In Chapter 11, Thomas invites us to seek after peace and the pursuits of faith instead of worrying about the scattered activities of our neighbors. Better to MYOB and develop your spiritual gifts. Thomas then uses the lives of the saints, like St. John of the Cross, to motivate us with their examples of self denial and discipline, to help us walk closer with God. And going down this path requires us to reform our selfish nature into one of holiness.
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| "Be not afraid" |
Acquiring Peace and Zeal for Our Spiritual Progress
1. You would have more peace if you would not be so busy with the comings and going of others and with things which do not belong to you: attending to your own affairs.
How can you remain inwardly peaceful when you entangle yourself with other peoples’ cares, seeking involvement in their worldly activities, and not focusing inwardly on your own spiritual growth?
Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace1.
2. What was the reason why some of the saints were so perfect and contemplative?
Because they made it their study to focus on mortifying within themselves all earthly desires; and they were then enabled, with every fiber of their heart, to cleave to God, and freely attend to themselves.
3. If you were perfectly dead to yourself, and in no way entangled in your selfishness, then you would be able to relish divine things and experience something of heavenly contemplation.
The greatest hindrance to emptying yourself is this: that you are not free from passions and fleshly hungers; and yet you strive to walk easily in the perfect way of the saints. And when you meet with any small challenges, you are too quickly dispirited and turn away to seek after human comforts.
Thomas takes us to this place, and then makes some recommendations to keep us moving forward on this journey. Standing up to our weaknesses builds spiritual muscles. One of Thomas' most often quoted maxims is at the beginning of paragraph 5, which will be highlighted. Thomas advises us to keep our fresh approach to the faith throughout our life.
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| Battle of Lepanto |
4. If you strive to stand up in the battle valiantly, you will without a doubt see the Lord help us from Heaven.
For He is ready to help those that fight and trust in His grace: He furnishes us with the opportunity of combating these instances that we may overcome and thereby be strengthened.
If your religious progress is only measured in these outward observances, your devotion will quickly be at an end.
Let us, therefore, lay the axe at the root that, being purged of passions, we may possess a quiet mind.
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| Perfection |
5. If every year we rooted out one vice, we would soon become perfect.
But now we often find it quite otherwise: that we were better and more pure in the beginning of our conversion than after many years of our profession.
Our fervor and progress ought to be every day greater, but now it is esteemed a great matter if a man can retain some part of his first fervor.
If we would use a little discipline on ourselves in the beginning, we might afterward do all things with ease and joy.
6. It is hard to quit your old habits; but harder to go against your own will.
But if you do not overcome things that are small and light when will you overcome greater difficulties?
Resist your inclination, in the beginning, and break off your old bad habits, for fear that little by little the difficulties will increase upon you.
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| St. John of The Cross |
If you were sensible, you would pursue peace yourself and joy with others. By behaving yourself, you will be more eager for your spiritual progress.
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