“Give us, O Lord, steadfast hearts that cannot be dragged down by false loves; give us courageous hearts that cannot be worn down by trouble; give us righteous hearts that cannot be sidetracked by unholy or unworthy goals. Give to us also, our Lord and God, understanding to know You, diligence to look for You, wisdom to recognize You, and a faithfulness that will bring us to see You face to face.” Thomas A Kempis (1380-1471)
Thomas à Kempis was a German-Dutch theologian and the author of The Imitation of Christ (Imitatio Christi), a devotional book that is considered one of the most influential Christian works next to Augustine's Confessions and the Bible.
"If you want to learn something that will really help you, learn to see yourself as God sees you and not as you see yourself in the distorted mirror of your own self-importance," he wrote. "This is the greatest and most useful lesson we can learn: to know ourselves for what we truly are, to admit freely our weaknesses and failings, and to hold a humble opinion of ourselves because of them."
Related reading: Thomas à Kempis
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