MINI REVIEW: 33 DAYS TO EUCHARISTIC GLORY

A 33-day spiritual pilgrimage... 

My parents lent me their copy of this book after they'd gone through it themselves. I wasn't reading any other spiritual literature at the time, so I decided to begin this 33-day journey right away. 

HOW I RATED IT 

4/5 Although I kind of wish this went a little deeper in terms of the daily readings/reflections, I think this book is essential for any Catholic. 

 

CONTENT

As the book calls out, there are no shortage of books on the market that offer guided consecrations to various Saints, but none (or at least not many) that center around the focal point of the entire Catholic religion: The Eucharist. This aspect of the Faith is a layered and somewhat complicated one, but this book breaks things down in a remarkably simple way. It is self-described as a "spiritual pilgrimage" which is certainly something that many more people are going to be able to afford over a pilgrimage that involved airfare and travel. It is also a journey that the Author(s) would argue is no less important. Although his name is distinctly absent from the book cover and really any other form of credit outside of the book's Introduction, this is distinctively a Matthew Kelly book. I'm not sure if there were other contributors to it or not, but the style of the writing and some of the personal anecdotes provided mark him as being a major contributor at the very least. I think in many ways his authorship is a positive thing. He's hardly the most prolific or profound writer within Catholic literature, but he brings a simple and earnest style of reflection to the table that make his work accessible and easy to engage with. With a topic as important as the Eucharist, I did find myself looking for a little more complexity in the daily readings, but I think what was provided here was ultimately quite valuable. The short chapters also make it manageable to work into any schedule, no matter how crazy the week and the final prayer of consecration at the end is a powerful one. All in all, I'm quite happy to have gone through this and would absolutely say that any practicing Catholic should pick up this book. 

PAPERBACK QUALITY

I was lucky enough to be able to loan out a copy of the paperback edition from my parents who both went through it before handing it to me. I have since returned it to them, but I think I may very well pick up a copy for myself at some point whenever I feel like I would like to renew this consecration. The cover is really beautiful in a simplistic way which befits the text within. The paper, cover material, and interior formatting are all really lovely as well. I'd also say that this is quite a durable book. My parents are by no means gentle with how they treat their paperbacks (they both love to do that think where you curl the pages so that the book is tablet/block shaped. The book definitely had some character to it when it arrived in my hands (curled pages to some minor wet spots), but it showed no signs of falling apart and I was able to get it to sort of straighten itself back out over the thirty three days. It's now in one of my brother's hands and I suspect it will last quite a few more readings, so I think this paperback is a good investment for both the exterior product packaging and the words contained within.  

CONCLUSION

If you are a Catholic, then you should do your best to borrow or buy a copy of this book and embark on the spiritual journey it aims to guide readers through. 

(+) Simple, easy to follow daily readings that are also quite short

(+) A well made and beautifully designed paperback

(+) Kelly's writing is well suited to adults and teens of all ages and levels of spirituality

(+) Important subject matter that is seldom covered in other Catholic literature

(-) I wish the book had gone just a little bit deeper into the readings and reflections