Thomas à Kempis
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Thomas à Kempis, (1380 – 1471), was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and the author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the most popular and best known Christian devotional books. His name means Thomas "of Kempen", his home town. He was a member of the Modern Devotion, a spiritual movement during the late medieval period, and a follower of Geert Groote and Florens Radewyns, the founders of the Brethren of the Common Life.
Sir Thomas More, England's famous lord chancellor under Henry VIII said it was one of the three books everybody ought to own. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, read a chapter a day from it and regularly gave away copies as gifts. Methodist founder John Wesley said it was the best summary of the Christian life he had ever read.They were talking about Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ, the devotional classic that has been translated into over 50 languages, in editions too numerous for scholars to keep track of (by 1779 there were already 1,800 editions). Little is known of Thomas himself, and he is known for little else—although this one contribution to history seems to be enough. |
Quotes
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“What can the world offer you, without Jesus? To be without Jesus is hell most grievous; to be with Jesus is to know the sweetness of heaven. If Jesus is with you, no enemy can harm you. Whoever finds Jesus, finds a rich treasure, and a good above every good. He who loses Jesus, loses much indeed, and more that the whole world. Poorest of all men is he who lives without Jesus, and richest of all is he who stands in favor with Jesus. It is great art to know how to hold converse with Jesus, and to know how to keep Jesus is wisdom indeed. Be humble and a man of peace, and Jesus will abide with you. But if you turn aside to worldly things, you will soon cause Jesus to leave you, and you will lose his grace. And if you drive him away and lose him, with whom may you take refuge, and whom will you seek for your friend? Without a friend, you cannot live happily, and if Jesus is not your best friend, you will be exceedingly sad and lonely; so it is foolish to trust or delight in any other. It is better to have the whole world as your enemy, than offend Jesus. Therefore, of all dear friends, let Jesus be loved first and above all. Love all men for Jesus’ sake, but Jesus for himself.”
-Thomas A’ Kempis “Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God. Even if he awards punishment and pain, accept them gladly, for whatever he allows to befall us is always for our salvation.” -Thomas Kempis “There was once a man who was very anxious, and wavered between fear and hope. One day, overcome with sadness, he lay prostrate in prayer before the altar in church, and pondering these matters in his mind, said, ‘Oh, if only I knew that I should always persevere!’ then he heard in his heart an answer form God: ‘if you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then, and all will be well.’ So, comforted and strengthened, he committed himself to the will of God, and his anxious uncertainty vanished. Nor did he wish any longer to inquire into what would happen to him, but strove the more earnestly to learn the perfect and acceptable will of God, whenever he began or undertook any good work.” -Thomas Kempis “There is no other way to life and to true inner peace, than the way of the Cross, and of daily self-denial. Go where you will, seek what you will; you will find no higher way above nor safer way below than the road of the Holy Cross. Arrange and order all things to your own ideas and wishes, yet you will still find suffering to endure, whether you will or not; so you will always find the Cross…if you bear the Cross willingly, it will bear you and lead you to your desired goal, where pain shall be no more; but it will not be in this life. If you bear the cross unwillingly, you make it a burden, and load yourself more heavily; but you must bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will certainly find another, and perhaps a heavier… so long as suffering is grievous to you and you seek to escape it, so long will it go ill with you, for the trouble you try to escape will pursue you everywhere…be assured of this, that you must live a dying life. And the more completely a man dies to self, the more he begins to live to God. -Thomas Kempis Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,” says the Lord. By these words Christ advises us to imitate his life and habits if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our primary effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ. -Thomas a Kempis A man must strive long and mightily within himself, before he can learn fully to master himself. -Thomas A Kempis Yet we must be watchful, especially in the beginning of the temptation, for the enemy is then more easily overcome, if he is not suffered to enter the door of our hearts, but is resisted without the gate at his first knock -Thomas a’ Kempis “A man is blessed if he is able to keep the hour of his death continually before his eyes, and every day to hold himself in readiness for death.” -Thomas kempis “Always be ready; always live in such a way that death can never find you unprepared.” -Thomas Kempis “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." -Thomas á Kempis There is no order so holy, no place so secret…where there will be no temptation -Thomas a’ Kempis (1380-1471) Jesus now has many lovers of his heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of his cross. -Thomas A’ Kempis “If we would endeavor, like men of courage, to stand in the battle, surely we would feel the favorable assistance of God from heaven. For he who giveth us occasion to fight, to the end we may get the victory, is ready to succor those who fight manfully, and do trust in his grace.” -Thomas A Kempis “As Thomas a Kempis writes in The Imitation of Christ, "To many the saying, 'Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me,' seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.'" We will find that the cost demanded of us is no less than a radical submission to the exclusive lordship of Jesus. However, the reward comes when we find our house still standing after the final storm leaves and when the sun breaks through again.” “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Incline my heart to your words, and let your speech come upon me as dew upon the grass. In days gone by