Start Your Day With The Imitation of Christ and St. Thérèse of Lisieux
“If I glance at a book, no matter how good and moving it is, my heart at once contracts and I read without understanding or, if I understand, I cannot meditate on it. When I’m in this state, the Bible and The Imitation come to my rescue. In them I find hidden manna, a pure and substantial food” (St. Thèrése of Lisieux).
St. Thérèse of Lisieux is a great favorite of many Catholic women, myself included. She teaches us how to rely on God with humility and receptivity and how to share His love with the people around us—even, or perhaps most especially, the people who are hardest for us to love.
A new book published by The Cenacle Press at Silverstream Priory and distributed by Sophia Institute Press collects quotes from her writings along with quotes from her favorite (non-Scripture) book, The Imitation of Christ. In fact, each day of this new devotional includes one quote from each, paired because of a shared theme, in a brief format for daily meditation and prayer.
Just for Today: St. Thérèse of Lisieux with entries from The Imitation of Christ was compiled by an unnamed Benedictine nun of Stanbrook Abbey in England and originally published in 1953. (The new publishers know who the nun is, but as she was originally anonymous, they’ve respectfully kept her that way.) As the late Monsignor Ronald Knox, a theologian, author, radio broadcaster, and Catholic chaplain at Oxford University, wrote in the introduction:
The compiler of this anthology has been happily inspired to sit between two treasure-chests, dealing out to us a jewel first from this, then from that, like matched pearls. … Your first impression, when you see the pearls so well matched, is to exclaim at the resemblance; your second, that after all Christian piety does not alter with the ages, and there are certain rock-bottom truths which need constant reassertion, rather because our wills are so weak than because our memory has let the tradition slide.
It’s true that as you read each day, you are sometimes surprised at how alike the sentiments of The Imitation of Christ and St. Thérèse are. But it was one of her favorite books—and, after all, the same Holy Spirit inspired them both. “She did not write [The Imitation of Christ],” Monsignor Knox wrote, “but, much more importantly, she lived it.”
What Is The Imitation of Christ?
The Imitation of Christ is the second-most widely-read spiritual book (after the Bible), according to Ignatius Press, which publishes a translation by Monsignor Knox. It was written by Thomas à Kempis, a German-Dutch monk, between 1420 and 1427 and originally published anonymously. He originally intended it to be for young monks-in-training, but its lessons are a universal instruction on the Chrisitan life. As Pauline Books and Media states, “Encouraging the renunciation of worldly vanities and vices, Thomas á Kempis shows us how to lead a disciplined life characterized by simplicity, humility, and charity.”
St. Thérèse reportedly carried around a copy of The Imitation of Christ and read it so often that she memorized almost the whole book when she was still a child. From it she learned what it meant to be intimate with Jesus and of the importance of suffering with and for Him. Anyone who’s read The Story of a Soul knows how central these ideas were to Thérèse’s life and spirituality.
Incorporate Just for Today Into Your Daily Routine
Just for Today is not a 2024 daily devotional (in fact, there’s no entry for Feb. 29!). Rather, it is a daily devotional for any year—or every year. I’m incorporating it into my own morning routine. (Although, who am I kidding—with an active two-year-old and a business to run, I sometimes read several days in one day, and it doesn’t always happen in the morning!).
I encourage you to pick up a copy of Just for Today now. You can catch up by starting on day 1, or just start the day you get the book and continue into 2025. The insights of Thomas á Kempis and St. Thérèse of Lisieux are as timeless as the teachings of Jesus they share.
Taryn DeLong is the co-president and editor-in-chief of Catholic Women in Business and a freelance editor and writer. Her first book, written with her co-president Elise Crawford Gallagher, will be out in fall 2024 from Ave Maria Press. Connect with Taryn on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.