San Francisco de Asis (officially and in Italian, Francesco d’Assisi, born Giovanni di Pietro Bernardone) was an Italian saint, deacon, and founder of the Franciscan Order.
Born in 1181, he is considered one of the essential figures in Christian spirituality of the Middle Ages.
10. Jesus Christ called the one who betrayed him a friend and spontaneously offered himself to those who crucified him.
About the infinite goodness of God’s messenger.
11. Animals are my friends and I don’t eat my friends.
A vegan phrase that clashes with the medieval context.
12. Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, the entire sky should be deeply moved when the son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest.
A few words of gratitude to God’s messenger.
13. It is by forgiving that we are forgiven.
Only when we are able to be humble do others forgive us for our failures.
14. God created all creatures with love and kindness, big, small, with human or animal form, they are all children of the Father and it was so perfect. It is useless to walk anywhere to evangelize unless our path is our gospel.
A reflection by Saint Francis of Assisi on the gospel.
15. Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
A maxim to apply to your daily life.
16. If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.
Omnipresent and omnipotent.
17. Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.
Phrase of Christian spirit in which good must prevail over adverse circumstances.
18. With how much more love can one of us love and nourish his brother in the spirit.
Reflection on sharing love.
19. The true teaching we transmit is what we live; and we are good preachers when we put into practice what we say.
The practice and experience of each one are basic to be a moral example.
20. Where stillness and meditation reign, there is no place for worries or dissipation.
About calm and its psychological benefits.
21. It is by giving that one receives, it is by forgetting oneself that one finds oneself.
Self-realization is a process that can last years.
22. He who works with his hands is a worker.
Worker par excellence.
23. He who works with his hands and his head is an artisan.
Creativity at the service of society.
24. He who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist.
The culminating point of cultural production: art.
25. Temptation overcome is, in a way, the ring with which the Lord preaches.
A sentence to make us reflect.
26. Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.
Spiritual redemption must begin with oneself.
27. May the peace that you announce with your words be first in your hearts.
Another of those phrases from Saint Francis of Assisi in which he emphasizes the importance of the word.
28. We have been called to heal the wounds, to unite what has fallen apart and to bring home those who have lost their way.
The Italian saint, about the mission of Christian people.
29. Entertaining yourself in finding faults in your neighbor is sufficient proof of not caring much about your own.
It is better to focus attention on what we ourselves can improve.
30. If there are men who exclude any of God’s creatures from the protection of compassion and mercy, there will be men who will treat their brothers in the same way.
Kindness must be preached generously and constantly.
31. Praying daily makes us kind.
Another phrase about perseverance in Christian devotion.
32. Prayer is a true rest.
Only in that ritual, according to Saint Francis of Assisi, does our soul rest.
33. The devil is happy, above all, when he manages to snatch the joy from the heart of the servant of God.
Sadness and anger are incompatible with Christian devotion.
34. He is happy who retains nothing for himself.
Austerity is the best guide to happiness.
35. Remember that when you leave this world, you cannot take anything you have received with you; only what you have given.
Beautiful phrase from Saint Francis of Assisi.
36. May the peace that you announce with your words be first in your hearts.
Never say something you don’t mean.
37. For a small reward something that is priceless is lost and the giver is easily provoked not to give more.
Timely reflection from which to think about the harms of selfishness.
38. Prayer makes us close to God, although He is always close to us.
A great phrase to understand the omnipotence of the higher being.
39. Let’s start serving, let’s do our best. What we have done so far is little and nothing.
You can always do more and better.
40. Let us love God and worship him with a simple heart.
Without any big fuss, loving God has a simple path.
41. Evil and false spirits, do in me whatever you want. I know well that you cannot do more than the hand of the Lord allows. For my part, I am willing to suffer with pleasure whatever he leaves behind.
A phrase directed at evil, in a defiant tone.
42. Every creature in misfortune has the same right to be protected.
Kindness should not be withheld from anyone.
43. God created all creatures with love and kindness, big, small, in human or animal form, all are children of the Father and he was so perfect in his creation that he gave each one his own environment and his animals a home full of streams , trees and meadows beautiful like paradise itself.
About the incredible logic of nature.
44. Man, not possessing anything of his own, belongs to God.
A curious conception of human property.
45. All brothers must preach through their works.
Actions speak for us clearly and transparently.
46. Just as some animals feed on others to survive, God told man that he could take the animals he needed only until he found a better solution, not for capricious clothing or making them his slaves or entertainment.
Feed animals only if there is no more reasonable option.
47. Death is terrible! But how desirable is also the life of the other world, to which God calls us!
Ambivalent view of death.
48. Where there is charity and wisdom, there is no fear or ignorance.
The “magic” potion against misfortune.
49. All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.
Metaphor that we can apply to different contexts.
50. Start by doing what is necessary; then do the possible and suddenly you will be doing the impossible.
Great philosophy to develop projects of all kinds.
51. Wisdom is achieved through experience and lessons learned.
There is no other way to develop.
52. It is in giving that we receive.
Phrase about the importance of sharing.
53. He is a faithful and prudent servant who, for every sin he commits, is quick to spy on them: internally, through contrition and externally, through confession and satisfaction of work.
About the virtues of a faithful believer.
54. If you, servant of God, are worried, you should immediately resort to prayer and prostrate yourself before the Lord until he restores your joy.
According to Saint Francis of Assisi, worries are resolved by returning to prayer.
55. We must do nothing else but be eager to follow the will of God and to please Him in all things.
Gratitude towards God is a way of being humble and kind.
56. Oh Lord, may I not so much seek to be consoled, as to console, to be understood, as to understand, to be loved, as to love.
Another phrase about the importance of offering without expecting anything in return.
57. Above the grace and gifts that Christ gives to his loved ones, there is self-improvement.
Absolute veneration of Jesus Christ.
58. Let us strive to achieve the serenity of accepting inevitable things, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to be able to distinguish one from another.
A maxim to apply to our daily life.
59. He who obeys must not look at his superior man but at the one for whose love he has given himself over to obedience.
A sign of respect and veneration.
60. Do not canonize me too soon. I am perfectly capable of fathering a child.
An ironic phrase about canonization while alive.
61. Lord, to me, a sinner and unworthy, you have sent me this consolation and sweetness from heaven; I return them to you so that you can reserve them for me, because I am a thief of your treasure.
An ode to the goodness of God.
62. He seeks above all; and let us always make a habitation and abode in them who is the Lord God omnipotent, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit.
Another maxim directed to the attention of God.
63. The devil is happy, above all, when he manages to snatch the joy from the heart of the servant of God. He fills with dust the smallest crevices of consciousness that can dirty the candor of the spirit and the purity of life. But when spiritual joy fills hearts, the serpent spills its deadly poison in vain.
About the devil and his vices.
64. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hate, I sow love; where there is offense, forgiveness; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
Eliminate the negative to restore the positive.
65. The servant of God must shine for his life and holiness.
Example is the best virtue of a devotee.
66. When your mouth is full proclaiming peace, try to have your heart even fuller.
Another of those phrases from Francis of Assisi that reinforces the honesty of the heart.
67. Courtesy is the sister of charity, which quenches hatred and encourages love.
Cordiality, generosity and good manners always add up.
68. It is no use walking everywhere preaching, unless our walking is our preaching.
By example we lead the way for others.
69. Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.
A way of communicating religiously.
70. Do not fight among yourself and with others, but try to respond humbly by saying, “I am a worthless servant.”
From humility we can resolve all conflicts.
71. A ray of sunlight is enough to chase away many shadows.
A metaphor that we can apply to many contexts.
72. Be patient with all things, but especially with yourself.
A reflection that should make us value calm and serenity before ourselves.
73. March, dear ones, two by two through the various parts of the earth announcing peace and penitence to men.
Supplication addressed to good-hearted people.
74. His actions may be the only sermon some people hear today.
Another famous quote from Saint Francis of Assisi about the relevance of setting an example with actions.
