Is eating all this spinach worth it?

At the end of Book 1, Thomas tells us that all this work is for nothing unless we change how we approach every aspect of our life.  Our spiritual laziness (sloth) has to be whipped into shape.  We have to be watchful, like a sentry, so we can make progress on our journey.  We already have the answers to our weaknesses:  Behave otherwise: "Do now what you would do then, and you shall be very secure!"  This reminded me of Popeye the Sailor, who would wimper, knowing that if he ate his spinach, he could face down most anything! We need to face our fears, be these real or imagined. Thomas tells us to work on our hardest sins first, then work for the good which we want the most.  And one more thing: we need to then pursue behavior which lessens the faults we most dislike in others.

CHAPTER 25

Of the Fervent Amendment of Our Whole Life

Be watchful and diligent in God's service, and think often why you have renounced the world. Was it because you might live for God and become spiritual? Be zealous, therefore, for your spiritual profit, for you shall shortly receive the reward of your labors, and neither fear nor sorrow shall come any more into your borders. Of course you will labor a little more now, and later you shall find great rest, yes, even everlasting joy. If you remain faithful and fervent in working, God shall be faithful and bountiful in rewarding you. You must remain in good hope that you will attain the victory, but you must not think of yourself as secure, lest you grow negligent or presumptive.

2. When one is in anxiety of mind, continually wavering about between hope and fear, and being on a certain day overwhelmed with grief, casts himself down in prayer before the altar in a church, and meditates, saying, "Oh! If I but knew that I should still persevere," and presently heard from within a voice from God, "And if you did know it, what would you do? Do now what you would do then, and you shall be very secure." And immediately being comforted and strengthened, he committed himself to the will of God and the anxious wavering of spirit ceased, neither had he a mind any more to search curiously to know what should befall him hereafter; but studied rather to inquire what was the good and acceptable will of God, “well pleasing and perfect,” (Rm 12:2)for the beginning and perfecting of every good work.

Paratrooper getting
ready to jump

3. “Trust in the Lord and be doing good,” says the Prophet; “and dwell in the land and you shall be fed with its riches.” (Ps 37:3). There is one thing which holds back many from progress and fervent amendment: and that is the dread of difficulty, or the labor of the conflict. Nevertheless they advance above all others in virtue who strive bravely to conquer those things which are most troublesome and contrary to them, for there a man profits most and merits greater grace where he most overcome and mortify himself in spirit.

4. But we all do have not the same passions to conquer and to mortify, yet those who are diligent shall attain more progress, even though one may have stronger passions than another who is more temperate but less fervent in the pursuit of virtue.



Paratrooper
Jumping

Two things particularly bring about improvement in holiness, namely the ability to firmly withdraw ourselves from the sin to which by nature we are most inclined, and earnestly to work for that good which one wants most.
And strive also to guard against and subdue those faults which displease you most frequently in others.

Next time, Thomas will give us some solid examples of this spiritual living that takes us to the next level.  Until then, thank you for praying with me and imitating Christ!  tim p.s. please pray for those fellow travelers with cancer.  I'm seeing it more and more.  Thank you!

Judgment: How Can You Secure Access to God?

How do we secure access to God during the Judgment?

Today, good Thomas tells us that if we lay aside our vanity; that if we had to face death right now, would any of these honors and pleasures matter in the least?

Rather, he tells us that "Perfect Love*" gives us access to God (1 Jn 4:15-21)*.  When we love God with our whole hear, mind, soul and strength and adopt this to our daily living - then we will achieve perfect love.

I want to talk about "Fear of the Lord" for a moment.  This is not a horrified fear (such as is due to hell), but rather is an extreme form of awe that we experience through an adoring appreciation of God's Holy Power.  And we can observe it regularly if we open our eyes to it.  So Thomas tells us that laying aside fear of God will result in fear of hell - and even that is good if it causes us to refrain from our negative passions.

Book 1, Chapter 24 (on Judgment), paragraph 7

If to this day you had always lived in honors and pleasures, what would if avail you if you were now in a moment to die?

All then is vanity, but to love God and to serve Him alone. Eccl 1:2; Dt 10:20.

For those who love God with their whole heart neither fear death, nor punishment, nor judgment, nor hell; because perfect love gives us secure access to God.

