What can the lay person learn from the life of a monk? Solitude and Silence are two pillars of monastic life that many people quickly point to as the hardest and most confusing parts of this kind of religious consecration. However, the great spiritual writer Thomas à Kempis, author of The Imitation of Christ, helps us to understand that all Christians are called to some solitude and silence in our lives while not taking on a complete eremitical life. He recommends the systematic and intentional incorporation of solitude and silence in a manner which is consistent with each one’s vocation and state of life. It is important for us to cultivate these two habits in order to enter into contemplation and conversation with God. This vision of God may also be experienced (to varying degrees) even in this world, through the grace of contemplative prayer. And silence and solitude are the hallowed doors through which one must pass to arrive at this delightful and serene state of holy contemplation.
Author
Thomas Hammerken (or Hammerlein—both mean "little hammer") / Thomas de Kempis / Thomas Hamerken von Kempen was born at Kempen (hence the "A Kempis") in the duchy of Cleves in Germany around 1380. He was educated by a religious order called the Brethren of the Common Life, and in due course joined the order, was ordained a priest, became sub-prior of his house (in the low Countries), and died 25 July 1471 (his feast is observed a day early to avoid conflict with that of James bar-Zebedee the Apostle). Thomas is known almost entirely for composing or compiling a manual of spiritual advice known as The Imitation of Christ, in which he urges the reader to seek to follow the example of Jesus Christ and to be conformed in all things to His will.
