Top 100 Vincent De Paul Quotes
#1. Remember the maxim of the Romans which states that by union and counsel we can achieve anything.
Vincent De Paul
#2. Nevertheless, when one is ill, one should be submissive to the doctor and obey him.
Vincent De Paul
#3. You should not open your mouth except to express gratitude for benefits you have received, and never to mention your discontent.
Vincent De Paul
#4. God is pleased to communicate himself to the simple and humble and to use the smallest and lowliest to make them great and exalted. In a word, it is He Himself who has called and approved them and even inspired their humble manner of living.
Vincent De Paul
#5. A doctor who keeps a person from becoming ill deserves more merit than one who cures him.
Vincent De Paul
#6. Naturally, everyone is disheartened by sharp reprimands, and by the most amiable corrections as well, if they are frequent, immoderate, or given inappropriately.
Vincent De Paul
#7. Three can do more than ten when Our Lord puts His hand to things, and He always does so when He takes away the means of doing otherwise.
Vincent De Paul
#8. [E]xcess in the practice of virtue is no less imperfect than the lack of it.
Vincent De Paul
#9. In the final analysis, virtue is not found in extremes, but in prudence ...
Vincent De Paul
#10. If we want to find the manna hidden in our vocation, let us restrict and confine all our desires within it.
Vincent De Paul
#11. When we receive with an entire and perfect resignation the afflictions which God sends us they become for us favors and benefits; because conformity to the will of God is a gain far superior to all temporal advantages.
Vincent De Paul
#12. If, in order to succeed in an enterprise, I were obliged to choose between fifty deer commanded by a lion, and fifty lions commanded by a deer, I should consider myself more certain of success with the first group than with the second.
Vincent De Paul
#13. If you no longer have any income, you will not be neglected-you will not starve to death ... We panic at first, but God does not always allow the evil that is feared to happen.
Vincent De Paul
#14. One beautiful diamond is worth more than a mountain of stones, and one virtuous act of acquiescence and submission is better than an abundance of good works done for others.
Vincent De Paul
#15. We must hold as an irrefutable maxim that the difficulties we have with our neighbor arise more from our immortified moods than from anything else.
Vincent De Paul
#16. Scandal often does as much harm to the listeners as to those who devise it, even if it were to do no other harm than disturb the mind, as it does, and give rise to temptations to speak or write about it to others.
Vincent De Paul
#17. It is a good sign when He burdens us with [crosses] and we carry them well, but woe to the person who runs away from them, for he will find such heavy ones that they will overwhelm him.
Vincent De Paul
#18. Let us allow God to act; He brings things to completion when we least expect it.
Vincent De Paul
#19. Peace is never so complete that we may not have something to suffer ... Since it is impossible to please all of [those you serve], they offer you the occasion for practices which increase your merit in the measure that you make them meritorious by your patience.
Vincent De Paul
#21. If there is any danger in the present weather, in the name of God, Monsieur, wait until spring
Vincent De Paul
#22. God allows us to give rise to the practice of two beautiful virtues: perseverance, which leads us to attain the goal, and constancy, which helps us to overcome difficulties.
Vincent De Paul
#23. If the Company takes my advice, it will always be preserved through this maxim, for if we are good, we will not lack any, and if we are not, we already have too many houses anyway, and can hardly fill the few we have.
Vincent De Paul
#24. Rarely is any good done without difficulty; the devil is too subtle and the world too corrupt not to attempt to nip such a good work in the bud
Vincent De Paul
#25. All beginnings are somewhat strange; but we must have patience, and little by little, we shall find things, which at first were obscure, becoming clearer.
Vincent De Paul
#26. Do not be afraid of undertaking too much of what you can do without coming and going; but fear only the thought of doing more than you are doing and more than God is giving you the means to do.
Vincent De Paul
#27. If you must be in a hurry, then let it be according to the old adage, and hasten slowly.
Vincent De Paul
#28. It will be most pleasing to O[ur] L[ord] if you husband your strength in order to serve Him better.
Vincent De Paul
#29. Make an effort to serve good bread and good meat and not to sell the better wine so as to serve what is inferior ...
Vincent De Paul
#30. The vine-stock bears fruit as long as it is attached to its stem; apart from that, no.
Vincent De Paul
#32. In God's name, Monsieur, let us remain indifferent; let us strive to be equally attached to whatever obedience marks out for us, be it agreeable or disagreeable. By the grace of God, we belong to Him; what else should we desire except to please Him?
Vincent De Paul
#33. If you say that a good reputation serves to benefit the neighbor more, I admit that. However, since it should be based on a good life, it is, therefore, preserved by the practice of virtue and not by human intrigue.
