Jesus finds now many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few that will carry His cross. He finds may desirous of consolation, few of trial: many sharers of His repasts, few of His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for Him. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, but few to the draining of the chalice of His Passion. Many revere His miracles, but few follow His shameful cross. Many love Jesus as long as troubles do not come near them; many praise and bless Him as long as they receive consolation from Him. But if Jesus hide Himself, and leave them for a little while, they begin to complain, and are very much cast down.
But those who love Jesus for Himself, and not for any consolation they hope to draw from Him, bless Him as much amid every kind of trial and anguish of heart as when they enjoy the greatest delight. And if he should never grant them any consolation, still they would always praise Him and give Him thanks.
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, Bk II, Ch XI
The Imitation of Christ is the first spiritual book I ever read. My dear father gave it to me when I was in high school back in the sixties. Those were the days when we Catholics didn't read the Bible, but here was a book that quoted Scripture passages liberally on every page. I was thrilled! "Thy words were found, and I ate them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart" (Jer 15:16). Thanks to Daddy, I now had two rich sources of spiritual sustenance to feed my hungering soul -- Scripture and The Imitation. I still read The Imitation almost every day and continue to be nourished and enlightened. Over the next few days I will post some selections from this magnificent spiritual classic. Meanwhile, today I pray that, through the grace of God, we will be among those who love Jesus for Himself and, as St. Francis de Sales puts it, seek the Giver of consolations rather than consolations themselves.
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