Quotes from Thomas a Kempis

O quam salubre, quam iucundum et suave est sedere in solitudine et tacere et loqui cum Deo!

You will never find peace unless you are united with Christ in the very depths of your heart.

Let all things be loved for the sake of Jesus, but Jesus for His own sake.

Give me courage to resist, patience to endure, constancy to persevere.

Gaudete in Domino semper." (A.D. Phil. 4:4.) "Rejoice in the Lord always.

Teach me, O Lord, to do Your will; teach me to live worthily and humbly in Your sight; for You are my wisdom, who know me truly, and who knew me before the world was made, and before I had my being.

How many there are who perish because of vain worldly knowledge and too little care for serving God. They became vain in their own conceits because they chose to be great rather than humble. He is truly great who has great charity. He is truly great who is little in his own eyes and makes nothing of the highest honor. He is truly wise who looks upon all earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ. He who does God's will and renounces his own is truly very learned.

And whatsoever thou art not enabled to understand, that commit without anxiety to Almighty God. God deceiveth thee not; he is deceived who believeth too much in himself. God walketh with the simple, revealeth Himself to the humble, giveth understanding to babes, openeth the sense to pure minds, and hideth grace from the curious and proud. Human reason is weak and may be deceived; but true faith cannot be deceived.

The world promises things that are temporal and small, and it is served with great eagerness. I (Christ) promise things that are great and eternal, and the hearts of mortals are slow to stir.

Not every desire is from the Holy Spirit, even though it may seem right and good.

First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.

All perfection hath some imperfection joined to it in this life, and all our power of sight is not without some darkness.

It is a hard thing to break through a habit and a yet harder thing to go contrary to our own will. Yet if thou overcome not slight and easy obstacles how wilt thou overcome greater ones Withstand thy will at the beginning and unlearn an evil habit lest it lead thee little by little into worse difficulties. Oh if thou knewest what peace to thyself thy holy life should bring ...and what joy to others methinketh thou wouldst be more zealous for spiritual profit.

Remember always thine end, and how the time which is lost returneth not. Without care and diligence thou shalt never get virtue. If thou beginnest to grow cold, it shall begin to go ill with thee, but if thou givest thyself unto zeal thou shalt find much peace, and shalt find thy labour the lighter because of the grace of God and the love of virtue.

If you wish to learn and appreciate something worth while, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing. Truly to know and despise self is the best and most perfect counsel. To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom.

Not every affection which seems good is to be immediately followed. Neither is every opposite affection to be immediately avoided. Sometimes it is expedient to use restraint even in good desires and wishes, lest through importunity you fall into distraction of mind, lest through want of discipline you become a stumbling block to others.

To have no opinion of ourselves, and to think always well and highly of others, is great wisdom and perfection.

Rest from inordinate desire or knowledge, for therein is found much distraction and deceit.

Greater is Your care for me than all the care I am able to take from myself.

Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise.

When life feels heavy, these two remedies relieve life's complexities: simplicity and purity. Simplicity seeks God. Purity enjoys him.

Put thy whole trust in God and let Him be thy fear and thy love, He will answer for thee Himself, and will do for thee what is best. Here hast thou no continuing city,(3) and wheresoever thou art, thou art a stranger and a pilgrim, and thou shalt never have rest unless thou art closely united to Christ within thee.

How came it to pass that many of the Saints were so perfect, so contemplative of Divine things? Because they steadfastly sought to mortify themselves from all worldly desires, and so were enabled to cling with their whole heart to God, and be free and at leisure for the thought of Him. We are too much occupied with our own affections, and too anxious about transitory things.

Who has a more fierce struggle than the person who strives to master himself? And this must be our occupation: to strive to master ourselves and daily to grow stronger and to advance from good to better. All