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Devotio Moderna Movement

 


The Devotio Moderna was a personal piety movement that arose in the late 14th Century. It was an answer to the lack of personal devotions in the Roman Church which emphasized masses and very structured religious services. Perhaps the most profound literature of  The Devotio Moderna Movement was a book by Thomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. To date  it remains the second most read book after The Holy Bible. I myself became immersed in it, the Devotio Moderna’s radical piety and devotion to Christ seeing me through tumultuous years, acting as a raft that helped me make sense of my life and cope. 


I have since  become aware of the great danger of the Devotio Moderna Movement and The Imitation of Christ which is steeped in Monastic thought, and that Martin Luther had to be de-programmed from. The Devotio Moderna is being reborn inmoderb Protestant form via Radical, that is radical fundamentalism, which are Jesus Freaks who like the Templars at the Horns of Hattin wish to exemplar devotion on a radical level. The problem is that this monastic piety is impossible to sustain, in time you will burn out, as St. Peter did who walked with Jesus. Radicalism has the two pronged effect of giving you a superiority complex as a Christian, “I am all in for Jesus! Not like those lukewarm ones Jesus warns about in Revelation.” What comes next is the inevitable, you cannot keep devoted enough and when you stumble, when your devotion ebbs or sin makes you feel unable to call yourself a radical pietist, you give up and the second phase takes over, you feel guilt that you no longer are being as devoted, at full readiness to serve Jesus, and while you have not the energy or will to be Imitator of extreme devotion, your failure to do so eats at you inside, you feel you have failed Jesus. This how cults are, and The Devotio Moderna Movement is a piety cult of the Catholic Church. It is sinister, it worms in with “be all in for Jesus,”which sounds like “count all things lost but knowing Jesus,” (), except the context of that verse is Paul was sharing his pedigree in the Law and 33-100 A.D. Judaism, and that he is casting it off to know only Jesus instead of dead religion. So using that verse out of context is dangerous. 


The Truth is Jesus never meant being his disciple to be like Devotio Moderna, Monasticism, and The Imitation of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). That is who Jesus is, he gives you rest and his yoke is comfortable/easy, not heavy like the devotions of the Devotio Moderna Movement or other cults. Test any movement, group, and idea with Matthew 11:28-30. Then you will avoid the time I am having to spend removing the python coils of radical devotio piety that made following Jesus a heavy burden when it is not, following Jesus is light, restful, and easy. Amen. 


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