The Seeking Heart Quotes

“It is not enough to like good books. You must be a good book yourself.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“I’ve noticed that you always want to drop one thing to hurry on to the next. Yet each task takes you far too much time to finish because you dissect everything far too much. You are not slow—just long-winded. You want to say everything that has the slightest connection to the subject at hand. This always takes too long and causes you to rush from one thing to another.

Try to be brief. Learn to get to the heart of the matter and disregard the nonessential. Don’t spend all your time musing! What you really need to do is sit quietly before God and your active argumentative mind would soon be calmed. God can teach you to look at each matter with a simple, clear view. You could say what you mean in two words! And as you think and speak less, you will be less excitable and distracted. Otherwise, you will wear yourself out, and external thing will overpower your inward life as well as your health.

Cut all this activity short! Silence yourself inwardly. Come back to your Lord often. You will get more accomplished this way. It is more important to listen to God than to your own thoughts.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“Live in peace without worrying about the future. Unnecessary worrying and imagining the worst possible scenario will strangle your faith. God alone knows what will happen to you. You really don’t even own the present moment, for even this belongs to God.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“You can often help others more by correcting your own faults than theirs.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“Sometimes the annoyances that make you long for solitude are better for producing humility than the most complete solitude could be.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“Christ leaves no emptiness within you. You will be led to do things which you will find enjoyable, and you will like them better than doing all the things which have led you astray.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“I warn you again: beware of philosophers.  They will trap you and do you more harm than you know how to do them good.  Their discussions go on forever, yet they never come to the simple truth.  Intellectuals are unwisely curious; they are like conquerors who destroy the world without possessing it. Solomon himself testifies to the vanity of endless reasoning.

Never study spiritual subjects unless God prompts you to.  And do not study more than you can use.  Study with a prayerful spirit.  God is both Truth and Love.  You can only know the truth to the degree that you love.  Love the truth and you will understand the truth.  If you do not love, you do not know love.  Love with a humble heart and the Truth will love you.  You will know what philosophers cannot know and even what philosophers do not want to know.  I hope that you will obtain the knowledge that is kept for babes and the simple-minded.  Such knowledge is hid from the wise and prudent. (Matthew 6.25)”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“Often, when you suffer, it is the life of your self-nature that causes you pain. When you are dead, you do not suffer. If you were completely dead to your old nature, you would no longer feel many of the pains that now bother you.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“It has been four months since I have had any time to study. But I am glad to give up study and not cling to anything that God wants to take away. Perhaps this winter I will have time to set foot in my library. I shall enter it cautiously and listen for the slightest hint that God would have me elsewhere. The mind must fast as well as the body. I have no desire to write, speak or be spoken about, reason, or persuade anybody.

I live each day simply. I put up with any inconveniences which present themselves, but I also take the time for entertainment when I need to do so.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“Think little and do much. If you are not careful, you will acquire so much knowledge that you will need another lifetime to put it all into practice.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“I warn you again: beware of philosophers. They will trap you and do you more harm than you know how to do them good. Their discussions go on forever, yet they never come to the simple truth. Intellectuals are unwisely curious; they are link conquerors who destroy the world without possessing it. Solomon himself testifies to the vanity of endless reasoning.

Never study spiritual subjects unless God prompts you to. And do not study more than you can use. Study with a prayerful spirit. God is both Truth and Love. You can only know the truth to the degree that you love. Love the truth and you will understand the truth. If you do not love, you do not know love. Love with a humble heart and the Truth will love you. You will know what philosophers cannot know and even what philosophers do not want to know. I hope that you will obtain the knowledge that is kept for babes and the simple-minded. Such knowledge is hid from the wise and prudent. (Matthew 6.25)”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“If you give up all those things that provoke your curiosity and set your mind spinning, you will have more than enough time to spend with God and to attend to your business. Living your life prayerfully will make you clear-headed and calm no matter what happens. Your self-nature is overactive, impulsive, and always striving for something just outside your reach.

