ISBN 9781565485136
ASIN B01CDZATD2
Last year I stumbled upon a different volume in this series, 15 Days of Prayer with Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati by Père Charles Desjobert, OP, and really enjoyed it. I did some research on the series and this was the fourth volume I decided to work through.
I believe as of the writing of this review there have been 40 volumes in the series; the earliest I found was from 1999 through to a volume which was published in 2025. Only about a dozen seem to be in print currently and of those only a handful appears to have eBooks. With my dual form of dyslexia this is disappointing. I greatly prefer eBooks so I can change the font, and the colour of font and page to make reading easier. I have added all the eBook editions I could find to my wish list. About the Series we are informed:
“15 Days of Prayer Series
On a journey, it’s good to have a guide. Even great saints took spiritual directors or confessors with them on their itineraries toward sanctity. Now you can be guided by the most influential spiritual figures of all time. The 15 Days of Prayer series introduces their deepest and most personal thoughts.
This popular series is perfect if you are looking for a gift, or if you want to be introduced to a particular guide and his or her spirituality. Each volume contains:
• A brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader
• A guide to creating a format for prayer or retreat
• Fifteen meditation sessions with reflection guides”
Many of the books in this series were written in French and translated into English. That does not appear to be the case with this volume. This book was originally published in 2013, the physical volume appears to be out of print but the eBook is readily available. The description of this specific volume states:
“The 15 Days of Prayer with Chiara Lubich is a portrait of an extraordinary and holy woman whose deepest desire was to fulfill Jesus prayer: That they all may be one. Florence Gillet manages to find the way for Chiara to give of herself generously in the meditations and reflections contained in this book, so that many might come to know, understand, and embrace this collective way of holiness. - It is in meeting you [Jesus forsaken], that we become another Mary. [Day 15] - Whoever enters your infinite suffering finds, as if by magic, everything transformed into Love. [Day 12].”
Another states:
“The 15 Days of Prayer with Chiara Lubich is a portrait of an extraordinary and holy woman whose deepest desire was to fulfill Jesus' prayer: "That they all may be one." Florence Gillet manages to find the way for Chiara to give of herself generously in the meditations and reflections contained in this book, so that many might come to know, understand, and embrace this collective way of holiness.
• "We need to enlarge our heart to the measure of the heart of Jesus. How much work that means! Yet this is the only thing necessary." Day 3
• "We must love our neighbors one by one, without holding in our heart any leftover affection for the brother or sister met a moment before." Day 3
• "It is in meeting you [Jesus forsaken], that we become another Mary." Day 15
• "Whoever enters your infinite suffering finds, as if by magic, everything transformed into Love." Day 12
• "When unity with our brothers and sisters is complete, when it has flowered anew and more fully from difficulties, then, as night fades into day, tears into light, often, I find you, Lord." Day 9
Chiara Lubich was an extraordinary woman, an apostle of dialogue in ecumenism, in interreligious dialogue, and among people of no religious affiliation.
The charism of unity given to Chiara and the remarkable testimony of it she gave to the Church and humanity have proven to be well suited for our times. Translated by Bill Hartnett.”
There is no ‘about the author’ section in the book or on the back. But we are informed on the page with the book description that:
“Florence Gillet earned a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. She has published several studies on the spirituality of unity of Chiara Lubich, including 15 Days of prayer with Chiara Lubich, to be released in 2016.”
The chapters in this volume are:
How to Use This Book
A Brief Biography
Premise
Day 1: For Me
Day 2: Being a New Creation
Day 3: Enlarging the Heart
Day 4: The Pact of 40 Days
Day 5: Where None Could Enter
Day 6: I Want to See Her Again in You
Day 7: The Risen One Living Among Us
Day 8: Living Within
Day 9: In a Relationship of Love
Day 10: Evangelizing
Day 11: To Suffer and Be Reborn for Unity
Day 12: The Law of Life
Day 13: Jesus Forsaken and Risen
Day 14: Here I Am
Day 15: With You We Become Another Mary
I highlighted a few of passages while reading this volume some of them are:
“As a Third Order member, she chose the name “Chiara,” as she would be known for the rest of her life. On December 7, 1943, having felt a calling from God, she received permission from her confessor to consecrate her life to God with a perpetual vow of chastity. This is considered the date of the Focolare Movement’s birth. Shortly afterward, she took vows of poverty and obedience.”
