Friday, February 13, 2015

Of contempt of all temporal honor. The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis. Book 3, Chapter 41


BOOK 3: THE INWARD SPEAKING OF CHRIST TO A FAITHFUL SOUL

Chapter 41: Of contempt of all temporal honor



“My Son, make it no matter of thine, if thou see others honoured
and exalted, and thyself despised and humbled. Lift up thine
heart to Me in heaven, and then the contempt of men upon earth
will not make thee sad.”
O Lord, we are in blindness, and are quickly seduced by
vanity. If I look rightly within myself, never was injury done
unto me by any creature, and therefore I have nought whereof to
complain before Thee. But because I have many times and
grievously sinned against Thee, all creatures do justly take arms
against me. Therefore to me confusion and contempt are justly
due, but to Thee praise and honour and glory. And except I
dispose myself for this, namely, to be willing that every
creature should despise and desert me, and that I should be
esteemed altogether as nothing, I cannot be inwardly filled with
peace and strength, nor spiritually enlightened, nor fully united
to Thee.






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