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Imitation of Christ: 1, 22, Thoughts on the Misery of Man [Devotional]
WorkofGod.org ^ | 1441 | Thomas aKempis

Posted on 09/27/2007 8:32:48 AM PDT by Salvation

Imitation of Jesus Christ - Thoughts on the Misery of Man  Thoughts on the Misery of Man

WHEREVER you are, wherever you go, you are miserable unless you turn to God. So why be dismayed when things do not happen as you wish and desire? Is there anyone who has everything as he wishes? No -- neither I, nor you, nor any man on earth. There is no one in the world, be he Pope or king, who does not suffer trial and anguish.
Who is the better off then? Surely, it is the man who will suffer something for God. Many unstable and weak-minded people say: "See how well that man lives, how rich, how great he is, how powerful and mighty." But you must lift up your eyes to the riches of heaven and realize that the material goods of which they speak are nothing. These things are uncertain and very burdensome because they are never possessed without anxiety and fear. Man's happiness does not consist in the possession of abundant goods; a very little is enough.
Living on earth is truly a misery. The more a man desires spiritual life, the more bitter the present becomes to him, because he understands better and sees more clearly the defects, the corruption of human nature. To eat and drink, to watch and sleep, to rest, to labor, and to be bound by other human necessities is certainly a great misery and affliction to the devout man, who would gladly be released from them and be free from all sin. Truly, the inner man is greatly burdened in this world by the necessities of the body, and for this reason the Prophet prayed that he might be as free from them as possible, when he said: "From my necessities, O Lord, deliver me." [Ps. 24:17]
But woe to those who know not their own misery, and greater woe to those who love this miserable and corruptible life. Some, indeed, can scarcely procure its necessities either by work or by begging; yet they love it so much that, if they could live here always, they would care nothing for the kingdom of God.
How foolish and faithless of heart are those who are so engrossed in earthly things as to relish nothing but what is carnal! Miserable men indeed, for in the end they will see to their sorrow how cheap and worthless was the thing they loved.
The saints of God and all devout friends of Jesus Christ did not look to what pleases the body nor to the things that are popular from time to time. Their whole hope and aim centered on the everlasting good. Their whole desire pointed upward to the lasting and invisible realm, lest the love of what is visible drag them down to lower things.
Do not lose heart, then, my brother, in pursuing your spiritual life. There is yet time, and your hour is not past. Why delay your purpose? Arise! Begin at once and say: "Now is the time to act, now is the time to fight, now is the proper time to amend."
When you are troubled and afflicted, that is the time to gain merit. You must pass through water and fire before coming to rest. Unless you do violence to yourself you will not overcome vice.
So long as we live in this fragile body, we can neither be free from sin nor live without weariness and sorrow. Gladly would we rest from all misery, but in losing innocence through sin we also lost true blessedness. Therefore, we must have patience and await the mercy of God until this iniquity passes, until mortality is swallowed up in life.
How great is the frailty of human nature which is ever prone to evil! Today you confess your sins and tomorrow you again commit the sins which you confessed. One moment you resolve to be careful, and yet after an hour you act as though you had made no resolution.
We have cause, therefore, because of our frailty and feebleness, to humble ourselves and never think anything great of ourselves. Through neglect we may quickly lose that which by God's grace we have acquired only through long, hard labor. What, eventually, will become of us who so quickly grow lukewarm? Woe to us if we presume to rest in peace and security when actually there is no true holiness in our lives. It would be beneficial for us, like good novices, to be instructed once more in the principles of a good life, to see if there be hope of amendment and greater spiritual progress in the future.
Imitation of Jesus Christ - Thoughts on the Misery of Man


TOPICS: Catholic; Moral Issues; Prayer; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist; values; virtues
For your thoughtful and prayerful meditation and response.
1 posted on 09/27/2007 8:32:52 AM PDT by Salvation
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To: nickcarraway; sandyeggo; Lady In Blue; NYer; american colleen; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ...
Imitation of Christ Devotional Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Imitation of Christ Devotional Ping List.

Also, many Protestants have asked me to put them on this ping list. I have gladly done so, and will add your name also if you FReepmail me. I reassure you that will not get all the Catholic pings.

2 posted on 09/27/2007 8:35:14 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
The Religion Moderator gave me permission to copy the rules from the Chambers' thread (with a few alterations) which I think are applicable. Thank you to the RM!

Come to these threads as you are; leave with what you have discovered.

Absolutely no flaming! These daily threads are intended to be devotional in nature. If a particular day's offering says nothing to you, please just go on and wait for the next day. Consider these threads a DMZ of sorts, a place where a perpetual truce is in effect and a place where all other arguments and disagreements from other times and places are left behind.

I can attest from personal experience (Salvation's)  that reading from Imitation of Christ daily will almost certainly change - not one's faith - but one's perspective of his/her own faith, and open up new vistas in your spiritual life. If - when - this happens to a reader of these threads, and they choose to share what has happened within them - we are treading on hallowed ground. Be respectful.

- Religion Moderator



3 posted on 09/27/2007 8:35:59 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Christ In The Garden Of Gethsemane art print by Heinrich Hofmann 

 

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

BY

THOMAS KEMPIS

A very powerful spiritual guidance for the soul who seeks to imitate Jesus Christ. 

Learn from me, because I am meek and humble of heart. Mat. 11:29


4 posted on 09/27/2007 8:37:10 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All

**WHEREVER you are, wherever you go, you are miserable unless you turn to God.**

The answer for the secular and modernist world! Alleluia!


5 posted on 09/27/2007 8:38:43 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

bookmark


6 posted on 09/27/2007 8:52:20 AM PDT by GOP Poet
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To: GOP Poet

Terrific, isn’t it?


7 posted on 09/27/2007 8:57:46 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

St. Augustine’s Confessions (Book 1:1) “.....You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”


8 posted on 09/27/2007 8:58:10 AM PDT by blue-duncan
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To: blue-duncan

And this quote is from St. Jerome:

What a person desires, if he worships it, is to him a god. A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar.

— St. Jerome


9 posted on 09/27/2007 9:33:36 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Imitation of Christ -- Foreword [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ, 1,1 - Imitating Jesus Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1,2, Having A Humble Opinion of Self [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 3, The Doctrine of Truth [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 4, Prudence in Action [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ, 1, 5, Reading the Holy Scripture [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 6, Unbridled Affections [Devotional]

Imitation of Christ: 1, 7, Avoiding False Hope and Pride [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 8, Shunning Over- Familiarity [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 9, Obedience and Subjection [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 10, Avoiding Idle Talk [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 11, Acquiring Peace and Zeal for Perfection [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 12, The Value of Adversity [Devotional]

Imitation of Christ: 1, 13, Resisting Temptation [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1. 14, Avoiding Rash Judgment [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 15, Works Done in Charity [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 16, Bearing With the Faults of Others [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1. 17, Monastic Life [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 18, The Example Set Us by the Holy Fathers [Devotional]

Imitation of Christ: 1, 19, The Practices of a Good Religious [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 20, The Love of Solitude and Silence [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 21, Sorrow of Heart [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 22, Thoughts on the Misery of Man [Devotional]

10 posted on 09/27/2007 9:28:53 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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