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The Imitation of Christ Christ Paraclete Essentials the Imitation Christof THE IMITATION OF CHRIST christ Paraclete essentials the imitation christof thomas à kempis Foreword by Br. Benet Tvedten Revised TRanslaTion ediTed By Hal M. HelMs a n d RoBert J. edMonson, c j ® Paraclete Press BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS The Imitation of Christ 2008 First Printing Copyright © 2008 by The Community of Jesus, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-55725-608-9 Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations designated rsv are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, © 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. Scripture quotations designated vulgate are from the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Imitatio Christi. English. The imitation ofC hrist / Thomas à Kempis ; revised translation edited by Hal M. Helms and Robert J. Edmonson ; foreword by Benet Tvedten. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 978-1-55725-608-9 1. Meditations--Early works to 1800. 2. Spiritual life--Catholic Church--Early works to 1800. 3. Catholic Church--Doctrines--Early works to 1800. I. Thomas, à Kempis, 1380-1471. II. Helms, Hal McElwaine. III. Edmonson, Robert J. IV. Title. BV4821.H45 2008 242--dc22 2008030880 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in an elec- tronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by Paraclete Press Brewster, Massachusetts www.paracletepress.com Printed in the United States of America W CONTENTS W FOREWORD by Br. Benet Tvedten 11 INTROduCTION 15 BOOK I Admonitions Useful for a Spiritual Life 1 The Imitation, or Following of Christ 27 2 Thinking Humbly of Ourselves 29 3 The Teaching of Truth 31 4 Wisdom and Forethought in Our Actions 34 5 Reading the Holy Scriptures 35 6 Inordinate Affections 36 7 Avoiding Vain Hope and Pride 37 8 Avoiding Too Much Familiarity 38 9 Obedience and Subjection 39 10 Avoiding Too Much Talk 40 11 Attaining Peace and Growth in Grace 41 12 Profiting from Adversities 44 13 Resisting Temptation 45 14 Avoiding Rash Judgments 48 15 Works of Love 49 16 Bearing with the Faults of Others 50 17 Life in a Religious Community 52 18 The Examples of the Holy Fathers 53 19 The Exercises of Good Religious 56 20 The Love of Solitude and Silence 59 21 Contrition of Heart 63 22 The Consideration of Human Misery 65 23 The Thought of Death 69 24 The Judgment and Punishment of Sins 73 25 The Zealous Alteration of Our Lives 77 6 | The Imitation of Christ BOOK II Admonitions Concerning the Inner Life 1 The Inner Life 85 2 Humble Submission When We Are Corrected 89 3 The Peaceable Person 90 4 Purity and Simplicity 92 5 Knowing Ourselves 93 6 The Joy of a Good Conscience 95 7 Loving Jesus Above All Things 97 8 The Intimate Friendship of Jesus 98 9 The Lack of Comfort 101 10 Gratitude for the Grace of God 104 11 How Few Are the Lovers of the Cross of Jesus 107 12 The Royal Way of the Holy Cross 109 BOOK III Internal Consolation 1 Christ’s Speaking Inwardly to a Faithful Soul 119 2 How God Speaks Without Words 120 3 Hearing God’s Word with Humility 122 4 Walking Before God in Truth and Humility 124 5 The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love 126 6 The Proof of a True Lover 130 7 Hiding Grace in Humility 133 8 Thinking Humbly of Ourselves Before God 136 9 Referring All Things to God 137 10 The Sweetness of God’s Service 139 11 The Devices and Desires of the Heart 141 12 Patient Wrestling Against Desires of the Flesh 143 13 Humble Obedience, After the Example of Jesus Christ 145 14 The Secret and Hidden Judgments of God 147 Contents | 7 15 Dealing with Our Desires 149 16 Seeking True Comfort in God Alone 151 17 Resting All Our Cares upon God 152 18 Bearing Suffering Patiently 153 19 Enduring Wrongs with True Patience 155 20 Human Weakness and Misery 157 21 Resting Entirely in God 159 22 The Remembrance of God’s Many Benefits 162 23 Four Things that Bring Peace 165 24 Inordinate Curiosity 168 25 Peace of Heart and True Spiritual Progress 169 26 Gaining Freedom of Mind Through Humility 171 27 The Evil of Self-Love 172 28 Disregarding Slander 175 29 Seeking God in Time of Distress 176 30 Confidence of Grace Restored 177 31 Leaving the Creature for the Creator 180 32 Renouncing Ourselves 182 33 Inconstancy of Heart 184 34 The Sweetness of God’s Love 185 35 The Certainty of Temptation 187 36 Against the Vain Judgments of Others 189 37 Obtaining Freedom of Heart 190 38 The Wise Conduct of Our Affairs 192 39 We Should Not Be Over-Anxious 193 40 We Have No Good Thing in Which to Glory 194 41 Despising All Temporal Honor 197 42 Our Peace Is Not to Rely on Other Persons 198 43 Against Vain and Worldly Learning 199 44 Avoiding Outward Distractions 201 45 Being Wary of What We Hear 202 8 | The Imitation of Christ 46 Putting Our Whole Trust in God 205 47 Enduring Hard Things for the Sake of Eternal Life 207 48 Eternity and the Difficulties of This Life 209 49 The Rewards Promised to Those Who Fight Against Sin 213 50 Comfort in Desolation 217 51 The Comfort of Humble Tasks 221 52 The Comfort of a Contrite Heart 222 53 Deadness to Earthly Affections 224 54 The Difference Between Nature and Grace 226 55 The Victory of Grace over Nature 230 56 Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life 233 57 Calmness Under Trials 235 58 The Vanity of Searching into the Secrets of God 237 59 Placing All Our Hope and Trust in God Alone 240 BOOK IV Concerning the Sacrament An Exhortation to Holy Communion 245 1 Receiving the Sacrament with Great Reverence 247 2 God’s Love in the Eucharist 253 3 The Blessing of Frequent Communion 256 4 The Benefits of Devout Communion 259 5 The Dignity of the Eucharist and the Priestly Office 262 6 Spiritual Exercise Before Communion 264 7 The Examination of Our Conscience 265 8 Offering Ourselves to God with Christ 267 9 Offering to God All That Is Ours 269 10 Holy Communion Is Not Lightly to Be Neglected 271 11 The Two Necessities for a Faithful Soul 275 Contents | 9 12 Preparing Ourselves with Great Diligence 279 13 Union with Christ in the Sacrament 281 14 Ardent Desire for the Sacrament 283 15 Obtaining the Grace of Devotion 285 16 Laying Open Our Needs to Christ 287 17 Burning Love and Desire to Receive Christ 288 18 Subjecting Reason to Faith 291 AppENDIX: The Rule of St. Augustine 295 NOTES 297 W FOREWORD W hen I graduated from high school, my pastor gave me Wa book. Intending to major in English when I went off to college, I would have preferred receiving a novel by Steinbeck or Hemingway. But he no doubt thought I was a pious boy or should become one. The book I received as a gift was The Imitation of Christ. On the title page, he wrote: “You will have a happy life by adhering to the wisdom in this book.” At this period in my life, I was not in the habit of reading any kind of devotional literature. In fact, I hadn’t even discovered the Bible. Like many Catholic families, mine had a Bible, but it was used only for recording births, deaths, and marriages. I don’t recall any one of us ever reading the Bible. The Benedictines taught me to read the Bible when I went to college. I had to buy a Bible along with my freshman class textbooks. Besides an appreciation for Lectio Divina (Holy Reading), the monks instilled in me a great love for the liturgy and the liturgical year. They taught me how to pray the Divine Office. When I entered a monastery four years later, I came to it with a preconditioned Benedictine piety. The Imitation of Christ comes from a time when the age-old Benedictine monasticism was in a state of decline even before the Black Plague and the Reformation. There was a new form of piety abroad. It was accessible to everyone. Devotio moderna (modern devotion) came about in the late fourteenth century with Gerard Grote in the Netherlands. He preached a need to 12 | The Imitation of Christ live in the manner of Christ’s humanity while contemplating his divinity. His disciple Florentius Radewyn carried on the teaching after Grote’s death. In the beginning the followers lived in their own homes. This spiritual movement, however, eventually led to the founding of the Brethren of the Common Life, a Christian commune with mostly laymen belonging to it. Groups of women soon began following the same course. TheC ommon Life followers started schools for the young, and later formed an alliance with the Order of Augustinian Canons Regular. Thomas à Kempis, a young German boy, was sent to a Brethren school.
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