Customer Reviews

The Gift of Faith

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A friend recommended this book to me about 6 years ago, and it took me about a year to actually read it. It changed my whole outlook on life and how to see God in every event of my life. It is a book of inspiration and hope. It is the key to opening up to God's mercy and unbounding love, it is a book on what is best for me and how to suffer less, by seeking ,finding, and doing God's will. A BEAUTIFUL read!

The Gift of Faith was the beginning of a new way of seeing the world for me. Through the eyes of faith everything in my life has taken on new meaning. The book describes what faith is, how GOD works in your life through the simple events, trials, the Sacraments, and prayer. It is a book that never grows old. You can pick it up, randomly open it and GOD will talk to you. It is as if a user manual for understanding the events of your life. This book is a gift for all people...especially to those who think they understand their faith, those who previously left faith behind, and those who say they have no faith.

I have a M.A. in Christian Spirituality and have read a wide variety of books on the spiritual life over the past twenty-eight years, none comes close to this work which is masterful both in its simplicity but also in its integration of Scripture,the tradition of the Church and the Sacraments. This is a fascinating book that can motivate you to change the way you live your life!

I am the author of The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You

Few books have made such an impact on my life as this one. It is a good book to read slowly and meditate upon, letting God speak to your life. I found it particularly helpful that Fr. Dajczer uses examples from Sacred Scripture and from saint's lives to illustrate his points. It is wonderful.

This book has revolutionized my way of thinking about and perceiving the events of my ordinary, everyday life. It continues to help me to recognize God's love in ALL that I experience, especially in the daily struggles of life. It has given me a vision full of hope...hope that rests in the power of God's Merciful Love.

The Gift of Faith was recommended to me by some friends in the Families of Nazareth movement. This book presents most of the core essentials of my faith. I believe that acceptance of the world as God made the world, acceptance of myself as God made me, and surrender to the will of the Lord are vital to living the way of Christ. Consistent with Christ's model, Dajczer provides not only very wise statements about faith, he also gives us wonderful illustrative examples from both scripture and the saints.

The Gift of Faith has three sections: the virtue of faith; the dynamism of faith; and the actualisation of faith. In virtue of faith we learn that God invites us to love Him, and faith leads to self-abandonment and reliance upon God. In dynamism we are invited to deepen our faith. We are told we can accept ourselves and consider our "happy faults". We learn to focus upon humor as a remedy to our self centeredness. In actualization we discover that the Holy Spirit wants to lead us in our journey of faith, and that the Blessed Mother teaches us the way to be open and adhere to the word of God.

What follows are several of the nuggets of wisdom in the book.

The fullness of faith is in love. Focus upon "now" as there is no past or future, only this moment, and the present brings love. Our "fear" of God hurts Him and hurts us. Fear prevents trust. I must know that God is love, that God loves me. Then I can trust Him. Be like a child, trust in God. When praying do not limit or judge the Lord, but believe in the wisdom and love of God and expect miracles.

We have a choice, attachment to things of this earth or to God. Dajczer talks of "inconceivable" faith, one which accepts death and trusts God enough to surrender to His will. This "inconceivable" faith is the faith that makes saints. The only way to true love and peace is "abandonment" of myself to God. When I believe I am strong, I lose focus upon God. It is through my weakness that I grow in trust and love of God. When I know I am weak and cannot control my life, I can abandon myself to the Lord. The key is not winning, but losing, not strength but weakness, not victory but surrender.

Knowing I am human, my mistakes can become "happy faults" if they help me believe in the mercy of God. I cannot know Christ until I know myself. I must know my sins, admit my faults, and realize that God accepts me as I am. I must learn to accept myself as Christ does, then I can learn to synchronize my thought with His thought.

The Gift of Faith is a great book. I recommend it for anyone wishing to grow in their faith.

I have been transformed by reading this book. It has helped me to see that grace comes in everything in life...that all things are from God, even the difficulties. It has helped me to rely only on God, and to see His grace through my daily struggles, failings and weaknesses.

Someone told me about this book when I was going through a hard time with believing. I'm not the kind to read cover-to-cover. Usually, I flip through the book, and see what catches my eye.
This book answered so many questions for me that I did not even know how to ask.

I love books and I have quite a collection of fantastic spiritual literature. But I can say with certainty that THIS book is the one book that has done the most for my own spirituality-- my entire worldview.

It is truly life-changing... that phrase seems trite sometimes, but I mean it with every ounce of conviction now. Ultimately it teaches you how to put everything in it's proper place and view suffering and joy on an equal field... I can't say enough good things about it.

What's more is that it is good for a second, third, and fourth read too... anytime you feel yourself slipping or "dry" or overwhelmed; this would be the book to pick up again and again.

As one who has always aspired to get my toe into heaven, but had no chance of being a 'saint,' this book gives me hope that holiness is not only possible, but is God's will and desire for me, and that He Himself will accomplish it! This book touches on all aspects of Catholic faith in a very profound, yet simple way, referencing the thoughts of many saints and drawing insightful images from Scripture. The author is the mentor of Slawomir Biela, a prolific spritual writer whose books I also find inspiring as one too little and weak to earn Eternal Life on my own.