The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, Book III Chapter XXXIX: “A Man must not be too Anxious in his Affairs” (third entry)

In our final consideration of this chapter, we hear the Christ of Kempis bluntly call for complete and total self-abandonment to Him in things great and small. He says these words in the context of our earthly pursuits. We find that even when we go after something feverishly, and then finally attain it, it is not as compelling as we imagined and we quickly move on to other things — ultimately we find that any worldly object or pursuit does not bring lasting joy. The solution is to abandon selfish pursuits, that are all ultimately little, in favor of the only goal that is worth attaining with all our being.

|Today’s first reading: 1 Cor 2:10b-16

Paul speaks of the “Spirit of God” given to the Christian who then gains spiritual wisdom that confounds the base person. The quote above refers to Is 40:13. Man cannot inform God of anything since God knows everything. And we don’t have access to the mind of God except by way of that which He has revealed to us. But the believer does know something about God through faith and revelation. The last line sums up this way: “But we have the mind of Christ.”

|Reflection

To “have the mind of Christ,” is to eschew the little things (and they are all little things in the grand scheme of things and in light of our brief lives on earth) that distract us from what should be our driving motivator: love of God and our desire to be happy with Him forever. By favoring our own lesser, or even sinful pursuits, we seek to counsel the Lord in what is best for us. Abandoning such a perspective and opening ourselves to God’s will in toto, our minds come to reflect God’s mind in our every thought, word, and deed.