Lectio et Oratio

Episode 78 -- Imitation of Christ III.40 -- A Man has No Goodness of His Own and Nothing to Boast of

Does a human being have goodness in himself?

Yes and no. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis draws our attention to the constant tendency in our hearts to evil. He stresses what we are when we forget and ignore God. At the same time, he shows us the proper balance. He shows us what we are with God's help. Thus we have a capacity to be helped by God. He has made us for Himself. He has made us to share in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity.

Episode 77 -- Imitation of Christ III.39 -- A Man Should Not be Unreasonably Anxious About His Affairs

Would it be wise to renounce one's own will in trivial things?

Often it is. In this reading Thomas a Kempis explains why even in small things self-renunciation is valuable. Our affections are so unstable that we often get thrown off course by small acts of self-indulgence. We think it is no big deal. We do this or that little thing. Before we know it, we are way off course! The devil knows this too. He loves to make us unfaithful in small things. This is why we need Christ. This is why we must entrust all our affairs to his power and love.

Episode 76 -- Imitation of Christ III.38 -- On A Good Rule of Life in Outward Things and on Turning To God in Times of Danger

What should be our way of acting in times of trouble?

Asking God for help! In this reading, Thomas a Kempis stresses the need for interior freedom amidst all of our outward activity. He stresses that we must guard our hearts from the slavery of various outward compulsions. We want to make use of every situation to draw closer to eternal life. This means that in difficult situations we must not judge by the standards of this world, but to judge in light of God. We never are left on our own to deal with our troubles. God is the real secret to bearing well the dangers of this life.

Episode 75 -- Imitation of Christ III.37 -- Sincere and Utter Self-Renunciation Wins us Freedom of Heart

We read about the goal of a close and happy friendship with Christ. How we must pray and long and strive for the power to break free of our self-seeking. The main enemy of our interior freedom is our egoism, our self-will. Even when we are set free from all kinds of sins, we discover a deeper hidden source of sin: self-seeking. But friends do the will of their great Friend.

Episode 74 -- Imitation of Christ III.36 -- Against the Vain Judgements of Men

We read about how vain the judgements of men are. Vain means empty, pointless, unreliable. We should want to be like St Paul and be all things to all men. We should want to please people in the Lord. But we cannot please everyone. We cannot avoid people thinking badly of us and speaking badly of us. There are times to be silent in the face of criticism and times to break silence. In all situations, our eyes must be on the Lord who has the power to save us and to defend us. He knows all things. He is to be trusted.

Episode 73 -- Imitation of Christ III.35 -- We are never Safe from Temptations in this Life

We look at Thomas a Kempis' teaching on the necessity of the spiritual combat for our whole life. We think that one day we will get to the point where temptations will cease. We are partly right. That day without temptations is in heaven. But we cannot seek heaven or expect the life of heaven to be perfectly realized in this world. Trials, desolations, troubles will be our lot here below. But the Lord is with us. He turns these to our sanctification and our glorification in heaven.

Episode 72 -- Imitation of Christ III.34 -- God Above all Things and in All Things is the Delight of the Loving Heart

We read about the importance that the eternal Word, the Son of God, our incarnate Lord has in our lives. He is our all. He is our God. He alone can make certain situations sweet and joyful. And in the end, everything turns sour if He is not involved. Who can make us love Him properly? Who can make us delight in Him and find our true consolation in Him? He can! He sends us the Holy Spirit. Let us not try to love God the Son by our own power. "No one can come to me," Jesus said, "unless the Father draws him." How does the Father draw us to the Son? By the Holy Spirit. "No one can say the Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor 12:3).

Episode 71 -- Imitation of Christ III.33 -- Inconstant Hearts Trying to Fix Our Gaze on Christ

Should we be surprised that our emotions fluctuate so much in our spiritual lives?

No. In thisreading, Thomas a Kempis explains the various changes our hearts feel from one moment to the next. He speaks of the inconstancy of our hearts. Our hearts are not constant in their good feelings and good resolutions. So quickly we pass from being cheerful to being depressed, from being peaceful to being upset. How we need to keep our gaze fixed on the Lord amidst the storms.

Episode 70 -- Imitation of Christ III.32 -- On Self-Denial and Giving Up Our Own Desires

We read about the importance of God's will. The only thing permanent in this world is God's will. What we do in accord with His will lasts forever. But to do his will, we need to desire His will. And to desire his will requires grace from God. Let us ask for the grace to want to be faithful. Becoming faithful in all things is the work of our whole lives. Let us not be impatient with God’s timetable and the work of our sanctification.

Episode 69 -- Imitation of Christ III.31 -- On Disregarding Creatures to Find the Creator

If we want to become contemplatives, to find God in prayer, what must we do?

Guard against unruly impulses. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis distinguishes the Creator from the creature. He helps us to see that our spirits, the high part of our souls, the part in which we are open to God, can be blocked by our constant ignoring of God. If we focus on creatures apart from God, we stop the upward movement of our souls. God wants us for himself. He wants to be All in All to us. This chapter highlights the deep connection between our prayer life and our daily life. "We live as we pray and we pray as we live."

