The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, Book III Chapter XXXVII: “Of a Pure and Entire Resignation of Ourselves to Obtain Freedom of Heart” (third entry)

The words above lead off the closing section of this chapter. Christ, here, goes on to say that all those things that prevent us from having peace are attachment to ourselves and the passing concerns of this world. .

|Today’s first reading: 2 Thess 3 6-10, 16-18

This Scripture passage takes us to the end of this letter to the Thessalonians. Paul’s conclusion instructs the readers and hearers of this letter that they are to shun heretics in their midst. They can use Paul and his companions as the model to imitate in their manual labor and their self-sufficiency.

|Reflection

We all look for peace. “I just need a little peace and quiet,” we might say after a long and frenetic day. Kempis gives us a simple, if not easy to attain, remedy to ease the turmoil of our lives: resignation. Definitely not easy to achieve. Our pride, our attachments, our busyness, our striving, are all impediments to closer union with God.

It is worth pondering: What is keeping us from a deeper relationship with the Lord? What unnecessary, and maybe even harmful, tasks, habits, and distractions, push prayer to the background or eliminate it altogether? How might we recall Jesus and His sacrifice increasingly and more deeply throughout the day? Consider why this should give us repose in the whirlwind of daily living.

May the peace of Christ, the only true and lasting peace, be with us now and forever.