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← The Imitation of Christ/Book 2 · Counsels on the Inner Life
Chapter 12Imit.2.12

De regia via sanctæ crucis.

The Call to the Cross and the Day of Judgment

The hard saying of the cross is set alongside the far harder sentence of eternal judgment, and those who now embrace the cross will stand with confidence when Christ comes to judge.

This teaching sounds hard to many people. "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus."✦ But far harder it will be to hear that final word: "Depart from me, all you accursed, into the eternal fire."✦ For those who now gladly hear the word of the cross and follow it will not then fear hearing the sentence of eternal damnation. This sign of the cross will be in heaven when the Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who have conformed themselves to the Crucified in life, will approach Christ the Judge with great confidence.

The Cross as the Only Way to Life

The cross is declared to be the sole source of salvation, life, protection, strength, joy, virtue, and holiness, and Christ's own carrying of the cross is held up as the pattern for the disciple.

So why are you afraid to take up the cross, when it's the way to the Kingdom? In the cross is salvation. In the cross is life. In the cross is protection from enemies. In the cross is strength of mind. In the cross is joy of the spirit. In the cross is the highest virtue. In the cross is the perfection of holiness. There is no salvation for the soul, and no hope of eternal life, except in the cross. Take up the cross, then, and follow Jesus, and you will enter into eternal life. He went before you, carrying his own cross, and died for you on the cross, so that you too would carry the cross and long to die on it.✦1 For if you have died with him in the cross, you will also live with him as an equal; and if you have been a companion in suffering, you will also be a companion in glory.✦

The Inescapability of the Cross

Whether one walks above or below, within or without, the cross is always present; suffering in body or soul is unavoidable, and God permits it so that we may learn surrender and humility.

See, everything depends on the cross, and there is no other way to life, and to true and inner peace, except the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. Walk wherever you wish, seek whatever you desire, and you'll find no higher way above, nor a safer one below, except the way of the holy cross. Arrange and order everything according to your own will and judgment, and you'll find that you must always suffer something, whether willingly or unwillingly — and so you'll always find the cross.2 For either you'll feel pain in the body, or you'll endure tribulation of spirit in the soul. At times God leaves you alone; at times your neighbor puts you to the test; and what's more, you will often be a burden to yourself.3 And yet no remedy or consolation can free or relieve you — you must endure until God wills otherwise.4 For God wants you to learn to suffer tribulation without consolation, to surrender yourself wholly to him, and to grow more humble through tribulation.5 No one feels the passion of Christ as deeply as someone who has suffered similar things.6 The cross, then, is always ready and awaits you everywhere. You cannot flee it wherever you run, because wherever you go you carry yourself with you, and you will always find yourself. Turn yourself above, turn yourself below, turn yourself outside and within — in every direction you will find the cross. And wherever you are, you must hold fast to patience if you wish to have inner peace and to merit an everlasting crown.7

Carrying the Cross Willingly or Unwillingly

A willing cross carries the disciple to the end of suffering, but an unwilling cross only adds to the burden, and putting down one cross leads only to finding another, perhaps heavier.

If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry you, and it will lead you to the desired end — namely, the place where suffering will finally come to an end. If you carry it unwillingly, you're making the burden your own and weighing yourself down all the more — and yet you still have to endure it. If you put down one cross, you'll undoubtedly find another — and perhaps a heavier one.

Christ's Own Life as the Royal Road of the Cross

No saint and not even Christ himself lived without the cross; Christ's whole life was suffering, and the more one progresses spiritually, the heavier the crosses become through love.

Do you really think you can escape what no mortal has ever been able to avoid? Which of the saints in this world ever lived without the cross and tribulation? Not even our Lord Jesus Christ went a single hour without the pain of suffering for as long as he lived.8 "It was necessary," however, "for Christ to suffer and rise from the dead, and so to enter into his glory."✦910 And how is it that you seek another way than this royal road, which is the way of the holy cross?11 Christ's whole life was a cross and a martyrdom, and you seek rest and joy for yourself? You're wrong, you're wrong, if you seek anything other than to suffer tribulations, because this whole mortal life is full of miseries and hemmed in on every side by crosses. And the more deeply anyone has progressed in spirit, the heavier crosses will he often find, because the punishment of his exile grows all the more from love.

Consolation Found in the Midst of Tribulation

The afflicted soul is not without relief, for tribulation borne willingly becomes divine consolation, the spirit grows stronger as the flesh is worn down, and grace empowers the soul to embrace what nature flees.

