Most yellow flowers keep turned continually to the sun, but the
sunflower turns not only its flowers but also its leaves towards the
great luminary. In like manner the elect turn the flower of their
hearts--that is, their obedience--to the commands of God's will.--_St.
Francis of Sales_.
The virtues of the friends of God are ennobled and raised to the
dignity of holy works by the excellence of the heart which produces
them. All their virtuous actions are dedicated to God, for how can a
heart that has given Him itself not give to Him all that belongs to
it? Does not he who gives a whole tree give also the leaves, and
flowers, and fruit?--_The same_.
The rose possesses the property of killing by its odour all the snails
that come around it. Similarly, the devout soul, who is as a rose
before God, should chase away and destroy all the creeping things that
gather around her heart--that is to say, the coldness and tepidity
which are an obstacle to her advancement in the way of God.--_The
same_.