Day Nine of our Lenten Journey – 25 February – Thursday of the First week of Lent, Readings: Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25, Psalms 138:1-2,2-3, 7-8, Matthew 7:7-12
Imitating Christ with Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
In You is the source of life
and in Your Light Lord, we see light
Psalm 35(36)
“Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7
When Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult.
When He is absent, all is hard.
When Jesus does not speak within, all other comfort is empty.
But if He says only a word, it brings great consolation.
[…] How dry and hard you are without Jesus!
How foolish and vain if you desire anything but Him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the whole world?
For what, without Jesus, can the world give you?
Life without Him is a relentless hell but living with Him is a sweet paradise.
If Jesus be with you, no enemy can harm you.
He who finds Jesus finds a rare treasure, indeed, a good above every good, whereas he who loses Him, loses more than the whole world.
The man who lives without Jesus is the poorest of the poor, whereas no-one is so rich, as the man who lives in His grace.
It is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus and great wisdom to know how to keep Him.
Be humble and peaceful and Jesus will be with you.
Be devout and calm and He will remain with you.
[…] You cannot live well without a friend and if Jesus be not your friend above all else, you will be very sad and desolate.
Thus, you are acting foolishly if you trust or rejoice in any other.
Choose the opposition of the whole world, rather than offend Jesus.
Of all those who are dear to you, let Him be your special love.
Let all things be loved for the sake of Jesus but Jesus, for His own sake.
[…] Never wish that anyone’s affection be centred in you, nor let yourself be taken up with the love of anyone but let Jesus be in you and in every good man.
Be pure and free within, unentangled with any creature.
You must bring to God a clean and open heart if you wish to attend and see how sweet the Lord is.
Truly you will never attain this happiness, unless His grace prepares you and draws you on, so that you may forsake all things to be united with Him alone.
When the grace of God comes to a man, he can do all things, but when it leaves him, he becomes poor and weak, abandoned, as it were, to affliction.
Yet, in this condition he should not become dejected or despair.
On the contrary, he should calmly await the will of God and bear whatever befalls him, in praise of Jesus Christ.
For after winter comes summer, after night, the day and after the storm, a great calm.
(Book 2 Ch 8:1-5)
AnaStpaul 