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The Imitation of Christ QUOTES

The Imitation of Christ QUOTES

1 " 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 à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

2 " Jesus has now many lovers of the heavenly kingdom but few bearers of His cross. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

3 " It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well. These things help us to be humble and shield us from vainglory. When to all outward appearances men give us no credit, when they do not think well of us, then we are more inclined to seek God Who sees our hearts. Therefore, a man ought to root himself so firmly in God that he will not need the consolations of men. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

4 " Learned arguments do not make a man holy and righteous, whereas a good life makes him dear to God. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

5 " God hath thus ordered it, that we may learn to bear one another’s burdens; for no man is without fault, no man without his burden, no man sufficient of himself, no man wise enough of himself; but we ought to bear with one another, comfort one another, help, instruct, and admonish one another. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

6 " All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

7 " If God were our one and only desire we would not be so easily upset when our opinions do not find outside acceptance. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

8 " My child, I am the Lord Who gives strength in the day of trouble. Come to Me when all is not well with you. Your tardiness in turning to prayer is the greatest obstacle to heavenly consolation, for before you pray earnestly to Me you first seek many comforts and take pleasure in outward things. Thus, all things are of little profit to you until you realize that I am the one Who saves those who trust in Me, and that outside of Me there is no worth-while help, or any useful counsel or lasting remedy. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

9 " Pardon me also, and deal mercifully with me, as often as I think of anything besides You in prayer. For I confess truly that I am accustomed to be very much distracted. Very often I am not where bodily I stand or sit; rather, I am where my thoughts carry me. Where my thoughts are, there am I; and frequently my thoughts are where my love is. That which naturally delights, or is by habit pleasing, comes to me quickly. Hence You Who are Truth itself, have plainly said: 'For where your treasure is, there is your heart also.' If I love heaven, I think willingly of heavenly things. If I love the world, I rejoice at the happiness of the world and grieve at its troubles. If I love the flesh, I often imagine things that are carnal. If I love the spirit, I delight in thinking of spiritual matters. For whatever I love, I am willing to speak and hear about. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

10 " If you cannot recollect yourself continuously, do so once a day at least, in the morning or in the evening. In the morning make a resolution and in the evening examine yourself on what you have said this day, what you have done and thought, for in these things perhaps you have often offended God and those about you. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

11 " The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will—above, below, without, or within—you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere you must have patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

12 " Do not let your peace depend on the words of men. Their thinking well or badly of you does not make you different from what you are. Where are true peace and glory? Are they not in Me? He who neither cares to please men nor fears to displease them will enjoy great peace, for all unrest and distraction of the senses arise out of disorderly love and vain fear. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

13 " Let all things be loved for the sake of Jesus, but Jesus for His own sake. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

14 " If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for God's sake? But God has so ordained, that we may learn to bear with one another's burdens, for there is no man without fault, no man without burden, no man sufficient to himself nor wise enough. Hence we must support one another, console one another, mutually help, counsel, and advise, for the measure of every man's virtue is best revealed in time of adversity -- adversity that does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

15 " It happens very often that those whom men esteem highly are more seriously endangered by their own excessive confidence. Hence, for many it is better not to be too free from temptations, but often to be tried lest they become too secure, too filled with pride, or even too eager to fall back upon external comforts. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

16 " My God, Sweetness beyond words, make bitter all the carnal comfort that draws me from love of the eternal and lures me to its evil self by the sight of some delightful good in the present. Let it not overcome me, my God. Let not flesh and blood conquer me. Let not the world and its brief glory deceive me, nor the devil trip me by his craftiness. Give me courage to resist, patience to endure, and constancy to persevere. Give me the soothing unction of Your spirit rather than all the consolations of the world, and in place of carnal love, infuse into me the love of Your name. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

17 " When a man desires a thing too much, he at once becomes ill at ease. A proud and avaricious man never rests, whereas he who is poor and humble of heart lives in a world of peace. An unmortified man is quickly tempted and overcome in small, trifling evils; his spirit is weak, in a measure carnal and inclined to sensual things; he can hardly abstain from earthly desires. Hence it makes him sad to forego them; he is quick to anger if reproved. Yet if he satisfies his desires, remorse of conscience overwhelms him because he followed his passions and they did not lead to the peace he sought. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

18 " Let temporal things be in the use, eternal things in the desire. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

19 " 0 true and heavenly grace, without which our own merits are nothing, and our natural gifts of no account! Neither arts nor riches, beauty nor strength, genius nor eloquence have any value in Your eyes, Lord, unless allied to grace. For the gifts of nature are common to good men and bad alike, but grace or love are Your especial gift to those whom You choose, and those who are sealed with this are counted worthy of life everlasting. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ

20 " The Lord bestows his blessings there, where he finds the vessels empty. "

― Thomas à Kempis , The Imitation of Christ