In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul nor hope of everlasting life but in the cross. . .
Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life. . .
Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. . .
Realize that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live unto God.
Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book Two