Sign in with Facebook
Manny's Reviews > The Imitation of Christ
The Imitation of Christ
by
by
I may be an outlier when it comes to The Imitation of Christ. I don’t find it so engaging, either as a devotional or as a guide. This was my second read and it remains at three stars.
Yes, there are parts that very spiritual. That’s why it’s three stars and not one. But there are also parts that are dry, very dry, parts where the advice is extremely ascetic, parts where the recommendations require disengagement from the world, and parts I felt that were semi-gnostic. One has to balance the spiritual with the corporeal, and not everything involved with the corporeal is bad or harmful for one’s soul. Ultimately, if we are granted heavenly existence, our bodies will be reunited with our souls, and so our bodies are not inherently base. In many places à Kempis presents the flesh as detestable. This didn’t sit well with me.
Perhaps part of the extreme ascetic and disengagement from the world was because of the times it was written. In the early 15th century, Europe was still undergoing the Black Plague, the Church was in schism, and there was a lot of social turmoil. It was a difficult time, and what is strange is that in a time of declining monasteries, the authors of were advocating a return to monastic life. This was completely understandable. It was the Benedict Option of its day. One can understand it but it feels anachronistic for today.
Besides disengagement, the authors (there are more than one under the Thomas à Kempis nom de plume) do provide consolation for a devout life. They do coach and inspire. This is the most read devotional in the Christian world other than the Bible, and is a must read.
Yes, there are parts that very spiritual. That’s why it’s three stars and not one. But there are also parts that are dry, very dry, parts where the advice is extremely ascetic, parts where the recommendations require disengagement from the world, and parts I felt that were semi-gnostic. One has to balance the spiritual with the corporeal, and not everything involved with the corporeal is bad or harmful for one’s soul. Ultimately, if we are granted heavenly existence, our bodies will be reunited with our souls, and so our bodies are not inherently base. In many places à Kempis presents the flesh as detestable. This didn’t sit well with me.
Perhaps part of the extreme ascetic and disengagement from the world was because of the times it was written. In the early 15th century, Europe was still undergoing the Black Plague, the Church was in schism, and there was a lot of social turmoil. It was a difficult time, and what is strange is that in a time of declining monasteries, the authors of were advocating a return to monastic life. This was completely understandable. It was the Benedict Option of its day. One can understand it but it feels anachronistic for today.
Besides disengagement, the authors (there are more than one under the Thomas à Kempis nom de plume) do provide consolation for a devout life. They do coach and inspire. This is the most read devotional in the Christian world other than the Bible, and is a must read.
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
The Imitation of Christ.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
April 6, 2014
–
Started Reading
April 6, 2014
– Shelved
April 30, 2019
–
Started Reading
May 3, 2019
–
36.78%
""If you but consider what peace a good life will bring to yourself and what joy it will give to others, I think you will be more concerned about your spiritual progress." From Chapter 11"
page
89
May 21, 2019
–
59.5%
""Vain and brief is all human consolation. But that which is received inwardly from the Truth is blessed and true.""
page
144
May 29, 2019
–
97.52%
""The more, then, nature is held in check and conquered, the more grace is given. Every day the interior man is reformed by new visitations according to the image of God.""
page
236
November 6, 2019
–
Finished Reading
November 6, 2019
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-15 of 15 (15 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Mary
(new)
Sep 08, 2018 05:04PM
You did not like this? I wonder why not?
reply
|
flag
It felt repetitive and dry. I probably gave it too low a score. Maybe I should adjust that to a three. I captured my total thoughts on my blog, here:I have to say I'm the outlier though. Most people love it.
Yes i indeed- most people do. Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus constantly referring to this in her life. Interesting.
At finally you can not stand the pressure Manny :-).
Fonch wrote: "At finally you can not stand the pressure Manny :-).":)
Manny wrote: "Fonch wrote: "At finally you can not stand the pressure Manny :-).":)"
I suppose that in my case i would have happened the same.
Manny, Spiritual books fit our souls or they do not. We are each unique creations. Sometimes we appreciate a book on a subsequent read. Some times we never do. We also outgrow books. My daughter thought parts of this book negative. She is a very loving person. Looks like some others here on GRs -- good people I know -- only thought it a 3 as well.
Well imitating Christ, booklady, isn't supposed to be a fun task. Spiritual books are for our further development. It's not to be wishy washy or something I like - but a spiritual read is to help me further progress and move into perfection. We are all called to holiness
Dear Mary,There is no denying the Cross. And yet no spiritual book however beautiful and holy is Sacred Scripture with which we must adhere. Even the 12 did not all make it with Our LORD to His Cross when He died, yet the Holy Spirit led them by their own paths to their own crosses for God’s own purposes.
You are most correct that imitating Him is not ‘fun�. I hope I did not imply that, yet the saints—at least by my reading/understanding—were joyful, so much more. Each human soul created by our Good and Loving God is so complex and precious to Him, as are you, dear Mary. Perhaps you can recall some books (which others called fine) containing things which confused or alienated you. All I meant to say is that spiritual books are written by human authors, inspired more or less by the Holy Spirit, and yet not Divine Revelation. They will be formative for some souls but not others.
In my own community of Secular Carmelites, my sisters and brothers-in-Carmel will discuss Sts. John of the Cross, Teresa of Jesus and the Little Flower all day, and yet are not so open to other saints; we do not even keep non-Carmelite saint books in our library. Does this mean other saints are not worthwhile for our further development? Of course not. Does it mean my fellow sisters and brothers-in-Carmel are bad, or unholy people? I hope not. Perhaps they are sufficiently fed by Carmelite books/saints and couldn't handle anything more, or they on a different path or maybe it is something else, which is for God to know. They are being formed that is the important thing, yes? (Personally, I like to read as widely as I can, because I can never seem to get enough, but I do not think that is necessarily better than those who are not like me.)
As I see you mentioned above Therese loved this book, but I think that it was a grace given her. She said, All is grace and knew she was richly graced. We all are, but in many various ways. Thank you for your comment. bl+
As to how much fun it is to imitate Christ, let me quote a Dominican Doctor of the Church and my beloved patron saint, St. Catherine of Siena: “Every step on the way to heaven is heaven.� That said, it takes a special person to enjoy every step.
That is beautiful Manny! 😊
I had to say that as an RN this little book always sat beside or even under my cold coffee. All the margins have notes. Other nurses and staff would pick it up from time to time and glance through it. The book must have been a good witness for Christ, as I’d often get pulled into the coffee room or medication room to help someone who was considering abortion, or someone having a crisis of faith. But there are so many good books that I just could not draw from. God indeed loves our variety. I also love that St. Therese had memorized it word for word.
Donna wrote: "I had to say that as an RN this little book always sat beside or even under my cold coffee. All the margins have notes. Other nurses and staff would pick it up from time to time and glance through ..."Thanks Donna. That's great you left it available for others. I'm sure it made a difference in their spiritual lives.
Manny, which edition did you read? I want to buy the kindle version to go along with the audio I've been listening to on Hallow, but I don't want a copy with an archaic translator!
Michelle wrote: "Manny, which edition did you read? I want to buy the kindle version to go along with the audio I've been listening to on Hallow, but I don't want a copy with an archaic translator!"Michelle, I’m sorry. I’m just seeing this now. It was the inexpensive Dover Books edition.
