[Buckeye McFrog]

Either it’s an Urban Legend or he was the Parton Saint of stand-up...

[wideawake]

Thanks for this. It drives me nuts everytime I hear someone throw out this fake quote.

[boatbums]

The gospel is not habit, but history. The gospel is the declaration of something that actually happened. And since the gospel is the saving work of Jesus, it isn’t something we can do, but it is something we must announce. We do live out its implications, but if we are to make the gospel known, we will do so through words.

It's pretty clear that the Gospel is something that is preached:

As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!". But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:11-17)

We are saved by faith and that faith effects a spiritual change within the heart of every believer. Consequently, our lives should show the evidence of that intrinsic change and others are attracted to Christ when they see how we live to the glory of God. The idea that we live our faith so that others praise God - and not us - is the reason why, I think, He left us here rather than immediately taking us up once we are born again. We work with the Holy Spirit to call the unsaved to Christ. This should be a strong reminder to us that we have a responsibility to the world to not only preach the Gospel to everyone but to live the Gospel, too.

[mlizzy]

He may not have said those "exact" words, but I did find this:

In Chapter XVII of his Rule of 1221, Francis told the friars not to preach unless they had received the proper permission to do so. Then he added, "Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds." https://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/oct2001/Wiseman.asp

[This I Wonder32460]

St. Francis may not have said it, yet actions do speak louder then words and sometimes it works better to walk the walk then to spout the talk. ;)

Amen and Hallelujah!

[SuziQ]

Whether or not St. Francis of Assisi said it, it remains a wise statement. WE are the Word of God for many people. Many, if they know we profess to be Christians, watch what we do. If we live according to the teachings of Christ, we are 'preaching the Gospel' without saying a thing. We can draw others to Christ by the way we live.

Conversely, if we are nasty and negative, why would people ever be drawn to the Christ we claim we worship? They would just consider us hypocrites of the worst kind to say one thing, and then act a totally different way.

[Salvation]

Francis of Assisi: Pattern for Lay Holiness
The Real St. Francis of Assisi Was Not a Garden Gnome...
Chesterton and Saint Francis
Saint Francis of Assisi, 'giant of holiness,' honored Oct. 4

Franciscan Brothers Follow in St. Francis' Bare Footsteps
St. Francis of Assisi (and) St. Clare of Assisi [Catholic Caucus]
On Francis of Assisi
Franciscans ready to celebrate 800th anniversary of order's founding
'Stone-for-stone' Porziuncola reproduction erected in San Francisco
Portiuncula Indulgence can be obtained this Sunday
Away in a Manger [St. Francis of Assisi and the first Nativity scene]
The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi -- The Wounds of Christ
St. Clare's Advice Defended Assisi Against An Attack By the Mohammedans (My Title)

The Way of the Cross, with Prayerful Meditations authored by Saint Francis of Assisi
Friar Assails "Lies" Against Franciscans of Assisi In Wake of Pope's Program
color=#e00040>Cimabue's Assisi Fresco Reconstructed
Friars Minor Support Pope's Measures for Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi and Eucharistic Adoration
Saint Francis of Assisi’s Letter to the Clergy
World Needs the Spirit of St. Francis, Says John Paul II
Saint Francis of Assisi, Founder of the Friars Minor, Confessor 1181-1226>
Assisi frescoes rise from the rubble
Christ's words to St. Francis, "repair my Church," appropriate for today says Archbishop Chaput

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assissi

Lord, make me am instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
and where there is saddness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

Saint Francis was born in Assisi, Italy in 1182. He lived and preached a life of poverty and love of God to all men. He founded the religious Order of the Franciscans; with St. Clare, he founded the Order of the Poor Clares; and the Third Order for lay people. He died in 1226.