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Imitation of
Christ, by Thomas á Kempis: Book 1, Chapter 18, cont.
Outwardly they
suffered want, but within they were refreshed with grace and Divine
consolation. They were aliens to the world; they seemed as nothing and
the world despised them; but they were precious and beloved in the
sight of God. They persevered in true humility, they lived in simple
obedience, they walked in charity and patience, and so every day they
advanced in spirit and gained great favor with God. They were given for
example to all religious, and ought more to excite us to advance in
good, than the number of lukewarm to induce us to grow remiss. Oh! how
great was the fervor of all religious in the beginning of their holy
institute! Oh, how great was their devotion in prayer, how great was
their zeal for virtue! How vigorous the discipline that was kept up,
what reverence and obedience, under the rule of the superior,
flourished in all! Their traces that remain still bear witness, that
they were truly holy and perfect men who did battle so stoutly, and
trampled the world under their feet. Now, he is thought great who is
not a transgressor; and who can, with patience, endure what he has
undertaken. Ah, the lukewarmness and negligence of our state! that we
soon fall away from our first fervor, and are even now tired with life,
from slothfulness and tepidity. Oh that advancement in virtue be not
quite asleep in thee, who has so often seen the manifold examples of
the devout!
Prayers for the 12-Day
Preparatory Period
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