The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

Next to the Bible, Thomas à Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ is the most popular and well known book in the history of the Catholic Church. St. Therese of Liseux would carry a copy of this book around with her and read it so often that she could quote the entire thing from memory. The book is broken up into small chapters, each containing spiritual lessons for all areas of life, from how to pray to reverence for the Eucharist. There is even a dialogue between the author and Jesus filled with beautiful meditations on God’s love and the necessity of our response to that love. In this time of Lent, the Church asks us to incorporate mortification in a special way into our lives. Mortification should always be pointed towards sanctification, purifying ourselves to
be open to the abundance of graces God wants to pour down upon us. One of the central themes in The Imitation of Christ is, as the title makes clear, how to pursue Heaven by living like Christ. Lent should remind us of the Cross that prepares the way for the Resurrection. We are called not just during Lent, but every day of our lives to live as one who is being crucified with Christ to be resurrected with him in eternity. Some wonder why the Catholic Church puts so much emphasis on the Cross. Aside from being the most supreme act of love, the Cross shows us how to defeat the world, by dying to ourselves. That is what mortification and fasting are aimed at doing and what The Imitation of Christ explains in some of the most beautiful prose written by man.