I remember, going back a few years now, setting out to explore the soaring interior trails blazed by the great Carmelite mystics, Sts. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, only to turn back in dismay. It seemed as though Teresa's mansions and John's dark nights, at least as laid out by the prayer masters themselves, were beyond my reach. Was I not sufficiently `spiritual' -- or just not smart enough? I didn't know. I just knew I wasn't getting anywhere with these two.
Not long after, I was browsing a relative's bookshelf when I happened upon a dog-eared copy of Fire Within, Marist Father Thomas Dubay's guided tour of the pair's writings. Specifically, it was the book's subtitle that caught my eye: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel -- On Prayer.
Evidently, giving up on the Carmelite superstars hadn't set well with my ego. "Mind if I borrow this?" I asked. "Not at all," my relative answered. Bad move on her part. By the time I finally found it within myself to part company with the book and return it to its rightful owner, she had tired of waiting and bought herself another copy. The "problem," such as it was, was that Fire Within had given me one of the most sublime reading experiences I've ever had.
So it was that Father Dubay coaxed me far deeper inside the prayer lives of Teresa and John than the two ever could have brought me on their own. (In a way, I suppose, not unlike the manner by which the Blessed Mother shows us aspects of her divine Son we would fail to see without her help.)
And so it was that, when I saw that he had just come out with a new book intriguingly subtitled Igniting a Fire Within, I made sure to get my hands on a copy straight away. I know a long-awaited companion volume when I see one.
Wrong. Prayer Primer isn't a follow-up to Fire Within. It's a brisk how-to manual drawing not only from that work, but also from Scripture, the Catechism, Vatican II documents and some of Father Dubay's other books.
Was I disappointed, given my expectations for another expertly guided trek up Mount Carmel? Sure, a little. But only until I started reading. Prayer Primer wasn't what I expected, but it did not fail to provide a bracing shot of motivation to my prayer life. I can always use one of those.
And what a strong shot it is. True to form, Father Dubay has meticulously organized rich and wide-ranging material, then seasoned it with his singular, lively, twinkle-eyed insights. There are chapters on reasons for praying, meditation, contemplation, liturgical prayer, family prayer, prayer in a busy life and assessing progress. And the nimble, gnomic asides could only have come from a priest, spiritual director and long-traveled pilgrim of the interior life whose childlike sense of wonder only seems to increase with his years.
"It is extraordinary that the Creator of billions of huge galaxies, each of which on average contains more billions of enormous suns, should descend to the tiny detail of telling us to 'close the door' of our prayer place," he writes. "This is an awesome tribute to our individual importance and that of communing with the Father: We and our prayer are more splendid than all the galaxies taken together!"
Judging by his writings, Father Dubay seems to enjoy the journey to God so much that you picture him arriving at the pearly gates and asking St. Peter for permission to go back and start the trip over again. His readers are the beneficiaries of his gentle, yet palpable, zeal.
For the beginning pray-er, here's a concise and engaging instruction manual. For the intermediate, a pep talk. For the advanced, a fine-tuning. Even if Prayer Primer doesn't scale the towering heights to which Fire Within ascended -- what could? -- it's a blast trailing this able and enthusiastic spiritual guide wherever he goes.
David Pearson is features editor of the National Catholic Register.