But even one afflicted in so many ways is not without the relief of consolation, because he perceives that great fruit is growing for him out of the suffering of his own cross. One who does not yet willingly submit to it finds that every burden of tribulation is transformed into confidence in divine consolation. And the more the flesh is worn down through tribulation, the more the spirit is strengthened through inner consolation. And sometimes one is so strengthened by the experience of tribulation and adversity—out of love for conformity to the cross of Christ—that one would not wish to be without pain and tribulation, since the more harsh and grievous things one can bear for him, the more acceptable one renders oneself to God. This is not the strength of man, but the grace of Christ, which is so powerful and works in frail flesh, that what by nature it always shrinks from and flees, the fervor of the spirit may undertake and love.

Human Frailty and the Need for Divine Strength

It is beyond human nature to love the cross, discipline the body, and endure insults, but trust in the Lord brings heavenly strength that subdues the world, the flesh, and the devil.

It's not in human nature to carry the cross, to love the cross, to discipline the body and bring it into servitude, to flee honors, to endure insults willingly, to despise yourself and wish to be despised, to suffer whatever hardships come with loss, and to want nothing of this world's prosperity.✦✦1213 If you look at yourself, you'll find you can do none of this on your own.✦✦14 But if you trust in the Lord, strength will be given you from heaven, and the world and the flesh will be brought under your control — and you won't even fear the hostile devil, if you're armed with faith and marked with the cross of Jesus.✦✦✦1516

The Exhortation to Drink the Cup of the Lord

The faithful servant is called to carry the cross courageously, to endure tribulations as the greatest consolations, to entrust comfort to God, and to count present sufferings as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed.

So place yourself, as a faithful and good servant of Christ, to carry the cross of your Lord courageously, for love of the Crucified. Prepare yourself to endure many hardships and various troubles in this wretched life, because that is how he will be with you wherever you go, and that is how you will truly find him, wherever you may hide. This is how you must be, and there is no way to escape the tribulation of evils and grief except by enduring them yourself. Drink eagerly from the cup of the Lord, if you wish to be his friend and to share in his portion.✦ Entrust your consolations to God; let him deal with such people as he himself sees fit. But as for you, set yourself to endure tribulations, and count them as the greatest consolations, because "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" — a glory to be merited, even if you alone could endure them all.✦17

When Tribulation Becomes Sweet

When suffering is tasted as sweet for Christ's sake, one has found paradise on earth, but as long as it is fled, tribulations pursue the soul wherever it goes.

When you reach the point where tribulation is sweet to you and tastes good for Christ's sake, then consider yourself well off, because you have found paradise on earth.18 As long as suffering feels like a burden to you and you look for ways to escape, you will fare badly, and tribulations will follow you wherever you go.19

The Universality of Suffering for Those Who Love God

Even Paul's rapture to the third heaven did not exempt him from suffering, and Jesus himself declared that his servants must suffer; thus suffering remains for all who truly love and serve God.

If you commit yourself to what you ought to be — namely, to suffering and dying — things will quickly go better, and you'll find peace. Even if you were caught up into the third heaven with Paul, you're not on that account free from having to endure any evil.✦ "I," Jesus says, "will show him how much he must suffer for my name."✦ Suffering, then, remains for you — if you desire to love God and to serve him unceasingly.

The Glory of Suffering for Christ's Name

To suffer for the name of Jesus is a great glory and joy to the saints and an encouragement to one's neighbor, and one ought to suffer a little for Christ since many endure far more for the world.

If only you were worthy to suffer something for the name of Jesus — how great a glory would be waiting for you, how great a joy for all the saints of God, how great an encouragement it would be for your neighbor! Everyone speaks well of patience, though few actually want to suffer. You rightly ought to suffer a little for Christ, since many endure far heavier things for the world.

Dying to Self in Order to Live to God

As long as we are dying we must live, and the more we die to ourselves the more we live to God; no one grasps heavenly things without submitting to hardship, and nothing is more acceptable to God than willing suffering for Christ.

Know for certain that as long as you are dying, you must lead your life. And the more each person dies to himself, the more he begins to live to God. No one is fit to grasp heavenly things unless he has submitted himself to bearing hardship for Christ.20 Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more wholesome for you in this world, than to suffer willingly for Christ. And if you were given the choice, you ought to prefer suffering hardship for Christ over being refreshed by many consolations, because then you would be more like Christ and more conformed to all the saints.21 For our merit and the progress of our state do not rest in many pleasures and consolations, but rather in enduring great hardships and tribulations.2223

Christ's Own Testimony: The Final Word

If anything better than suffering existed for salvation, Christ would have shown it; instead, he clearly taught that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations.

