Consoling the Heart of Jesus: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat- Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

I am surprised that this book, a `Do-It-Yourself Retreat' and the Consoling the Heart of Jesus Prayer Companion have not skyrocketed on Amazon. There are several reasons to recommend these books and RETREAT. First, it is not just a retreat, but a proposal of a way of life which should appeal to every Christian. It is easy to understand and designed for every level of spirituality. You can make this retreat at home [especially helpful for those who are homebound due to illness and even caregivers, in a small group, even by yourself (although I would recommend you make this retreat with at least one other so that you can share your insights, questions and joy.) How often do we as Christians ask God and Jesus for help? How often do we praise or thank them? When, if ever, do we look our Lord's Passion outside of Lent and/or the Easter season? Now there is a way to give back more than thanks and praise for our blessings - all of us can offer something significant back directly to Jesus for all we have and THEN gain even more. Fr. Gaitley explains how each of us can become a friend to Jesus. For those who wonder why Catholics have a crucifix instead of an empty cross, perhaps this book will help explain why Christ's' Passion should be important to all of us and should be remembered just as his resurrection is. The author presents sound explanations backed by many references for `CONSOLING THE HEART OF JESUS' which is based on scripture (bible); sacred tradition (early church fathers; church dogma, Vatican II documents, etc.) including insights [from popes and saints]. In fact this retreat/book also incorporates the values and is inspired by the beliefs of many saints including: St. Ignatius of Loyola [SPIRITUAL EXERCISES], St. Thérèse De Lisieux (THE LITTLE WAY], St. Faustina Kowalska [DIVINE MERCY], St. Margaret Mary Alacoque [SACRED HEART OF JESUS], St. Louis de Montfort (TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY), St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Francis Xavier among others) plus those of Pope Benedict XVI, Blessed [Pope] John Paul II and Blessed Mother Teresa Of Calcutta [I THIRST]. Many non-Catholics (Protestants) have trouble understanding why Catholics love Mary and are so devoted to her. Learn why as you make this retreat. And for those of us who are also devoted to The Divine Mercy, Fr. Gaitely has included significant parts of St. Faustina's Diary [Divine Mercy in My Soul.] In our busy world where multi-tasking is the norm, when time needed to devote to a retreat or prayer (even time to ourselves) is very limited, the author gives us a way to not only complete a retreat in a weekend, over Holy Hours in church, etc. but also this retreat/book looks at and helps you understand and overcome obstacles that we all face in our lives. For those who have suffered from `times of desolation', a loss of faith, or NEVER EVEN FELT THAT JESUS COULD REALLY LOVE YOU, this book is for you. It gives us a way to live our lives for Jesus; to trust in the Lord and to quit worrying about ourselves or our families, and have a better life overall and most of all grow in holiness and closer to Jesus. Learn especially of God's love for all of us and how we can actually give back for all we have. Jesus has an abundance of mercy, learn how you can ask for more of his mercy and receive the mercy that others have rejected. What more can anyone ask for? Recommendations from EWTN's Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. and Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, and Dr. Timothy O'Donnell and many others are well deserved. We loved this so much that we are getting several copies for friends and relatives. I also highly recommend getting the Consoling the Heart of Jesus Prayer Companion also as it will prove invaluable to your prayer and spiritual life as you go forward and learn how and become a true friend of Jesus.

This is my amazing experience with this book.For a while I had had the yearning to do a spiritual retreat but for several reasons I wasn't able to go to a retreat house so when I came across this book I bought it with the hope of doing a retreat at home on my own time. However life being as it is, I never got around to reading the book so it just sat on my shelf for a while. Luckily, Divine Providence stepped in and I came down with a serious illness that left me bedridden with nothing to do but read for a few weeks. Consequently, I was finally able to do the retreat without any of the feelings of guilt I usually experience when I don't dedicate most of my time to my family or work. I was at peace to enjoy the book.Thank God for my illness because I spent 4 amazing and cathartic days doing the retreat. I didn't want it to end. When I finally did finish, I literally uttered the word "wow" and hugged the book. I also remember thanking God repeatedly for blessing me with the chance to complete the retreat. The book combines the spirituality of St. Ignatius, St. Faustina, St. Theresa of the Little Flower and St Louis de Montfort. Also included in the book is a follow up to the retreat to be done a week after the initial reading, additional spiritual readings from the Diary of St. Faustina and an appendix with great footnotes. This retreat helped me develop a deeper relationship with Jesus because it allowed me to let go of many of the reservations I had about getting closer to God. My fear of suffering and my awareness of my own personal weaknesses and flaws have prevented me form growing spiritually. This retreat allowed me to go beyond my superficial understanding what it means to trust in the Lord. I was truly given the grace to love, trust and hope more in God's Love and Mercy. My prayer life has also greatly improved since doing the retreat. I am not afraid of loving God and I now comprehend what it means to console the Heat of Jesus. This book is a true blessing and I really thank God for inspiring Fr. Michael Gaitley to write this book. May the Lord continue to bless him and his priesthood. I greatly suggest this book to anyone who wants to develop a deeper trusting and meaningful relationship with God.

My wife and I have used Fr. Gaitley's "33 Days to Morning Glory" and had high expectations for this book. We were not disappointed. We bought this and the companion summary book for use on a week-long retreat of sorts that included visits to Our Lady of Angels Monastery, EWTN studios and St. Bernard's Monastery in AL. Admittedly, while this was a retreat, we had quite a few activities going on during parts of it. However, we both spent at least a couple of hours a day with the book during the first three days and then maybe twice as much time each day for the last couple of days in prayer, reading and reflection to get through it.It's a great guide with some good insights for anyone looking to grow in their relationship with the Lord. It has some suggestions at the back of the book for how to do that, in terms of daily prayer, etc., and although we are already doing much of what Fr. Gaitley suggests, there still were some nuggets in those suggestions for us.It's a great resource, laid out well, easy to read, with lots of citations to source documents, as well as other resources in the appendices. Maybe it's just our style of lectio divina and our general approach to the process, but we think this is something that we got more out of it by spreading it out over time and taking a little more time (actual time in reading/praying, as well as elapsed time from start to finish) than we would have gotten out of it over an intense weekend.Father Mitch Pacwa's review printed on the back cover hits the nail on the head--"...a weekend retreat accessible to those at the beginning stages of a simple way to holiness...guides them on a journey to God."

Stunning retreat guide.The author has done some serious praying around this guide. He brings together teachings from St Therese of Lisieux and St Faustina, producing a very powerful but short retreat for 'weak' souls, of which I am one. He explains various aspects of the spiritual life in the simplest way, making incredible sense, and giving fresh hope for what is a difficult journey.If you are planning on a retreat, do a silent one with this book and spend hours just pondering the great revelations that flow when one follows this guide. I did mine at Youth 2000 while my children were enjoying the various workshops and I was in adoration the whole weekend. It was amazing.

the author manages to weld together,the spiritual exercises of st ignatius,with the writings and meditations of various catholic saints,in a retreat,that is deep,but in no way heavy.--obviously catholic,but i am sure any christian,seeking a deeper commitment to Our Lord and Saviour,Jesus Christ,will not be disappointed.--;;;taste and see,that The Lord is good,sweeter than the sweetest honeycomb.--P.S.check out the amazon u.s.site for more detailed reviews.

this book is a must for catholics who think they are not worthy of mercy and forgivness buy it buy it know I promise you wont regret it such a small price for something that will change you for ever

Reading this book can make you a saint.

This is an unbelievably brilliant and helpful book!