Quotations from Saint Francis de Sales

• A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship.
• All that we do must be motivated by love and not force. We must love to obey rather than fear to disobey
• Be who you are and be that well.
• Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections.
• Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.
• Friendships begun in this world will be taken up again, never to be broken off.
• Genuine, living devotion presupposes love of God; it is simply true love of God.
• Have patience with all things, But, first of all with yourself.
• If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master's presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord's presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.
• It is a very fine thing to feel ashamed of oneself when one realizes one's own imperfections and misery, but the feeling must not drag on lest one lose heart.
• Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
• Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength
• There are no galley-slaves in the royal vessel of divine love - every man works his oar voluntarily!
• There was never an angry man that thought his anger unjust.
• Those who love to be feared fear to be loved.
• True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice.
• We must never undervalue any person. The workman loves not that his work should be despised in his presence. Now God is present everywhere, and every person is His work.
• When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.
• While I am busy with little things, I am not required to do greater things.