Vincent De Paul
#34. In the name of God, Monsieur, let us have greater confidence in Him than we do; let us allow Him to steer our little bark; if it is useful and pleasing to Him, He will save it from shipwreck.
Vincent De Paul
#35. We must love our neighbor as being made in the image of God and as an object of His love.
Vincent De Paul
#36. [T]hese [ideas] are only suggestions of the evil spirit who, to jeopardize your salvation, suggests to you extraordinary works that are beyond your strength, under the fine pretext of practicing, on your own, the spiritual and corporal works of mercy ...
Vincent De Paul
#37. It seems to me that the best way will be the one that is most gentle and forbearing, which is more in conformity with the Spirit of Our Lord and more apt to win hearts.
Vincent De Paul
#38. It is God's plan that those who are to help others spiritually fall into the temptations of mind and body by which others can be tormented ... Scorn both these evil suggestions and the wickedness of their author, who is the devil.
Vincent De Paul
#39. [W]ork at ridding yourself of the esteem you have had up to now for the glitter and sparkle of virtue and the vain applause of the world, which Our Lord so assiduously avoided and so often recommends us to shun, and that you labor in earnest to acquire true and solid virtues.
Vincent De Paul
#40. If your men grow weary of the work or balk at obedience, you must bear with them. Get what you can gently from them. True, it is good to be firm in attaining your goal, but use appropriate, attractive, and agreeable means.
Vincent De Paul
#41. God's affairs are accomplished gradually and almost imperceptibly and His spirit is neither violent nor tempestuous.
Vincent De Paul
#42. [A]s a rule, the most learned persons do not produce the greatest results. We see that only too often.
Vincent De Paul
#43. THE MAIN DUTY OF LAW enforcement is law breaking. Right now the disciplined forces jobs are the reserve of the 'elite' and security has little meaning, money is the arbiter of law breaking.
Vincent De Paul
#44. So, our vocation is to go, not just to one parish, not just to one diocese, but all over the world; and do what? To set people's hearts on fire, to do what the Son of God did. He came to set the world on fire in order to inflame it with His love.
Vincent De Paul
#45. I have never come away from you without reflecting that the Spirit of God and His holy workings reside in you.
Vincent De Paul
#46. Just as stinginess is blameworthy so is the fault of facility in paying more for things than they are worth ...
Vincent De Paul
#47. He is greatly honored by the time we take to weigh with mature deliberation matters having to do with his service, as are all those with which we deal.
Vincent De Paul
#48. [N]or should you move so fast! The works of God do not proceed in that way; they come about of themselves, and those He does not create soon perish.
Vincent De Paul
#49. [Do not] overburden yourself with rules of devotion, but persist in doing well those you have, your daily actions, your work; in a word, let everything revolve around doing well what you are doing.
Vincent De Paul
#50. I would rather him to bear patiently with it than to put himself in danger of a greater evil.
Vincent De Paul
#51. If we divested ourselves, once and for all, of all self-will, we would then be in a position of being sure of doing the Will of God, in which the angels find all their delight and men all their happiness.
Vincent De Paul
#52. With whose imperfections will you bear, and what insult are you capable of enduring, if a thoughtless word from your own Superior is unbearable?
Vincent De Paul
#53. The children of our Lord walk gladly in his ways; they have confidence in him, and so when they fall, they rise again; and if, instead of stopping to grumble about the stone they have tripped over, they humble themselves at their fall, this helps them to advance with great strides in his love.
Vincent De Paul
#54. [T]hese losses of the Church in the past hundred years give us reason to fear in the present misfortune that in another hundred years we may lose the Church entirely in Europe. So, keeping this fear in mind, blessed are those who cooperate in extending the Church elsewhere.
Vincent De Paul
#55. Since you know the means of getting better, in the name of God, make use of them. Do not take on anything beyond your strength, do not be anxious, do not take things too much to heart, go gently, do not work too long or too hard.
Vincent De Paul
#56. The works of God are not accomplished when we wish them, but whenever it pleases Him.
Vincent De Paul
#58. Good works are often spoiled by moving too quickly ... The good which God desires is accomplished almost by itself, without our even thinking of it.
Vincent De Paul
#59. Since I am a great sinner, I cannot reject those who have been, provided they have good will.
Vincent De Paul
#60. Since God is satisfied with our good will and honest efforts, let us also be satisfied with the outcome He gives to them, and our actions will never be without good results
Vincent De Paul
#61. A man who behaves poorly in a Community will not do well in a parish.
Vincent De Paul
#62. There are some persons who are content with everything and others who are scarcely content with anything. These latter need patience to bear with themselves.
Vincent De Paul
#63. Fear not; calm will follow the storm, and perhaps soon.
