St. Francis de Sales

7 Quotes from St. Francis de Sales that Help me Stay Sane as a Mom

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Today is the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, a saint who has been showing up in my life quite a bit lately, so in his honor, I thought I’d share a bit of his wisdom with you in the form of 7 of my favorite St. Francis de Sales quotes.

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I first encountered Francis about a decade ago. Two friends and I were hosting a Lenten women’s retreat, and we settled on the De Sales Center in Brooklyn, MI for a location. I fell in love with the peacefulness of that place. Their chapel is my absolute favorite chapel in the whole world. It has a loft, with rocking chairs and blankets and pillows so you can get cozy with Jesus. Heaven on earth, let me tell you. While we were there, I couldn’t help but learn about St. Francis, and absorb some of his wisdom through the quotes and books that were strewn about.

This past year, I’ve been listening to his Introduction to the Devout Life on Audible, and have also loved Colleen Carroll Campbell’s take on him in her book The Heart of Perfection. Both books are absolutely worth reading.

For those who have never come across this amazing saint before, I’m going to send you over to Franciscan Media for a short bio, because my children will never let me write everything I want to about him. So without further ado, here are 7 of my favorite pieces of wisdom from St. Francis de Sales.

1.

Francis de Sales quotes
I love this quote from a letter the saint wrote to his dear friend, St. Jane de Chantal. It’s as though St. Francis could have been speaking right to me. Haste and worry are definitely two of the things I get caught up in and struggle with.

2.

Francis de Sales quotes
This nugget of wisdom always reminds me of the Virgin Mary- the epitome of both gentleness and strength!

3.

St. Francis de Sales quotes
This is one that I always try to remember when I sit down to pray- the idea that God is always present to me, really and truly, when I pray is something that I can sometimes struggle with. Reminding myself of God’s tangible and real Presence helps me to pray more fully and deeply.

4.

St. Francis de Sales quotes
Yikes. This one hits me hard, especially on days when Mark and I aren’t clicking. It’s a good gut-check- are we this closely united to each other and to Him? Sometimes. But sometimes we still have work to do and miles to go, but this is the goal we strive for.

5.

St. Francis de Sales quotes
Well this is certainly an area I struggle with. It’s not so easy to preserve gentleness in the face of disobedience or naughty behavior. Today it took 3 hours to get G through her handwriting, math, and reading. And every single moment of it was a fight. I felt like I was white-knuckling it through, barely maintaining my composure, but since I’ve been meditating a lot of gentleness, I did better than I have in the past, and for that I am grateful.

6.

St. Francis de Sales quotes
Are you noticing a pattern in these quotes yet?

7.

St. Francis de Sales quotes
I’m going to end on this one, which is advice St. Francis gave a frustrated mother, because again, it’s like he’s speaking directly to my own heart. I appreciate the advice more than I can say, and will be doing my best to call my heart back to the peace I found during my morning prayers this morning.

I’m sure that these quotes from St. Francis de Sales tell you far more about my own heart and what it needs these days than they do about his, but I hope that they inspire you to learn a little more about this amazing saint who championed gentleness and fought hard against perfectionist tendencies in himself. He is the example I need these days, and I am so grateful to have him as a companion on my journey.

I’m linking up today with the other 7 Quick Takes, which are being hosted over at Meditatio this week, so head on over and read the rest!

2 thoughts on “7 Quotes from St. Francis de Sales that Help me Stay Sane as a Mom”

  1. Wow, thank you for sharing those! I’m struggling to choose which one speaks to me the most, as they are all very powerful (or convicting, or encouraging). I think I’d have to go with #7 – it is so easy for something to plunge me into despondency or anxiety, and I need every reminder to take those distresses to God and seek His presence and peace. Also, I think I will need to go dig up a little collection of St. Francis de Sales’s letters which I have hiding somewhere and never made it through before…

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