The Commentaries

In Book 3, Chapter 58 of The Imitation of Christ , the idea of nature and grace is explored extensively. Fr. Robert Nixon says, “This is something which people who've studied theology will perhaps have thought about quite a lot, but other people maybe not so much. So the idea of this contrast or these two fortunes of nature and grace. So we do certain things by nature. It's within who we are, our...

"A most happy mansion of the city above, a most bright day of eternity, which knows no night," the disciple says, "But is always enlightened by Thy sovereign truth, a day, always joyful, always secure, and never changing in its state for the country. Oh, that this day would shine upon us, and all those temporal things would come to an end. It shines indeed upon the saints, resplendent with everlas...

In Book 3, Chapter 38 of The Imitation of Christ , Christ says, “You must diligently make it your aim, that in every place and in every action or outward employment, you be inwardly free and master of yourself, and that all things be under you and not you under them, that you may be the Lord and ruler of your actions and not a slave or bondsman, but rather a free man.” Fr. Robert Nixon comments, “...

"My God and my all! Enough is said to Him that understands; and it is delightful to Him that loves to repeat it often. You give tranquility to the heart and great peace and pleasant joy. You make us to think well of all and praise You in all things, nor can anything without You afford any lasting pleasure.” This exhortation from the disciple in Book 3, Chapter 34 of The Imitation of Christ inspire...

Fr. Robert Nixon admits the idea of seeking the lowest place can be hard to understand. “This might sound a bit troubling,” Fr. Nixon says, “like when it says inferior does it mean we should try to be worse or less meritorious or less able than other people? That's not what it means in this context. Inferior means occupying a lower place in any given scale…But the fact is being higher in this scal...

“Everything we ask for from God,” Fr. Nixon comments, “We should say, ‘God, if this is in accordance with Your will and Your will is my salvation and my ultimate good, so if it's what You want, let it be done.’ There's a certain amount of humility in this in giving up our own preferences, realizing that sometimes we can be mistaken about what's good for us and what's actually bad for us. A lot of...

Christ says to his disciple in The Imitation of Christ , "My son, I must be thy chief and last end if thou desire to be truly happy. But this intention of yours shall be purified, which too often is irregularly bent upon thyself and created things. For if in anything you seek yourself, you presently faint away from yourself and grow dry, refer therefore all things principally to Me for it is I who...

An exchange in The Imitation of Christ between Christ and the soul, his disciple, stands out in episode seven of The Commentaries . "Son, walk before Me in truth and always seek Me in the simplicity of thy heart. He that walks before Me in truth shall be secured from evil occurrences, and truth shall deliver him from deceivers and from the detractors of the wicked. If truth is on your side, you wi...

"When Jesus is present, all things go well and nothing seems difficult. But when Jesus is absent, everything is hard. When Jesus speaks not within, our comfort is worthless. But if Jesus speaks but one word, we feel great consolation.” That passage from The Imitation of Christ inspired Fr. Robert Nixon to offer this analogy. “If a person had Superman as their butler and personal assistant, that wo...

"With two wings a man is lifted up above earthly things,” Thomas à Kempis writes in The Imitation of Christ . “That is, with simplicity and purity. Simplicity must be in the intention, purity in the affection. Simplicity aims at God, purity takes hold of him and tastes him. If you intend and seek nothing but the will of God and the prophet of thy neighbor, you shall enjoy eternal liberty.” Fr. Rob...

We live in a world that thrives on constant stimulation. Even a monk in Western Australia, like Fr. Robert Nixon, isn’t immune to the noise. “We've got, of course, many human and social distractions,” Fr. Nixon says. “And on top of this, there are a whole range of work demands, and then there's the whole electronic thing, which I guess as a monk I'm rather lucky to have to a much lesser extent to...

Sometimes what we perceive as the worst things in life turn out to be blessings. The Imitation of Christ addresses the benefits of adversity. "It is good for us to have sometimes troubles and adversities, for they make a man enter into himself that he may know that he is in a state of banishment and may not place his hopes in anything of this world. It is good that we sometimes suffer contradictio...

“Avoid worldly company, useless conversations, and those overflowings and attachments of the heart, which are neither regulated nor governed by the law of God. For all of these things dissipate the soul.” This admonition from The Imitation of Christ serves as a great reminder for all of us to train our minds and hearts on the most important things in life. Or, as Fr. Robert Nixon says, “We need th...

Fr. Robert Nixon begins The Commentaries with a self-examination on the virtue of humility. “It is often said that humility is the foundation of all the other virtues. And in trying to become who or more than what God created us to be, we actually end up becoming less than what we could be.” The following words of Thomas à Kempis in The Imitation of Christ drive home Fr. Nixon's point: "The more a...

Your guide for this Commentaries series on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB. Fr. Nixon is a Benedictine monk and Director of the Institute for Benedictine Studies at the Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity in New Norcia, Western Australia. At the age of 33, Fr. Nixon moved on from his career as a professional musician and dedicated his life to God. He is a world-class...