The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, Book III Chapter XL: “Man has no Good of Himself and can Glory in Nothing” (third entry)

We close this chapter with a simple exclamation of the disciple. His recognition of His own deficiencies and reliance on His Creator, who deserves “all praise, honor, power, and glory” (as he says in the chapter’s final sentence), leads him to express his awe with unbounded enthusiasm.

|Today’s Responsorial Psalm: Ps 37:3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40

The title of this psalm, given in the Navarre Bible, is “The upright trust in the Lord, even though the wicked seem to prosper.” We don’t get the full brunt of this in the excerpts proclaimed this day, but we do come to see that the just who trust in the Lord will ultimately gain victory and evildoers will ultimately be destroyed. The Lord will not refuse a heart that delights in Him.

|Reflection

If in our heart we deem true happiness as desiring to know and follow God’s will, then we will be granted our “heart’s request.” Would it be that we would emulate our Blessed Mother whose heart was so united to her Son’s that, when the centurion’s sword pierced His heart on the Cross, she experienced it mystically in her own body (see Lk 2:35). She gave her entire being to be the instrument of the most Holy Trinity.

Dear Mother, pray that we more fully embrace your Son to whom you completely and unreservedly dedicated your life on earth and in heaven.