Michael had been writing a column for the Diocesan newspaper called “Some Seed Fell” and posting them after publication on his blog. His sweet secretary Allison just sent me the last column he wrote, being published this week, that he wrote Monday night.
While in Washington, D.C. several weeks ago, I ran into an old friend, Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR, with whom I have collaborated on several books. We met after a Mass for pro-life leaders at Trinity College. It was exactly five years and 10 days from that night in Orlando, FL when Father Benedict nearly lost his life in a tragic accident, and almost four years to the day that I spent a week with him in New York, assisting him in putting the finishing touches on a book that he co-authored with Bishop Baker.
Working with a very frail Father Benedict at the time, I was reminded of an interview that he had given some years earlier at EWTN with Doug Keck on Booknotes. During that interview, when Father Benedict’s book Arise From Darkness was first published, Doug asked Father Benedict to elaborate on something that Father had called the “big lie” in his book. The “big lie,” Father Benedict said, (and I’m paraphrasing him at this point), is to think that if we say all the right prayers and live correctly, then nothing bad will ever happen to us. Sadly, there are many good people who have lost their faith by believing such a lie, and that makes it a big one indeed!
One only has to think of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, and how much He suffered on the cross, to correct one’s view on this matter. In our own day, there are many whom we know have lived saintly lives, many who have prayed much, and yet have suffered too.
This brings me to another incident that I learned from Father Benedict while working with him four years ago in New York. I was waiting for him to make some corrections on a text when I noticed what looked like a wedding program. I asked him if it was for a relative or a couple he had married. He replied that it was neither, but told me the story of the person behind it.
Diana was a young Puerto Rican woman who grew up in a very faith filled home. Even though they were poor, her mother taught her at an early age to trust God above everything. By the time she was old enough to go to college, Diana found a way to pursue her education – again something that she credited to her strong faith – and became the first member of her large family to graduate from college. She then married and was hired by a large investment firm in New York.
Even though her job kept her busy, she found time to attend Mass everyday. When her friends threw parties, Diana made up goodie bags for them that included candy and make-up, but also a prayer book and holy water. When a member of her family couldn’t pay their bills, Diana secretly paid them. When someone in the family got into trouble she bailed them out of jail.
One night Diana had a strange dream. In the dream Jesus appeared to her, dressed in a white robe, standing on a cloud of smoke. He was beckoning her to come to him, telling her not to worry, that he was going to take her with him. Then it seemed to her that the whole world disappeared from beneath her and she awoke. She told her husband about the dream the next morning, but he didn’t want to hear about it—it scared him.
The next few nights, the dream repeated itself. She told her mother, who wondered what it could mean.
A month later on September 11, 2001, Diana was at work at her investment firm in the World Trade Center on one of the top floors. She phoned her husband and mother on her cell phone after the second plane struck the tower below her. She reminded them of the dream, just before the tower crumbled.
What is the opposite of the “big lie”? Trust.
When questioned by an English journalist about the future of the Religious Order that he co-founded, Father Benedict gave a simple reply, “We have no plans, except to be led by God.”
None of us knows what the future holds, but hopefully we can embrace what is inscribed in our coinage, “In God we Trust.”
ARRANGEMENTS
Viewing
Sunday, February 8
5-8 pm
7pm Vigil Service
Fr. Brian Flanagan, Diocese of West Palm Beach
1475 Old Dixie Highway
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Office: (904) 824-1672
MASS OF THE RESURRECTION
Monday, February 9
11am
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
35 Treasury Street
St. Augustine, Fl
904-824-2806
Most Reverend Robert J. Baker, celebrant
Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J., homilist
Friends:
If you knew Michael in any capacity – as a friend, editor, co-worker – and have a specific remembrance you would like me and others to read, please email me. Either the text, or if you have a website or blog, the link – such as this kind remembrance from Greg Erlandson at OSV. There are many out there that I have already read, especially from OSV authors whom he edited and mentored. I am collecting them and will publish them next week. Thank you.
Cathy Dee has done just about the best job of capturing who Michael was. Thank you, Cathy.
If you would like to hear Michael speaking about the topics so important to him, please go to the Omaha Catholic radio station KVSS page, where they have downloads of all the many interviews he did with them over the past few years.
Michael’s obituary at the funeral home website. Amended versions will appear in the Birmingham, Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Keene, NH newspapers.
The readings for Michael’s funeral Mass:
With affection and deep sympathy, I unite myself to you and your family in prayer before our Lord. Now, more united to Christ whom he loved, Mike is a husband and father more than ever before and nothing can keep him from being with you, not time nor space.
