Tips on how to maintain your friendship with Jesus

In the spiritual pathway, The Way of the Heart, we are more closely united to Jesus, drawn more deeply into our friendship with him. However, it is not always easy to maintain that friendship, and we need all the help we can get. For over 500 years numerous souls have found help in this regard in a spiritual classic entitled The Imitation of Christ. It was written by a German priest named Thomas à Kempis and contains timeless wisdom that can be followed in any age and culture. The book proved to be a major influence in the life of St. Thomas More, Dorothy Day and St. Ignatius Loyola. It was a book that Ignatius returned to time and time again. Here are a few quotes from The Imitation of Christ. See these words as stepping stones in the Way of the Heart, leading us closer to Jesus. Which of these words speak to your heart?

“It is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus, and great wisdom to know how to keep Him. Be humble and peaceful, and Jesus will be with you. Be devout and calm, and He will remain with you. You must bring to God a clean and open heart if you wish to attend and see how sweet the Lord is. Truly you will never attain this happiness unless His grace prepares you and draws you on so that you may forsake all things to be united with Him alone. Calmly await the will of God and bear whatever befalls him in praise of Jesus Christ, for after winter comes summer, after night, the day, and after the storm, a great calm.”

These remind to seek God within the silence of our hearts, knowing that his presence is always with us.