Episode 68 -- Imitation of Christ III.30 -- On Calling on God in Distress and Being Confident in His Help

When we are feeling down and depressed, should we think that God had abandoned us?

No! In this chapter, Thomas a Kempis portrays Christ speaking to someone who is discouraged and feeling low. Our Lord assures such persons that our feelings are not a good guide to our true state. We are often closer to God than we might think. And God knows how to allow our spirits to sink lest we get puffed up by mistaken notions of our own spiritual greatness. This is a very encouraging chapter for those who face interior difficulties.

Episode 67 -- Imitation of Christ III.29 -- How We Should Call on God and Bless Him in Times of Trouble

In distress and time of trouble, what should we do?

Call on the Lord. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis shows us what to do when times of trouble seem to entrap us. He directs us to turn to the Lord in prayer. He offers us the kinds of prayers we should especially say. Above all, we need to seek to accept His will.

Episode 66 -- Imitation of Christ III.28 -- Against Slanderous Talk

In chapter 28, Thomas a Kempis encouraged us to look for peace within ourselves. This inward turn is not turning to ourselves but to the One who dwells in our hearts. By our baptism, we have becoming dwelling places of God in the Spirit. Christ and His Father have made their dwelling place in our hearts. The danger is that we look for our affirmation and self-worth primarily from the outside, from the words and actions of other human beings. Yes, we need human help and encouragement. But the true source of our peace and self-worth is found in God.

Episode 65 -- Imitation of Christ III.27 -- Self-love as the great Hinderance in Our Quest for the Highest God

In chapter 27, Thomas a Kempis warns us about the danger of bad self-love. Bad self-love tries to create a private set of concerns for which God is not involved. We tend to thing of ourselves as isolated individuals rather than as members of a vast Body, the Body of Christ. We have been inserted into a share of God"s own life. We must seek above all to be filled with God's wisdom.

Episode 64 -- Imitation of Christ III.26 -- On the Excellence of a Free Mind The Reward of Humble Prayer Rather than of Reading

In chapter 26, Thomas a Kempis speaks of the need to ask God to make certain things "sour" to our hearts. If there are things we really do not need or things that hurt us or things that take us away from true peace, let us ask the Lord to make them distasteful to us. Let us ask for the Lord to change our preferences of heart. What used taste so sweet can now taste sour! This kind of change will help us avoid those unnecessary and even sinful matters. Thomas a Kempis is so balanced in this chapter.

Episode 63 -- Imitation of Christ III.25 -- On Sure Peace of Mind and True Progress

What is the solid foundation for peace of mind?

Patience, humility, gentleness. There are practices, deliberate actions, that lead to peace, great peace. But these practices lead to peace of mind by building up virtues, stable dispositions of soul for good actions. The more we seek the lowest place the more we grow in humility. The more we seek to do the will of others the more we grow in gentleness. The more we hold ourselves back from the anger and revenge we desire the more we grow in patience. In this reading we think more about how true peace of mind involves growth in these virtues.

Episode 62 -- Imitation of Christ III.24 -- On Avoiding Curiosity About the Lives of Others

What is the sin of excessively seeking to know things about others?

Curiosity. There is a good desire to know that is at the root of all wisdom. There is also a harmless curiosity about why things are as they are. But then there is the disordered, harmful, excessive desire to know things, especially about others. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis explains why such sinful curiosity actually harms us and why its roots are often in vain glory.

Last episode we read about the causes of great peace in the soul. Notice how the four pieces of advice relate us to the following: other people, ourselves, the things of this world, and God. 1) By seeking to do the will of others, we have peace with them. 2) In not seeking more but rather less of this world's goods, we have harmony with the other creatures as being in the right relation to them. 3) In not seeking higher places, we are at peace with ourselves. We live within ourselves, our own limits. 4) In always praying and desires God"s will to be accomplished in ourselves, we are at peace with God.

Episode 61 -- Imitation of Christ III.23 -- Four Things that Lead to Greater Peace

Is there anything we can do to help our hearts be full of great peace?

We read about four basic tips for growing in peace. These tips all have to do with the desires of our heart. Peace arises from desires being ordered, directed to what is truly good. When we want what we should want, great peace follows. Among these tips, there is one that is most important: praying to do God's will.

Episode 60 -- Imitation of Christ III.22 -- On Recalling God’s Manifold Blessings

We read about God's manifold blessings. If we want to grow in God's love, we must ponder his blessings. St Philip used to tell people that when we fail to consider all that God does for us, we chill His love in our hearts. At the same time, considering God's blessings helps us to avoid speaking about ourselves in a boastful way. St Philip learned the lessons of this chapter. Very rarely did he ever say, I said or I did. St Philip and Thomas a Kempis want us to speak about ourselves in ways that are necessary for our salvation, the salvation of others, and the glory of God.

Episode 59 -- Imitation of Christ III.21 -- We must rest in God above all His Gifts and Favours

Will our hearts fully rest in the gifts of God?

No. Our hearts will only rest fully in the Giver of all these great spiritual gifts. In this reading, Thomas a Kempis presents a dialogue between Christ and his disciple regarding the true object of all our longing. Our hearts are made for Christ, the eternal Wisdom of the Father. He alone can set us free from our selfishness and loneliness.