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The Imitation of Christ
Thomas à Kempis
The Twelfth Chapter
THE ROYAL ROAD OF THE HOLY CROSS
TO MANY the saying, "Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me,"[19] seems
hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: "Depart from Me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire."[20] Those who hear the word of the cross and
follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation
on the day of judgment. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens when the
Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who during life made
themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great trust to Christ,
the judge.
Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a
kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is
protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the
cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is
highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul
nor hope of everlasting life but in the cross.
Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal
life. He Himself opened the way before you in carrying His cross, and upon it He
died for you, that you, too, might take up your cross and long to die upon it.
If you die with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you share His
suffering, you shall also share His glory.
Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything
depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of
the holy cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will,
you will not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way
of the holy cross. Arrange and order everything to suit your will and judgment,
and still you will find that some suffering must always be borne, willingly or
unwillingly, and thus you will always find the cross.
Either you will experience bodily pain or you will undergo tribulation of spirit
in your soul. At times you will be forsaken by God, at times troubled by those
about you and, what is worse, you will often grow weary of yourself. You cannot
escape, you cannot be relieved by any remedy or comfort but must bear with it as
long as God wills. For He wishes you to learn to bear trial without consolation,
to submit yourself wholly to Him that you may become more humble through
suffering. No one understands the passion of Christ so thoroughly or heartily as
the man whose lot it is to suffer the like himself.
The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where
you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you
and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will -- above, below, without, or
within -- you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere you must have
patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown.
If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal
where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you
carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load,
though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find
another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man
can ever avoid? Which of the saints was without a cross or trial on this earth?
Not even Jesus Christ, our Lord, Whose every hour on earth knew the pain of His
passion. "It behooveth Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, . . .
and so enter into his glory."[21] How is it that you look for another way than
this, the royal way of the holy cross?
The whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and do you seek rest and
enjoyment for yourself? You deceive yourself, you are mistaken if you seek
anything but to suffer, for this mortal life is full of miseries and marked with
crosses on all sides. Indeed, the more spiritual progress a person makes, so
much heavier will he frequently find the cross, because as his love increases,
the pain of his exile also increases.
Yet such a man, though afflicted in many ways, is not without hope of
consolation, because he knows that great reward is coming to him for bearing his
cross. And when he carries it willingly, every pang of tribulation is changed
into hope of solace from God. Besides, the more the flesh is distressed by
affliction, so much the more is the spirit strengthened by inward grace. Not
infrequently a man is so strengthened by his love of trials and hardship in his
desire to conform to the cross of Christ, that he does not wish to be without
sorrow or pain, since he believes he will be the more acceptable to God if he is
able to endure more and more grievous things for His sake.
It is the grace of Christ, and not the virtue of man, which can and does bring
it about that through fervor of spirit frail flesh learns to love and to gain
what it naturally hates and shuns.
To carry the cross, to love the cross, to chastise the body and bring it to
subjection, to flee honors, to endure contempt gladly, to despise self and wish
to be despised, to suffer any adversity and loss, to desire no prosperous days
on earth -- this is not man's way. If you rely upon yourself, you can do none of
these things, but if you trust in the Lord, strength will be given you from
heaven and the world and the flesh will be made subject to your word. You will
not even fear your enemy, the devil, if you are armed with faith and signed with
the cross of Christ.
Set yourself, then, like a good and faithful servant of Christ, to bear bravely
the cross of your Lord, Who out of love was crucified for you. Be ready to
suffer many adversities and many kinds of trouble in this miserable life, for
troublesome and miserable life will always be, no matter where you are; and so
you will find it wherever you may hide. Thus it must be; and there is no way to
evade the trials and sorrows of life but to bear them.
Drink the chalice of the Lord with affection it you wish to be His friend and to
have part with Him. Leave consolation to God; let Him do as most pleases Him. On
your part, be ready to bear sufferings and consider them the greatest
consolation, for even though you alone were to undergo them all, the sufferings
of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.
When you shall have come to the point where suffering is sweet and acceptable
for the sake of Christ, then consider yourself fortunate, for you have found
paradise on earth. But as long as suffering irks you and you seek to escape, so
long will you be unfortunate, and the tribulation you seek to evade will follow
you everywhere. If you put your mind to the things you ought to consider, that
is, to suffering and death, you would soon be in a better state and would find
peace.
Although you were taken to the third heaven with Paul, you were not thereby
insured against suffering. Jesus said: "I will show him how great things he must
suffer for My name's sake."[22] To suffer, then, remains your lot, if you mean
to love Jesus and serve Him forever.
If you were but worthy to suffer something for the name of Jesus, what great
glory would be in store for you, what great joy to all the saints of God, what
great edification to those about you! For all men praise patience though there
are few who wish to practice it.
With good reason, then, ought you to be willing to suffer a little for Christ
since many suffer much more for the world.
Realize that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the
more he begins to live unto God.
No man is fit to enjoy heaven unless he has resigned himself to suffer hardship
for Christ. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more helpful for you on
this earth than to suffer willingly for Christ. If you had to make a choice, you
ought to wish rather to suffer for Christ than to enjoy many consolations, for
thus you would be more like Christ and more like all the saints. Our merit and
progress consist not in many pleasures and comforts but rather in enduring great
afflictions and sufferings.
If, indeed, there were anything better or more useful for man's salvation than
suffering, Christ would have shown it by word and example. But He clearly
exhorts the disciples who follow Him and all who wish to follow Him to carry the
cross, saying: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross daily, and follow Me."[23]
When, therefore, we have read and searched all that has been written, let this
be the final conclusion -- that through much suffering we must enter into the
kingdom of God.
