Centuries Ago Speak Today Part 3

Here is more from the Imitation of Christ.

You have nothing of your own in which you can glory; rather, you have many things for which you should consider yourself vile; for you are much weaker than you realize.

For these are evils which you suffer rather than commit; and so long as you struggle against them, it is a matter of merit and not of loss.

They do not take into account their own weakness; they follow the emotions of the heart rather than the dictates of reason.

When you have a moment of fervor meditate how you will feel when the fervor leaves you.

I have given all things, I will that all things be returned to Me, and I shall require an exact account.

O gracious and joyful service of God, which makes a man truly free and holy!

That you conform your desires entirely to My good pleasure, and that you be not a lover of self but an earnest doer of My will. Desires often inflame you and drive you madly about, but consider whether you are acting for My honor or out of self-interest.

Sometimes you must use violence on yourself in order to resist your sensual appetite. Pay no attention to what the body likes or dislikes; rather, be sure it is subject to the spirit, even by force if necessary.

Therefore, son, “go not after your lusts, but turn away from you own will.” (Eccl. 18:30).

There is no more troublesome enemy of the soul than self, if it is not in harmony with the spirit. If you wish to overcome the flesh, you must have contempt for self. Because you still love yourself too inordinately, you are afraid to resign yourself wholly to the will of others.

Learn, O dust, to obey! Learn to humble yourself, O earth and clay! Learn to bow down under the feet of other men! Learn to break your own will, to submit to others! Fight self!

My child, let Me do whatever I please with you. I know what is best for you.

The better you dispose yourself to suffer, the more wisely you act and the greater is the reward promised you; you will suffer more easily if your mind and habits are diligently trained to it.

If you desire victory, then, prepare to fight. Without struggle you cannot obtain the crown of patience, and if you refuse to suffer, you refuse the crown. But if you desire the crown, fight manfully and bear up patiently. Without labor there is no rest, and without fighting, no victory.

The fact that I am prone to fall into sin and powerless to resist my passions often oppresses me and confounds me in Your sight. And although I do not give full consent, still the assaults of my passions are very troublesome; I am exceedingly weary of waging this continuous conflict. My infirmity is clear to me, for evil fancies rush in upon me much more easily than they leave.

Strengthen me with heavenly courage, lest an old and wicked enemy, the body, dominate me, a body which is not yet subjected to the spirit and against which I must fight as long as I breathe this miserable life.

How is it possible to love this life—a life soured with so many calamities and miseries? Indeed, how can it even be called life when it generates nothing but pestilence and death? And yet, many love this life and seek their entire happiness in it!

Some things cause us to love the world, other things make us despise it. The lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the pride of life lead men to love it, while the pains and miseries, which are the just consequence of those things, cause hatred and weariness of the world.