><>...True peace of heart...><>
WHEN a man desires a thing too much, he at once becomes ill at ease. A proud and
avaricious man never rests, whereas he who is poor and humble of heart lives in a
world of peace. An unmortified man is quickly tempted and overcome in small, trifling
evils; his spirit is weak, in a measure carnal and inclined to sensual things; he can
hardly abstain from earthly desires. Hence it makes him sad to forego them; he is
quick to anger if reproved. Yet if he satisfies his desires, remorse of conscience
overwhelms him because he followed his passions and they did not lead to the peace
he sought.
True peace of heart, then, is found in resisting passions, not in satisfying them. There is
no peace in the carnal man, in the man given to vain attractions, but there is peace in
the fervent and spiritual man.
Thomas A. kempis |