“Christ draws me to himself completely, so beautiful is He.”
-Jacopone da Todi
Day is done, but love unfailing
Dwells ever here;
Shadows fall, but hope, prevailing,
Calms every fear.
Loving Father, none forsaking,
Take our hearts, of Love’s own making,
Watch our sleeping, guard our waking,
Be always near.
Dark descends, but Light unending
Shines through our night;
You are with us, ever lending
New strength to sight;
One in love, your truth confessing,
One in hope of heaven’s blessing,
May we see, in love’s possessing,
Love’s endless light!
Eyes will close, but you, unsleeping,
Watch by our side;
Death may come: in Love’s safe keeping
Still we abide.
God of love, all evil quelling,
Sin forgiving, fear dispelling,
Stay with us, our hearts indwelling,
This eventide.
My prayers are with you and your family.
Amy, I’m so sorry.
Amy, so sorry to hear of your loss. I’ll keep you all in my prayers.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all. I’m here if you need me.
Thank and praise You Father for Michael Dubriel’s continued presence in our lives. He’s still touching our lives.
Oh my goodness! How powerful! Thank you for sharing Michael’s column with us. Prayers are surrounding all of you. We will all continue to pray.
May our Blessed Mother hold you all very close.
God bless,
Donna
I am so, so sorry for your loss. Michael and you and your entire family will be in my prayers.
From a blog reader in Australia,please accept condolences and prayers.
“Ego sum resurrectio et vita.
Qui credit in me
etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet.
Et omnis qui vivit et credit in me,
non morietur in aeternum.”
Heartfelt condolences.
Amy,
My deepest sympathy to you and your family. I have been a faithful reader of your blog for a few years now, and even though I have never met you or your husband, I very much feel that I know both of you. May God bless you all. You remain in my prayers.
Amy, I don’t know you, but I follow http://www.bettnet.com and learned of Michael’s passing last night on Dom’s website. I am so very sorry for your loss. Be assured of a remembrance in my prayers.
I am very sorry for your loss. I prayed for you and your deceased husband at Mass today.
Amy, words aren’t coming easily right now but perhaps a simple wish that our Lord will comfort you and the kids through the shock and grief will suffice. Prayers of sorrow whispered through tears immediately bring about the loving presence of our Blessed Mother.
I am so sorry! You and your family are in my prayers.
You have our prayers — for strength, comfort, the peace that passes all understanding, and the repose of your dear husband’s soul. He will be missed by many.
Amy,
I’m so sorry for your loss.
I just bought 3 copies of Michael’s book on Novenas the other day. They arrived today. I will definitely use my copy to pray for him and for you and your family.
Diana
Amy – thinking of you and your family in your great grief.
-Martin from Australia
No plans, except to be led by God.
God bless Michael – and God bless all of you.
He will be in my music for weeks to come.
“None of us knows what the future holds, but hopefully we can embrace what is inscribed in our coinage, ‘In God we Trust.'”
What a beautiful testament to your husband’s faith and trust in our Heavenly Father. Thank you for sharing, and please know my prayers and the prayers of all those you and your husband have touched with your words and your lives are hoping to lift you and your family up in this time of sorrow.
May you find rest, peace, and comfort in the love and promise of Christ.
Blessings,
Kate
Thank you for sharing this beautiful and hopeful column in the midst of your sorrow. We are all praying for you and your family!
Amy,
My prayers are with you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss. May you continue to be upheld in prayer.
God’s Blessings,
Gail
I am so, so very sorry.
You and your family will be in my prayers.
Amy, I’m so sorry- thank you for allowing us to accompany you on this leg of your journey. My prayers are with you and your family.
Amy,
You and your family have been in my prayers all day, as you will continue to be.
You surely don’t know me
but am a regular reader of your blog…
Please accept my condolences and rest assured of my prayers… for Mike’s eternal repose and for all those who mourn because of his passing away. God bless!
In the place of rest which is Yours, O Lord, where all Your saints repose, give rest to the soul of your servant, for You alone love mankind.
Grant rest, O Lord, to the soul of Your departed servant, in a place of light, joy, and peace, where there is no pain, sorrow or mourning. May he find pardon for all his sins both voluntary and involuntary.
Eternal Memory!
Thank you for posting that beautiful story. I am so stunned and sorry for your loss; I am praying for you and the children. Eternal rest grant unto Michael, O Lord.
