Top 215 Quotes & Sayings by Vincent de Paul

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a French priest Vincent de Paul.

Last updated on December 24, 2024.

Vincent de Paul, commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley slaves, he returned to be the superior of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the "Vincentians". These priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages. Vincent was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy at a time when there was great laxity, abuse, and ignorance among them. He was a pioneer in clerical training and was instrumental in establishing seminaries, and founder of the Congregation of the Mission and Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.

French - Priest | April 24, 1581 - September 27, 1660

Source: Wikipedia

A doctor who keeps a person from becoming ill deserves more merit than one who cures him.

Vincent de Paul

All comes at the proper time to him who knows how to wait.

Vincent de Paul

With God's help, you will continue to succeed in your leadership and in your duties, because Our Lord's work is accomplished not so much by the multitude of workers as by the fidelity of the small number whom He calls.

Vincent de Paul

Indeed, good is not good if one does not suffer in doing it.

Vincent de Paul

To this end, we should help and support one another and strive for peace and union among ourselves. This is the wine that cheers and strengthens travelers along the narrow path of Jesus Christ.

Vincent de Paul

We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people, and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the spirit of God.

Vincent de Paul

You should not open your mouth except to express gratitude for benefits you have received, and never to mention your discontent.

Vincent de Paul

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

[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

Let us be submissive to Providence, He will see to our affairs in His own time and in His own way

Vincent de Paul

Oh! how happy the man of means who uses his wealth and his life for the greater glory of God, from whom he has received them!

Vincent de Paul

Let us allow God to act; He brings things to completion when we least expect it.

Vincent de Paul

. . . Our Lord humbles in order to raise up, and allows the suffering of interior and exterior afflictions in order to bring about peace. He often desires some things more than we do, but wants us to merit the grace of accomplishing them by several practices of virtue and to beg for this with many prayers.

Vincent de Paul

[E]ven if the whole world should rise up to destroy us, nothing will happen except that God, in whom we have put our hope, will allow.

Vincent de Paul

Peace is worth far more than anything they might take from you.

Vincent de Paul

We cannot better assure our eternal happiness than by living and dying in the service of the poor, in the arms of Providence, and with genuine renouncement of ourselves in order to follow Jesus Christ.

Vincent de Paul

The works of God are not accomplished when we wish them, but whenever it pleases Him.

Vincent de Paul

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

do not be surprised by your trials, since the Son of God has chosen them for our salvation.

Vincent de Paul

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

[L]ove is inventive to infinity.

Vincent de Paul

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

Let us do our duty well; let us go straight to God; let us work to become very humble, very patient, very mortified, and very charitable.

Vincent de Paul

I will always welcome joyfully any opportunity that comes my way to be of service to you

Vincent de Paul

Noise makes no good, good makes no noise.

Vincent de Paul

Charity is the cement which binds Communities to God and persons to one another . . .

Vincent de Paul

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

Put your trust in Him and following His example, always act humbly, graciously, and in good faith.

Vincent de Paul

Fear not; calm will follow the storm, and perhaps soon.

Vincent de Paul

Your soul will be blessed, Sister, if you bear patiently the troubles of mind and body His Providence sends you, or which come to you from within and without.

Vincent de Paul

There is no act of charity that is not accompanied by justice or that permits us to do more than we reasonably can.

Vincent de Paul

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

Be acted upon rather than active. In this way, God will do through you alone what all men put together could not do without Him.

Vincent de Paul

Always be quite simple and sincere and ask God to grant me those two virtues.

Vincent de Paul

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

There are good, God-fearing persons who still fall into certain faults, and it is better to bear with them than to be hard on them.

Vincent de Paul

We must be full reservoirs in order to let our water spill out without becoming empty, and we must possess the spirit with which we want them to be animated, for no one can give what he does not have.

Vincent de Paul

Nature makes trees put down deep roots before having them bear fruit, and even this is done gradually.

Vincent de Paul

Cast from your heart the bitterness.

Vincent de Paul

You say you are not happy in the Mission. That, in itself, is not a sign that God does not want you there. Perfect contentment is never to be found, in whatever place and condition one may be. This life is full of annoyances and troubles both of mind and of body; it is a state of continual agitation, which snatches peace of mind from those who think they possess it and eludes those who seek it. Did Our Lord lead an easy life?

Vincent de Paul

Providence must call us and we must follow it, if we are to go forward confidently.

Vincent de Paul

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

If after so much effort and prayer, the matter is not successful, it will be a clear sign that God does not will it.

Vincent de Paul

We should spend as much time in thanking God for his benefits as we do in asking him for them.

Vincent de Paul

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

We must love our neighbor as being made in the image of God and as an object of His love.

Vincent de Paul

Practice humility and patience.

Vincent de Paul

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

Who will excuse us before God for the loss of such a great number of people, who could be saved by the slight assistance we could give them?

Vincent de Paul

Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.

Vincent de Paul

There is nothing good that does not meet with opposition, and it should not be valued any less because it encounters objections.

Vincent de Paul

God always gives a great blessing to humble beginnings than to those that start with the chiming of bells.

Vincent de Paul

Even convicts, with whom I have spent some time, are not won over in any other way. Whenever I happened to speak sharply to them, I spoiled everything; on the contrary, when I praised them for their resignation and sympathized with them in their sufferings; when I told them they were fortunate to have their purgatory in this world, when I kissed their chains, showed compassion for their distress, and expressed sorrow for their misfortune, it was then that they listened to me, gave glory to God, and opened themselves to salvation.

Vincent de Paul

Let each of us accept the truth of the following statement and try to make it our most fundamental principle: Christ's teaching will never let us down, while worldly wisdom always will. Christ Himself said that this sort of wisdom was like a house with nothing but sand as its foundation, while His own was like a building with solid rock as its foundation.

Vincent de Paul

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

If God is the center of your life, no words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts.

Vincent de Paul

Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances.

Vincent de Paul

May God be pleased to make it known to you, and fill you increasingly with His Spirit, so that through you it may be poured into the souls you guide, and your own soul may be more greatly sanctified!

Vincent de Paul

And what are we doing if we are not doing God's Will?

Vincent de Paul

People are made in such a way that even the holiest ones are liable to offend one another.

Vincent de Paul