The Imitation of Christ

Only the Bible has been more influential as a source of Christian devotional reading thanThe Imitation of Christ. This meditation on the spiritual life has inspired readers from Thomas More and St. Ignatius Loyola to Thomas Merton and Pope John Paul I. Written by the Augustinian monk Thomas a Kempis between 1420 and 1427, it contains clear instructions for renouncing wordly vanities and locating eternal truths. No book has more explicitly and movingly described the Christian ideal: "My son, to the degree that you can leave yourself behind, to that degree will you be able to enter into Me." With a new Preface by Sally Cunneen, author ofIn Search of Mary: The Woman and the Symbol. "God is our home but many of us have strayed from our native land. The venerable authors of these Spiritual Classics are expert guides--may we follow their directions home." --Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Thomas à Kempis (ca. 1380-1471) was an Augustinian monk in the Netherlands during the pre-Reformation period.

Carl Anderson is the Supreme Knight and chief executive officer of the Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization with more than 1.7 million members. He is the author of Called to Love, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the New York Times bestseller A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World.

ABOUT THE VINTAGE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS

xi

(4)

John F. Thornton

Susan B. Varenne

PREFACE TO THE VINTAGE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS EDITION

xv

(12)

Sally Cunneen

INTRODUCTION

xxvii

(14)

Joseph N. Tylenda, S.J.

CHRONOLOGY OF THOMAS A KEMPIS

xli

BOOK I HELPFUL COUNSELS FOR THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

3

(44)

1 The Imitation of Christ and Contempt for the Vanities of the World

3

(1)

2 Having a Humble Opinion of One's Self

4

(1)

3 The Teaching of Truth

5

(3)

4 Prudence in Our Actions

8

(1)

5 Reading the Holy Scriptures

8

(1)

6 Disordered Affections

9

(1)

7 Avoiding Vain Hope and Self-Conceit

10

(1)

8 Guarding Against Too Much Familarity

11

(1)

9 Obedience and Submission

12

(1)

10 Guarding Against Unnecessary Speech

12

(1)

11 Achieving Peace and Acquiring Zeal for One's Spiritual Progress

13

(2)

12 The Uses of Adversity

15

(1)

13 How to Resist Temptation

16

(2)

14 Avoiding Hasty Judgments

18

(1)

15 Works Done with Charity

19

(1)

16 Bearing with One Another's Failings

20

(1)

17 The Monastic Life

21

(1)

18 The Examples of the Holy Fathers

22

(2)

19 The Exercises of a Good Religious

24

(2)

20 The Love of Silence and Solitude

26

(3)

21 Repentance of Heart

29

(2)

22 Reflection on Human Wretchedness

31

(2)

23 Meditation on Death

33

(3)

24 Judgment and Punishment for Sins

36

(3)

25 Earnestness in Amending Our Lives

39

(8)

BOOK II DIRECTIVES FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE

47

(26)

1 The Interior Life

47

(2)

2 Humble Submission

49

(1)

3 The Man Who Loves Peace

50

(1)

4 Simplicity of Purpose and Purity of Mind

51

(1)

5 The Need to Look at One's Self

52

(2)

6 The Joy of a Good Conscience

54

(1)

7 Loving Jesus Above All Else

55

(1)

8 Close Friends with Jesus

56

(2)

9 Lacking All Consolation

58

(3)

10 Being Thankful for God's Grace

61

(2)

11 The Few Who Love the Cross of Jesus

63

(2)

12 The Royal Road of the Holy Cross

65

(8)

BOOK III ON INTERIOR CONSOLATION

73

(106)

1 Christ Speaks Interiorly to the Faithful Soul

73

(1)

2 Truth Speaks Within Us Without the Strident Sound of Words

74

(1)

3 Listening to God's Words with Humility

75

(3)

4 Walking Before God in Truth and Humility

78

(2)

5 The Wonderful Effects of Divine Love

80

(2)

6 The Proof of a True Lover

82

(2)

7 Grace and Humility

84

(3)

8 Having a Low Opinion of One's Self

87

(1)

9 Referring All Things to God as to Their Last End

88

(1)

10 The Sweetness of Serving God

89

(2)

11 Examining and Controlling the Heart's Desires

91

(1)

12 Acquiring Patience and Conquering Concupiscence

92

(2)

13 Humble Obedience After the Example of Jesus Christ

94

(1)

14 Considering God's Secret Judgments and Not Becoming Proud Because of Our Good Works

95

(2)

15 How to Pray for What We Desire

97

(1)

16 True Consolation Is to Be Sought in God Alone

98

(1)

17 Placing All One's Cares on God

99

(1)

18 Bearing This Life's Trials with Patience After the Example of Christ

100

(2)

