Book Reviews and More: Nine Days to Strengthen Your Faith

Nine Days to Strengthen Your Faith
Jacques Philippe
Timothée Berthon (Editor)
Neal Carter (Translator)
Scepter Publishers
ISBN 9781594173974

eISBN 9781594173981

ASIN B0B71Q6KHX

Nine Days to Strengthen Your Faith - Jacques Philippe

My introduction to the writings of father Jacques Philippe was Time For God, which I first read 15 years ago. I have reread that book four times now and every time I read it, I get something more out of it. And when he has a new book come out in French, I eagerly await it being available in English. This time it looks like the two editions are publishing at the same time, and this is the third book I have read in the Nine Days Series. Nine Days to Welcome Peace and Nine Days to Rediscover the Joy of Prayer both were an excellent reads, and this one was as well. I will be extra diligent about keeping my eyes open for other books in this series. Father Philippe states about this series that:

“The “Nine Days to” collection offers a guided retreat to be lived at home or on vacation, in the subway or on the train, for people who have little time but wish to devote ten minutes a day to spiritual growth.

Each book in the collection offers nine days of inspiring meditations that surround a specific theme for advancement in the spiritual life. Each serves as both a school of prayer and an authentic tool of self-transformation.

Two meditations are offered for each day. One can be experienced in the morning and the other at any opportune moment during the day or evening.

The journey includes reflection exercises, the Word of God, a meditation from a saint or another great spiritual author, and a resolution—all geared to help the participant dive into an authentic spiritual experience.”

The description of this volume states:

“Faith, simply put, places us in real contact with God. Faith is our strength as Christians, because it teaches us to rely on Him in all things. Often lived most fervently when experiencing spiritual desolation, faith bears the fruit of peace, hope, and love. Take nine days with Fr. Jacques to meditate on your faith and learn how to deepen and strengthen it, so that through both times of ease and times of burden, your faith can keep you focused on God, as he faithfully keeps his focus on you.”

When I read this volume I did part in the morning and part at lunch. Returning to it at lunch helped to focus my afternoon in a new way.

The chapters in this volume are:

First Day:

Faith, a Source of Life

Second Day:

My Faith Is the Faith of the Church

Third Day:

Faith: Gift of God and Human Decision

Fourth Day:

Faith, Hope, and Love

Fifth Day:

Faith Grows in Prayer

Sixth Day:

Faith Put to the Test

Seventh Day:

Living in the Simplicity of Faith

Eighth Day:

Celebrating, Sharing, and Declaring Our Faith

Ninth Day:

Giving Ourselves to Mary to Partake in Her Faith

And each of the nine days follows this pattern:

Introduction

Invitation To Contemplation

Sign Of The Cross

Prayer To The Holy Spirit

The Word of God

Meditation From Fr. Jacques Philippe

Prayer

A Grace to Request

Light from a Faithful Witness

Meditate on the Word

Blessing

The format changed slightly with this volume over the previous two. The sections in each day vary slightly from the other volumes currently available in the series. The section The Light from a Faithful Witness sometimes comprises quotes from more than one source. Each day is preceded by a full color photo from Christian artworks. We are not told where the excerpts from Father Phillipe are from, or if they were written specifically for this book, or this series. But in the grand scheme of things that does not matter. In the preface to the other volume it states that these meditations are available as a pamphlet or on CD. So I assume the original French versions come from retreats that Father Philippe has lead. And even if in English we do not have access to the audio, the book itself makes a wonderful 9-day personal retreat. It could also used by a group or family. I highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, some of them are:

“The journey includes reflection exercises, the Word of God, a meditation from a saint or another great spiritual author, and a resolution—all geared to help the participant dive into an authentic spiritual experience.”

“We could say that, in a sense, all our sins and all our faults come from a lack of faith. We don’t believe enough in God’s power and love, and in the end that is our real problem.”

“Our only problem is our lack of faith. If we live through our difficulties and personal limits with faith, if we put them in God’s hands with full trust, he will take care of us, and even those events in our lives that seem to be the most negative will wind up being positive.”

“This is essential: Faith gives us life, real life on this earth, the eternal life of the Kingdom. It puts us in true contact with God, lets us touch God. And our God is the God of life!”

“Faith is a beautiful adventure; we don’t always know where it will lead us!”

“The two aspects of faith, the subjective aspect—this personal act of belonging—and the objective aspect—the content of faith, the truths to which we adhere—are actually closely linked to each other. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, “There exists a profound unity between the act by which we believe and the content to which we give our assent.””

“Faith is a gift of God’s mercy. It isn’t based upon personal merit; it’s simply a gift that he gives us, whether through our education, from our family, or by the grace of a moment of conversion.”

“But this gift from God comes through a personal decision: Faith is also a decision by a person, a fully human act. It is an act that is possible thanks to God’s help, but an act that also implicates our freedom, our intelligence, and our will.”

“There are moments in life when faith is natural, easy. But there are other moments when it is a courageous decision, a fight. We could have a thousand reasons to doubt, to not trust God, to revolt against him, but, in spite of all that, we decide to believe.”

“Living in faith means walking in light, but doesn’t mean that we can understand everything, explain everything, master everything—far from it. Sometimes we see what we believe, but sometimes we must believe without seeing, to accept plodding along in a bit of darkness while putting all our trust in God.”

“These virtues are called the theological virtues because they unite us to God, letting us enter into God’s life. They are a gift from God but also a decision by man.”

“When we are fearful, doubtful, worried, or discouraged, the heart closes and becomes incapable of loving.”

“We must also recognize that loving isn’t always easy, and that some acts of love, like forgiveness or love of enemies, require a lot of hope and faith.”

“The question we are going to consider now for the next five days is, How do we grow in faith? How can faith be developed and strengthened in our lives?”

“The first response, and perhaps the most important one, is faithfulness to prayer. That is, persevering in prayer without getting discouraged, as Jesus says in the Gospel.”

“The simplest and most normal way of expressing our faith, and therefore of making it grow, is to pray, addressing ourselves to God, putting ourselves in his presence.”

“The very fact of praying is an act of faith. If I pray, I believe that God exists, I believe that he is interested in me, and I believe that he loves me and listens to me.”

“Praying isn’t always about seeing, feeling, experiencing, or understanding. Even in the greatest poverty, in dry spells, even with distractions, if our prayer is an act of faith, it will really make us touch God, whose secret movements will little by little strengthen and grow our faith.”

“What shall we do during these times of trial? We must not despair or be worried. We must persevere in prayer, confiding in God and making acts of faith and trust.”

“It’s necessary to accept these difficult times, living one day at a time, humbly, simply, accepting that we cannot understand or master everything.”

“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.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for the volume. This is another excellent resource for spiritual growth from Father Philippe. And I know I will be reading them all as the series becomes available and will return to them again and again. It is a wonderful little volume. I highly recommend this and also the other Nine Days book that is available, really anything by Father Philippe.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!