I don't have a problem with quotes from "St." Francis, but here's another one from another Orthodox Father along the same lines:
"Our Church's mission is to infuse these God-human virtues and ascetic exertions into the people's way of living; to have their life and soul knit firm with the Christlike God-human virtues. For therein lies the soul's salvation from the world... We must execute ascetic effort in Christ's name as response to the decayed and disfigured European being... And today only Orthodox ascetic efforts can bring about sanctity in every soul, in the soul of all our people... Orthodoxy, as the single vessel and guardian of the perfect and radiant Person of God-human Christ, is brought about exclusively by this exertion of virtues by grace, through entirely God-human Orthodox means... The Ascetics are Orthodoxy's only missionaries. Asceticism is her only missionary school. Orthodoxy is ascetic effort and it is life, and it is thus by effort and by life that her mission is broadcast and brought about." - St. Justin Popovich, The Inward Mission of Our Church (Online Version), from the book Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ, pp. 28-30