19 Bearing Injuries Is the Proof of True Patience

102

(2)

20 Acknowledging Our Weakness and the Miseries of This Life

104

(2)

21 We Must Rest in God Above All Other Good Gifts

106

(3)

22 Remembering God's Many Benefits to Us

109

(2)

23 Four Things That Bring Great Peace

111

(2)

24 Avoiding Curiosity About Other People's Lives

113

(1)

25 Where Certain Peace and True Progress Are to Be Found

114

(2)

26 The Excellence of a Free Mind That Comes More from Humble Prayer Than from Much Reading

116

(1)

27 Self-Love Keeps Us from Attaining Our Supreme Good

117

(2)

28 Against Slanderous Tongues

119

(1)

29 In Time of Trial Call upon God and Bless His Name

120

(1)

30 Asking God's Help and Being Confident of Regaining His Grace

121

(2)

31 Setting All Creatures Aside to Find the Creator

123

(2)

32 Self-Denial and the Renunciation of All Desire

125

(2)

33 Our Heart's Fickleness and the Focusing of Our Attention on God

127

(1)

34 God Is the Lover's Only Delight

128

(1)

35 There Is No Freedom from Temptation in This Life

129

(2)

36 Against the Vain Judgments of Men

131

(1)

37 Total Self-Surrender Means Full Freedom of Heart

132

(2)

38 Keeping Good Order in Our Actions and Having Recourse to God in Time of Danger

134

(1)

39 Not Becoming Overly Anxious in Our Affairs

135

(1)

40 Man Has No Goodness in Himself and Has No Reason for Boasting

136

(2)

41 Despising the World's Honors

138

(1)

42 Our Peace Does Not Depend on Men

138

(2)

43 Against Useless and Worldly Learning

140

(1)

44 Avoid Being Drawn into External Affairs

141

(1)

45 Not Everyone Should Be Believed and How Easy It Is to Offend by Words

142

(3)

46 When Men Direct Sharp Words Against You, Put Your Trust in God

145

(2)

47 Trials Must Be Endured to Gain Eternal Life

147

(1)

48 The Day of Eternity and the Trials of This Life

148

(3)

49 The Desire for Eternal Life and the Great Blessings Promised to Those Who Strive for It

151

(3)

50 The Desolate Man Should Place Himself in God's Hands

154

(3)

51 Performing Humble Tasks When Unable to Undertake Higher Ones

157

(1)

52 Man Deserves Chastisement and Not Consolation

158

(2)

53 God's Grace Is Not Granted to the Worldly Minded

160

(1)

54 The Contrary Inclinations of Nature and Grace

161

(4)

55 The Corruption of Nature and the Efficacy of Divine Grace

165

(2)

56 Self-Abnegation and Imitating Christ by the Way of the Cross

167

(2)

57 When You Commit Some Fault Do Not Yield to Depression

169

(2)

58 Not Delving into Sublime Matters Nor into God's Secret Judgments

171

(4)

59 Putting All Our Hope and Trust in God

175

(4)

BOOK IV ON THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

179

(38)

1 The Reverence with Which Christ Should Be Received

179

(4)

2 God's Great Goodness and Charity Are Manifest in This Sacrament

183

(3)

3 Benefits Coming from Frequent Communion

186

(2)

4 Many Are the Benefits Bestowed on Those Who Receive Communion Devoutly

188

(2)

5 The Dignity of the Blessed Sacrament and of the Priesthood

190

(2)

6 Preparation for Communion

192

(1)

7 An Examination of Conscience and the Purpose of Amendment

192

(3)

8 Christ's Offering on the Cross and the Resignation of Ourselves

195

(1)

9 Offering Ourselves and All We Have to God and Praying for Others

196

(2)

10 Holy Communion Ought Not to Be Readily Deferred

198

(3)

11 The Body of Christ and the Holy Scriptures Are Especially Necessary to the Faithful Soul

201

(3)

12 Receiving Christ in Holy Communion Demands Diligent Preparation

204

(2)

13 The Devout Soul Desires to Be United to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament

206

(1)

14 The Ardent Desire of Some Devout Persons to Receive the Body of Christ

207

(1)

15 The Grace of Devotion Is Won by Humility and Self-Denial

208

(2)

16 Placing Our Needs Before Christ and Asking His Grace

210

(1)

17 The Burning Love and Overwhelming Desire to Receive Christ

211

(2)

18 Not Scrutinizing This Sacrament out of Mere Curiosity but Being a Humble Imitator of Christ and Subjecting the Evidence of Our Senses to the Holy Faith

213

(4)

NOTES

217

(20)

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

237

(2)

INDEX

239

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The Imitation of Christ

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials