Saint Francis of Assisi made a lasting impact on the world even though he lived only 44 years in this world. He is known as a saint for ecologists because he had a love of nature and animals.
And while some thought he was perhaps a little “crazy” because he preached even to animals, there were also many people who were drawn in by the message that he shared.
So, enjoy these St. Francis of Assisi quotes.
1. “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
2. “A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”
3. “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
4. “What do you have to fear? Nothing. Whom do you have to fear? No one. Why? Because whoever has joined forces with God obtains three great privileges: omnipotence without power, intoxication without wine, and life without death.”
5. “Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to His beloved is that of overcoming self.”
6. “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.”
7. “I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.”
8. “Where there is injury let me sow pardon.”
9. “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 you have received, but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”
10. “He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”
11. “Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously.”
12. “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.”
13. “Lord, make me an instrument of your 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. 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.”
14. “God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me a right faith, a sure hope, a perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out your holy command.”
15. “My God and My All!”
16. “The Lord bless you and keep you. May He show His face to you and have mercy. May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace. The Lord bless you!”
17. “Heavenly Father, you created all things for your glory and made us stewards of this creature If it is your will, restore it to health and strength. Blessed are you, Lord God, and holy is your name forever and ever. Amen.”
18. “Our hands imbibe like roots, so I place them on what is beautiful in this world. And I fold them in prayer, and they draw from the heavens light.”
19. “Spiritual joy arises from purity of the heart and perseverance in prayer.”
20. “Be patient in trials, watchful in prayer, and never cease working.”
21. “God requires that we assist the animals when they need our help. Each being (human or creature) has the same right of protection.”
22. “Ask the beasts and they will teach you the beauty of this earth.”
23. “All things of creation are children of the Father and thus brothers of man. God wants us to help animals if they need help. Every creature in distress has the same right to be protected.”
24. “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.”
25. “Holy obedience confounds all bodily and fleshly desires and keeps the body mortified to the obedience of the spirit and to the obedience of one’s brother and makes a man subject to all the men of this world and not to men alone, but also to all beasts and wild animals, so that they may do with him whatsoever they will, in so far as it may be granted to them from above by the Lord.”
26. “A cat purring on your lap is more healing than any drug in the world, as the vibrations you are receiving are of pure love and contentment.”
27. “You call it a sin, that I love the dog above all else? The dog stayed with me in the storm, the man, not even in the wind.”
28. “Be praised, O my Lord by Brother Wind, By air and cloud and every clime To whom Thou givest sustenance unto their kind.”
29. “Pleased be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom you give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendours and bears likeness of you, Most High One.”
30. “Be Thou praised, my Lord, of our Sister Mother Earth, which sustains and hath us in rule, and produces divers fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.”
31. “Everything in man should halt in awe…Let all the world quake and let Heaven exult when Christ the Son of the living God is there on the altar.”
32. “Do not put off any longer confessing all your sins, for death will soon come. Give and it will be given you; forgive and you will be forgiven. . . Blessed are they who die repentant, for they shall go to the Kingdom of Heaven!”
33. “I beg you to show the greatest possible reverence and honor for the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things, whether on earth or in heaven, have been brought to peace and reconciled with Almighty God.”
34. “May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you died for love of our love.”
35. “Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”
36. “I believe that You, O Jesus, are in the most holy Sacrament. I love You and desire You. Come into my heart. I embrace You. Oh, never leave me. May the burning and most sweet power of Your love, O Lord Jesus Christ, I beseech You, absorb my mind that I may die through love of Your love, Who were graciously pleased to die through love of my love.”
37. “We adore Thee most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here in all Thy Churches, which are in the whole world, because by Thy holy cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.”
38. “I beg you to show the greatest possible reverence and honor for the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things, whether on earth or in heaven, have been brought to peace and reconciled with Almighty God.”
39. “It is good to read the testimonies of Scripture; it is good to seek the Lord our God in them. As for me, however, I have already made so much of Scripture my own that I have more than enough to meditate on and turn over in my mind. I need no more . .. I know Christ, the poor crucified One.”
40. “Our actions are our own; their consequences belong to Heaven.”