Thomas á Kempis. The imitation of Christ. Book 2, chapter 8.

The intimate friendship of Jesus

When Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult. When he is absent, all is hard. When Jesus does not speak within, all other comfort is empty, but if he says only a word, it brings great consolation.

Did not Mary Magdalen rise at once from her weeping when Martha said to her: "The Master is come, and calls for you?" (John 11:28) Happy is the hour when Jesus calls one from tears to joy of spirit.

How dry and hard you are without Jesus! How foolish and vain if you desire anything but him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the whole world? For what, without Jesus, can the world give you? Life without him is a relentless hell, but living with him is a sweet paradise. If Jesus be with you, no enemy can harm you.

Whoever finds Jesus finds a rare treasure, indeed, a good above every good, whereas whoever loses him loses more than the whole world. Whoever lives without Jesus is the poorest of the poor, but no one is so rich as whoever lives in his grace.