Good bye, Father, and thank you.

"From Washington, DC:

This morning (9/26) at 4:45, the Lord welcomed into His Kingdom Rev Thomas Dubay, SM, after suffering kidney failure and massive bleeding in the brain. Father’s frail health had been declining ever since his admission to the Little Sisters of the Poor home in Washington more than a year ago, but his suffering was even more noticeable in recent months. Despite this fact, Fr Dubay was just as witty as ever.

When Father’s superior, Fr. Bruce Lery, SM, called the Little Sisters on Sunday morning to tell them, he said, "We have a saint in heaven" –how true! Fr. Dubay was hospitalized about a month ago and then transferred to a rehabilitation facility for specialized treatments but his health was steadily declining. Yesterday he was re-admitted to the hospital with bleeding in the brain, and he was put in coronary intensive care. Although the ventilator was removed, he continued to breathe on his own.

Although his preaching and spiritual direction was delivered to contemplative communities, his teaching was not for them alone. Religious the world over benefitted of his spiritual wisdom and guidance for years. He will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace after leading so many souls to true spiritual peace during his lifetime!"

I can still hear his voice in my mind saying "Stop it!" as he described some of our frequent excuses for not responding to God's call in some way. He was a real gift to the Church, and will be missed.

Here is a site where you can hear him and read him.

Good Soil

Luke 8:4-15

"How many good resolutions have come to nought when the spiritual life has become a struggle! These souls were seeking themselves rather than God. As St. Augustine pointed out, Some act for one reason. Others act for another. The fact is that few look for Jesus for the sake of Jesus....The key thing is to have the firm desire to reach Christ, to look for Jesus for the sake of Jesus. We can accomplish this only if we are faithful to our daily prayer, whether it comes to us easily or is more of a sacrifice.
...Prayer and mortification prepare the soul to receive the divine seed and then give fruit. Without these means, life remains sterile. The system, the method, the procedure, the only way to have a life abundant and fertile in supernatural fruits, is to follow the Holy Spirit's advice...all these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer. Nothing can be done without prayer!(quoting St. Basil) All roads that lead to God have to pass through prayer and sacrifice.
--from In Conversation With God

Our Lady of Sorrows

As Mary stood at the foot of the Cross on which Jesus hung, the sword of sorrow Simeon had foretold pierced her soul. Below are the seven sorrows of Mary:
1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50)
4. Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
6. The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
7. The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)


"Consider how love draws all the pains, all the torments, all the sufferings, all the sorrows, the wounds, the passion, the cross, and even the death of our Redemer into the heart of his most holy Mother." --St. Francis de Sales

Exaltation of the Cross

We adore you, O Christ and we praise you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Faith -- and Humility

Luke 7:1-10

"Humility is the prerequisite to belief, to coming close to Christ. This virtue is the narrow road that leads to growth in the supernatural life. Humility allows us to understand Jesus." (p. 20)

"Our faith unites us to Christ the Redeemer with his dominion over all creation. It gives us a security greater than any human activity can provide. Yet to have this faith we need the humility of that centurion. We need to see ourselves as nothing before Jesus. We resolve always to follow his lead, no matter what our feelings may be.

St. Augustine stated that all the gifts of God could be reduced to this: Receive the Faith and persevere in it to the end of your life. Humility will teach us to beware of our inherent weakness. The true obstacle to faith is pride. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (pp.22-23)
--taken from In Conversation With God, vol. 5

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"Her soul was the space from which God was able to gain access into humanity." (Pope Benedict XVI - quoted in Magnificat, p. 106)

"From the flesh of a lowly, unnoticed daughter of Israel, a people small and unimportant in the vast stretches of the Roman Empire, was born the One who would deliver the entire world from the bondage of sin and reign for ever as King of Kings and Lord of Lords." --from Magificat, p. 113

"Mary, my Mother, teach me to live hidden with you in the shadow of God." (from Divine Intimacy, p. 1152)

Mary's humility is such that even her birthday is focused on her Son.

Pray Well

Luke 6:12-19 Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.

"It has been said that those who truly pray are like the columns of the world, the props and supports without which everything would collapse. St. John of the Cross beautifully taught that even if it seems that nothing is happening, a little of this pure love is more precious before God and the soul, and does greater good for the Church, than all other works together...

St. Teresa echoed the words of a very learned man, for whom the souls who do not have a life of prayer are like a 'paralyzed' or crippled body, which, although it has feet and hands, cannot use them. Prayer is necessary to love the Lord more and more, in order never to be separated from him; without it, the soul falls into lukewarmness, loses its joy and the strength to do good...

All the solemn moments in the life of the Lord were preceded by prayer. The Evangelist tells us that it was precisely during the prayer of Jesus that he manifested the mystery of his Father's love and revealed the communion of the three divine persons. It is in prayer that we learn the mystery of Christ. In prayer we perceive, in all their dimensions, the real needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the world; in prayer we find the strength to face whatever lies before us; in prayer we obtain the strength for the mission which Christ shares with us. (John Paul II)

The holy Cure d'Ars used to say that all the evils that oppress us on earth come precisely from not praying, or from not praying well.
--from In Conversation with God, vol. 4, pp.584-585.

The Motives of our Hearts

Today's readings: I Cor 4:1-5, Psalm 37, Luke 5:33-39

"Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God."

St Paul is addressing judging himself. What is hidden in darkness - the true motives of our hearts - will be brought to light -- then we will receive praise from God. What darkness hides is something that will draw praise from God when brought to light. What does darkness try to hide? Our identity and our destiny. "Take delight in the Lord and he will grant you your heart's requests."

Let's not be afraid of the Lord bringing to light what is hidden in our souls -- because after the murky layers of darkness clouding our true selves are cleared away, we will be delighted to find Him at the center. We are "stewards of the mysteries of God". God made us and said "It is very good." What delights He has in store for His beloved!