examination of the heart 410 was lamenting and loudly complaining that he, who was the Bishop’s minister at the altar, was not his companion in the torments.195 O true Christian spirit and soul! This is what it truly means to follow Christ: not omitting any occasion to suffer for Him, but fervently wanting to carry the Cross. As for you, be ashamed, because you are so delicate that you flee from the smallest mortification and bear even slightly unkind words with a wrinkled forehead and much grumbling, both outward and inward. O you, admirable follower of Christ! What would you do if subjected to scourges? Or are you simply ignorant of the fact that the way to Heaven is accessible only through thorns? 3. “Let him follow [M]e” (Jn 12:26). Consider that for those who are to follow Christ, the greatest impediments are wealth, friends, and whatever is loved besides God. Hence, He said to the young man striving after perfection and wishing to attain eternal life: “Sell all, … and follow [M]e” (cf. Mt 19:21). Hence, it is clear that nobody can truly follow Christ, unless he is free, poor, and naked. Just as baggage weighs down travelers and slows down their journey, thus, temporal goods, worldly matters, and love of the world greatly burden those who follow Christ and do not permit them to reach Him. Why then do you wonder that Laurence hastened cheerfully through the flames to eternal glory? He was naked, did not possess anything, and had distributed everything to the poor, before he made himself ready for the way of the cross.196 195 Cf. Ambrosius, De officiis, in: Opera Omnia IV, Romae 1582, p. 24 (Bk. I, Ch. 41). [Hereafter De Officiis will be abbreviated as ADO.] 196 Cf. ADO, pp. 46-47 (Bk. II, Ch. 28).
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