The Imitation of Christ - Documenta Catholica Omnia

1 The Imitation of ChristbyThomas, KempisAbout The Imitation of Christ by Thomas, KempisThe Imitation of ChristTitle: :Thomas, Kempis, 1380-1471 Author(s):Wheaton, IL: Christian Classics Ethereal LibraryPublisher:For five hundred years, this gentle book, filled with the spirit of thelove of God, has brought understanding and comfort to millions ofDescription:readers in over fifty languages, and provided them with a source ofheart-felt personal prayer. These meditations on the life and teachingsof Jesus, written in times even more troubled and dangerous thanour own, have become second only to the Bible as a guide is now available in a MODERN TRANSLATION that retains theflavor of the original English 1400 First Published:This book had been published in over 6000 editions by 1900 -- morethan one per month for 500 years. It has been called themost-published of all books other than the History:Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1949, Basis:Public DomainRights:1998-12-10 Date Created:Preliminary released version has been proofread and is pretty and scripture references have been marked, but only tokenStatus:index entries added.

2 Uses a preliminary version of ThML; subject copyright renewal search did not find record of copyright renewalfor the source edition of this Comments:Unambiguous end-of-line hyphens Comments:whp (Transcriber)Contributor(s):All; Classic; Mysticism; ProofedCCEL Subjects:BV4821 .A1LC Call no:Practical theologyLC Subjects:Practical religion. The Christian lifeWorks of meditation and devotionTable of Contentsp. iiAbout This Book..p. 1 Title Page..p. 3 Foreword..p. 4 Thoughts Helpful in the Life of the Soul..p. 4 Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth..p. 5 Having a Humble Opinion of Self..p. 5 The Doctrine of Truth..p. 7 Prudence in Action..p. 7 Reading the Holy Scripture..p. 7 Unbridled Affections..p. 8 Avoiding False Hope and Pride..p. 8 Shunning Over-Familiarity..p. 9 Obedience and Subjection..p. 9 Avoiding Idle Talk.

3 P. 10 Acquiring Peace and Zeal for Perfection..p. 11 The Value of Adversity..p. 11 Resisting Temptation..p. 12 Avoiding Rash Judgment..p. 13 Works Done in Charity..p. 14 Bearing with the Faults of Others..p. 14 Monastic Life..p. 15 The Example Set Us by the Holy Fathers..p. 16 The Practices of a Good Religious..p. 17 The Love of Solitude and Silence..p. 19 Sorrow of Heart..p. 20 Thoughts on the Misery of Man..p. 21 Thoughts on Death..p. 22 Judgment and the Punishment of Sin..p. 24 Zeal in Amending our Lives..p. 27 The Interior Life..p. 27 Meditation..p. 28 Humility..p. 29 Goodness and Peace in Man..p. 30 Purity of Mind and Unity of Purpose..p. 30 Ourselves..iiiThomas, KempisThe Imitation of Christp. 31 The Joy of a Good Conscience..p. 32 Loving Jesus Above All Things..p. 32 The Intimate Friendship of Jesus.

4 P. 33 Wanting No Share in Comfort..p. 35 Appreciating God's Grace..p. 36 Few Love the Cross of Jesus..p. 37 The Royal Road of the Holy Cross..p. 40 Internal Consolation..p. 40 The Inward Conversation of Christ with the Faithful Soul..p. 40 Truth Speaks Inwardly Without the Sound of Words..p. 41 Listen Humbly to the Words of God. Many Do Not Heed Them..p. 43We Must Walk Before God in Humility and Truth..p. 44 The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love..p. 45 The Proving of a True Lover..p. 46 Grace Must Be Hidden Under the Mantle of Humility..p. 48 Self-Abasement in the Sight of God..p. 48 All Things should be Referred to God as their Last End..p. 49To Despise the World and Serve God is Sweet..p. 50 The Longings of our Hearts Must be Examined and Moderated..p. 51 Acquiring Patience in the Fight Against Concupiscence..p. 52 The Obedience of One Humbly Subject to the Example of JesusChrist.

5 P. 53 Consider the Hidden Judgments of God Lest You Become Proud of YourOwn Good Deeds..p. 54 How One Should Feel and Speak on Every Desirable Thing..p. 54 True Comfort Is to Be Sought in God Alone..p. 55 All Our Care is to Be Placed in God..p. 56 Temporal Sufferings Should Be Borne Patiently, After the Example ofChrist..p. 57 True Patience in Suffering..p. 58 Confessing Our Weakness in the Miseries of Life..p. 59 Above All Goods and All Gifts We Must Rest in God..p. 60 Remember the Innumerable Gifts of God..p. 61 Four Things Which Bring Great Peace..p. 63 Avoiding Curious Inquiry About the Lives of Others..p. 63 The Basis of Firm Peace of Heart and True Progress..p. 64 The Excellence of a Free Mind, Gained Through Prayer Rather Than ByStudy..p. 65 Self-Love is the Greatest Hindrance to the Highest Good..p. 66 Strength Against Slander.

