The Role of the Saints in The Imitation of Christ

            The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis is a spiritual classic, Theresa of Lisieux was especially fond of it.  A little noticed part of this text is the role that devotion to the saints plays in it.

            The chief things which Kempis says the saints help us to imitate Christ is to give us more examples which we can imitate and be consoled by.  Kempis often points to the examples of the saints, how they lived out the spiritual life, and instructs us to follow them.  Since they achieved holiness in a certain way, we can too by doing what they did.  An example: Kempis says we should try to receive Holy Communion as the saints did:

“With greatest devotion and ardent love, with all affection and fervor of heart I wish to receive You, O Lord, as many saints and devout persons, most pleasing to You in their holiness of life and most fervent in devotion, desired You in Holy Communion.  O my God, everlasting love, my final good, my happiness unending, I long to receive You with as strong a desire and as worthy a reverence as any of the saints ever had or could have felt” (IV.17).

            Kempis also routinely writes that the example of the saints is a consolation to us.  By this he means that, when we are discouraged by the trails of life and the difficulty of prayer, we can be encouraged by seeing these very same trials in the lives of the saints.  Kempis writes, “Do you think that you will always have spiritual consolations as you desire?  My Saints did not always have them.  Instead, they had many afflictions, temptations of various kinds, and great desolation.  Yet they bore them all patiently” (III.35, here Kempis is writing from the perspective of Christ speaking).  The saints faced the same trials, temptations, and difficulties as we face.  This teaches us that struggling is not incompatible with great holiness.  The saints fought the same battles we do, and they won their battles, and we can too. 

            The example of the saints has one additional specific benefit that Kempis mentions.  Namely, their example inspires us to seek greater holiness.  “Consider the lively examples set us by the Saints . . . they were given as an example for all religious, and their power to stimulate us to perfection ought to be greater than that of the lukewarm to tempt us to laxity” (I.18).  Later he says similarly, “Make the best of every opportunity so that if you see or hear good example you may be moved to imitate it” (I.25).  Hearing stories of heroes is inspiring, it makes us love our country or team more and thus work harder for our country or team.  The spiritual life is no different in this regard.  Hearing stories of great spiritual heroes (the saints) inspires us to seek holiness more.  At one point, Kempis applies this to our idea of the saints’ glory in heaven.  If we could understand their blessedness, how great heaven is, we would long for heaven more, “If you could see the everlasting crowns of the saints in heaven, and the great glory wherein they now rejoice – they who were once considered contemptible in this world and, as it were, unworthy of life itself – you would certainly humble yourself at once to the very earth, and seek to be subject to all rather than to commend even one” (III.47).  

            While some people claim that honoring the saints is idolatry because it seems to take honor away from God, Thomas Kempis insists on the opposite, that God is honored when we honor the saints. He presents these words as coming from the mouth of God:

“I am he who made all the saints.  I gave them grace.  I brought them to glory.  I know the merits of each of them. I came before them in the blessings of my sweetness. I knew my beloved ones before the ages. I chose them out of the world - they did not choose me. I called them by grace, I drew them on by mercy. I led them safely through various temptations. I poured into them glorious consolations. I gave them perseverance and I crowned their patience. I know the first and the last. I embrace them all with love inestimable. I am to be praised in all my Saints. I am to be blessed above all things, and honored in each of those whom I have exalted and predestined so gloriously without any previous merits of their own. He who despises one of the least of mine, therefore, does no honor to be greatest, for both the small and the great i made. And he who disparages one of the Saints disparages me also and all others in the Kingdom of heaven” (III.58, emphasis added).

Because it is only by God’s grace that the saints became saints, when we honor them we are praising the work of God, and all craftsmen loved to see their work honored.  Later, Kempis says that the saints also want God to be praised when other saints are honored, “[The Saints] desire above all things that [God] be praised in themselves and in all his Saints” (II.10).   

            Thomas Kempis does offer one note of correction about devotions toward the saints.  We should not be concerned with which saints are “better” than any others.  Instead, we should love them all and simply try to be holy by following their examples.  He writes, “Do not enquire or dispute about the merits of the Saints, as to which is more holy, or which shall be greater in the Kingdom of heaven. Such things often breed strife and useless contentions. They nourish pride and vainglory, whence arise envy and quarrels, when one proudly tries to exalt one state and the other another. A desire to know and pry into such matters brings forth no fruit. On the contrary, it displeases the Saints” (III.58).  He continues to give alternative ways to spend our time and energy, “The man who thinks of the greatness of his own sins and the littleness of his virtues, and of the distance between himself and the perfection of the saints, acts much more acceptably to God than the one who argues about who is greater or who is less.  It is better to invoke the Saints with devout prayers and tears, and with a humble mind to beg their glorious aid, than to search with vain inquisitiveness into their secrets” (III.58). 

          An interesting thing that Kempis points out is that our devotional practices towards the saints can teach us to adore Jesus in the Eucharist better.  He is specifically talking about how reverent we are with the relics of saints, with their bodies.  “Many people travel far to honor the relics of the Saints, marveling at their wonderful deeds and at the building of magnificent shrines. They gaze upon and kiss these sacred relics encased in silk and gold; and behold, you are here present before me on the altar, my God, Saints of Saints, creator of men, and Lord of angels” (IV.1).  If we show such honor to the dead bodies of the saints, how much more reverent should we be with the living Body of Christ, sacramentally present on the altar and in the tabernacle?  

         Thomas Kempis does comfort us if sometimes we do not feel especially devoted to the saints.  Such things occur at times in the spiritual life, just as in any human relationship at times we feel less friendly with our acquaintances.  “All is not lost, then, if you sometimes feel less devout than you wish toward [the] Saints” (III.6). 

         Finally, Kempis teaches that, since devotion towards the saints is such a valuable spiritual practice, the devil tries to hinder our devotions.  Kempis writes, “You must know that the old enemy tries by all means in his power to hinder your desire for good and to turn you from every devotional practice, especially from the veneration of the Saints” (III.6).  Instead, we should follow the advice of Thomas Kempis and pray to the saints often and fervently, and ponder their lives as examples for us.