Monday, March 2, 2020

Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis: A Book Review







            Thomas Kempis’s Imitation of Christ, as noted in the work’s introductory, has been a source of spiritual direction for centuries. Throughout the text, Kempis divides his work into four books and inserts Sacred Scripture to support his ideas. These four books are “Useful Admonitions for a Spiritual Life,” “Admonitions Concerning Interior Things,” “Interior Consolation,” and “The Blessed Sacrament.” Kempis wrote this text for “his fellow-religious, an ascetic for ascetics, a mystic for those who aspire to mystical union with God…”[1] However, its purpose is to bring everyone into a Christ centered life and is useful for all Christians who wish to seek a greater spiritual life.

            The authorship of the Imitation was first unknown since it was published as an anonymous work.[2] Despite this, scholars attribute the work to Thomas Kempis who most likely, due to his humility, did not wish to be praised. Kempis was born in the village of Kempen around the years 1379 or 1380, the exact year is unknown. During his formative years, he entered a monastery and was ordained in 1413 AD as a priest of St. Augustine. As mentioned, Kempis wrote the Imitation for his fellow religious and it was written against the backdrop of a suffering Europe. During this time, the War of the Roses was waging in England, the Papacy was being torn apart by a schism, and the great bastion of Christianity in the east, Constantinople, had fallen to the Ottoman Empire.[3]

            The first book of the Imitation is titled “Useful Admonitions for a Spiritual Life.” Kempis, aligned with the teachings of Christ, started the book off by instructing his readers to “withdraw thy heart from the love of visible things, and to turn thyself to things invisible.”[4] Kempis received this idea from the book of Ecclesiastes which states, “Vanities of vanities…All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (Ecc 1:203 RSV) This was to express how all things in the world are useless and man's only duty is to love God and keep his commandments.

            The next two books, are intended to guide the reader back to the love of Christ, trusting in God’s providence, and stripping away those things which guide man towards darkness. Kempis end’s the Imitation with the greatest Sacrament belonging to the Church, the Eucharist. It is the responsibility of man to show great reverence, prepare himself, and regularly receive the Blessed Sacrament. By doing this, readers open themselves up to Christ, who will heal recipients of their “passions and vices, and be made more strong and vigilant against all the temptations and deceits of the devil.”[5]

            In this modern world, society is driven by the same vices which plagued those in Kempis’s time, as well as those before. However, with the advent of technology, society is becoming more secluded and lonelier. It is beginning to rely more on things such as wealth, pleasure, honor, and power. The increasing access and use of pornography are now reaching younger children unlike ever before. This book is one which every Catholic, and even non-Catholic, must read. Netton notes, the Imitation leads its readers to “a holy life in a world beset by trials and constant temptations.”[6] Kempis provides an outstanding synthesis on the process of becoming a saint. His use of the Sacred Scriptures, by delving deeper into their meaning, allows readers to fully embrace its teachings. His words can help the world center their lives on Christ and achieve the eternal happiness all are seeking.
           



[1] Ian Netton, Islam, Christianity, and the Mystic Journey: A Comparative Exploration (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), 121. http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=6c6e5870-89e4-4859-865b-3593c23b78be%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&ppid=pp_120&vid=0&format=EB
[2] “Thomas A Kempis,” Encyclopedia Britannica, at www.acedimic.eb.com.
[3] Netton, Islam, Christianity, and the Mystic Journey, 120.
[4] Thomas Kempis, My Imitation of Christ, trans. Leo Sherley-Price (Booklyn, NY: Confraternity of the Precious Blood, 1982), 6.
[5] Kempis, My Imitation, 422.
[6] Netton, Islam, Christianity, and the Mystic Journey, 121.


Product Details

Publisher: Confraternity of the Precious Blood; revised ed. edition (May 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1618908243
ISBN-13: 978-1618908247
Dimensions: 3.5 x 0.5 x 5.2 inches
Product Price: $10.99

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