Words of Encouragement
Rev Daniel Considine, SJ
Rev. F. Devas (Editor)
ISBN 9781860820144
eISBN 9781784692889
ASIN B07214LYM6
CTS Booklet D256
Over the last several years I have fallen in love with the books and booklets from the Catholic Truth Society. As of the reading of this volume I have read over 430 volumes. And still have almost 200 on my ‘wishlist’.
The description of this volume states:
“A classic collection of reflections on the Christian life: from sorrow, patience and monotony, to joy, prayer and trust in the Lord.
Father Considine was particularly sympathetic to those he believed to be overanxious in their approach to God. His Words of Encouragement have helped generations of ordinary people who, though honest and sincere, often find themselves timid and puzzled. His ability to relate the Gospel to the practical and immediate needs of the individual remains as convincing as it ever was.”
The description of the original 1979 version of this booklet states:
“A classic collection of reflections: from Sorrow, Patience and Monotony, to Joy, Prayer and Trust in the Lord. Father Considine died in 1928. He had become famous for his remarkable retreats. His manner was marked by extraordinary simplicity and directness. He was particularly sympathetic to those he believed to be over-anxious in their approach to God. His Words of Encouragement have helped generations of ordinary people who, though honest and sincere, often find themselves timid and puzzled. His ability to relate the Gospel to the practical and immediate needs of the individual remains as convincing as it ever was.”
This book was originally published in 1979, reprinted in 1997 and the eBook released in 2017. The chapters in the book are:
Foreword
Unworthy thoughts about God
A Wrong Kind of Sorrow
The Yoke of the Lord
Spiritual Energy
Practical Self-Denial
The Lord is with You
Trust in the Lord
Divine Providence
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
The Habit of Perfection
The Spirit of Joy
Patience and Perseverance
Diffidence and Generosity
Reflections on the Old Year
Looking Forward
Familiarity with Our Lord
‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’
Sympathy and the Want of it
Monotony
Distractions in Prayer
Injustice and the Value of a Grievance
Antipathies
Trials and Temptations
Venial or little Sins
Sanctification
Sorrow
The Care of God for Me
Sayings
The Great Mystery
I highlighted a number of passages while working through this volume, some of them are:
“These Words of Encouragement are selections made from various notes taken of Father Considine’s instructions and conferences, and from letters written by him; and the section bearing here the title The Great Mystery is from a report, revised by him, of a sermon he preached at the Farm Street church in London, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1921.”
“The practical and immediate needs of the individual, and an individual always earnest and honest, but often timid and puzzled, were the object of Father Considine’s solicitude; such individuals will find now in his written words what others found in them when they were first spoken–not only encouragement but also enlightenment.”
“Do not say, God evidently, from my capabilities, does not care much for me; does not expect much from me. God craves your love. Ask, ask, ask for graces and you will assuredly get them.”
“Do what you are doing. Some people always have one eye on the past and the other on the future, instead of both on the present. Don’t waste time deploring the past and being apprehensive of the future.”
“Grace will be given to meet each day the difficulties of that day. There are very few people who would not be good at their own job if they would only develop the power of concentration.”
“Think of God in goodness. Have a good opinion of God. God loves us to think well of Him, to trust Him, to think lovingly of Him. Do not think God does not forgive easily.”
“It is great mistake to think that without bodily austerities we cannot draw very near to God. Without bodily austerities we can withdraw all obstacles between Himself and ourselves; we can get a very intimate knowledge of Him and can please Him very much.”
“The people we live with are not omniscient. They may be excellent, and have the best intentions, but they make mistakes; they may form hard judgments. Let us ask God to give us patience to bear with ourselves and to bear with others.”
“Let us put the axe to the root of those faults which keep us from Our Lord. It is not the reading of pious books, or the saying of long prayers, or science, or knowledge, which introduces the Child Jesus into our hearts. It is the love, it is the longing for Him to be there, that brings Him. It is the real effort that it costs us to put the axe to the root.”
“Our Lord calls us each in our different way. I am not speaking of a religious vocation, but a call to lead a better life.”
“Our Lord wants to be Master of your heart, and Master all the day long. Our Lord lives in your heart. He does not want you to tell Him in so many words that you love Him; He knows you cannot be praying all day. But He wants you always to be thinking of Him, to feel that He is with you. People are not intimate with Him because they think they can’t be, so they don’t try.”
“It is not so much our mind as our heart that God wants in prayer. When the heart is not turned away from God, distractions (which are often purely physical) are not to be noticed or worried about.”
“To remain in God’s presence, and to abandon myself to the pleasure of His presence, is excellent.”
“Approach Him by love; abide with Him in love. He wants you to live with Him now; to make a Friend of Him now. He wants you to let Him so take possession of your heart, that even while you are still living here your happiness may be in Him, your strength be founded on Him.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. When I was in university, I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, there was a series of booklets by the founder Bill Bright, called Transferable Concepts, and by reading them many times you could almost memorize them and the message so that you could share it. This volume reminds me a lot of those books, but specifically geared for Catholics, and I believe written for Catholic Clergy and Seminarians.
I have worked through this volume once and will keep it on my bedside table and likely work through it from time to time. It is an excellent edition to work through. I can easily recommend this volume it would be a great addition to any Catholics library or prayer corner.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.
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