Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer

An excellent little book (124 pages) in which the late Father Thomas Dubay, S.M. (1921-2010), does what he does best: Instruct and encourage the serious Catholic to give up the willed venial sins and faults (habits) that prevent the full flowering of the contemplative/mystical life.In the true spirit of Vatican II, Father tells us that we are all called to holiness:"[W]e are all called to saintliness, not something less. ... Yes, the heights of holiness are for you and me, period. No matter what our past may have been ... no matter what state in life or career we are in ... we are all called to be saints. ... (We all have) the universal call to the heights of inner beauty and happiness." (PP. 32,41,42,49)The list of sins Father Dubay mentions too many Christians as not serious about giving up include, "gossiping, lies, laziness, vanity .. overeating, snapping at one another ... (and) linger(ing) on immodest television scenes or media photos." (PP. 47,91,110) Father Thomas tells us that these things prevent (one of the main themes of the book) "intimacy with the Trinity". (PP. 5,37,42,44,52,54,56,59,72,73,74,77,97-99,106,113,118,120) Here's a quote:"Your first duty as pastors is not projects and organizations, but to lead your people to a deep intimacy with the Trinity." -John Paul II to the Austrian bishops (P.5)As usual, Father includes many wonderful anecdotes about saints, holy people, and even historical figures. Some of these include Catherine of Siena, Therese, Bernard, Maximilian Kolbe, Benedict, Dominic, Francis de Sales, Ignatius, Augustine, Aquinas, Newman, the Cure d' Ars, Padre Pio, Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Mozart, and even Thomas Edison. Among my favorite quotes in the book are:"In Hebrews 10:34 we read of the faithful who for the truth have suffered the griefs and miseries of first century prisons, that they 'happily accepted being stripped of [their] belongings, knowing that [they] owned something that was better and lasting". (P.32)"If a man loves a woman authentically and profoundly (I am not speaking of the media version of love) he would not for a moment entertain the idea of harming her, or of tainting the beauty of her chastity." (P.100)"People who are not living life as it is meant to be lived should expect the painful consequences of their aberrations." (P.77)"The risen Lord in the Mass and in his Real Presence in the tabernacle is, through the Holy Spirit, the source of all life, all saintliness in the Church. Our renewal of the Paschal Mystery at the altar is the summit of each of our days on this earthly pilgrimage." (P.109)

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. It's really an exhortation to give up venial sins, and a big picture "how-to" manual of how to go about it. Fr. Dubay is mainly speaking to people who have given up serious sin, but still have faults they can't seem to get rid of: overeating, nagging, bad temper, selfishness, laziness are examples he frequently refers to. He tells us this is a common problem, because for most of us it's harder to give up these small bad habits than to steer clear of mortal sin. However, if we are to grow in Christian spirituality and works, we can't ignore our little faults: we must aspire to be saints.To make his point, Fr. Dubay frequently holds up great saints as our role models. One of his favorites is John Vianney, Cure of Ars, who for decades spent up to fourteen hours every day hearing confessions. His deep conversion expressed itself in works of almost unimaginable sacrifice and devotion to God. Is it possible for us to live like that? Fr. Dubay says, yes!While somewhat repetitive, the 120-page text is conversational, plain spoken, and requires no special background or education to understand. The instruction is practical and sound, focusing on how to develop the right frame of mind to give up sin, not on specific habit-changing techniques. This is by design. Fr. Dubay says that there are no quick fixes. Conversion, in his view, requires the "B's"--be concerned, be determined, be commited to prayer, be motivated, be humble, be specific, be perservering.With this attitude, frequent confession, and God's help, we can make enormous progress, to the great benefit of our souls and our human relationships. I found a lot of helpful advice and inspiring words in this book. I think the book helps you turn good intentions into actions.

I enjoyed this book which provides essential teaching on prayer and conversion including not just how but why behind it.

Anything written by Fr. Dubay is worth reading. In this short book, he distills insights from his years of study and spiritual direction. He calls us to move beyond mediocrity as Christians and to fall in love with God and be intimate with the Trinity. He calls us to more conversion even if we are already practicing, active Christians. I would have liked to see him address more the emotional and psychologial problems that underlie so many patterns of sinful and harmful behavior (even if our responsibility is diminished because of these psychological issues). I would also have liked to see a concrete focus on actually giving ourselves to Jesus in a fundamental prayer of conversion. Many active Christians have never had the first, fundamental conversion. That is the first step. But, given the many books Fr. Dubay has blessed us with, you will probably find what I missed in those other books. See my blog above for Oct. 18, 2006, for a more detailed review.

Fr Thomas Dubay is a great writer and very personable with many practical points made about conversion and deep prayer

So often we are in ruts doing and confessing the same things over and over with seemingly no hope of ever changing. This book outlines a easy to understand way of really changing that pattern and moving far beyond what we thought was possible.Why do we all shoot for simply not going to hell? Why not go for what Jesus wants us to be and experience His joy in us? With His grace, our mind opens up to see truth that is hidden when we are satisfied with all our "lessor sins."

Very helpful for those like myself who have found the Sacrament of Reconciliation difficult. However should be read alongside Confession: The Sacrament of Mercy.

For those interested in the how and whys of prayer, this is an excellent ressource. It shows that being a good christian or person is never easy, but always a worthwhile effort.

This book arrived totally scratched, even though it was bought new.

Most interesting.