Remember the Innumerable Gifts of God

THE DISCIPLE
OPEN my heart, O Lord, to Your law and teach me to walk in the way of Your commandments. Let me understand Your will. Let me remember Your blessings -- all of them and each single one of them -- with great reverence and care so that henceforth I may return worthy thanks for them. I know that I am unable to give due thanks for even the least of Your gifts. I am unworthy of the benefits You have given me, and when I consider Your generosity my spirit faints away before its greatness. All that we have of soul and body, whatever we possess interiorly or exteriorly, by nature or by grace, are Your gifts and they proclaim Your goodness and mercy from which we have received all good things.
If one receives more and another less, yet all are Yours and without You nothing can be received. He who receives greater things cannot glory in his own merit or consider himself above others or behave insolently toward those who receive less. He who attributes less to himself and is the more humble and devout in returning thanks is indeed the greater and the better, while he who considers himself lower than all men and judges himself to be the least worthy, is the more fit to receive the greater blessing.
He, on the other hand, who has received fewer gifts should not be sad or impatient or envious of the richer man. Instead he should turn his mind to You and offer You the greatest praise because You give so bountifully, so freely and willingly, without regard to persons. All things come from You; therefore, You are to be praised in all things. You know what is good for each of us; and why one should receive less and another more is not for us to judge, but for You Who have marked every man's merits.
Therefore, O Lord God, I consider it a great blessing not to have many things which human judgment holds praiseworthy and glorious, for one who realizes his own poverty and vileness should not be sad or downcast at it, but rather consoled and happy because You, O God, have chosen the poor, the humble, and the despised in this world to be Your friends and servants. The truth of this is witnessed by Your Apostles, whom You made princes over all the world. Yet they lived in this world without complaining, so humble and simple, so free from malice and deceit, that they were happy even to suffer reproach for Your name and to embrace with great affection that which the world abhors.
A man who loves You and recognizes Your benefits, therefore, should be gladdened by nothing so much as by Your will, by the good pleasure of Your eternal decree. With this he should be so contented and consoled that he would wish to be the least as others wish to be the greatest; that he would be as peaceful and satisfied in the last place as in the first, and as willing to be despised, unknown and forgotten, as to be honored by others and to have more fame than they. He should prefer Your will and the love of Your honor to all else, and it should comfort him more than all the benefits which have been, or will be, given him.

For your thoughtful and prayerful meditation and response.

1 posted on 11/09/2007 7:28:34 AM PST by Salvation

To: Religion Moderator

Oops,

I see that I forgot the following;

3,22 (59)

between the words “Imitation of Christ:

and the title of today’s reflection — Remember the Innumerable Gifts of God [Devotional]

Could you please add them into the title line? Thanks in advance.

2 posted on 11/09/2007 7:31:51 AM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

To: nickcarraway; sandyeggo; Lady In Blue; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; Catholicguy; RobbyS; ...

Imitation of Christ Devotional Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Imitation of Christ Devotional Ping List.

Also, many Protestants have asked me to put them on this ping list. I have gladly done so, and will add your name if you FReepmail me. I reassure you that you will not get all the Catholic pings.

3 posted on 11/09/2007 7:33:13 AM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

A question came up in FReepmail about this thread yesterday.

There are Catholic versions of this book.

And there are Protestants versions of this book.

Main differences are that the divisions in the books are different, some titles are different, but the content is basically the same in most reflections.

Check at your local religious book store for a copy.

This thread is open to all — as indicated in the Ping message.

4 posted on 11/09/2007 7:36:58 AM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

The Religion Moderator gave me permission to copy the rules from the Chambers' thread (with a few alterations) which I think are applicable. Thank you to the RM!

Come to these threads as you are; leave with what you have discovered.

Absolutely no flaming! These daily threads are intended to be devotional in nature. If a particular day's offering says nothing to you, please just go on and wait for the next day. Consider these threads a DMZ of sorts, a place where a perpetual truce is in effect and a place where all other arguments and disagreements from other times and places are left behind.

I can attest from personal experience (Salvation's) that reading from Imitation of Christ daily will almost certainly change - not one's faith - but one's perspective of his/her own faith, and open up new vistas in your spiritual life. If - when - this happens to a reader of these threads, and they choose to share what has happened within them - we are treading on hallowed ground. Be respectful.

- Religion Moderator

5 posted on 11/09/2007 7:38:01 AM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

Christ In The Garden Of Gethsemane art print by Heinrich Hofmann

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

BY
THOMAS KEMPIS
A very powerful spiritual guidance for the soul who seeks to imitate Jesus Christ.

Learn from me, because I am meek and humble of heart. Mat. 11:29

6 posted on 11/09/2007 7:39:29 AM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

Thanks for the clarification.

7 posted on 11/09/2007 1:54:12 PM PST by twin2

Since I got a FReepmail, I thought it was worth putting it out here.

8 posted on 11/09/2007 8:45:47 PM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

9 posted on 11/10/2007 9:05:35 AM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

10 posted on 11/10/2007 9:08:23 AM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794

Remember the Innumerable Gifts of God

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

A very powerful spiritual guidance for the soul who seeks to imitate Jesus Christ. Learn from me, because I am meek and humble of heart. Mat. 11:29

A very powerful spiritual guidance for the soul who seeks to imitate Jesus Christ.

Learn from me, because I am meek and humble of heart. Mat. 11:29