Vincent De Paul
#64. Experience teaches that what is feasible at the beginning is sometimes harmful as things go on, or subject to troublesome inconveniences
Vincent De Paul
#65. Always be quite simple and sincere and ask God to grant me those two virtues.
Vincent De Paul
#66. [I]n order to raise a soul to the highest perfection, He allows it to pass through dryness, brambles, and combats, causing it thereby to honor the times of weariness in the life of His Son, Our Lord, who suffered various kinds of anguish and abandonment.
Vincent De Paul
#67. Remember, Monsieur, that Saint Augustine says that a person who does not obey the doctors is doing his best to kill himself.
Vincent De Paul
#68. Indeed, good is not good if one does not suffer in doing it.
Vincent De Paul
#69. It's a pity you think that the world can be righted through murder. Isn't there enough death in the world already from hunger, starvation, calamities, and the stupid wars you stupid humans wage against each other?
Vincent De Paul
#70. It is difficult to master one's feelings and be exact in everything in the midst of many affairs
Vincent De Paul
#71. Far from being a bad thing to seek advice, you must, on the contrary, do so when the matter is of any importance, or when we cannot come to a clear decision on our own.
Vincent De Paul
#72. [I]n the kingdom of charity, one prefers to suffer some inconvenience rather than inconvenience the neighbor.
Vincent De Paul
#73. Charity is the cement which binds Communities to God and persons to one another ...
Vincent De Paul
#74. In this way, through experience they will be formed adequately, will be encouraged, and will be capable of rendering service to God.
Vincent De Paul
#75. We should take as a maxim never to be surprised at current difficulties, no more than at a passing breeze, because with a little patience we shall see them disappear. Time changes everything.
Vincent De Paul
#76. You say you experience great difficulty in the mission. Alas! Monsieur, there is no lot in life where there is nothing to be endured.
Vincent De Paul
#77. If you think something should be done, take the trouble to write to me about it, and together we will decide the time and manner of doing it.
Vincent De Paul
#78. Without [firmness] I see the majority of Communities that are lax reach that state because of the excessive leniency of Superiors. So, be firm, Monsieur.
Vincent De Paul
#79. Put your trust in Him and following His example, always act humbly, graciously, and in good faith.
Vincent De Paul
#80. [R]est assured that, when you remain thus in the state in which obedience has placed you, the merit of this same obedience extends over everything you do, giving each action inestimable value, even when things do not turn out as you wish.
Vincent De Paul
#81. [P]resent misfortune presupposes good luck in the future.
Vincent De Paul
#82. God has granted me today a very particular fondness for requesting of Him that same virtue of ever choosing the worst and that which is contrary to my own liking.
Vincent De Paul
#83. People are made in such a way that even the holiest ones are liable to offend one another.
Vincent De Paul
#84. Omit nothing which can advance his work, and not blame others for the delay.
Vincent De Paul
#86. You must moderate yourself according to your strength. When you have done all that you can to see that no Christian is perverted, you must find your consolation in Our Lord, who could prevent this misfortune and who is not doing so.
Vincent De Paul
#87. The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.
Vincent De Paul
#88. Seek counsel of very pious, disinterested persons, and follow the call of O[ur] L[ord] and the advice of those persons.
Vincent De Paul
#89. Far from rejecting such a good man as you, He never even abandons a wicked man who hopes for His mercy.
Vincent De Paul
#90. I am sure that you are the first to do what you teach them.
Vincent De Paul
#92. [M]ay you be more advanced in the school of solid virtue, which is practiced in an excellent way in the midst of suffering, and which keeps good servants of God in fear when they have nothing to suffer!
Vincent De Paul
#93. Is it not better to fail after asking advice than to risk acting on our own?
Vincent De Paul
#94. Peace is worth more than all worldly possessions; in addition, God rewards it even in this life.
Vincent De Paul
#95. Let us be submissive to Providence, He will see to our affairs in His own time and in His own way
Vincent De Paul
#96. [R]estlessness usually stems from pride and from being discontented with one's lot in life.
Vincent De Paul
#97. [L]et us believe that all is going along the best in the world when we take no satisfaction in it, provided we humble ourselves for this and redouble our confidence in God.
Vincent De Paul
#98. The kingdom of God is peace in the Holy Spirit; He will reign in you if your heart is at peace. So, be at peace, Mademoiselle, and you will honor in a sovereign way the God of peace and love.
Vincent De Paul
#99. It is a ruse of the devil, by which he deceives good people, to induce them to do more than they are able, so that they end up not being able to do anything. The spirit of God urges one gently to do the good that can be done reasonably, so that it may be done perseveringly and for a long time.
Vincent De Paul
#100. It is not light they need but strength, and strength permeates through the external balm of words and good example.
Vincent De Paul
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