The Imitation of Christ

The Imitation of Christ is a book originally written in Latin by Thomas a Kempis. This German man wrote this book and today is considered only second to the Bible when it comes to religious books. The popularity of this book is shown by the replication of it. The Imitation of Christ has been translated into over 50 languages and has been publish in over six thousand editions.

Thomas a Kempis writes in this book about his own personal search for God and also gives instruction on reader's own relationship with God. His writings attempt to show others how to establish a direct relationship with God. As you can see from the title it teaches readers how to be like Christ essentially. The Imitation of Christ has four different sections of detailed spiritual instruction: 1) Counsels of the Spiritual Life 2) Directive for the Interior Life 3) Interior Consolation and 4) the Blessed Sacrament. The impact this book had on Catholic Christianity was extraordinary, even individuals such as Ignatius of Loyola admired and were influenced greatly by the writings of Thomas a Kempis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imitation_of_Christ

Zophy, p. 153