I taught my prophets

From “The Imitation of Christ” Lib. (3, 3) by Thomas a’Kempis (c.1379 – d.1471)

Saints - Painting by Fra Angelico - 1430

I taught my prophets

My son, says the Lord, listen to my words, the most delightful of all words, surpassing all the knowledge of the philosophers and wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life and cannot be comprehended by human senses alone.

They are not to be interpreted according the vain pleasure of the listener, but they must be listened to in silence and received with all humility and great affection.

And I said: Blessed is the man whom you teach, Lord, and whom you instruct in your law; for him you soften the blow of the evil day, and you do not desert him on the earth.

The Lord says, I have instructed my prophets from the beginning and even to the present time I have not stopped speaking to all men, but many are deaf and obstinate in response.

Many hear the world more easily than they hear God; they follow the desires of the flesh more readily than the pleasure of God.

The world promises rewards that are temporal and insignificant, and these are pursued with great longing; I promise rewards that are eternal and unsurpassable, yet the hearts of mortals respond sluggishly.

Who serves and obeys me in all matters with as much care as the world and its princes are served?

Blush, then, you lazy, complaining servant, for men are better prepared for the works of death than you are for the works of life. They take more joy in vanity than you in truth.

Yet they are often deceived in their hope, while my promise deceives no one, and leaves empty-handed no one who confides in me. What I have promised I shall give; what I have said I will fulfill for any man who remains faithful in my love unto the very end. I am the rewarder of all good men, the one who rigorously tests the devoted.

Write my words in your heart and study them diligently, for they will be absolutely necessary in the time of temptation. Whatever you fail to understand in reading my words will become clear to you on the day of your visitation.

I am accustomed to visit my elect in a double fashion, that is, with temptation and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each day: one to rebuke them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue.

He who possesses my words yet spurns them earns his own judgment on the last day.

Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings Thomas a’ Kempis (c.1379 – d.1471)

Born in Kempen, Holland Thomas, at thirteen, followed his older bother in joining a lay religious congregation – the Canons Regular. He entered the community called the “Devout Brothers and Sisters.” These took no vows, but lived a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Some lived in their homes while others, especially clerics, lived in community. They were expected to earn their living by the labor of their hands and, for the clerics, this meant transcribing books and seeing to he instruction of the young. All earnings were placed in a common fund and their life focused on practicing the virtues of the early Christians. They developed deep sentiments on the love of God and neighbor. Their simple life focused on prayer, humility, study and devotion. A priory was established in 1386. Thomas would live there for seventy two years as one of the most distinguished of the Canons Regular.

From the beginning Thomas was noted for his neatness and skill in transcribing manuscripts. This would be a life-long labor of love for him. In addition his original compositions he also copied numerous treatises from the Early Church Fathers, especially from St. Bernard. He copied a Missal for the use of his community, and completed a transcription of the whole Bible in four large volumes. These works still exist today.

Thomas took the habit as a novice in 1406 and was ordained a priest in 1413 at age 33. He was made sub-prior in 1448 and part of his duties involved training the young religious. He frequently preached in the church attached to the prior and wrote a series of sermons to the Novices Regular. He wrote a series of prayers and meditations on the Life of Christ, on The Incarnation and Life of Our Lord, and was particularly focused on the suffering and passion of Christ. He was known to be kind and affable towards all, especially the sorrowful and the afflicted. Thomas spent much of his time reading, writing and in prayer. He found it difficult to engage in shallow conversations but was readily eloquent when the conversation turned to God or the concerns of the soul. After his death in 1471, at the age of 92, his remains were ultimately enshrined in a reliquary in St. Michael’s Church in Zwolle. Steps were taken in the cause of his beatification in the 17th century but were never completed.

Some controversy developed over the authorship of the “Imitation of Christ” since the book was issued anonymously in 1418. But the with a writing style identical with other works of Thomas together with the spirit of mysticism typically identified with his writings leave scholars with no serious doubt about Thomas a’ Kempis being the author of this truly classical work.

Narrated by Frank Dugan, Huntington Beach, California