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POVERTY

 

Practice poverty of spirit in the midst of riches; practice richness of spirit in real poverty. (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 14)

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Take from your house what is in excess, and add to it what is wanting. (Letters to Persons in Religion, I, 1)

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He is rich in spirit who has his riches in his spirit or his spirit in his riches; he is poor in spirit who has no riches in his spirit, nor his spirit in his riches. (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 14)

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How much more desirable a thing it is to be poor in the house of God, than to dwell in the palaces of kings. (Letters to Persons in the World, VII, 21)

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To desire to be poor, but not to be inconvenienced by poverty, is to desire the honor of poverty and the convenience of riches. (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 16)

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It is a dangerous thing for mortification and humility to make their abode in wealth. (The Spirit of St. François de Sales, XVI, 6)

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The virtues which grow in prosperity are generally delicate and weakly. (Letters to Persons in the World, III, 10)

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Renouncements must be made quite gently, simply, and as if one made them for love and not from necessity of the struggle. (Letters to Persons in Religion, IV, 18)

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Be not ashamed to be poor, or to take alms in charity. (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 16)

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Riches prick us with a thousand troubles in getting them, as many cares in pre­serving them, and with yet more anxieties in spending them, and with grief in losing them. (The Spirit of St. François de Sales, XVI, 4)

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Peace is better than a fortune. (Letters to Persons in the World, II, 10)

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