If there had been something better and more useful to the salvation of humanity than suffering, Christ surely would have shown it by his word and his example. For he clearly exhorts his disciples who were following him, and all who desired to follow him, to carry the cross, saying: "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his own cross, and follow me."✦24 So after everything has been read through and examined, let this be the final conclusion: "We must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations."✦25 Amen.

Read the original Latin

Durus hic multis videtur sermo. Abnego temet ipsum, tolle crucem tuam et sequere Jesum. Sed multo durius erit audire illud extremum verbum: Discedite a me, omnes maledicti, in ignem æternum. Qui enim modo libenter audiunt verbum crucis, et sequuntur, tunc non timebunt ab auditione æternæ damnationis. Hoc signum crucis erit in cælo, cum Dominus ad judicandum venerit. Tunc omnes servi crucis, qui se Crucifixo conformaverunt in vita, ad Christum accedent judicem cum magna fiducia.

Quid igitur times tollere crucem, per quam itur ad Regnum? In cruce salus. In cruce vita. In cruce protectio ab hostibus. In cruce robur mentis. In cruce gaudium spiritus. In cruce virtus summa. In cruce perfectio sanctitatis. Non est salus animæ, nec spes æternæ vitæ, nisi in cruce. Tolle ergo crucem et sequere Jesum, et ibis in vitam æternam. Præcessit ille bajulans sibi crucem, et mortuus est pro te in cruce, ut tu etiam portes crucem, et mori affectes in cruce. Quia, si commortuus fueris in cruce, etiam cum illo pariter vives, et si socius fueris pœnæ, socius eris et gloriæ.

Ecce in cruce totum jacet, et non est alia via ad vitam, et ad veram et internam pacem, nisi via sanctæ crucis, et quotidianæ mortificationis. Ambula ubi vis, quære quodcumque volueris, et non invenies altiorem viam supra, nec securiorem infra, nisi viam sanctæ crucis. Dispone et ordina omnia secundum velle tuum et videre, et non invenies, nisi semper aliquid pati debere aut sponte aut invite et ita crucem semper invenies. Aut enim in corpore dolorem senties, aut in anima spiritus tribulationem sustinebis.

Interdum a Deo relinqueris, interdum a proximo exercitaberis, et quod amplius est sæpe tibimetipsi gravis eris. Nec tamen aliquo remedio vel solatio liberari seu alleviari poteris, sed donec Deus voluerit, oportet ut sustineas. Vult enim Deus ut tribulationem sine consolatione discas pati, et illi totaliter te subjicias et humilior ex tribulatione fias. Nemo ita cordialiter sentit passionem Christi, sicut is cui contigerit similia pati. Crux igitur semper parata est, et ubique te exspectat. Non potes effugere ubicumque cucurreris, quia ubicumque veneris, temetipsum tecum portas, et semper te ipsum invenies. Converte te supra, converte te infra, converte te extra et intra, et in his omnibus invenies crucem, et necesse est te ubicumque tenere patientiam, si internam vis habere pacem et perpetuam promereri coronam.

Si libenter crucem portas, portabit te, et deducet te ad desideratum finem, ubi scilicet finis patiendi erit. Si invite portas, onus tibi facis, et te ipsum magis gravas, et tamen oportet ut sustineas. Si abjicis unam crucem, aliam proculdubio invenies, et forsitan graviorem.

Credis tu evadere, quod nemo mortalium potuit præterire? Quis Sanctorum in mundo sine cruce et tribulatione fuit? Nec enim Dominus noster Jesus Christus una hora sine dolore passionis fuit, quamdiu vixit. Opertebat autem Christum pati, et resurgere a mortuis, et ita intrare in gloriam suam. Et quomodo tu aliam viam crucem quæris, quam hanc regiam, quæ est via sanctæ crucis.

Tota vita Christi crux fuit, et martyrium, et tu tibi quæris requiem, et gaudium? Erras, erras si aliud quæris quam pati tribulationes, quia tota ista vita mortalis plena est miseriis, et circumsignata crucibus. Et quanto quis altius in spiritu profecerit, tanto graviores cruces sæpe inveniet, quia exilii sui pœna magis ex amore crescit.

