Francis of Assisi Quotes (49 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

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Canticle of the Sun

Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi: 49 quotes 108 likes

Famous Francis of Assisi Quotes

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

Francis of Assisi

“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

Francis of Assisi

“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.”

Francis of Assisi

The Counsels of the Holy Father St. Francis, Admonition 27.
Context: Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.

“Holy wisdom confounds Satan and all his wickednesses.”

Francis of Assisi

Salutation of the Virtues
Context: Hail, queen wisdom! May the Lord save thee with thy sister holy pure simplicity!
O Lady, holy poverty, may the Lord save thee with thy sister holy humility!
O Lady, holy charity, may the Lord save thee with thy sister holy obedience!
O all ye most holy virtues, may the Lord, from whom you proceed and come, save you!
There is absolutely no man in the whole world who can possess one among you unless he first die.
He who possesses one and does not offend the others, possesses all; and he who offends one, possesses none and offends all; and every one [of them] confounds vices and sins.
Holy wisdom confounds Satan and all his wickednesses.
Pure holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh.
Holy poverty confounds cupidity and avarice and the cares of this world.
Holy humility confounds pride and all the men of this world and all things that are in the world.
Holy charity confounds all diabolical and fleshly temptations and all fleshly fears.
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.

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”

Francis of Assisi

“Pure, holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh.”

Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi Quotes

“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”

Francis of Assisi

Personality

“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that have received--only what you have given.”

Francis of Assisi

“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

Francis of Assisi

“Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.”

Francis of Assisi

Widely known as The Prayer of St. Francis, it is not found in Esser's authoritative collection of Francis's writings.
[Fr. Kajetan, Esser, OFM, ed., Opuscula Sancti Patris Francisci Assisiensis, Rome, Grottaferrata, 1978]. Additionally there is no record of this prayer before the twentieth century.
[Fr. Regis J., Armstrong, OFM, Francis and Clare: The Complete Works, New York, Paulist Press, 1982, 10, 0-8091-2446-7]. Dr. Christian Renoux of the University of Orleans in France traces the origin of the prayer to an anonymous 1912 contributor to La Clochette, a publication of the Holy Mass League in Paris. It was not until 1927 that it was attributed to St. Francis.
The Origin of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis, 2013-06-28, Renoux, Christian http://www.franciscan-archive.org/franciscana/peace.html,.
[Christian, Renoux, La prière pour la paix attribuée à saint François: une énigme à résoudre, Paris, Editions franciscaines, 2001, 2-85020-096-4].
Misattributed

Love , Life , Sadness , Peace

“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”

Francis of Assisi

This quote was actually composed by Louis Nizer, and published in his book, Between You and Me (1948).
Misattributed
Variant: He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.

Heart

“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.”

Francis of Assisi

Peaceful , Peace , Heart

“True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice.”

Francis of Assisi

“No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.”

Francis of Assisi

“Let every man abide in the art or employment wherein he was called. And for their labor they may receive all necessary things, except money. … Let none of the brothers, wherever he may be or whithersoever he may go, carry or receive money or coin in any manner, or cause it to be received, either for clothing, or for books, or as the price of any labor, or indeed for any reason, except on account of the manifest necessity of the sick brothers. For we ought not to have more use and esteem of money and coin than of stones. And the devil seeks to blind those who desire or value it more than stones. Let us therefore take care lest after having left all things we lose the kingdom of heaven for such a trifle. And if we should chance to find money in any place, let us no more regard it than the dust we tread under our feet.”

Francis of Assisi

First Rule of the Friars Minor

Money , Books , Art , Chance

“Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility. Amen.”

Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun

Canticle of the Sun

“For it is in giving that we receive.”

Francis of Assisi

Hurtful , Peaceful , Relationship , Valentine's Day

“I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.”

Francis of Assisi

God

“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

For Men , Men , God

“We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.”

Francis of Assisi

Way , Home

“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

Francis of Assisi

Christ

“Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.”

Francis of Assisi

“We should seek not so much to pray but to become prayer.”

Francis of Assisi

“Nor did demons crucify Him; it is you who have crucified Him and crucify Him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.”