But God, working within your spirit, produces a calm and faithful heart that the world cannot touch. I really want you to take an adequate amount of time to spend with God so that you might refresh your spirit. All your busyness surely drains you. Jesus took His disciples aside to be alone, and interrupted their most urgent business. Sometimes He would even leave people who had come from afar to see Him in order to come to His Father. I suggest the same to you. It is not enough to give out—you must learn to receive from God, too.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“We can often do more for other men by trying to correct our own faults than by trying to correct theirs.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“What are you afraid of? All that you own will eventually leave you. Your possessions cannot fill your spirit. Aren’t you tired of the emptiness of your possessions? Don’t they secretly tell you that they are not enough?”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“It has been four months since I have had any time to study. But I am glad to give up study and not cling to anything that God wants to take away. Perhaps this winter I will have time to set foot in my library. I shall enter it cautiously and listen for the slightest hint that God would have me elsewhere. The mind must fast as well as the body. I have no desire to write, speak or be spoken about, reason, or persuade anybody.
I live each day simply. I put up with any inconveniences which present themselves, but I also take the time for entertainment when I need to do so.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“If you give up all those things that provoke your curiosity and set your mind spinning, you will have more than enough time to spend with God and to attend to your business.  Living your life prayerfully will make you clear-headed and calm no matter what happens.  Your self-nature is overactive, impulsive, and always striving for something just outside your reach.

But God, working within your spirit, produces a calm and faithful heart that the world cannot touch.  I really want you to take an adequate amount of time to spend with God so that you might refresh your spirit.  All your busyness surely drains you.  Jesus took His disciples aside to be alone, and interrupted their most urgent business.  Sometimes He would even leave people who had come from afar to see Him in order to come to His Father.  I suggest the same to you.  It is not enough to give out—you must learn to receive from God, too.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“You are always trying to “be something” or to be noticed for your spirituality. There are a lot of people who have an outward spirituality, but inwardly they still think too much of themselves. People who think they are lowering themselves have a lot of conceit. They think they are doing others a favor in “getting down to their level.”

True humility is not like this. A truly humble person is content in all situations. He doesn’t notice if he is being praised or blamed, and isn’t always weighing if what is being said to him or about him is to his advantage.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“Enter into your entertainments only as you are asked to do so. Be friendly, but do not seek out invitations. Those who watch you, at least the reasonable ones, will be happy to see you sociable enough to join them, but be careful enough to not always be found entertaining yourself. When you do appear at these entertainments, do so in a godly manner. The world is critical of people who condemn its ways while living by its rules.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“I don’t want to cut you off from your public duties. I don’t think that you spend enough time visiting those you need to. But you really should re-evaluate what you do with your free hours. Indulge your curiosity less, and keep your business details to a minimum. Don’t drag things out and learn the art of letting others help you. You tire yourself out more in studying disagreeable subjects than you would by visiting those who you think interfere with your free time. Take away your need to be distracted, and your need to always be busy, and you will find that all that is expected of you can quietly done before God.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“If you give up all those things that provoke your curiosity and set your mind spinning, you will have more than enough time to spend with God and to attend to your business. Living your life prayerfully will make you clear-headed and calm no matter what happens. Your self-nature is overactive, impulsive, and always striving for something just outside your reach.

But God, working within your spirit, produces a calm and faitul heart that the world cannot touch. I really want you to take an adequate amount of time to spend with God so that you might refresh your spirit. All your busyness surely drains you. Jesus took His disciples aside to be alone, and interrupted their most urgent business. Sometimes He would even leave people who had come from afar to see Him in order to come to His Father. I suggest the same to you. It is not enough to give out—you must learn to receive from God, too.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart

“Far from looking for friends, the friends they used to enjoy now irritate them. Here is agony and despair. Joy cannot be found.

Does this surprise you? God takes everything because you do not know how to love, so do not speak of friendship. The very idea brings tears to your eyes. Everything overcomes you. You do not know what you want.  You are moody and cry like a child. You are a mass of swirling emotions which change from moment to moment. Do you find it hard to believe that a strong and high-minded person can be reduced to such a state? To speak of friendship is like speaking of dancing to a sick person.

Wait until the winter is past. Your true friends will come back to you. You will no longer love for yourself, but in and for God. Before, you were somehow always afraid of losing—no matter how generous you appeared. If you didn't seek wealth or honor, you sought common interest or confidence or understanding.

Take away these comforts and you are pained, hurt, and offended. Doesn't this show who you really love?

When it is God you love in someone, you stand by that person no matter what. If the friendship is broken in the order of God, you are at peace. You may feel a deep pain, for the friendship was a great gift, but it is a calm suffering, and free from the cutting grief of a possessive love. God's love sets you free.”
― François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart