The Imitation of Christ is not a book to rush through. Its short chapters are written for the interior life: prayer, self-knowledge, humility, detachment, and union with Christ. The best first reading is therefore slow, personal, and practical.
Do not begin by trying to finish it quickly
Many readers are surprised by how direct the book can be. It speaks frankly about vanity, self-will, distraction, pride, suffering, and the desire for consolation. Read too much at once and the force of its counsel can become blurred. Read one short chapter carefully and it becomes a companion in prayer.
A good beginning is one chapter a day, or even three to five chapters a week. There is no prize for speed. The aim is to let a single truth reach the mind and shape the day.
Start with a short daily pattern
- Begin with a brief prayer. Ask for light to see yourself honestly and grace to follow Christ more faithfully.
- Read one chapter slowly. Do not force yourself to understand every sentence immediately.
- Pause at one line. Notice the sentence that exposes a weakness, gives consolation, or calls you to a clearer love of God.
- Make one resolution. Keep it concrete: guard your speech, accept a difficulty calmly, spend ten minutes in prayer, or make a good examination of conscience.
- Return the next day. The book forms the reader through steady return, not occasional intensity.
Read it as spiritual reading, not as a debate
The Imitation of Christ is devotional literature. Some passages will feel immediately familiar; others may seem severe or difficult. Do not treat every chapter as if it were a technical theological definition. Its purpose is to move the soul toward humility, prayer, self-denial, and confidence in Christ.
That does not mean reading uncritically. It means reading in the right spirit. When a passage troubles you, mark it, pray with it, and return later. The book often becomes clearer after the reader has lived with it for a while.
A good first-month plan
For the first month, begin with Book I, which addresses the imitation of Christ, the danger of vanity, the value of humility, and the need for recollection. Read a manageable portion each day. Keep a pencil nearby and mark only the lines you genuinely want to revisit; filling the book with highlights can make it harder to see what truly matters.
After a few weeks, reread selected chapters rather than feeling obliged to move forward at once. A chapter that seemed simple on the first reading may speak differently after a difficult day, a confession, a retreat, or a period of prayer.
Read it with the sacraments and the Gospel
The book is most fruitful when it is not isolated from the life of the Church. Bring its calls to humility and conversion into confession. Let its emphasis on love of Christ lead you back to the Gospels. Let its language of trust and surrender deepen your preparation for Mass and Holy Communion.
Its counsel becomes more balanced when read in this wider Catholic setting: Scripture, prayer, the sacraments, the saints, and the concrete duties of one’s state in life.
Who should read it?
It is especially helpful for readers who feel distracted in prayer, discouraged by recurring faults, tired of superficial religious language, or drawn toward a quieter and more serious spiritual life. It is also an excellent book for Lent, a retreat, or a season when a reader wants to re-establish a daily habit of prayerful reading.
Latin Revival’s edition presents William Benham’s English translation and is designed for approachable devotional use. Keep it near your place of prayer, read it patiently, and let its small chapters become a steady school of humility and love of Christ.