But he that is yet delighted with sin no wonder if he be afraid of death and judgment.

However, it is good that if this love, as yet,  cannot reclaims you from evil, at least the fear of hell might restrain you.

But he that lays aside the fear of God will not be able to continue long in good, but will quickly fall into the snares of the devil.


In finishing this chapter on Judgment, Thomas calls us first to the perfect love of God's Will, as laid out in our daily lives.  And if that doesn't persuade us, then he calls us to look over the edge of the cliff of hell to see what awaits us there....a different type of judgment altogether.

Thanks for reading and praying along with me.

Until next time, when we break open the final chapter of Book 1, Chapter 25, Amendment of Life,
Be imitators of Christ!
tim

*1 Jn 4:15 "Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 17In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world.i 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God* whom he has not seen. 21This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother."

How to Enter the Narrow Gate:Self-discipline

First, it's been almost a month since my last posting.  Sorry for the delay.

Second, there are several people I know with a cancer diagnosis right now.  Please lift them up in prayer right now, for healing and health.  The tribulation these people have to endure lends itself to todays meditation.  They are travelling through the narrow gate.  Our Father.... Hail Mary....  Glory Be....  Thank you for Tom, Stacy, Lori, Jennifer and others out there unknown or un-named.
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As Thomas a'Kempis likes to do, he lists comparisons contrasting our lives now, and what it takes to enter in through the narrow gate (Matt 7:13-14), with the easy lazy spiritual life. 

He tells us that exercising self-discipline now will result in enjoyment in Paradise with Christ:    We can overcome this  fear of eternal separation from God by entering into His reality now.  It is a reality of Love.  Love is the opposite of fear.

From Book 1, Chapter 24, Para 5 & 6.

5. Then shall it be seen that it was the wise in this world who learned for Christ’s sake to be foolish and scorned.

• Then shall all tribulation that has been patiently borne delight us, while the mouth of the ungodly shall be stopped (Ps 107:42).

• Then shall devout rejoice, and the profane shall mourn.

• Then the flesh that has been disciplined shall triumph more than if it had been always pampered in delights.

• Then the humble garment shall reveal its beauty, and the precious robe shall hide itself as rags.

• Then shall the poor cottage shall be held up as more commended than the gilded palace.

• Then long-lasting patience shall have more might than all the power of the world.

• Then simple obedience shall be more highly exalted than the craftiness of the worldly .

6. Then a pure and good conscience shall more rejoice than learned philosophy.


• Then will the disregard of wealth shall have more weight than all the treasure of the children of this world.

• Then shall you find more comfort in having prayed devoutly than in having eaten sumptuously.

• Then you will rejoice more in having kept silent than in having made long speeches.

• Then holy deeds shall be far stronger than many fine words (Jas 1:21-22 and following).

• Then a disciplined life and sincere penitence shall bring deeper pleasure than the delights of this world.


Christ The King



• Therefore, learn now to suffer a little, so that later you may be able to escape more grievous suffering. Try first here, what you are unable to endure hereafter.

• If now you can bear so little, how then will you be able to endure eternal torments? If now a little suffering makes you so impatient, what shall hellfire do then?

• Surely you are cannot able to have both Paradises: taking your fill here in this world, and also reigning with Christ hereafter.

  Thomas' conclusions of these two paragraphs are typical of his plain-spoken nature:  He presents us with the obvious.  Like exercising a muscle, he tells us to work on those behaviors and attitudes NOW which keep us distant from God.  He then tells us what we hear all the time:  You can't have it both ways!

Until next time, thanks for reading and praying along with me.
tim

Compare and Contrast the Following

Thomas a'Kempis is very good at giving us alternatives and comparisons.  In the middle of this chapter on Judgment, he makes a basic statement on sin and the bleakness of its punishment, and then offers a series of comparisons between the saved and the damned. He lifts up the humble and suffering of this world and offers a picture of them coming into glory.  It's almost an expanded version of the comparisons laid out in the Beatitudes (Matt 5).  This also reminds me of a recent reading from Joshua 24:14-15, where Joshua makes a list of the history of the Israelites and how God had been present to them  and saved them.  And from time to time how the Israelites strayed from Him:

“Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve him completely and sincerely. Cast out the gods your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15o If it is displeasing to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

In the same way, Thomas is telling us to cast out our sins now and serve The Lord.

Book 1, Chapter 24, Continued:

4. Each sin has its own torments:  The proud shall be filled with utter confusion. The covetous shall be pinched with miserable poverty. An hour's pain there shall be more sharp than a hundred years here of the most rigorous penitence here.

While in this present life there sometimes is relief from pain, and encouragement of the solace of friends, in that place there shall be no quiet and no comfort for the lost.

Therefore, be anxious now and sorrowful for your sins, that in the day of judgment you may be bold with the saints:

• “For then shall the righteous stand in great boldness before the face of those who have afflicted you and made no account of your labors (Wis. 5:1).”

• Then shall you stand up to judge, he who now submits himself in humility to the judgments of men.

• Then shall the poor and humble have great confidence, while the proud is taken with fear on every side.

5. Then shall it be seen that it was the wise in this world who learned for Christ’s sake to be foolish and despised.

• Then shall all tribulation patiently borne delight us, while the mouth of the ungodly shall be stopped (Ps 107:42).

• Then shall godly rejoice, and the profane mourn.

• Then the afflicted flesh shall more rejoice than if it had been always nourished in delights.

• Then the humble garment shall put on beauty, and the precious robe shall hide itself as vile.

• Then shall the poor cottage shall be more commended than the gilded palace.

• Then enduring patience shall have more might than all the power of theworld.

• Then simple obedience shall be more highly exalted than all worldly wisdom.

Next time, Thomas will continue this comparison and draw some conclusions about our behavior.

Until then, thanks for praying along with me.  Be imitators of Christ!
tim

Judgment: Standing Alone - Clinging to The Cross



From "The Passion of The Christ"

 What does it mean to be judged after our death?
What can we hide behind?  Nothing.  Except the Cross of Christ.
In this chapter, Thomas naturally follows his meditation on death by warning us that "Now is the acceptable time for salvation." After death it is too late.  

We strut about thinking we can handle anything that comes along, but Thomas reminds us that when we encounter someone with a forceful personality, who is also angry, we wilt.  And when we compare this meager shadow to standing in front of the Lord, all Thomas can say is that we should work on our sins now so that there is little to nothing to be judged by Him.

Thomas then starts comparing the righteous with the unrighteous, giving examples of a prayerful believer and cautioning against excessive self love.  After this example of piety, Thomas gives us a preview of our punishment by explaining that whatever our favorite sins may be, so shall our punishment be meted out.

CHAPTER 24, Book 1:  Of the Last Judgment and the Punishment for Sins

In all things, remember the end, and how you will stand before a strict judge, from whom nothing is hidden, who is not bribed neither with gifts, nor will He accept excuses, but will judge with righteous judgment. O most miserable and foolish sinner, who are sometimes afraid to face an angry man, what will you answer to God, who knows all your misdeeds? Why do you not provide for yourself against the day of judgment, when no man shall be able to be excused or defended by means of another, but each one shall bear the burden alone? Now does your labor bring forth fruit, now is your weeping acceptable, your groaning heard, your sorrow well pleasing to God, and cleansing to your soul (2 Cor 6:2).
 

Punshment for Drug Abuse:
More Drugs
More Addiction

2. Even here on earth the patient find great opportunities for purifying the soul. When suffering injuries, grieve more for the other's malice than for your own wrong; pray intensely for those that despitefully use you, and forgive those from your heart, especially when you are not slow to ask pardon from those you’ve offended: when you are quicker to pity than to anger; when you frequently deny yourself and strive altogether to subdue your flesh to the spirit. It is better to purify the soul from sin now, than to cling to sins from which we must be purged in the hereafter. We truly deceive ourselves by the excessive self-love: our fleshly lives.

3. What will that fire shall devour, except for your sins?  The more you spare yourself and follow the flesh, the more severe shall your punishment be, and the more fuel are you heaping up for the burning.  For where you have sinned, there shall be the more heavily punishment.  There shall the slothful be pricked forward with burning goads, and the gluttons be tormented with intolerable hunger and thirst.  There shall the luxurious and the lovers of pleasure be plunged into burning pitch and stinking brimstone, and the envious shall howl like mad dogs for very grief.

Next time we will explore more of this chapter, with Thomas' litany of comparisons between the just and the unjust.

Until then, thanks for praying along with me.
Be imitators of Christ!
tim

Strike the Tent!

Thomas a'Kempis finishes his meditation on death and dying by calling us to discipline ourselves in a way that causes no regrets.  His call is for disentanglement from our materialism and other worldly attachments....so we are ready for death, no matter how it comes to us.  This is something Blessed Pope John Paul (the Great) called us to regularly during his ministry.

After a short chastisement on our foolish and childish and unreasonable expectations that nothing ill will befall us, Thomas provides a short list of the daily obituaries, telling the various and mostly unexpected ways in which people die suddenly.

Because of this, Good Thomas then calls us into imitating the way of the saints (who are Imitators of Christ), since we cannot be sure who will intercede for us after we are gone. We must prepare our own way.

Ending with a prayer, Thomas tells us that it's ok to mourn our own passing so long as we don't try to hang on - we need to stay free and lifted up so when God calls us home, we will gladly leave this mortal coil.


Gen. Lee


"Strike the Tent" (Purported last words of General Robert E. Lee).

Book 1, Chapter 23, Paragraphs 6-9.
6. Oh, my dearly beloved, if only you would live in apprehension and in expectation of death – you would free yourself from danger and great fear! Strive now to live in such a way that in the hour of death you may rejoice rather than fear. Learn now to die to the world, so you can begin to live with Christ (Rom 6:8). Learn now to condemn all worldly things; then you may freely go to Christ. Keep your body disciplined by penitence, and then you shall be able to have a sure confidence (1 Cor 9:27).

7. Ah, fool! why do you think that you shall live long, when you are not even sure of a single day (Lk 12:20)? How many have been fooled, and suddenly have been snatched away! How many times have you heard how this one was slain by the sword, another was drowned, another falling from on high broke his neck, another died at the table, another while at play! One died by fire, another by the sword, another by pestilence, another by a robber. Thus comes death to all, and life swiftly passes away like a shadow (Eccs 7:1).

Who will light a
Candle for you?

8. Who will remember you after your death? And who will intercede for you? Work, work now, oh dearly beloved, work all that you can. For you do not know when you shall die, nor what shall happen to you after death. While you have time, lay up for yourself eternal riches (Matt 6:20-21). Think of nothing but your salvation; care only for the things of God. Make heavenly friends by venerating the saints of God and walking in their steps, that when you fail, you may be received into everlasting life (Lk 16:9).

Vatican City

9. Keep yourself as a stranger and a pilgrim upon the earth, to whom the things of the world do not belong (Ex 2:22). Keep your heart free and lifted up towards God, for here we do not have a lasting abode (Heb 13:14). Send to Him your daily prayers with sighs and tears, that after death your spirit may be found worthy to pass happily unto our Lord. Amen.

Until next time, when we will open chapter 24 on Judgment, thanks for reading and praying along with me.

Be imitators of Christ!
tim

Transformed Eternally: Putting Off Procrastination

In paragraph 5 of Chapter 23's meditation on death, Good Thomas admonishes us to act immediately toward our eternal benefit. 

We should neither wait to do good works nor "get right" with God.  And relying on our friends and relatives is not a good idea.  Rather, looking to the Sacraments and aiding those less fortunate will go a long way toward an end with no regrets.




Procrastination
 Solution

 5. Do not rely on your friends and relatives, nor put off the work of your salvation to sometime in the future, for these people will forget you sooner than you think.

It is better for you now to provide in time, and to send some good ahead of you, than to trust to the help of others. If you art not anxious for yourself now, who, you may ask, will be anxious for you after you are gone?

The present time is very precious. "Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2)."

But alas! that you waste this time, when you might lay up treasure which would profit you forever.


The hour will come when you shall desire one day, yes, one hour, for the amendment of your life, and I do not know whether you will obtain this time.

Have a listen to this great song by Casting Crowns as you wrap up your meditation today.

Tomorrow may be too late.  Do it now.

Until next time, thanks for reading and praying along with me.
Be imitators of Christ!
tim