The kingdom of God is the peace and joy of the Spirit

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time our church invites us to reflect on a passage from the second letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians (3: 7----4: 4) entitled “The glory of the ministry of the new covenant”. Our treasure, which follows. is from the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

The Second Letter to the Corinthians is the most personal of all of Paul’s extant writings, and it reveals much about his character. In it he deals with one or more crises that have arisen in the Corinthian church. The confrontation with these problems caused him to reflect deeply on his relationship with the community and to speak about it frankly. One moment he is venting his feelings of frustration and uncertainty, the next he is pouring out his relief and affection. The importance of the issues at stake between them calls forth from him an enormous effort of personal persuasion, as well as doctrinal considerations that are of great value for us.

Thomas à Kempis was a fourteenth century priest, monk and writer. Thomas was born in the Rhineland town of Kempen near Düsseldorf in Germany. The school he attended included men devoted to prayer, simplicity, and union with God. Thomas was so impressed by his teachers that he decided to live his own life according to their ideals. He devoted his time to prayer, study, copying manuscripts, teaching novices, offering Mass, and hearing the confessions of people who came to the monastery church. From time to time Thomas was given a position of authority in the community of monks, but he consistently preferred the quiet of his cell to the challenge of administration. He was pleasant but retiring. The other monks eventually recognized Thomas's talent for deep thought and stopped troubling him with practical affairs.

Thomas wrote a number of sermons, letters, hymns, and information about the lives of the saints. He reflected the mystical spirituality of his times, the sense of being absorbed in God. The most famous of his works by far is The Imitation of Christ, a deeply spiritual book which speaks often of humility, suffering for Christ, prayer, purity, simplicity, wisdom, patience, meekness and other such virtues. Throughout the book, readers find themselves experiencing the peace and wisdom that have comforted believers from all corners of the world. This consoling guide show readers how better to live the life of a Christian by closely following Christ's example. The Imitation of Christ enables those seeking guidance in the midst of today's challenges to find encouragement to imitate Christ in many of life's situations.