{"id":1553,"asset_id":1861,"title":"THE IMITATION OF CHRIST  By THOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS  BOOK ONE  THOUGHTS HELPFUL IN THE LIFE OF THE SOUL  THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER  MONASTIC LIFE","alias":"the-imitation-of-christ-by-thomas-a-kempis-book-one-thoughts-helpful-in-the-life-of-the-soul-the-seventeenth-chapter-monastic-life","introtext":"<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><b>THE IMITATION OF CHRIST<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">By THOMAS \u00c0 KEMPIS<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><b><i>BOOK ONE<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><b>THOUGHTS HELPFUL IN THE LIFE OF THE SOUL<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><i>THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER<\/i><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><b>MONASTIC LIFE<\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n","fulltext":"\r\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">IF YOU wish peace and concord with others, you must learn to break your will in many things. To live in monasteries or religious communities, to remain there without complaint, and to persevere faithfully till death is no small matter. Blessed indeed is he who there lives a good life and there ends his days in happiness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">If you would persevere in seeking perfection, you must consider yourself a pilgrim, an exile on earth. If you would become a religious, you must be content to seem a fool for the sake of Christ. Habit and tonsure change a man but little; it is the change of life, the complete mortification of passions that endow a true religious.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">He who seeks anything but God alone and the salvation of his soul will find only trouble and grief, and he who does not try to become the least, the servant of all, cannot remain at peace for long.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">You have come to serve, not to rule. You must understand, too, that you have been called to suffer and to work, not to idle and gossip away your time. Here men are tried as gold in a furnace. Here no man can remain unless he desires with all his heart to humble himself before God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"right\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoldtimegospel.com\/book\/imitate1_18.html\">Continue&nbsp;<img src=\"https:\/\/www.theoldtimegospel.com\/images\/button_fwd.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"10\" height=\"11\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>","state":1,"catid":"8","created":"2023-04-15 10:53:36","created_by":"873","created_by_alias":"","modified":"2023-04-15 10:53:36","modified_by":null,"checked_out":null,"checked_out_time":null,"publish_up":"2023-04-16 11:44:08","publish_down":"0000-00-00 00:00:00","images":"{\"image_intro\":\"\",\"float_intro\":\"\",\"image_intro_alt\":\"\",\"image_intro_caption\":\"\",\"image_fulltext\":\"\",\"float_fulltext\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_alt\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_caption\":\"\"}","urls":"{\"urla\":false,\"urlatext\":\"\",\"targeta\":\"\",\"urlb\":false,\"urlbtext\":\"\",\"targetb\":\"\",\"urlc\":false,\"urlctext\":\"\",\"targetc\":\"\"}","attribs":"{\"article_layout\":\"\",\"show_title\":\"\",\"link_titles\":\"\",\"show_tags\":\"\",\"show_intro\":\"\",\"info_block_position\":\"\",\"info_block_show_title\":\"\",\"show_category\":\"\",\"link_category\":\"\",\"show_parent_category\":\"\",\"link_parent_category\":\"\",\"show_associations\":\"\",\"show_author\":\"\",\"link_author\":\"\",\"show_create_date\":\"\",\"show_modify_date\":\"\",\"show_publish_date\":\"\",\"show_item_navigation\":\"\",\"show_icons\":\"\",\"show_print_icon\":\"\",\"show_email_icon\":\"\",\"show_vote\":\"\",\"show_hits\":\"\",\"show_noauth\":\"\",\"urls_position\":\"\",\"alternative_readmore\":\"\",\"article_page_title\":\"\",\"show_publishing_options\":\"\",\"show_article_options\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_backend\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_frontend\":\"\"}","version":1,"ordering":null,"metakey":"","metadesc":"","access":"1","hits":null,"metadata":"{\"robots\":\"\",\"author\":\"\",\"rights\":\"\",\"xreference\":\"\"}","featured":"1","language":"*","xreference":"","note":""}