 The words of St. Francis of Assisi (1811 or 1812, d. Oct. 3, 1226) the founder of the Franciscan Order, perhaps the most beloved Catholic saint of all, are often quoted. The following wisdom of St. Francis may bring comfort to my readers.
“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to His beloved is that of overcoming self.”
“For it is in giving that we receive.”
“I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.”
“If a superior give any order to one who is under him which is against that man's conscience, although he do not obey it, yet he shall not be dismissed.”
“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.”
“It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”
“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.”
“It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.”
“Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.”
“No one is to be called an enemy; all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.”
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
“Where there is injury let me sow pardon.”
“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.”
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