Book II: Admonitions Concerning Interior Things.
Thomas a'Kempis advises those who want to follow Jesus to go deeper by clearing out space within themselves to find friendship with Jesus. That friendship requires an emptying of self and an acceptance of our own cross, which we carry alongside and behind His Cross.
The fictional narrative shows the reader the personal journal of Thomas, and the visitation of the Black Plague upon his monastery and village in 1421. Thomas' encounter with suffering and death take him to a confrontation that defies reality and forces him to see himself through the eyes of his mentor and then through the eyes of Christ Himself. Moore's fictional narrative sets up the writing of Book II of this Devotional Classic. Moore holds up a mirror to the twenty-first century to that of the fifteenth century, drawing parallels to our own calamitous times.
Second only to the Bible in its popularity, The Imitation of Christ takes the Disciple through the path which Chris asks us to walk. These admonitions take us deep into our interior life. We should retreat into our interior rooms and make space for Christ. The Novice Master takes us to the next level of our relationship with Jesus.
This edition of The Imitation of Christ, with comments and highlights by Tim Moore, invite the reader to an overview of each chapter and application of each meditation. Moore provides a short, fictional narrative from the point of view of Thomas, which places the reader into the mind of the Novice Master as he composes his masterwork. You can follow Tim's comments and edits through his web site at timothyedmoore.com.
Thomas a Kempis (1380 - 1471)
Was a canon regular of the late medieval period and the most probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion. His name means "Thomas of Kempen", his hometown, and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen. He also is known by various spellings of his family name: Thomas Haemerken; Thomas Hammerlein; Thomas Hemerken and Thomas Hämerken.His first tenure of office as subprior was interrupted by the exile of the community from Agnetenberg (1429). A dispute had arisen in connection with an appointment to the vacant See of Utrecht. Pope Martin V rejected the nomination of Bishop-elect Rudolf van Diepholt, and imposed an interdict. The Canons remained in exile in observance of the interdict until the question was settled (1432). During this time, Thomas was sent to Arnhem to care for his ailing brother. He remained there until his brother died November, 1432. Thomas spent his time between devotional exercises, composition, and copying. He copied the Bible no fewer than four times,[3] one of the copies being preserved at Darmstadt, Germany in five volumes. In its teachings he was widely read and his works abound in Biblical quotations, especially from the New Testament.
Thomas a Kempis was a late Medieval Catholic monk and probable author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the best known Christian books on devotion.
His writings are all of a devotional character and include tracts and meditations, letters, sermons, a life of Saint Lydewigis, a Christian woman who remained steadfast under a great stress of afflictions, and biographies of Groote, Radewijns, and nine of their companions. Works similar in content to the Imitation of Christ, and pervaded by the same spirit, are his prolonged meditation on the life and blessings of the Savior and another on the Incarnation. Both of these works overflow with adoration for Christ.
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