The kingdom of God
FROM “THE IMITATION OF CHRIST” by Thomas a’Kempis (c.1379 – d.1471)
The kingdom of God is the peace and joy of the spirit
Turn to the Lord with your whole heart and leave behind this wretched world. Then your soul shall find rest. For the kingdom of God is the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. If you prepare within your heart a fitting dwelling place, Christ will come to you and console you.
His glory and beauty are within you, and he delights in dwelling there. The Lord frequently visits the heart of man. There he shares with man pleasant conversations, welcome consolation, abundant peace and a wonderful intimacy.
So come, faithful soul. Prepare your heart for your spouse to dwell within you. For he says: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and we shall come to him and make our dwelling within him. Make room for Christ. When you possess Christ you are a rich man, for he is sufficient for you. He himself, shall provide for you and faithfully administer all your cares. You will not have to place your hope in men. Put all your trust in God; let him be both your fear and your love. He will respond on your behalf and will do whatever is in your best interest.
You have here no lasting city. For wherever you find yourself, you will always be a pilgrim from another city. Until you are united intimately with Christ, you will never find your true rest.
Let your thoughts be with the Most High and direct your prayers continually to Christ. If you do not know how to contemplate the glory of heaven, take comfort in the passion of Christ, and dwell willingly in his sacred wounds. Endure with Christ, suffer for him, if you wish to reign with him. Once you have entered completely into the depths of Jesus, and have a taste of his powerful love, then you will not care about your own convenience or inconvenience. Rather you will rejoice all the more in insults and injuries, for the love of Jesus makes a man scorn his own needs.
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.