If asked how many spiritual books I’ve purchased, I’d answer, “More than I’d like to admit.” Since I’ve read fewer than I hoped, I stopped buying every recommended so-called “life-changing” spiritual guide years ago. After all, they aren’t all life-changing (for me).
With simplicity in mind, I established a personal rule to ignore recommendations and read what I owned; no more spiritual book purchases (my BIS liturgical season devotional books are an exception).
But one day, I broke my rule and spent a whopping $70 on Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. Nothing outwardly about the book grabbed my attention. The cover design isn’t flashy, it doesn’t come with back-cover endorsements from popular Catholics, and it never had a social media launch.
Why I Chose Divine Intimacy
I wanted more depth in my prayer, more closeness with the Lord, a richer way to live as a Catholic woman. When a few women I know personally shared how Divine Intimacy became part of their daily prayer, I decided to learn more. Pope Saint John XXIII wrote, “This book of meditations is meant for [. . .] all who aspire to greater union with God: that is, to divine intimacy.” If that was true, I knew Divine Intimacy was for me.
Convinced by the late pope’s words, I added the book to my cart. It’s the most expensive book I’ve purchased since buying college textbooks, and I hesitated just a little before clicking “complete order.” I wondered if the book would be worth the money.
As it turned out, it’s a book purchase I will never regret. Here’s my take on one of the best spiritual books I’ve ever read, and tips to get the most from reading and praying with it year after year.
Understanding Intimacy with the Lord
Intimacy refers to a particular closeness in a relationship. I like to think of it as sharing hearts and lives with another person. Many of us have relationships like this with spouses, friends, and sisters.
Perhaps you, like me, still long for more, for a closeness with someone that reaches deeper. That’s because we’re created for union with the Lord. This is the intimacy our souls seek. It’s the goal of our lives.
Our Catholic faith offers many ways to grow close to the Lord. The Sacraments give us grace. We come to know Jesus by reading the Word daily, by spending time in Adoration, by praying the Rosary and other traditional prayers.
While the graces of the Sacraments are enough to keep me close to the Lord, my fickle mind and heart need direction and focus. This is where reading Divine Intimacy helps me.
How to Use the Book
I’ve come to consider the meditations in Divine Intimacy to be like letters from a spiritual mentor. The meditations, which are arranged to be read according to the liturgical year, focus my attention on God and deepen my understanding about living my whole life for God.
Each day begins with a short recollection to help one enter the presence of God. Two meditations instruct about prayer, virtues, the Gospels, the liturgical season, or another aspect of our faith. I love how Father Gabriel’s writing draws connections between things like virtues and Beatitudes. His writing has deepened my knowledge of spiritual things intellectually.
The final section, a colloquy, helps me move from taking in knowledge to a prayerful reflection. Here Father Gabriel’s writing teaches me to pray with words from the Saints, the Psalms, or his own prayer.
How to Find Today’s Meditation in Divine Intimacy
Divine Intimacy was written before the liturgical year calendar change was implemented with the Mass changes after the Vatican II Council. Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, with the help of Discalced Carmelite nuns for whom he was spiritual director, arranged these meditations around the liturgical year of the time in which he lived.
Many of us won’t be familiar with the numbering of weeks in Divine Intimacy. To quickly find the correct reading, follow these steps:
- Click this link https://latinmasshelper.com/readings/ to find where today falls according to the calendar of the 1962 Missal.
- Identify which Sunday is closest to your current date.
- Use the Divine Intimacy table of contents to find that Sunday.
- Move ahead as many days as you need to find today’s meditation.
For example, September 4, 2024 was a Wednesday, three days after a Sunday. That week followed the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, so I looked in the table of contents to find the Fifteenth Sunday, which is meditation number 294. Three days later, the September 4 meditation was number 297.
Sometimes I want to reflect on a specific topic, such as the gift of fortitude (something I can use as a mother!). In that case, I use the index to search for that topic and read the meditation suggested. Since I’ve been reading Divine Intimacy for a few years now, I use this approach a little more often.
How Divine Intimacy Helps Me Walk Closer to God
These meditations have taken root, gently shaping how I think and live day by day. I feel more confident and desirous to live the virtues, to pray more genuinely, to participate more fully in the life of the Church. Each time I read from Divine Intimacy, I’m inspired again to live for Jesus more completely. There is always more I can offer Jesus, and these meditations show me how.
One way I’ve grown from reading Divine Intimacy is in my daily examination of conscience. As I’ve spent time reflecting and making resolutions to live for Jesus, I have also grown in awareness of where I need change and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.
As Father Gabriel wrote, “Only the Lord can make us saints, [. . .] we must offer Him each day our good resolutions [. . .] and He will bring about [. . .] the miracle of our sanctification” (see Meditation 119, Part 2). Reading Divine Intimacy won’t make me a saint; but by reading it and praying with the meditations, my interior life has blossomed and drawn me closer to God in my daily walk.
Gina Fensterer is a wife of 20 years and mother of six children. She is passionate about finding God in the ordinary moments of her vocation. She loves Adoration, praying with Scripture, long morning walks, and fitness. She was a contributing author to And Hay Became Holy and our children's devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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