6 IvThomas, KempisThe Imitation of Christp. 67 How We Must Call Upon and Bless the Lord When Trouble Presses..p. 67 The Quest of Divine Help and Confidence in Regaining Grace..p. 68To Find the Creator, Forsake All Creatures..p. 70 Self-Denial and the Renunciation of Evil Appetites..p. 70 Restlessness of Soul Directing Our Final Intention Toward God..p. 71 God is Sweet Above All Things and in All Things to Those Who LoveHim..p. 72 There is No Security from Temptation in This Life..p. 73 The Vain Judgments of Men..p. 74 Pure and Entire Resignation of Self to Obtain Freedom of Heart..p. 75 The Right Ordering of External Affairs; Recourse to God in Dangers..p. 75A Man Should Not Be Unduly Solicitous About His Affairs..p. 76 Man Has No Good in Himself and Can Glory in Nothing..p. 77 Contempt for All Earthly Honor..p. 78 Peace is Not to Be Placed in Men.

7 P. 78 Beware Vain and Worldly Knowledge..p. 79Do Not Be Concerned About Outward Things..p. 80 All Men Are Not to Be Believed, for It Is Easy to Err in Speech..p. 81 Trust in God Against Slander..p. 82 Every Trial Must Be Borne for the Sake of Eternal Life..p. 83 The Day of Eternity and the Distresses of This Life..p. 84 The Desire of Eternal Life; the Great Rewards Promised to Those WhoStruggle..p. 86 How a Desolate Person Ought to Commit Himself Into the Hands ofGod..p. 87 When We Cannot Attain to the Highest, We Must Practice the HumbleWorks..p. 88A Man Ought Not to Consider Himself Worthy of Consolation, But RatherDeserving of Chastisement..p. 89 God's Grace Is Not Given to the Earthly Minded..p. 90 The Different Motions of Nature and Grace..p. 92 The Corruption of Nature and the Efficacy of Divine Grace.

8 P. 93We Ought to Deny Ourselves and Imitate Christ Through Bearing theCross..p. 94A Man Should Not Be Too Downcast When He Falls Into Defects..p. 95 High Matters and the Hidden Judgments of God Are Not to BeScrutinized..p. 97 All Hope and Trust Are to Be Fixed In God Alone..p. 99An Invitation to Holy Communion..p. 99 The Great Reverence With Which We Should Receive Christ ..vThomas, KempisThe Imitation of Christp. 101 God's Great Goodness and Love is Shown to Man in ThisSacrament..p. 103It Is Profitable to Receive Communion Often..p. 104 Many Blessings Are Given Those Who Receive Communion Worthily..p. 105 The Dignity of the Sacrament and of the Priesthood..p. 106An Inquiry on the Proper Thing to Do Before Communion..p. 107 The Examination of Conscience and the Resolution to Amend..p. 108 The Offering of Christ on the Cross; Our Offering.

9 P. 109We Should Offer Ourselves and All That We Have to God, Praying forAll..p. 110Do Not Lightly Forego Holy Communion..p. 111 The Body of Christ and Sacred Scripture Are Most Necessary to a FaithfulSoul..p. 113 The communicant Should Prepare Himself for Christ with Great Care..p. 114 With All Her Heart the Devout Soul Should Desire Union with Christ in theSacrament..p. 115 The Ardent Longing of Devout Men for the Body of Christ ..p. 116 The Grace of Devotion is Acquired Through Humility and Self-Denial..p. 117We Should Show Our Needs to Christ and Ask His Grace..p. 117 The Burning Love and Strong Desire to Receive Christ ..p. 118 Man Should Not Scrutinize This Sacrament in Curiosity, But Humbly ImitateChrist and Submit Reason to Holy Faith..p. 120 Indexes..p. 120 Subject Index..p. 120 Index of Scripture References..p. 121 Index of Names.

10 P. 121 Index of Pages of the Print Edition..viThomas, KempisThe Imitation of Christiii THE IMITATIONOF Christ BYThomas Kempis TRANSLATED FROMTHE LATIN INTOMODERN ENGLISH THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY MILWAUKEET homas, KempisThe Imitation of ChristivNihil obstat: H. B. Ries, Censor liborumImprimatur: +Moyses E. Kiley, Archiepiscopus MilwaukiensisNovember 5, 1940 Copyright, 1940 The Bruce Publishing CompanyPrinted in the U. S. A.(Ninth Printing 1949)v2 Thomas, KempisThe Imitation of ChristForewordIN PREPARING this edition of The Imitation of Christ , the aim was to achieve a simple, readabletext which would ring true to those who are already lovers of this incomparable book and wouldattract others to it. For this reason we have attempted to render the text into English as it is spokentoday rather than the cloudy, archaic terminology that encumbers so many translations of Christianclassics.