Sed tamen iste sic multipliciter afflictus, non est sine levamine consolationis, quia fructum magnum sibi sentit accrescere ex sufferentia suæ crucis. Nondum sponte illi se subjicit, omne onus tribulationis in fiduciam divinæ consolationis convertitur. Et quanto caro magis per tribulationem atteritur, tanto amplius spiritus per internam consolationem roboratur. Et nonnunquam in tantum confortatur ex affectu tribulationis, et adversitatis ob amorem conformitatis crucis Christi, ut non sine dolore, et tribulatione esse vellet, quoniam se tantum acceptiorem Deo reddit, quanto dura, et graviora plura pro eo ferre poterit. Non est istud virtus hominis, sed gratia Christi, quæ tanta potest, et agit in carne fragili, ut quod naturaliter semper abhorret et fugit, hoc fervore spiritus aggrediatur et diligat.

Non est secundum hominem crucem portare, crucem amare, corpus castigare, et servituti subjicere, honores fugere, contumelias libenter sustinere, se ipsum despicere, et despici optare, adversa quæquæ cum damnis perpeti, et nihil prosperitatis in hoc mundo desiderare. Si ad te ipsum respicis, nihil hujusmodi ex te poteris. Sed si in Domino confidis, dabitur tibi fortitudo de cælo, et subjicientur ditioni tuæ mundus et caro, sed nec inimicum diabolum timebis, si fueris fide armatus, et cruce Jesu signatus.

Pone ergo te sicut fidelis et bonus servus Christi ad portandum viriliter crucem Domini tui pro te ex amore crucifixi. Præpara te ad toleranda multa adversa, et varia incommoda in hac misera vita, quia sic tecum erit ubicumque, et sic revera eum invenies ubicumque latueris. Oportet te ita esse, et non est remedium evadendi a tribulatione malorum, et dolore, quam ut te patiaris. Calicem Domini affectanter bibe, si amicus ejus esse, et partem cum eo habere desideras. Consolationes Deo committe, faciat ipse cum talibus sicut sibi magis placuerit. Tu vero pone te ad sustinendum tribulatones, et reputa eas maximas consolationes, quia non sunt condignæ passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, quæ revelabitur in nobis, promerendam, etiam si omnes solus posses sustinere.

Quando ad hoc veneris, quod tribulatio tibi dulcis erit et sapiet pro Christo, tunc bene tecum esse æstima, quia invenisti paradisum in terra. Quamdiu tibi pati grave est et fugere quæris, tamdiu male habebis, et sequentur te ubique tribulationes.

Si ponis te ad quod esse debes, videlicet ad patiendum, et moriendum, fiet cito melius, et pacem invenies. Etiamsi raptus fueris in tertium cælum cum Paulo, non es propterea securus de nullo malo sustinendo. Ego, inquit Jesus, ostendam illi quanta oporteat eum pro nomine meo pati. Pati ergo tibi remanet, si Deum diligere, et perpetue illi servire placeat.

Utinam dignus esses, pro nomine Jesu aliqud pati, quam magna gloria remaneret tibi, quanta exultatio omnibus Sanctis Dei, quanta ædificatio esset proximi. Nam patientiam omnes commendant, quamvis pauci pati velint. Merito deberes modicum pati pro Christo, cum multi graviora patiantur pro mundo.

Scias pro certo, quia morientem te oportet ducere vitam. Et quanto unusquisque plus sibi moritur, tanto Deo magis vivere incipit. Nemo aptus est ad comprehendendum cælestia, nisi se submiserit ad portandum pro Christo adversa. Nihil Deo acceptius, nihil tibi salubrius in mundo isto, quam libenter pati pro Christo. Et si eligendum tibi esset, magis optare deberes pro Christo adversa pati, quam multis consolationibus recreari, quia Christo similior esses, et omnibus Sanctis conformior. Non enim stat meritum nostrum et profectus status nostri in multis sensualitatibus, et consolationibus, sed potius in magnis gravitatibus et tribulationibus perferendis.

Si quidem aliquid melius et utilius saluti hominum quam pati fuisset, Christus utique verbo et exemplo ostendisset. Nam et se sequentes discipulos omnesque eum sequi cupientes, manifeste ad crucem portandam hortatur, et dicit: Si quis vult venire post me, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me. Omnibus ergo perlectis et scrutatis sit ista finalis conclusio: quoniam per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Matt.16.24 — Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
  2. ↩Matt.25.41 — Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'
  3. ↩John.19.17 — Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
  4. ↩Rom.6.8;2Tim.2.11 — Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 2Tim.2.11 — This saying is trustworthy: For if we died with him, we will also live with him;
  5. ↩Luke.24.26 — Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?
  6. ↩Matt.16.24 — Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
  7. ↩Gal.5.24 — And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
  8. ↩John.15.5 — I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.
  9. ↩2Cor.3.5 — Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God.
  10. ↩Phil.4.13 — I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
  11. ↩Eph.6.16 — In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
  12. ↩Gal.6.14 — But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
  13. ↩Matt.20.22-Matt.20.23;Mark.10.38-Mark.10.39 — But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." Matt.20.23 — He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant; it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." Mark.10.38 — But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am being baptized?" Mark.10.39 — "We can," they said to him. But Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized with."
  14. ↩Rom.8.18 — For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.
  15. ↩2Cor.12.2 — I know a person in Christ fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
  16. ↩Acts.9.16 — For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake.
  17. ↩Matt.16.24 — Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
  18. ↩Acts.14.22 — strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to remain in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩affectes rendered as 'long to die' to capture the devotional desire (affectio as heart's desire) rather than mere willingness.
  2. 2 ↩The phrase 'et videre' is ambiguous in the source: it can be read as an infinitive ('and to see') coordinated with 'velle,' or as a passive form ('and to be seen / and you are seen'). The translation follows the more natural reading 'according to your own will and judgment,' taking 'videre' as parallel to 'velle' in the sense of one's own perception or choosing. A reviewer may wish to confirm the intended syntax.
  3. 3 ↩The explicative quod amplius est ('and what is more') marks a climactic addition, not merely a list item.
  4. 4 ↩Nec tamen ('and not nevertheless') is rendered as 'and yet' to capture the concessive force. Sed introduces the adversative turn: 'but must endure.'
  5. 5 ↩Enim ('for') grounds the preceding sentence in God's purpose. The two et clauses are purpose/result clauses under ut.
  6. 6 ↩Cordialiter rendered as 'deeply'/'heartily' to capture the interior, felt quality of the Latin.
  7. 7 ↩The triple imperative converte te ('turn yourself') is preserved as a rhetorical anaphora. The final si clause states the condition for peace and the crown.
  8. 8 ↩Nec enim rendered as 'Not even' to capture the negative-additive force of nec combined with the explanatory enim.
  9. 9 ↩The italicized span is a direct quotation echoing Luke 24:26, 46 (Vulgate: 'Oportebat Christum pati et resurgere a mortuis...'). Candidate scripture allusion pending Moses resolution.
  10. 10 ↩autem rendered as 'however' to mark the continuative-adversative force after the quotation.
  11. 11 ↩viam crucem rendered as 'way' with 'cross' absorbed into the sense of 'royal road' and 'way of the holy cross' to avoid awkward repetition while preserving the double sense of via as both path and cross-bearing.
  12. 12 ↩secundum hominem: 'according to man' / 'in human nature' — rendered to convey that these acts exceed natural human capacity, not merely that they are uncommon.
  13. 13 ↩servituti subjicere: 'subject to servitude' preserves the strong ascetic sense of placing oneself under bondage; 'submit to slavery' would be more literal but risks anachronistic connotation.
  14. 14 ↩nihil hujusmodi ex te poteris: 'you will be able nothing of this kind from yourself' — the ex te ('from yourself') stresses the insufficiency of human power apart from grace.
  15. 15 ↩subjicientur ditioni tuæ mundus et caro: 'the world and the flesh will be brought under your control' — ditioni ('under your dominion/power') is passive; the sense is that these forces are subjected to the believer by God's power, not by the believer's own effort.
  16. 16 ↩fide armatus, et cruce Jesu signatus: 'armed with faith and marked with the cross of Jesus' — preserves the military and sacramental imagery; signatus may echo the sign of the cross made in baptism.
  17. 17 ↩Quoted span is Romans 8:18 (Vulgate: non sunt condignae passiones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam quae revelabitur in nobis).
  18. 18 ↩sapiet (from sapio) rendered 'tastes good' to capture the sensory metaphor of tribulation acquiring a pleasing flavor for Christ's sake.
  19. 19 ↩male habebis rendered 'you'll fare badly' to preserve the idiomatic force of the Latin while keeping natural contemporary English.
  20. 20 ↩adversa rendered as 'hardship' rather than 'adverse things' to capture the concrete sense of sufferings/trials.
  21. 21 ↩adversa rendered as 'hardship' (cf. s3 above) for consistency within the section.
  22. 22 ↩sensualitatibus rendered as 'pleasures' — the term here carries the sense of sensory/physical comforts and indulgences rather than strictly 'sensualities' in the modern English sense.
  23. 23 ↩gravitatibus rendered as 'hardships' to capture the weight and severity of the trials in view.
  24. 24 ↩Quotation from Matthew 16:24 (Vulgate). The italic span marks the quoted scripture.
  25. 25 ↩Quotation from Acts 14:22 (Vulgate). The italic span marks the quoted scripture.