The Imitation of Christ*
“None of us is fit to receive the understanding of heavenly things if we have not submitted ourselves to bear adversities for Christ.
Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing is more profitable to you in this world than to suffer cheerfully for Christ.
And if you had to choose, you should rather choose adversity for Christ than to be refreshed by a multitude of consolations, because in this way you would be more like Christ and his saints.
For our merit and our spiritual advancement does not consist in comforts and sweetness, but in bearing great adversities and trying experiences.” pg. 115
Prayer: Lord, give me a cheerful heart. Let me suffer cheerfully for you.
*The Imitation of Christ is a book written by an Augustine monk, named Thomas a Kempis, around 1430. It was a favorite read by Theresa the Little Flower. I picked up the 2008 Revised English translation from Paraclete Press as my birthday present from that beloved Pauline Bookstore in Old Town, Alexandria.
