The Imitation of Christ
by Thomas a Kempes
Of the help of God to be asked, and of a Full Trust to recover our former grace thorough devout prayer
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| Come to Me |
My son, I am the Lord who sends
comfort in time of tribulation.
Come,
therefore, to Me when it is not well with you.
What hinders you most is that you turn yourself to Me too slowly; before
you pray heartily to Me you seek many other comforts, and refresh your spirit
in outward things. And so it comes about
that all that you do helps you little, until you can behold and see that I am
He who sends comfort to all who faithfully call to Me, and that without Me
there can be no profitable counsel or perfect remedy.
But now, take good spirit. After your trouble, be comforted in Me, and
have full trust in the light of My Mercy, for I am near you to help and restore
you, not only to the same grace you had at first, but to more grace in great
abundance. Is there anything hard or
impossible to Me, or am I like a man who says a thing and does not do it? Where is your faith? Stand strongly and perserveringly in Me; be
steadfast, awaiting My promise; and you will have comfort when it will be most
expedient to you. Abide, abide and wait
for Me, and I will come soon to you and help you.
It is temptation that troubles
you, and a vague dread that makes you fear.
But of what avail is such fear or dread of things that perhaps will never
come, save that the spiritual enemy desires that you should have sorry upon
sorrow. Bear your present troubles
patiently, therefore, and do not fear overmuch those that are to come, for
sufficient to the day is the day’s evil.
It is vain and unprofitable to be sad or glad for things which perhaps
will never happen or come. But it is the
instability of man that he will be deceived and will so easily follow the
suggestion of the enemy, who does not care whether he deceives by true or false
suggestion, not whether he deceives by love of things present or by fear of
things to come. Therefore, do not be
troubled and do not fear.
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| Divine Mercy Image |
Trust strongly
in Me and have perfect hope in My Mercy.
When you think you are very far from Me, I am often quite close to you;
when you think all is lost, then the greater reward often follows. All is not lost, though some things happen
contrary to your will. You should not
judge of them according to your outward feeling, nor should you take any grief
so sorely to heart that you do not have good hope to escape it. You should not think yourself wholly forsaken
by Me, though I send you for a time some grief and trouble, for this is the
surer way to the kingdom of heaven.
Doubtless, it is more expedient
to you and to My other servants sometimes to be proved by adversity than always
to have all things according to your will.
I know the hidden features of man, and that it is much more expedient to
the health of his soul to be left sometimes to himself without spiritual sweetness
or comfort, lest, perhaps, he be raised up by pride, and think himself better
than he is. What I have given I may take
away, and may restore it again when it pleases Me. When I give something to any person, what I
have given is My own, and when I take it away again, I take nothing of his, for
every good gift, every perfect reward, comes from Me. If I send you trouble or heaviness, in what
way whatsoever, take it gladly and do not despise it, and do not let your heart
fail you in the trouble, for I may soon lift you up again, and turn your
heaviness into great joy and spiritual gladness, and truly I am just and much
to be glorified and praised when I act so with you.
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| Pray devoutly |
If you understand properly and behold
yourself truly as you are, you will never be so immediately grieved because of
any adversity; rather, you will find joy in it, and think it is the greatest
gift that I do not abstain from scourging you with such trouble and adversity.
I said to My disciples: As My Father loves Me, so I love you, and yet
I sent them forth into the world not to have temporal joy, but to meet great
battles; not to have honors, but injuries; not to be idle, but to labor; not to
rest, but to bring forth much good fruit in patience and in good works.
My son, remember well these words I have
spoken to you, for they are true and cannot be denied.
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| Jesus sending His disciples out to preach the Good News |
