil with silence? And let people hear their hatefulness in their own ears, without distraction. Maybe goodness is enough to expose evil for what it really is, sometimes. Rather than trying to stop evil with more evil. Not that I'm good. I don't think I'm good. — Sylvain Reynard

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. — Francis Of Assisi

She was so pure and so brave and so singular in her faith and obedience to God that, perhaps like Francis of Assisi or even like Jesus himself, she challenges many of our deepest assumptions about what a life can be. — Eric Metaxas

The one you are looking for is the one who is looking. — Francis Of Assisi

If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. — Francis Of Assisi

Ly-di-ah! I sit beneath your window, laaaass, singing 'cause I loooove your a - "
"For the love of St. Francis of Assisi, someone call a vet. There is an injured animal screaming in pain outside," Charlotte interrupted the flow of music in ill-humor. — Michelle M. Pillow

The brave unfortunate are our best acquaintance. — Francis Of Assisi

When I think of some of the great renewals in the church I think of folks like St. Francis and Clare of Assisi who, through their lifestyle, were challenging the patterns of materialism and militarism and it affected the Christianity of their age. — Shane Claiborne

Be praised, O my Lord by Brother Wind, By air and cloud and every clime To whom Thou givest sustenance unto their kind. — Francis Of Assisi

There is absolutely no man in the whole world who can possess one among you unless he first die. — Francis Of Assisi

I pity the village where no one is a saint, but I also pity the village where everyone is a saint! — Nikos Kazantzakis

Who we are looking for is who is looking. — Francis Of Assisi

Don't change the world, change worlds. — Francis Of Assisi

195. "God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me a right faith, a sure hope, a perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out your holy command. — Francis Of Assisi

One can look at a plumber, a labourer, and say without a great sense of irony, 'He is a man, capable of the same heroism as Admiral Nelson or Saint Francis of Assisi.' But no one looks at a woman and says, 'She is a woman, she is capable of the same heroism as Lady Godiva or Anne Askew.' Our heroines are separated from us. So instead of trying to make Man accept us as daughters of heroism, we must raise all women to the level of heroines. — Kerry Greenwood

Holy wisdom confounds Satan and all his wickednesses. — Francis Of Assisi

Where there is discord may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. Where there is despair, may we bring hope. — Francis Of Assisi

What each man is in Your eyes, thus he is, and no more. — Francis Of Assisi

St. Seraphim, like Francis of Assisi, talked to animals. One day two nuns saw him deep in conversation with a bear. The bears of the Russian forests are very ferocious, and the two women were terrified. But Seraphim reassured them and showed them that he who is sanctified lives in peace with all creation, just as Adam did before the Fall. — Olivier Clement

God requires that we assist the animals, when they need our help. Each being (human or creature) has the same right of protection. — Francis Of Assisi

The greatest security we can have in this world that we are in the grace of God, does not consist in the feelings that we have of love to Him, but rather in an irrevocable abandonment of our whole being into His hands, and in a firm resolution never to consent to any sin great or small. — Francis Of Assisi

The process of my transformation came to a head with my discovery of St. Francis of Assisi during a pilgrimage I went on with a scout troop from my school. — Abbe Pierre

Jesus is happy to come with us, as truth is happy to be spoken, as life to be lived, as light to be lit, as love is to be loved, as joy to be given, as peace to be spread. — Francis Of Assisi

I beg you to show the greatest possible reverence and honor for the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things, whether on earth or in heaven, have been brought to peace and reconciled with Almighty God — Francis Of Assisi

May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you died for love of our love. — Francis Of Assisi

One of the greatest sermons ever pronounced on missionary work is this simple thought attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: 'Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.' Opportunities to do so are all around us. Do not miss them by waiting too long on the road to Damascus. — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. — Francis Of Assisi

What is it that stands higher than words? Action. What is it that stands higher than action? Silence. — Francis Of Assisi

Alms are an inheritance and a justice which is due to the poor and which Jesus has levied upon us. — Francis Of Assisi

By the anxieties and worries of this life Satan tries to dull man's heart and make a dwelling for himself there. — Francis Of Assisi

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. - Saint Francis of Assisi — Joyce Meyer

I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, He can work through anyone. — Francis Of Assisi

Holy charity confounds all diabolical and fleshly temptations and all fleshly fears. — Francis Of Assisi

Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally. — Francis Of Assisi

The whole world feels that it knows Francis, not so much because he follows Francis of Assisi but because he is always himself. We have seen him pay his own hotel bill and heard that Francis called Buenos Aires for a pair of ordinary black shoes, like John XXIII, who preferred stout peasant shoes to the traditional papal footwear. — Eugene Kennedy