Francis of Assisi

“What we are looking for is what is looking.”

Francis of Assisi

Cute

“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

Source: The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi

God , World , Soul

“Every day He humbles Himself just as He did when from from His heavenly throne into the Virgin's womb; every day He comes to us and lets us see Him in lowliness, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar.”

Francis of Assisi

“…"Yes, the true servant unceasingly rebukes the wicked, but he does it most of all by his conduct, but the truth that shines in his words, by the light of his example, by all the radiance of his life." (1989) The Road to Assisi, Sabatier as edted by Sweeney, pg 143.”

Francis of Assisi

Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

Life , Truth , Light

“Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.”

Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun

Canticle of the Sun

Weather

“Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.”

Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun

Canticle of the Sun

Beauty , Star , Sister

“Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.”

Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun

Canticle of the Sun

Light , Beauty , Sun

“Hail, queen wisdom! May the Lord save thee with thy sister holy pure simplicity!
O Lady, holy poverty, may the Lord save thee with thy sister holy humility!
O Lady, holy charity, may the Lord save thee with thy sister holy obedience!”

Francis of Assisi

Wisdom , Sister

“Wherever you go, preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.”

Francis of Assisi

What They Don't Always Teach You at a Christian College (1995) by Keith Anderson, p. 185.
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.
Variant: Do all you can to preach the gospel and if necessary use words!

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel, and, if necessary, use words.”

Francis of Assisi

The Boomerang Mandate : Returning the Ministry to the People of God (1999) by Jim L. Wilson and Tom Stringfellow, p. 70.
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

World

“Share the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words”

Francis of Assisi

The Basics of Life (1998) by Andy Chrisman, Kirk Sullivan, Mark Harris and Marty Magehee.
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

Time

“We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh, but, instead, we must be simple, humble and pure.”

Francis of Assisi

“Later Admonition and Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance,” Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume 1, p. 48.

“St. Francis reportedly said, "Preach Jesus, and if necessary use words."”

Francis of Assisi

The Strong Family (1991) by Chuck Swindoll, p.9 (Insight For Living)
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

“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

Letter to all the Faithful

“No brother should preach contrary to the form and regulation of the holy Church nor unless he has been permitted by his minister. The minister should take care not to grant this permission to anyone indiscriminately. All the Friars, however, should preach by their deeds.”

Francis of Assisi

Orthodox Order of Friars Minor http://www.apostle1.com/oofm-rule-of-life.htm/, Rule XII
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

“Preach the gospel always and if necessary, use words.”

Francis of Assisi

Cease Fire, the War Is Over! (2005) by Eric Bumpus and Tim Moranville, p. 88
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

“Witness for Christ each day, and if necessary use words.”

Francis of Assisi

Conspiracy of Kindness : A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus With Others (1993) by Steve Sjogren, p. 120.
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

Christ

“All those men and women … who in their body serve the world through the desires of the flesh, the concerns of the world and the cares of this life: They are held captive by the devil, whose children they are, and whose works they do.”

Francis of Assisi

“Earlier Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance,” Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, Volume 1, p. 43.

Life , Women , Men , Children

“Preach often, and if necessary, use words”

Francis of Assisi

This Is Your Time : Make Every Moment Count (2000) by Michael Whitaker Smith and Gary Lee Thomas, p. 93.
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

“Lord, grant me the strength to change the things I can, the serenity to deal with the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Francis of Assisi

Widely known as The Serenity Prayer this has often been attributed to St. Francis, but earliest known forms of it appeared in the early 20th century, and it is generally credited to Reinhold Niebuhr.
Misattributed

Wisdom , Change

“… love one another, as the Lord says: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." And let them show their love by the works they do for each other, according as the Apostle says: "let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."”

Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi, Rule of 1221, Rule 11 http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/wosf/wosf06.htm/ - That the Brothers ought not to speak or detract, but ought to love one another.
Disputed, Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.

Love , Truth

“Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing your most holy will. The second death can do no harm to them.”

Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun

Canticle of the Sun

Personality , Sister , Death , Happiness

“Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.”

Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun

Canticle of the Sun

Forgiveness , Love , Making love , Peace

“Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.”

Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun

Canticle of the Sun