the children of Israel said to Moses, “speak to us and we shall listen; do not let the Lord speak to us, lest we die.” This is not how I pray, Lord. No. With the great prophet Samuel, I humbly and earnestly beg: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” So, do not let Moses speak to me, but you, O Lord, my God, eternal Truth, you speak to me. If I hear your voice, may I not be condemned for hearing the word and not following it, for knowing it and not loving it. Speak then, Lord, for your servant listens, for you have the words of eternal life. Speak to me to comfort my soul and to change my whole life; in turn, may it give you praise and glory and honor, forever and ever. Amen.” -Thomas a Kempis The more and complete and excellence your knowledge, the more severe will be God’s judgment on you, unless your life be the more holy. Therefore, do not be conceited of any skill or knowledge you may possess, but respect the knowledge that is entrusted to you. If it seems to you that you know a great deal and have wide experience in many fields, yet remember that there are many matters of which you are ignorant. So do not be conceited, but confess your ignorance. Why do you wish to esteem yourself above others, when there are many who are wiser and more perfect in the Law of God? If you desire to know or learn anything to your advantage, then take delight in being unknown and un-regarded. A true understanding and humble estimate of oneself is the highest and most valuable of all lessons. To take no account of oneself, but always to think well and highly of others is the highest wisdom and perfection. Should you see another person openly doing evil, or carrying out a wicked purpose, do not on that account consider yourself better than him, for you cannot tell how long you will remain in a state of grace. We are all frail; consider none more frail than yourself. Keep constantly in mind the saying, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” Strive to withdraw your heart from the love of visible things, and direct your affections to things invisible. For those who follow only their natural inclinations defile their conscience, and lose the grace of God. -Thomas a’ Kempis (1380-1471) “A clean conscience brings great confidence in God.” -Thomas a’ Kempis (1380-1471) “As long as we live in the world, we cannot escape temptations and tribulations. As it is written in Job, ‘Our life on this earth is warfare.’ For this reason we must be careful and concerned about our won temptations. We must be watchful in prayer, lest the devil be given an opportunity to deceive us. And yet, temptations can be useful to us even thought they seem to cause us nothing but pain. They are useful because they can make us humble, they can cleanse us, and they can teach us. All of the saints passed through times of temptation and tribulation, and they used them to make progress in the spiritual life. Those who did not deal with temptations successfully fell to the wayside.”…The key to victory is true humility and patience; in them we overcome the enemy.” -Thomas a’ Kempis (1380-1471) The traitor within the castle will try to lower the drawbridge but don’t let him. When Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts, its not saying, lock them up because they are bad to the core, its saying defend them like a castle, the seat of your strength you do not want to give away. Yet we must be watchful, especially in the beginning of the temptation, for the enemy is then more easily overcome, if he is not suffered to enter the door of our hearts, but is resisted without the gate at his first knock, -Thomas a’ Kempis No man appears in safety before the public eye unless he first relishes obscurity. No man is safe in speaking unless he loves to be silent. No man rules safely unless he is willing to be ruled. No man commands safely unless he has learned well how to obey. No man rejoices safely unless he has within him the testimony of a good conscience. -Thomas à Kempis (ca. 1421), Imitation of Christ “He who follows Me, says Christ our Savior, walks not in darkness, for he will have the light of life. These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by them we are admonished to follow His teachings and His manner of living, if we truly be enlightened and delivered from all blindness of heart. Let all the study of our heart be from now on to have our meditation fixed wholly on the life of Christ” -Thomas a Kempis “Realize that to know Christ you must lead a dying life. The more you die to yourself, the more you will live unto God. You will never enjoy heavenly things unless you are ready to suffer hardship for Christ. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more helpful for you on this earth. When there is a choice to be made, take the narrow way. This alone will make you more like Christ.” -Thomas a Kempis “I avoid public gatherings as much as possible, for the discussion of worldly affairs so quickly snares and encumbers the soul.…Why is it that we are so ready to chatter and gossip with others, when we so seldom return to silence without some injury to our conscience? Perhaps the reason we are so fond of talking is that we think to find consolation in this manner; to refresh a spirit wearied with many cares. And so we speak of what we like and dislike, and of the things we desire or despise. But in the end this outward attempt to find consolation is only an obstacle to our inner life. Let us watch and pray that our time is not spent fruitlessly. Let us not busy ourselves with idle conversation, or with what other people say and do.…Blessed are the single-hearted, for they enjoy true peace.” -Thomas à Kempis Source: The Imitation of Christ "Plan as you like and arrange everything as best you can, yet you will always encounter some suffering whether you want to or not. Go wherever you will, you will always find the cross… God wants you to learn to endure troubles without comfort, to submit yourself totally to him, and to become more humble through adversity.” -Thomas à Kempis Source: The Imitation of Christ "If you want to learn something that will really help you, learn to see yourself as God sees you and not as you see yourself in the distorted mirror of your own self-importance, this is the greatest and most useful lesson we can learn: to know ourselves for what we truly are, to admit freely our weaknesses and failings, and to hold a humble opinion of ourselves because of them.” -Thomas à Kempis Source: The Imitation of Christ |
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