Reluctant Saint Quotes

“When we renounce our fear of life and give up trying to have it under our control—that is, when we acknowledge our contingency and utter dependence on God—then God comes to us and turns us toward Himself.”
― Donald Spoto, Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi

“joined by”
― Donald Spoto, Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi

“The idea of Christian perfection, which began in the ancient monasteries and spread to the world as an ideal, is one of the most appealing, demanding and ultimately hopeless notions of the spiritual life. By definition, only God is perfect—that is, complete and independent unto [God’s] self. Humans, on the other hand, are radically imperfect, and that, paradoxically, is welcome news, for the recognition of our incompleteness throws us on the mercy of God and enables us, as Saint Paul stressed, to put up with one another’s faults.”
― Donald Spoto, Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi