Thomas a Kempis: The Imitation of Christ (illustrated)

The Imitation of Christ is a Devotional that is held in extremely high regard particularly in Catholicism. The book is a collection of recommendations for how to live one's life day-to-day in service of God and follow the morals of the Bible. It is separated into four primary sections, each of which has many smaller chapters.The first of the four sections is titled "Admonitions Profitable for the Spiritual Life," and it begins by telling the reader to have contempt for the world in comparison to your love for and devotion to Christ. It lays out practical measures to focus one's heart and attitude on Christ and on Eternal life as opposed to the things of Earth. Some examples include being humble because things of Earth for which one would have pride are meaningless when in relation to Eternity, refusing to chase wealth and riches because there is no true security in them, reading the scriptures daily, and avoiding temptation.The second section, or book, is "Admonitions Concerning the Inner Life," which concerns itself with one's heart, attitude, and thoughts, and encourages the reader to focus constantly on heavenly things, such as Christ's love, and to show love to all of humanity yet expect the world to hate you and be against you.The third section is "On Inward Consolation," and it is a dialogue between Christ and the narrator, and in it, Christ tells the reader to be humble and devout and remember that God directs our paths and destinies, not ourselves. He encourages the reader to constantly work out and affirm our love for God and for others, and to search for the kingdom of God and not the things of this world because the Earth will perish but God and Heaven will last forever. He also encourages the reader to constantly examine and control their heart's desires to better incline them towards God. The final section is "Of the Sacrament on the Altar", which lays out the taking of communion, what it means to take into oneself the death and body of Christ, and how it strengthens the believer. Hammerken says that it is good to frequently partake in the sacrament because it brings one closer to God and encourages unity. The believer should strive to continually fellowship with the Lord in this way as well as spiritually in one's heart, because that unity will drive the Spiritual life and encourage the believer to act continually on their faith and grow closer to community with God. He also explains the way to properly administer the sacrament and the state one's heart and mind should be in when taking it-one of purity and devoutness, with no grievances among fellow believers and no sins that have yet to be confessed before God...