“Just as the whole Jesus is in the sacred Host and likewise in each piece of it, so also the whole Jesus is in the Gospel and likewise in each Word of it, in every complete idea.””
“When the war did end, Chiara would often remind her followers of this calling to live the Word in order to evangelize themselves first, and then the people around them.”
“Living the Word is prayer because it places us in the Son who is the Word of the Father. And when our prayer is real prayer, says Meister Eckhart, “we do not pray, but are prayed.” When we live the Word we are lived by the Word; it is the Word who lives us, Chiara says.”
“It may turn out that in order to live “turned toward the Father,” toward Jesus, toward our neighbor, it may be necessary sometimes to set aside prayer itself in order to take care of a neighbor, to help and serve a neighbor.”
“Chiara herself showed that she was well aware of this, because she wished that her Movement, which is called the “Work of Mary,” be “as much as possible, a presence of Mary on earth, almost a continuation of her.” And she sealed this desire by including those words in the General Statutes of the Work of Mary (Article 2).”
“In other words, our mutual love allows Christ to manifest his presence in the church and in the world, just as he did through Mary, but now in our togetherness, in our unity.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. I picked this volume because though I am aware of the name Chiara Lubich, and a bit about the Focolare Movement. I had picked up a Biography about Chiara, but have not got around to read it yet. That will change after finishing these 15 days. This was an interesting read no knowing much about the woman or the movement she started. I was able to approach the 5 days with new eyes.
This is a good volume in what is shaping up to be a great series. Spending these 15 days with Chiara, the written reflections and the discussion questions was a moving experience. Not knowing much I found sometimes I had to reread sections or make sure I was not making assumptions. But It has inspired me to focus first on people I am unfamiliar with in the series, at least for the next few volumes. I can easily recommend this book and look forward to reading others in the series. I just really wish all of the 40 volumes were available as eBooks, I would work through them all if so.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books in the 15 Days of Prayer With Series:
Blessed Chiara Badano - Florence Gillet and Bill Hartnett
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam - Christian Verheyde
Brother Roger Of Taize - Sabine Laplane
Charles de Foucauld - Michael Lafon
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Matthieu Arnold
Don Bosco - Robert Schiele
Henri Nouwen - Robert Waldron
Jean-Claude Colin - Francois Drouilly
Johannes Tauler - Andre Pinet
Meister Eckhart - André Gozier
Peter Joseph Triest - Brother René Stockman
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin - André Dupleix
Saint Alphonsus Liguori - Jean-Marie Segalen
Saint Augustine - Jaime García
Saint Benedict - André Gozier
Saint Bernard - Pierre Yves Emery
Saint Catherine of Siena - Chantal van der Plancke
Saint Clare of Assisi - Marie-France Becker
Saint Dominic - Alain Quilici
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton - Betty Ann McNeil
Saint Eugene de Mazenod - Bernard Dullier
Saint Faustina Kowalska - John Cleary
Saint Francis de Sales - Claude Morel
Saint Francis of Assisi - Thaddée Matura O.F.M.
Saint Jeanne Jugan - Michel Lafon
Saint John of the Cross - Constant Tonnelier
Saint Katharine Drexel - Leo Luke Marcello
Saint Louis De Montfort - Veronique Pinardon
Saint Martín de Porres: A Saint of the Americas - Brian J. Pierce
Saint Philip Neri - Jean-François Audrain
Saint Teresa of Avila - Jean Abiven
Saint Therese of Lisieux - Victoria Hebert
Saint Thomas Aquinas - Suzanne Vrai and André Pinet
Saint Vincent de Paul - Jean-Pierre Renouard
The Curé of Ars - Pierre Blanc
Thomas Merton - Andre Gozier
…
No comments:
Post a Comment