Roses Among Thorns Quotes

“Fear is a greater evil than evil itself. O you of little faith: what is it you fear? Do not be afraid. You are walking on water, amid wind and wave, but you are with Jesus. What is there to fear? If fear takes hold of you, cry out strongly, “O Lord, save me!” He will hold out a hand to you. Hold on tight, and go forward with joy.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“God desires from us more fidelity to the little things that he places in our power than ardor for great things that do not depend upon us.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“There are three things we must do to be at peace: have a pure intention to desire the honor and glory of God in all things; do the little that we can unto that end, following the advice of our spiritual father; and leave all the rest to God’s care.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“Thus we find ourselves at the foot of the crucifix, which is the ladder by which we pass from these temporal years to eternal ones. May this next year be followed by others, and may all of them be usefully employed for the conquest of eternity. Live a long, holy, and happy life among your own here below during these perishable moments, so that you may live again eternally in that unchanging happiness for which you yearn.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“Our days are few (cf. Job 14:1), and consequently our labor cannot be overlong. By means of a little patience, we will get through it with honor and contentment, for we have no greater consolation at the end of the day than to have worked hard and shouldered its pains.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“Do not attempt to combat by argument the little temptations that arise; instead, simply bring your heart back to Jesus Christ crucified.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“Prayer for a Time of Suffering O Lord Jesus, by your incomparable sadness and by the unparalleled desolation that seized your divine heart on the Mount of Olives and on the Cross, and by the desolation of your dear Mother when she lost you, be our joy, or at least be our strength, now while your Cross and Passion are so closely joined to our hearts.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“Good feelings, when they depart, recommend to us the pursuit of virtue in their absence; indeed it is for our growth in virtue that they are given to us. The bad ones suggest that when they depart, virtue does too, and they leave us dispirited. In brief, good feelings do not call for love, but only for us to love the One who sends them, while the bad ones want us to love them above all things. Good feelings impel us to seek virtue; bad ones to seek feelings themselves.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“The Burden of Work You are submerged by a flood of troubles that the size of your household places on your shoulders. You must, then, call upon our Lord all the more and beg for his holy help, so that the work you must do will be agreeable to him and so that you will embrace it for his honor and glory. Our days are few (cf. Job 14:1), and consequently our labor cannot be overlong. By means of a little patience, we will get through it with honor and contentment, for we have no greater consolation at the end of the day than to have worked hard and shouldered its pains.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“My God, I marvel that I am still so full of myself after having so often received Communion! O dear Jesus, be the child inside of us, so that we feel within and breathe forth nothing but you. Alas, you are so often within me; why am I so rarely in you? You enter into me; why am I so often outside of you? You are in my very self; why am I not in yours, to find there the great love of yours that transports our hearts?”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey