THE FOLLOWING OF CHRIST

BY THOMAS A KEMPIS
Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1941

CHAPTER 21: THAT WE ARE TO REST IN GOD ABOVE ALL GOODS AND GIFTS

ABOVE all things, and in all things, do thou, my soul, rest always in the Lord, for He is the eternal rest of the Saints.

Give me, O most sweet and loving Jesus, to repose in Thee above all things created; above all health and beauty; above all glory and honor; above all power and dignity; above all knowledge and subtlety; above all riches and arts; above all joy and gladness; above all fame and praise; above all sweetness and consolation; above all hope and promise; above all merit and desire; above all gifts and presents that Thou canst give and infuse; above all joy and jubilation that the mind can contain or feel; in fine, above all Angels and Archangels, and all the host of Heaven; above all things visible and invisible; and above all that is not Thee, my God; for Thou, O Lord my God, art supremely good above all things.

2. Thou alone art most high; Thou alone most powerful; Thou alone most full and most sufficient; Thou alone most sweet and most full of consolation.

Thou alone most beautiful and most loving; Thou alone most noble and most glorious above all things; in Whom are all that are both good and perfect, and always have been and always will be.

And therefore all is too little and insufficient, whatever Thou bestowest upon me, that is not Thyself; and whatever Thou revealeth to me concerning Thyself, or promiseth, as long as I see Thee not, nor fully possess Thee: because indeed my heart cannot truly rest, nor be entirely contented, till it rest in Thee, and transcend every gift and every creature.

3. O my most beloved Spouse, Christ Jesus, most pure Lover, Lord of the whole creation! Who will give me wings of true liberty, to fly and repose in Thee?

Oh, when shall it be fully granted me to be free, and to see how sweet Thou art, O Lord my God?

When shall I fully collect myself in Thee, that through Thy love I may not feel myself, but Thee alone, above all feeling and measure, in a manner not known to all?

But now I often lament, and bear with grief my unhappiness.

Because many evils happen in this vale of miseries, which frequently disturb me, afflict me, and cast a cloud over me; often do they hinder and distract me, allure and entangle me, so that I can neither have free access to Thee, nor enjoy Thy sweet embraces, which are ever present to blessed spirits.

Oh, let my sighs move Thee, and this my manifold desolation upon earth.

4. O Jesus, brightness of eternal glory, comfort of the pilgrim soul, with Thee is my mouth without voice, and my silence speaketh to Thee.

How long doth my Lord delay to come? Let Him come to me, His poor servant, and make me joyful. Let Him stretch forth His hand, and deliver me, wretched, from all anguish.

Come, oh, come, for without Thee I can never have one joyful day nor hour; for Thou art my joy, and without Thee my table is empty.

I am miserable, and in a manner imprisoned and weighed down with fetters, till with the light of Thy presence Thou comfortest me, givest me liberty, and showest me Thy friendly countenance.

5. Let others seek, instead of Thee, whatever else they please; but nothing else meanwhile doth or shall please me, but Thou, my God, my hope, my eternal salvation.

I will not hold my peace, nor will I cease to pray, till Thy grace return, and Thou sayest interiorly to me:

6. Behold, here I am; behold, I come to thee, because thou hast called Me!

Thy tears, and the desire of thy soul, thy humiliation and contrition of heart, have inclined and brought Me to thee.

7. And I said, O Lord I have called upon Thee, and have desired to enjoy Thee, and I am prepared to reject all things for Thy sake.

For Thou didst first stir me up that I should seek Thee.

Be Thou therefore blessed, O Lord, Who hath showed this goodness to Thy servant, according to the multitude of Thy mercies.

What more hath Thy servant to say in Thy presence but to humble himself exceedingly before Thee, mindful always of his own iniquity and vileness?

For there is none like unto Thee amongst all the wonders of Heaven and earth.

Thy works are exceedingly good, Thy judgments true, and by Thy providence the universe is ruled.

Praise, therefore, and glory be to Thee, O Wisdom of the Father; let my tongue, my soul, and all things created, join in praising and blessing Thee.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

WE should prefer God before all things-----that is, we should labor to forsake and renounce ourselves in all things, die to all self-satisfaction, and deny ourselves many lawful pleasures, to punish ourselves for having indulged in those which are criminal. We should submit, give up, and immolate ourselves to God, rise superior to all created things, direct our hearts towards Him, and lose ourselves in His perfections; keep ourselves in a state of sovereign and interior adoration, to which all should yield; and by our actions, by the sacrifice of everything that is dear to us, establish Him the absolute Master and God of our hearts. To love God, so as to delight only in Him, is indeed a heaven upon earth, and, as it were, a foretaste of a happy eternity; but to arrive at this, we must disengage ourselves from those amusements of the mind which dissipate and withdraw it from God, and from those attachments of the heart which bind it to creatures; that so the soul, being free from itself and from the servitude of the passions, may take the wings of the dove, fly away towards God, and repose in Him alone.

PRAYER.

My God, my sovereign good, and only consolation, how dare I raise myself towards Thee, draw Thee to myself, and firmly unite myself to Thee-----I who am filled, penetrated, and loaded with so many miseries, irregular inclinations towards evil, and continual repugnance to good-----I who am every moment falling from Thee to myself, and from myself into sin-----in a word, I who meet with so many obstacles within myself, which, like a wall of separation, would hinder me from being united to Thee? But what, O Lord, is impossible to me is easy to Thee; in Thy power and bounty I place all my hopes. Thou knowest my condition, and if Thou wilt Thou canst assist me. I groan incessantly under the load of my infirmities. I address myself to Thee, to be delivered from them by Thy mercy. I find no rest, nor content, nor happiness but in and by Thee. Come then, O God, give consolation and support to my soul, which desires only Thee, to live only by and for its God. I languish and am on fire with the desire of possessing Thee without the fear of ever losing Thee. Reject me not, O infinitely amiable God! for I can no longer live separated and removed ut a distance from Thee. Amen.

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