Chapter Forty-four: Do Not Be Concerned about Outward Things
Chapter Forty-five: Do Not Believe All People, for It Is Easy to Err in Speech
Chapter Forty-six: Trust in God against Slander
Chapter Forty-seven: Bear Every Trial for the Sake of Eternal Life
Chapter Forty-eight: The Day of Eternity and the Distresses of This Life
Chapter Forty-nine: The Desire of Eternal Life and the Great Rewards Promised to Those Who Struggle
Chapter Fifty: How a Desolate Person Ought to Place Himself in the Hands of God
Chapter Fifty-one: When We Cannot Reach the Highest, We Must Practice the Humble Works
Chapter Fifty-two: We Should Not Consider Ourselves Worthy of Consolation, but Deserving of Chastisement
Chapter Fifty-three: God’s Grace Is Not Given to the Earthly Minded
Chapter Fifty-four: The Different Motions of Nature and Grace
Chapter Fifty-five: The Corruption of Nature and the Efficacy of Divine Grace
Chapter Fifty-six: We Should Deny Ourselves and Imitate Christ by Bearing the Cross
Chapter Fifty-seven: We Should Not Be Too Discouraged When We Fall into Defects
Chapter Fifty-eight: High Matters and the Hidden Judgments of God Are Not to Be Scrutinized
Chapter Fifty-nine: All Hope and Trust Are to Be Fixed in God Alone
An Invitation to Holy Communion
Chapter One: We Should Receive Christ with Great Reverence
Chapter Two: God’s Great Goodness and Love Is Shown to Man in This Sacrament
Chapter Three: It Is Profitable to Receive Communion Often
Chapter Four: Many Blessings Are Given to Those Who Receive Communion Worthily
Chapter Five: The Dignity of the Sacrament and of the Priesthood
Chapter Six: An Inquiry on the Proper Thing to Do before Communion
Chapter Seven: The Examination of Conscience and the Resolution to Amend
Chapter Eight: The Offering of Christ on the Cross and Our Offering
Chapter Nine: We Should Offer Ourselves and All That We Have to God, Praying for All
Chapter Ten: Do Not Lightly Forgo Holy Communion
Chapter Eleven: The Body of Christ and Sacred Scripture Are Most Necessary to a Faithful Soul
Chapter Twelve: The Communicant Should Prepare Himself for Christ with Great Care
Chapter Thirteen: The Devout Soul Should Desire Union with Christ in the Sacrament with All Her Heart
Chapter Fourteen: The Ardent Longing of the Devout for the Body of Christ
Chapter Fifteen: The Grace of Devotion Is Acquired through Humility and Self-Denial
Chapter Sixteen: We Should Show Our Needs to Christ and Ask for His Grace
Chapter Seventeen: The Burning Love and Strong Desire to Receive Christ
Chapter Eighteen: One Should Not Scrutinize This Sacrament in Curiosity, but Humbly Imitate Christ and Submit Reason to Holy Faith
Preface
Thomas à Kempis
By Michael R. Heinlein
Referring to the Gospel of John 14:6, The Imitation of Christ summarizes the principal directive on which Christians must base their life: “Without the Way, there is no going. Without the Truth, there is no knowing. Without the Life, there is no living.”
Said to have been written between 1418 and 1427, The Imitation’s entire project is helping the reader pattern his or her life on Jesus Christ, pure and simple. That might seem like a “no-brainer” to us, but at the time it was regarded as a bit radical. Many in the Church had lost their way, choosing the easier ways of hedonism and sin rather than the arduous path of holiness. This was particularly true among the clergy. Their spirituality was sorely lacking, and their moral life was, too. From the clergy to the laity, the Church suffered from a widespread lack of spiritual depth.
Sadly, the worst of such behavior was typified at the highest level of the Church — namely, the papacy. The Church today has become a bit spoiled, with six of the eight pontiffs of the twentieth century either canonized or with active causes promoting their canonization. This was not always the case. Consider just two examples, both of which would have been in the memory of the author and the first readers of The Imitation.
In the mid-eleventh century, Pope Benedict IX held the office of the papacy on three separate occasions. After two expulsions, he decided he wanted to marry, so he finally left the papacy after selling his office to his godfather. He was described by Saint Peter Damian (1007–1072) as “a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest.”
Then there was the Western Schism, during which three different men claimed to be pope simultaneously between the years 1378 and 1417. The consequences of this schism divided not only the Church, but all of Europe. Rooted in corruption and greed, it was a source of great scandal that provided a fertile field for sowing the seeds of the Protestant Reformation.
Unfortunately, though, it got even worse before it got better. The reign of Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), regarded by many as perhaps the most corrupt and morally bankrupt of papacies, followed the publication of The Imitation. He is known not only for harboring mistresses in the papal apartments and fathering children with them, but also for hosting orgies in papal residences.
Many in the Church during these times knew that something was wrong. Many longed for a more pious practice of the Faith, a simpler spirituality where
