The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
BOOK THREE: INTERNAL CONSOLATION
The Twenty-Third Chapter: Four Things Which Bring Great Peace

MY CHILD, I will teach you now the way of peace and true liberty.

Seek, child, to do the will of others rather than your own. Continue reading →

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
BOOK THREE: INTERNAL CONSOLATION
The Twenty-Second Chapter: Remember the Innumerable Gifts of God

OPEN my heart, O Lord, to Your law and teach me to walk in the way of Your commandments. Let me understand Your will. Let me remember Your blessings–all of them and each single one of them–with great reverence and care so that henceforth I may return worthy thanks for them. I know that I am unable to give due thanks for even the least of Your gifts. I am unworthy of the benefits You have given me, and when I consider Your generosity my spirit faints away before its greatness. All that we have of soul and body, whatever we possess interiorly or exteriorly, by nature or by grace, are Your gifts and they proclaim Your goodness and mercy from which we have received all good things.

If one receives more and another less, yet all are Yours and without You nothing can be received. He who receives greater things cannot glory in his own merit or consider himself above others or behave insolently toward those who receive less. He who attributes less to himself and is the more humble and devout in returning thanks is indeed the greater and the better, while he who considers himself lower than all men and judges himself to be the least worthy, is the more fit to receive the greater blessing. Continue reading →

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
BOOK THREE: INTERNAL CONSOLATION
The Twenty-first Chapter: Above All Goods and All Gifts We Must Rest in God

ABOVE all things and in all things, O my soul, rest always in God, for He is the everlasting rest of the saints.

Grant, most sweet and loving Jesus, that I may seek my repose in You above every creature; above all health and beauty; above every honor and glory; every power and dignity; above all knowledge and cleverness, all riches and arts, all joy and gladness; above all fame and praise, all sweetness and consolation; above every hope and promise, every merit and desire; above all the gifts and favors that You can give or pour down upon me; above all the joy and exultation that the mind can receive and feel; and finally, above the angels and archangels and all the heavenly host; above all things visible and invisible; and may I seek my repose in You above everything that is not You, my God. Continue reading →

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
BOOK THREE: INTERNAL CONSOLATION
The Twentieth Chapter: Confessing Our Weakness in the Miseries of Life

I WILL bring witness against myself to my injustice, and to You, O Lord, I will confess my weakness.

Often it is a small thing that makes me downcast and sad. I propose to act bravely, but when even a small temptation comes I find myself in great straits. Sometimes it is the merest trifle which gives rise to grievous temptations. When I think myself somewhat safe and when I am not expecting it, I frequently find myself almost overcome by a slight wind. Look, therefore, Lord, at my lowliness and frailty which You know so well. Have mercy on me and snatch me out of the mire that I may not be caught in it and may not remain forever utterly despondent. Continue reading →

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
BOOK THREE: INTERNAL CONSOLATION
The Nineteenth Chapter: True Patience in Suffering

WHAT are you saying, My child? Think of My suffering and that of the saints, and cease complaining. You have not yet resisted to the shedding of blood. What you suffer is very little compared with the great things they suffered who were so strongly tempted, so severely troubled, so tried and tormented in many ways. Well may you remember, therefore, the very painful woes of others, that you may bear your own little ones the more easily. And if they do not seem so small to you, examine if perhaps your impatience is not the cause of their apparent greatness; and whether they are great or small, try to bear them all patiently. The better you dispose yourself to suffer, the more wisely you act and the greater is the reward promised you. Thus you will suffer more easily if your mind and habits are diligently trained to it.

Do not say: “I cannot bear this from such a man, nor should I suffer things of this kind, for he has done me a great wrong. He has accused me of many things of which I never thought. However, from someone else I will gladly suffer as much as I think I should.” Continue reading →

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
BOOK THREE: INTERNAL CONSOLATION
The Eighteenth Chapter: Temporal Sufferings Should Be Borne Patiently, After the Example of Christ

MY CHILD, I came down from heaven for your salvation and took upon Myself your miseries, not out of necessity but out of love, that you might learn to be patient and bear the sufferings of this life without repining. From the moment of My birth to My death on the cross, suffering did not leave Me. I suffered great want of temporal goods. Often I heard many complaints against Me. Disgrace and reviling I bore with patience. For My blessings I received ingratitude, for My miracles blasphemies, and for My teaching scorn.

The Disciple Continue reading →

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
BOOK THREE: INTERNAL CONSOLATION
The Seventeenth Chapter: All Our Care is to Be Placed in God

MY CHILD, allow me to do what I will with you. I know what is best for you. You think as a man; you feel in many things as human affection persuades.

The Disciple Continue reading →