This is another saint who was great because of his humility and spirit of charity! As you can see by some of the quotations below, he continually extolled the virtue of resignation to the divine will.
SAINTLY QUOTES BY ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
"A single act of resignation to the divine will in what it ordains contrary to our desires, is of more value than a hundred thousand successes conformable to our will and taste."
"Learning without humility has always been pernicious to the Church; and as pride precipitated the rebellious angels from heaven, it frequently causes the loss of learned men."
"Perfection consists in renouncing ourselves, in carrying our cross, and in following Jesus Christ. Now, he who renounces himself most perfectly carries his cross the best and follows nearest to Jesus Christ is he who never does his own will, but always that of God."
"To establish ourselves in a virtue it is necessary to form good and practical resolutions to perform certain and determined acts of that virtue, and we must, moreover, be faithful in executing them."
"We should not examine articles of faith with a curious and subtle spirit It is sufficient for us to know that the Church proposes them. We can never be deceived in believing them."
"We should guard against jealousy, and even the slightest sentiment thereof. This vice is absolutely opposed to a pure and sincere zeal for the glory of God, and is a certain proof of secret and subtle pride."
"A most powerful and efficacious remedy for all evils, a means of correcting all imperfections of triumphing over temptation, and preserving our hearts in an undisturbed peace, is conformity with the will of God."
"We should consider our departed brethren as living members of Jesus Christ, animated by His grace, and certain of participating one day of His glory. We should therefore love, serve, and assist them as far as is in our power."
"Our perfection consists in uniting our will so intimately with God's will, that we will only desire what He wills. He who conforms most perfectly tot he will of God will be the most perfect Christian."
"In prayer we should particularly combat our predominate passion or evil inclination. We should devote continual attention to it, because when it is once conquered we will easily obtain the victory over all our other faults."
"The grace of perseverance is the most important of all; it crowns all other graces."
"Prayer should be effective and practical, since it has for its end the acquisition of solid virtue and the mortifications of the passions."
"He who is resigned to the divine will shall always surmount the difficulties he meets with in the service of God. The Lord will accomplish His designs concerning him."
"O most blessed Virgin, who declarest in thy Canticle that it is owing to thy humility that God hath done great things in thee, obtain for me the grace to imitate thee, that is, to be obedient; because to obey is to practise humility."
"Each of our days is marked with the protection of Mary, who is exceedingly anxious to be our Mother, when we desire to be her children."
"To judge rightly of the goodness and perfection of any one'[s prayer, it is sufficient to know that disposition he take to it; and the fruits he reaps from it."
"The man of prayer is capable of everything. He can say with St. Paul, 'I can do all things in Him who strengthened me.'"
"Gratitude for graces received is a most efficacious means of obtaining new ones."
"We should not judge things by their exterior or appearance, but consider what they are in the sight of God, and whether they be according to H is good pleasure."
"We should offer ourselves and all we have to God, that He may dispose of us according to His holy will, so that we may be ever ready to leave all and embrace the afflictions that come upon us."
"We should learn of Jesus Christ to be meek and humble of heart, and ask Him unceasingly for these two virtues. We ought, particularly, to avoid the two contrary vices which would cause us to destroy with one hand what we seek to raise with the other."
"How little is required to be a saint! It suffices to do in all things the will of God."
"It suffices not to perform good works; we must do them well, in imitation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it is written, 'He doeth all things well.'
"Prayer teaches us the need of laying before God all our necessities, of corresponding with His grace, of banishing vice from our heart and of establishing virtue in it."
"Among the different means that we have of pleasing God in all that we do, one of the most efficacious is to perform each of our actions as though it were to be the last of our life."
"As we take the bitterest medicine to recover or preserve the health of the body, we should cheerfully endure sufferings, however repugnant to nature, and consider them efficacious remedies which God employs to purify the soul and conduct it to the perfection to which He called it."
"We must be careful not to omit our prayers, confession, communion, and other exercises of piety, even when we find no consolation in them."
"Read good and useful books, and abstain from reading those that only gratify curiosity."
"He who knows well how to practise the exercise of the presence of God, and who is faithful in following the attraction of this divine virtue, will soon attain a very high degree of perfection."
"God, to procure His glory, sometimes permits that we should be dishonored and persecuted without reason. He wishes thereby to render us conformable to His Son, who was calumniated and treated as a seducer, as an ambitious man, and as one possessed."
"God sends us trials and afflictions to exercise us in patience and teach us sympathy with the sorrows of others."
"The thought of the presence of God renders us familiar with the practice of doing in all things His holy will."
"We should not spare expense, fatigue, nor even our life, when there is a question of accomplishing the holy will of God."
"We meet with contradictions everywhere. If only two persons are together they mutually afford each other opportunities of exercising patience, and even when one is alone there will still be a necessity for this virtue, so true it is that our miserable life is full of crosses."
"There is nothing more holy, more eminently perfect, than resignation to the will of God, which confirms us in an entire detachment from ourselves, and a perfect indifference for every condition in which we may be placed."
"Every time that some unexpected event befalls us, be it affliction, or be it spiritual or corporal consolation, we should endeavor to receive it with equanimity of spirit, since all comes form the hand of God."
"He who submits himself to God in all things is certain that whatever men say or do against him will always turn to his advantage."
"We should never abandon, on account of the difficulties we encounter , an enterprise undertaken with due reflection."
"We should be cordial and affable with the poor, and with persons in humble circumstances. We should not treat t hem in a supercilious manner. Haughtiness makes them revolt. On the contrary, when we are affable with them, they become more docile and derive more benefit from the advice they receive."
"That which we suffer in the accomplishment of a good work, merits for us the necessary graces to insure its success."
"We ought to have a special devotion to those saints who excelled in humility, particularly to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who declares that the Lord regarded her on account of her humility."
"We should honor God in His saints, and beseech Him to make us partakers of the graces He poured so abundantly upon them."
"The best preparation for death is a perfect resignation to the will of God, after the example of Jesus Christ, who, in His prayer in Gethsemane prepared Himself with these words, 'Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.'"
"If humble souls are contradicted they remain calm; if they are calumniated, they suffer with patience; if they are little esteemed, neglected, or forgotten, they consider that their due; if they are weighted down with occupations, they perform them cheerfully."
"Afflictions are the most certain proofs that God can give us of His love for us."
"It is absolutely necessary, both for our advancement and the salvation of others, to follow always and in all things the beautiful light of faith."
"If we consider all that is imperfect and worldly in us, we shall find ample reason for abasing ourselves before God and man, before ourselves and our inferiors."
"We should study the interests of others as our own, and be careful to act on all occasions with uprightness and loyalty."
"It is God Himself who receives what we give in charity, and is it not an incomparable happiness to give Him w hat belongs to Him, and what we have received from His goodness alone."
"We should abandon ourselves entirely into the hands of God, and believe that His providence disposes everything that He wishes or permits to happen to us for our greater good."
"Conformity to the will of God is an easy and certain means of acquiring a great treasure of graces in this life."
"Humility is the virtue of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of His blessed Mother, and of the greatest saints. It embraces all virtues and, where it is sincere, introduces them into the soul."
"Humble submission and obedience to the decrees of the Sovereign Pontiffs are good means for distinguishing the loyal from the rebellious children of the Church."
"True Christian prudence makes us submit our intellect to the maxims of the Gospel without fear of being deceived. It teaches us to judge things as Jesus Christ judged them, and to speak and act as He did."
"In proportion as the love of God increases in our soul, so does also the love of suffering."
Source: Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year - Public Domain
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