Francois Fenelon Quotes on Belief & Faith (2 Quotes)

'When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth' If He should now come, would He find it in us What fruits of faith have we to show Do we look upon this life only as a short passage to a better Do we believe that we must suffer with Jesus Christ before we can reign with Him Do we consider this world as a deceitful appearance, and death as the entrance to true happiness Do we live by faith Does it animate us Do we relish the eternal truths it presents us with Are we as careful to nourish our souls with those truths as to maintain our bodies with proper diet Do we accustom ourselves to see all things in the light of faith Do we correct all our judgments by it Alas The greater part of Christians think and act like mere heathens if we judge (as we justly may) of their faith by their practice, we must conclude they have no faith at all.

There is a great difference between a lofty spirit and a right spirit. A lofty spirit excites admiration by its profoundness but only a right spirit achieves salvation and happiness by its stability and integrity. Do not conform your ideas to those of the world. Scorn the 'intellectual' as much as the world esteems it. What men consider intellectual is a certain facility to produce brilliant thoughts. Nothing is more vain. We make an idol of our intellect as a woman who believes herself beautiful worships her face. We take pride in our own thoughts. We must reject not only human cleverness, but also human prudence, which seems so important and so profitable. Then we may enter like little children, with candor and innocence of worldly ways into the simplicity of faith and with humility and a horror of sin we may enter into the holy passion of the cross.