Fire Within by Thomas Dubay

When I began to study about the Catholic Church in the hopes of converting, boy was I hungry.

I read every book I could get my hands on. The minute someone recommended a new book, I purchased it for my Kindle.

That year, I must have read 20 books within a couple of months. After I converted, I never lost that love for reading about my Catholic faith.

And so, I have read a lot – which brings me to this commendation: “Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and the Gospel-On Prayer” by Thomas Dubay.

This book is not for folks who are only interested in encyclicals & fun facts about vestments, but have very little interest in prayer.

This book is for people who hunger to unite their wills with God’s Will.

Do you wish to align your will to His?

Yes, I know the thought is scary because we want to do what we want to do,  when we want to do it.  

But if you were able to overcome your will, would you want to align  your will to His Will? 

Any Catholic worth his salt would say yes.

The Fire Within by Thomas Dubay

Many people find Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross to be inaccessible.  That mystical talk is just too obtuse, isn’t it? 

What if there was a book that was able to take sections of the writings of these two Doctors of Catholic mysticism and carefully weave them into a coherent map that could possibly lead to UNION WITH GOD?

Would you give it a try?

There is no doubt that the Carmelites are the experts on mediation and  contemplation. Fr Dubay, the author of this amazing book,  who was a Carmelite priest,  is no exception. May God rest his soul.

5 Quotes from the Fire Within

1. “Being in love with God is never boring.”
2. “If we are to love someone completely, there can be no room for a competing love.”
3. “I say that had you asked about meditation I could have spoken about it and counseled all to practice it. . . . But contemplation is something else. . . . This King doesn’t give Himself but to those who give themselves entirely to Him.”
4. “Contemplation and self-indulgence do not mix.”
5. “Concern for honor is devastating for prayer.”

This book left me hungering and thirsting for God and every time I feel that I’ve lost fervor for my faith. I read a couple of chapters.

You can purchase “Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and the Gospel-On Prayer” on Catholic Company.

Have you read this book? How did it change your life?