Nine Days to Strengthen Your Faith
Jacques Philippe
Scepter Publishers
2021
93 pages
This little book of short but profound meditations on faith can, as the author suggests, be used at home, on the train, indeed anywhere that one can steal a few minutes to put oneself in the presence of God. Born in 1947, the author is a member of the Community of the Beatitudes, founded in France in 1973. He was ordained in 1985.
At the start of each chapter, he repeats a simple invitation to contemplation: “I take a few moments to compose myself. I put myself in the present moment…. I breathe calmly. I put aside all worries and stress, and I confidently welcome God’s presence. He is here, close to me and he loves me.”
Then over the nine chapters, he encourages the growth of faith in the reader under these headings:
- Faith, A Source of Life
- My Faith is the Faith of the Church
- Faith: Gift of God and Human Decision
- Faith, Hope and Love
- Faith Grows in Prayer
- Faith Put to the Test
- Living in the Simplicity of Faith
- Celebrating, Sharing and Declaring our Faith and
- Giving Ourselves to Mary to Partake in our Faith.
In the first chapter he describes a paradox of faith – on the one hand, it’s a simple thing, a disposition of the heart, but on the other hand a very beautiful, fruitful reality because the act of faith truly puts us in contact with God and opens us little by little to all the richness and depth of the mystery of God.
That faith is a gift of God is central to the book and likewise the idea that our faith is not an individualistic reality that we make up, but the faith of Mary, the faith of the Apostles that the Church transmits from generation to generation.
Faith grows in prayer and yet our faith can be put to the test, but Fr Philippe has a chapter suggesting the right approach. We are not alone – he cites the forlorn cry of St Catherine of Siena and the lines from St Peter’s first Epistle urging us to put ourselves in the hands of God, putting our hope in his faithfulness and mercy, but also seeking the help of a wise spiritual director.
Like many good spiritual guides, he finishes by reminding us to entrust ourselves to the Virgin Mary to partake in her faith.
All in all, an excellent book, easy to read but profound in its content.
About the Author: Pat Hanratty
Pat Hanratty taught Science/Chemistry in Tallaght Community School from its inception in 1972 until he retired in 2010. He was the school’s first Transition Year Co-ordinator and for four years he had the role of home School Community Liaison Officer.