Customer Reviews

Prayer Primer : Igniting a Fire Within

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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.

What is prayer? Why do we pray? Is all prayer the same? These are questions that many people do not know, or maybe do not even wonder about, yet it is so important. All Christians pray, or ought to, and this book explains the basics of it. Whether you feel a need to enhance your prayer life, or whether you are just curious about what you never were taught on the subject, this book makes an excellent read. I believe this book would be greatly beneficial for any Christian. It is filled with scriptural references throughout, as well as references to other sources such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and others by Dubay. It reads very fast, and one may feel inclined to read more on the subject, but the book gives you all you need to get going in the right direction, which is the most important thing. Very orthodox, by an expert on prayer, this book is a great read for Catholics. It would undoubtedly be of great use to protestants as well.

This book reminds me of buying a whole big tray of baklava and it is all sweet around. You can't say, I would rather choose this over that. It is all sweet. The author has a sweet spirit about him. He is so knowledgeable in the Bible. He is by no means a "Bible thumper", Lord have mercy on them! This author, Thomas Dubay, is saturated in the Bible and you taste the Bible with him in a fresh way and can't help but feel a fire indeed within you, that yearning for the Lord, intimacy with the Almighty that fills our void of heart. There are passages that Dubay quotes and it feels like I am reading them for the first time when they sounded before as mere preaching at my poor soul and I don't like to be preached to or talked at when it comes to spirituality. I enjoyed what he had to say on Isaiah 55: 1-3, Isaiah 26: 9, Psalms 42: 2-3 Psalm 63: 1 and 62: 1. You can quote the Bible all day long but unless it is flowing from you and it manifests the power of the living, it can be mere vain repetition, blah blah blah, yawn! Fr Dubay makes a beautiful statement on these verses of the Word of God and says, "The inspired writer knows thta God must be our consuming concern, for pursuing him, adoring him, loving him, being immersed in him can alone profoundly delight and fill us. Fr Dubay has taught me a verse from the Bible I never read before and it is in Ezekiel 16: 13 and 14: {14 The fame of your beauty spread through the nations, since it was perfect, because I had clothed you with my own splendour -- declares the Lord Yahweh.}

We all want to be beautiful. His will for us us to be "perfect in beauty". That beauty is not from us. Psalm 149:4 For Yahweh loves his people, he will crown (or beautify) the humble with salvation.

Fr Dubay answers the question we often ask about reaching the fulness of our manhood by quoting Henri du Lubac as saying that man is truly man only when the light of God is reflected in a face upturned in prayer. As long as the Lord is shining upon us with His face as we gaze on Him, we are certainly going to shine beautifully and His beauty will be seen by everybody who comes in contact with us. Atheists and Agnostics will not be persuaded by our arguments or human reasoning but they will look on us and see our faces and how much beauty of Christ they radiate. This is what it will take to attract people to the Christian message, never our supposed ability to persuade. Without the Lord we are empty, the self is all we have. We come to the Lord and give up our self-centredness, we, thus, attain the Lord of the universe and all else with Him. We get everything. The Lord fills the hungry with good things as the Mother of our Lord says. We are hungry, empty and He fils us up. He alone satisfies the heart, like no other. To be filled by Him we have to be empty of ourselves, empty of the self. On page 33, Fr Dubay says, God is (not simply, has) pures, unending love (1John 4:8). People in Islam may try to convince me that love is there in their religion. They are welcome to try, they can try harder. My God in the Bible, the Triune God IS love, not just has love but He is LOVE and his character would never permit anything that is not matching with LOVE. On page 33, Fr Dubay says, As we get closer and closer to God, we are transformed from one glory to another, and we thus become more and more like the One we love (2 Cor. 3: 18). To know more about me, please go to google and type "testimony of timothy abraham" and you will see my story on answering Islam and youtube.

This is a superb book. It is easy to understand but is also deep. The explanations of our need for communicating with God through prayer are logical and inspiring. If you want to improve and deepen your prayer life--Buy it ,you'll like it!

This book was given to me as a gift by someone who may not realize the impact it had on me. For anyone wishing to begin a prayer life and stay with it MUST read this book. Fr. Dubay does an exceptional job of explaining steps and reasons for them to help you get started. In addition, he provides excellent references and resources to further your journey into a prayer life. An easy read and a page turner. You will not want to put this book down and once read, will prompt you to look for more information and direction. Fr Dubay has a number of other books which further this process as well.

Father Dubay has a gift for writing - it keeps you awake, without the use of any gimmicks. This book is inspiring, authoritative, and gentle. Interesting from beginning to end.

I recommend anything written by Dubay, as I have never been disappointed with one of his works.

Excellent book. Used as a text with the University of Dayton's Virtual Learning Communities for Faith Formation. While not overly simplistic, it does provide a concrete and easily approachable introduction to the practice of various forms of Christian prayer.

This book is intended for the intelligent person who considers him/herself a beginner in prayer. It introduces the various types of prayer in a very understandable manner. Those who are familiar with Thomas DuBay already know that he is a wholehearted Christian who does not let society set the bar for his teachings. Those who are interested in persuing the Christian life with vigor should pick up this book or "Happy Are You Poor," another very thought provoking book.