A man has only so much knowledge as he puts to work. — Francis Of Assisi

Don't canonize me too soon. I'm perfectly capable of fathering a child. — Francis Of Assisi

Great and glorious God, and Thou Lord Jesus, I pray you shed abroad your light in the darkness of my mind. Be found of me, Lord, so that in all things I may act only in accordance with Thy holy will. — Francis Of Assisi

What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble Himself like this under the form of a little bread, for our salvation ... In this world I cannot see the Most High Son of God with my own eyes, except for His Most Holy Body and Blood. — Francis Of Assisi

Where there is injury let me sow pardon. — Francis Of Assisi

Small yet strong in the love of God, like Saint Francis of Assisi, all of us, as Christians, are called to watch over
and protect the fragile world in which we live, and all its peoples. — Pope Francis

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. — Francis Of Assisi

[Francis of Assisi was one of the] signal figures who are catalysts for rapid change — Jon M. Sweeney

The Father willed that his blessed and glorious Son, whom he gave to us and who was born for us, should through his own blood offer himself as a sacrificial victim on the altar of the cross. This was to be done not for himself through whom all things were made, but for our sins. — Francis Of Assisi

There is no use in walking anywhere to preach if your walking isn't your preaching. — Francis Of Assisi

Preach always. If necessary, use words. — Francis Of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi understood the power of faith put into action to change the human heart, for it was he who said, "Preach the gospel always; when necessary use words." We had not yet spoken a word in their language, but the village elders had already "heard" the gospel. — Richard Stearns

You cannot all abandon your possessions, but at least you can change your attitude about them. All getting separates you from others; all giving unites to others. — Francis Of Assisi

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens, you have made them bright, precious and fair. — Francis Of Assisi

When I think of the happiness that is in store for me, every sorrow, every pain becomes dear to me. — Francis Of Assisi

Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest. — Francis Of Assisi

A promise is a child of the understanding and the will; the understanding begets it, the will brings it forth. — Francis Of Assisi

Gold hath no lustre of its own.
It shines by temperate use alone. — Francis Of Assisi

And in any preaching you do, admonish the people concerning repentance, and that nobody can be saved except he who receives the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord. And when It is sacrificed on the altar by the priest or borne anywhere, let all the people on bended knees render praise, glory and honor to the True and Living Lord God. — Francis Of Assisi

I am the herald of the Great King. — Francis Of Assisi

Such was the will of the Father that his Son, blessed and glorious, whom he gave to us, and who was born for us, should by his own blood, sacrifice, and oblation, offer himself on the altar of the cross, not for himself, by whom "all things were made," but for our sins, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps. — Francis Of Assisi

Preach the gospel wherever you can; when all else fails use words. — Francis Of Assisi

Preach the Gospels everyday & only if you have to ... use words. — Francis Of Assisi

Does the meaning of Jesus Christ for, say, George W. Bush have anything at all in common with his meaning for, say, Francis of Assisi? — Richard Seaford

The good Bishop of Assisi expressed a sort of horror at the hard life which the Little Brothers lived at the Portiuncula, without comforts, without possessions, eating anything they could get and sleeping anyhow on the ground. St. Francis answered him with that curious and almost stunning shrewdness which the unworldly can sometimes wield like a club of stone. He said, 'If we had any possessions, we should need weapons and laws to defend them. — G.K. Chesterton

We should seek not so much to pray but to become prayer. — Francis Of Assisi

Necessity knows no magic formulae-they are all left to chance. If a love is to be unforgettable, fortuities must immediately start fluttering down to it like birds to Francis of Assisi's shoulders. — Milan Kundera

St. Francis of Assisi was hoeing his garden when someone asked what he would do if he were suddenly to learn that he would die before sunset that very day. "I would finish hoeing my garden," he replied. — Francis Of Assisi

I have sinned against my brother the ass. — Francis Of Assisi

If things went according to death notices, man would be absolutely perfect. There you find only first-class fathers, immaculate husbands, model children, unselfish and self-sacrificing mothers, grandparents mourned by all, businessmen in contrast with whom Francis of Assisi would seem an infinite egoist, generals dripping with kindness, humane prosecuting attorneys, almost holy munitions makers - in short, the earth seems to have been populated by a horde of wingless angels without one's having been aware of it. — Erich Maria Remarque

To defend his purity, Saint Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, Saint Benedict threw himself into a thorn bush, and Saint Bernard plunged into an icy pond ... You - what have you done? — Josemaria Escriva