Christian monk and mystic Thomas Hemerken, aka THOMAS KEMPIS (1380-1471), wrote The Imitation of Christ, the second most important book, after the Bible, in Christian philosophy. But he also penned numerous other works of devotion, including this previously hard-to-find collection of contemplations for sincere, dedicated believers. Discover, in this 1904 translation. . the severe judgment of God . encouragements to spiritual advancement . why we should have confidence in divine mercy . the sweetness and consolation to be found in God . the necessity of patience with life's miseries . praise for the holy angels . and much more.

It will be seen that the following Manual of Devotion consists of a series of chapters or instructions upon important points of Christian teaching, which are called "Considerations."These Considerations are written for the purpose of pricking or of wounding the conscience, it may be in many points, that so it may be thoroughly aroused and awakened; of exciting, that is, compunction of the soul, real remorse of conscience for past as well as for present coldness and dryness. It must be a very hard heart, indeed, which is not moved by these "Considerations"so touchingly simple are they, so plain, and so wholly true. They deal with such doctrines and facts as have an universal application, which admit of no dispute, and which are always confirmed by some passage from Holy Scripture. It must be allowed, on all hands, that it is necessary for the soul to be aroused to feel its own needs, to regard its own wounds, that so it may be directed to a source where these needs can be supplied, and these wounds be healed. One great aim of this Treatise, is to arouse, as well as to direct the mind, to lead it to consider its own wants, and to seek by prayer to have those wants supplied. The book is essentially a guide to prayer. It represents, from its beginning to its end, the continual outpouring of heart before God; an outpouring that is of times expressed in the very same words which imply, at the same time, a new phase of thought. Regarded as a Manual of Mental Prayer, each of these "Considerations" has a technical and special signification. They treat of life and death, of the value of time, of the mercy of God, of the habit of sin, of the general and particular judgments, of the love of God, of the Holy Communion, and of kindred subjects equally important. The "Consideration,"as here used, implies far more than a mere inquiry. Its equivalents, the Italian Consideration, and the Latin Consideration, do not fully express its particular meaning in this Treatise, where it stands for a reflectional meditation. It calls into play the exercise of the memory, which puts together all the circumstances of the subject under notice; it excites the imagination, which represents, as in a picture, all such circumstances, bringing them vividly before the mind's eye; and, lastly, it urges the will so to fix and detain these things in the soul, that, by its own effort, it may unite itself with the will of God, so that God's will and the will of man may become one.

The History of Heresies and Their Refutation by St Alphonsus M. Liguori. Unedited Reprint of 1857 edition. Some references in Latin, the rest of the book is in English. In the First part, St Alphonsus M Liguori goes over the History of Heresies. A supplementary chapter was added by the translator of the Heresies of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. In the Second Part, the Refutation of Heresies, the Holy Author comprises, in a small space, a vast amount of Theological information; in fact, there is no Heresy which cannot be refuted from it. 648 pages.

Thomas A Kempis is well known for the Imitation/Following of Christ, the second best selling book of all time after the Holy Bible. His rich spiritual writings have been read by Catholics since the book was first written in 1418. What most readers don't know is that Thomas A Kempis wrote 40 books in all and most have been out of print for 100+ years. St Athanasius Press has spent the last 4 years searching for these rare spiritual classics in order to bring them back into print so today's Catholics can benefit from the spiritual richness found in Thomas A Kempis' books. The first such book was Vera Sapientia or True Wisdom. Here in this book we have 2 rare books in one.

Unedited Reprint of the 1882 Edition. Originally published in 1609. "This work is based on the material which he collected for his spiritual exhortations to his brethren, and published at the request of his superiors. Although the book thus written was primarily intended for the use of his religious brethren, yet he destined it also for the profit and edification of other Religious and of Laymen in the world. It is a book of practical instructions on all the virtues which go to make up the perfect Christian life, whether lived in the cloister or in the world." (Catholic Encyclopedia 1912)

Amid the present darkness and distress this little book may help to minister consolation and inspire drooping hearts with courage, by reminding them that suffering is the Church's heritage, the very condition of her well-being, nay, her highest privilege, inasmuch as it renders her most like to her Divine Spouse and is the pledge and surety of her triumphs. As of the Lord Himself (Luke 24:26), so of His Church it may be truly said that she ought to suffer these things and so to enter into her glory. Her most signal successes have been preceded, and indeed attended, by humiliations and apparent failures, and have been accomplished, like all the great designs of God, under the heavy weight of the Cross. It is not, however, of exterior trials and sufferings that the author principally treats, or of those obvious temptations to which all Christians are exposed, but of those deep interior miseries, those subtle devices of self-love, those illusions and preternatural assaults of the evil one, which, in some form or other, they must be prepared to encounter who strive to pursue the arduous paths of spiritual perfection. And if testimony were wanted to the high character and the great practical usefulness of the work, it might be sufficient to cite the words of the doctors in theology who were commissioned to examine and report upon its contents previous to its publication in the year 1671. From the terms in which their approbation is couched, it will be seen that the doctrine which the treatise enforces, as it is necessary for all times, so is particularly applicable to our own, when men who profess to represent the highest intellects of this boasted age of progress are inviting Christian people to exchange the truths of divine faith and the life-giving lessons of the Cross for the base, uncertain tenets of a sensual philosophy and of a false and godless science. " It is a book," say they, " as full of instruction for souls which desire to rise to perfection as for those whose office it is to direct them on their way. We have found in it a teaching all divine, which the light of faith alone is capable of rendering intelligible to those who read it, and which divine love alone can enable them to relish. It is a knowledge which God hides from worldlings who allow themselves to be guided by their senses, and from men of mundane policy who regulate their actions by the sole light of human reason. This science of the Cross, unhappily, is ignored, neglected, or despised by the greater part of men, comprising even a number of the learned, who, devoting all their life to the study of the speculative sciences, pay no regard to the science and the maxims of Jesus Crucified, ' in whom' nevertheless ' are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge' (Col. 2:3). It may be hoped," they add, " that the reading of this book will inspire those who peruse it with the desire of dying wholly to themselves and following Jesus Christ, seeing that it is replete with the unction of the Spirit of God."

A new daily devotional compiled and edited by Alexandra J. Waller selected from the many works of Thomas A Kempis who is well known for the 2nd best selling book of all time, The Imitation of Christ.