Quotes by Friars

Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Francis of Assisi
Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.
Francis of Assisi
Praised be my Lord, for our sister water.St. Francis of Assisi,Canticle of the Sun
Francis of Assisi
What each man is in Your eyes, thus he is, and no more.
Francis of Assisi
The world has come to such a state that one can no longer find anyone who does good.
Girolamo Savonarola
And St. Francis added: "My dear and beloved Brother, the treasure of blessed poverty is so very precious and divine that we are not worthy to possess it in our vile bodies. For poverty is that heavenly virtue by which all earthy and transitory things are trodden under foot, and by which every obstacle is removed from the soul so that it may freely enter into union with the eternal Lord God. It is also the virtue which makes the soul, while still here on earth, converse with the angels in Heaven. It is she who accompanied Christ on the Cross, was buried with Christ in the Tomb, and with Christ was raised and ascended into Heaven, for even in this life she gives to souls who love her the ability to fly to Heaven, and she alone guards the armor of true humility and charity.
Francis of Assisi
Don't canonize me too soon. I'm perfectly capable of fathering a child.
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
For it is in giving that we receive.
Francis of Assisi
What happens to the drop of wineThat you pour into the sea?Does it remain itself, unchanged?It is as if it never existed.So it is with the soul: Love drinks it in,It is united with Truth,Its old nature fades away,It is no longer master of itself.The soul wills and yet does not will:Its will belongs to Another.It has eyes only for this beauty;It no longer seeks to possess, as was its wont--It lacks the strength to possess such sweetness.The base of this highest of peaksIs founded on nichil,Shaped nothingness, made one with the Lord.
Jacopone da Todi
We should seek not so much to pray but to become prayer.
Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;where there is hatred, let me sow love;when there is injury, pardon;where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;and where there is sadness, joy.Grant that I may not so much seekto 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,and it is in dying [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life.
Francis of Assisi
O happy wound, full of delight, He whom You wound Is joyous indeed.
Jacopone da Todi
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
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.
Francis of Assisi
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
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;And 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,and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Francis of Assisi
A man has only so much knowledge as he puts to work.
Francis of Assisi
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.
St. Francis of assisi
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
Keep a clear eye toward life's end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God's creature. What you are in his sight is what you are and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received...but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.
Francis of Assisi
Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.
Francis of Assisi
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
The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today
Francis of Assisi
Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Francis of Assisi
All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.
Francis of Assisi