Life Worth Living
'"Vanity of vanities and all is vanity" except to love God and serve Him alone,' My Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis
I encountered the above quote from Thomas a Kempis in the mid 1950s, while still a teenager, when I purchased this Catholic clerics classical book of meditations. This quotation which is based upon Ecclesiastes 1:2 has stuck in my mind ever since.
I find it fascinating that this observation that the majority of scripture scholars conclude was written in Ecclesiastes around 250 BC, and Thomas a Kempis wrote his "Imitation of Christ" sometime in the 15th century, and that this fact remains true to this day in the 21st century.
Thomas was born in the town of Kempen, Germany either in 1379 or 1380 and died on July 24th, 1471. His correct name was Thomas "Haemerken" with various spelling versions depending on the country writing about him. His father was a "blacksmith" which translated in Germany depending on the area was spelled "Haemerken"--his mother was a school mistress. Since he was from Kempen he became known by the Latin name Thomas a Kempis, i.e., Thomas from Kempen. He wrote many books and transcribed many copies of the Bible, but his "Imitation of Christ"
is the most popular and it is second in printing only to the Bible. He is recognized throughout the world as "Thomas a Kempis".
The reading from Ecclesiastes (1:2, 2:21-33) was the first scripture reading for this Sunday's Mass, August 4th, 2013; the other scripture passages were Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 and Luke 12:13-12. The latter dealt with greed or misplaced priorities. Our pastor made the following observation worth repeating. "The things we do for ourselves die with us; whereas, the things we do for others lives forever." He added, "Especially if we do them for God." He went on to say by "others" he is not referring to our family members as they are extension of ourselves; rather those things we do for "our neighbor", our neighbor as exemplified in Jesus' parable of the "Good Samaritan".
One last thought, over the years I've come to believe and endorse the maxim: "Expect little from others; demand the most from oneself.
When I remind myself of the above, I find myself surprised as I recognized how much good others actually do and humbled realizing how little I do.
I encountered the above quote from Thomas a Kempis in the mid 1950s, while still a teenager, when I purchased this Catholic clerics classical book of meditations. This quotation which is based upon Ecclesiastes 1:2 has stuck in my mind ever since.
I find it fascinating that this observation that the majority of scripture scholars conclude was written in Ecclesiastes around 250 BC, and Thomas a Kempis wrote his "Imitation of Christ" sometime in the 15th century, and that this fact remains true to this day in the 21st century.
Thomas was born in the town of Kempen, Germany either in 1379 or 1380 and died on July 24th, 1471. His correct name was Thomas "Haemerken" with various spelling versions depending on the country writing about him. His father was a "blacksmith" which translated in Germany depending on the area was spelled "Haemerken"--his mother was a school mistress. Since he was from Kempen he became known by the Latin name Thomas a Kempis, i.e., Thomas from Kempen. He wrote many books and transcribed many copies of the Bible, but his "Imitation of Christ"
is the most popular and it is second in printing only to the Bible. He is recognized throughout the world as "Thomas a Kempis".
The reading from Ecclesiastes (1:2, 2:21-33) was the first scripture reading for this Sunday's Mass, August 4th, 2013; the other scripture passages were Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 and Luke 12:13-12. The latter dealt with greed or misplaced priorities. Our pastor made the following observation worth repeating. "The things we do for ourselves die with us; whereas, the things we do for others lives forever." He added, "Especially if we do them for God." He went on to say by "others" he is not referring to our family members as they are extension of ourselves; rather those things we do for "our neighbor", our neighbor as exemplified in Jesus' parable of the "Good Samaritan".
One last thought, over the years I've come to believe and endorse the maxim: "Expect little from others; demand the most from oneself.
When I remind myself of the above, I find myself surprised as I recognized how much good others actually do and humbled realizing how little I do.
Labels: Living The Faith
posted by Paul Amrhein | 4:13 PM
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