Some Words of Wisdom from Thomas A. Kempis
Mark S. Roberti, Director of Stewardship
Heartland Parishes of
One of the resolutions that I will actually keep this new year is to read a
daily reflection from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis.
I have read this book several times…one daily reflection at a time.
As I understand it, this is the second most read book in the history of
the world behind the Bible. That is
not without reason. It is incredibly profound. You might think about picking a
copy up, yourself, at a local Catholic bookstore. I’ll give you a personal money
back guarantee. If you read it, it
will make you a better Catholic and a better steward.
What follows is a short section titled, “To Flee Vain Hope and Pride.”
Many of the reflections in this
devotional are about this length. In this article I will italicize that which I
am directly quoting. Here goes:
He is a foolish man who puts his
trust in men or creatures. Be not ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus
Christ, and to appear poor in this world. Confide not in yourself; but place
your trust in God. Do what is in
your power, and God will bless your good will.
Trust not in your own knowledge, nor in the cunning of any living man;
but rather in the grace of God, who helps the humble, and humbles those who
presume on themselves.
Glory not in riches, if you have them, nor in friends, because they are
powerful; but in God, Who gives all things, and desires to give Himself above
all things.
Boast not of the stature or the beauty of your body, which is spoiled and
disfigured by a little sickness. Do
not take pride in your ability or talent, lest you displease God, to Whom
appertains every natural good quality and talent which you have.
Esteem not yourself better than others, lest, perhaps, you be accounted
worse in the sight of God, who knows what is in man.
Be not proud of your own works: for the judgments of God are different
from the judgments of men; and oftentimes, that displeases Him which pleases
men.
If you have any good, believe that others have better, so that you may
preserve humility. It will do you
no harm to esteem yourself the worst of all; but it will hurt you very much to
prefer yourself before any one.
Continual peace is with the humble, but in the heart of the proud is
frequent envy and indignation.
In my copy of The Imitation of Christ, it also has a reflection
and a prayer. The reflection reads as follows:
We have nothing to be proud of.
Because all that is good in us, whether in the order of nature or in that
of grace, comes from God, to Whom all glory is due. The only thing that is our
own is sin. We can hope for eternal salvation only through God’s grace.
Now the prayer: Lord, give me
humility of spirit so that I may be worthy of Your love. Cleanse me of all
sentiments of pride and vanity.
Make my heart docile and submissive to Your holy will.
Shower an abundance of your graces upon me. Amen.
If you would, reflect with me for a moment on how we view stewardship.
Isn’t living our lives in the manner described above by Thomas A. Kempis the
very kernel of good stewardship? If
we lived our lives in this manner, wouldn’t we be the very reflection of a good
steward? Isn’t the vanity and pride which he urges us to flee the very essence
of what hinders us from developing a closer relationship with God?
I would posit it is: for you, for me, for everyone.
We strive to head our lives in the direction we want to go, rather than
the way God wants us to go. We
understand what it is God wants of us, it’s just that’s not quite the path down
which we want to journey. It seems
too hard. We think we
know what’s better for us than God does.
Therein lies the vanity of which this reflection speaks.
When driving a car at a time when we are lost, don’t we often turn a road
we’ve already been down? Don’t we
sometimes turn down that same road several times?
Don’t we find ourselves driving even faster, or more recklessly, than we
normally would? That is the
destination that our busy, convenience oriented, lifestyle is taking us.
It’s time to turn our lifestyle over to God and do it His way.
That’s what stewardship is.
It’s a holy way of life. It is the
very lifestyle for which God designed us.
It is the lifestyle where we come to living the fullness of human life.
Making the decision to live that lifestyle is a choice.
It’s our choice.