Tag: The Imitation of Christ

The Imitation of Christ (c. 1418–1427) is a Christian devotional book traditionally attributed to the German-Dutch monk Thomas à Kempis. Structured as a manual for interior spiritual growth, the text emphasizes humility, silent prayer, the renunciation of worldly distractions, and the direct alignment of one’s heart with the life and suffering of Jesus Christ.

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In the years leading up to my conversion, I gradually became fascinated by Thomas á Kempis’s devotional text, The Imitation of Christ. I encountered it first in the letters of the young Samuel Beckett, and next in the interviews of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and then in all kinds of other unexpected places. Among them, this 1877 letter from Vincent Van Gogh to his beloved brother, Theo:

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