I don’t know the author of this quote, but it has always comforted me:
“Those who live in the Lord never see each other for the last time.” …
These same thoughts and understanding have been plaguing me for the past few months. I have lived my christian walk believing the lie – that trusting Him will lead to an easy, pleasant, and materially abundant life. It is a lie and believing it leads to anger, bitterness and unbelief. God promised His good for us – Romans 8:28 – for our good. And He is the best parent to bring good into our lives to make us holy, into people more like Him, stripping away the junk of this world to make us as He desires. It is for our good. Sometimes, often, it’s hard. It’s discipline but it’s because He loves us and wants us holy and better and righteous. For my good. That’s the truth. The lie is big in Christian circles. Especially in the U.S.
I rejoice that Michael knows this truth, he is in glory and enjoying His savior.
Amy, thank you for sharing the gift of one last column. I thought it was so fitting that in one of Michael’s last updates on Facebook he stated that he was working on this, “as well as a host of ways to spread the faith”. We have been praying for you non-stop and looking for ways to spread the word about Michael’s work and life. Prayers and hugs, Lisa
Amy – Prayers in abundance for you, Michael and the kids.
Peace be with you.
Amy:
I was stunned when I heard about Michael while on a road trip and spent my flight back praying for you all. He was a very good man and a very intentional disciple.
May the Mercy of God cover, protect, and comfort you all.
I’m only an occasional visitor here, but I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. You will all be in my prayers.
Amy, may Our Lady comfort you in your sorrow. I will keep you and your family in my prayers.
Dave in Knoxville
Amy,
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
I hadn’t intended to relate this, but your post of Michael’s last column is stunning. We lost our pastor, Father Michael C. Kelly, on New Year’s Eve. His last column also ended, “In God We Trust”.
http://stfrancisdesalescatholicchurch.org/Bulletin/jan.%204.pdf.
He, too, was a special person who loved our Lord and the Church.
Michael, you and your family are in my prayers.
I am very sorry for your loss, my sympathy to you and your entire family. ++++++++++
Amy:
My prayers are with you and your children and are said for Michael also.
What terrible news.
If it’s any comfort at all, one of his books about adoration was a wonderful read and a tremendous comfort while in a very difficult time in my life.
I am sure he was met with, “Job well done.”
Be assured of continued prayers.
Kathleen
Amy, we are so sorry for your loss,
Thank you for publishing that article by
Your husband, it meant so much
Amy, I am so sorry for your loss. Please be assured of my prayers for Michael, you and your entire family.
Prayers for the repose of Michael’s soul, and for consolations for you and the boys from Our Lady, and her Son.
I will remember Michael in my Divine Office in the coming days, and in my Mass intentions.
I’ll pray some Rosaries for you and the boys.
Amy,
So much of our understanding of God and His mysteries are tied up in our spousal/familial relationships. May His grace see you through this time. Michael and your family are in my prayers. His will be done.
Amy, my heart goes out to you. I’ll offer my next mass for the repose of his soul.
My family’s prayers will be with you & your children at this very difficult time. I have lost my entire birth family, including my extended family, & 6 children, so am very familiar with grieving.
I wish I could give you a big hug & tell you Michael is watching out for all of you right now. Know that he WILL always be with you through the Communion of Saints! At every Mass, especially, he’ll be with you.
God be with you!
Sue & Mike Zappa & family
Bless you for sharing this column, even in your time of great sorrow. The healing goes on, right through our pain…
Heartfelt condolences, Amy. You, your family, and your husband’s soul are in my prayers.
In this hour of grief, may Our Lord and His blessed Mother strengthen you.
*****
In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem.
Lux aeterna luceat ei, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
So sorry to hear about Michael’s sudden call home. I’ll be saying Mass for him tomorrow.
I am so sorry for your loss, Amy, and will pray for the repose of Michael’s soul, as well as for you and your children.
The good that he did lives on, especially through his books. Blessed Fr. James Alberione, our founder, used to say that our publications continue to do good to people even when we can no longer do our mission because of illness or other reasons. He sleeps in the Lord but his words live on.
God bless you.
My condolences.
Please accept my condolences and prayers.
Dear Amy, my little brother died a year ago at the age of 50. He and his family were new Christians.
I still pray for him and his family and will for a long time. I will add your family to those prayers.
I’m very sorry. The God of peace be with you all.
I am so very, very sorry, Amy. You will all be in my prayers.
Dear Amy,
Sorry to hear the sad news. I have been praying for Michael today. And will continue to remember him at Holy Mass and prayers. Take care. God bless.
Trust a writer to get in the last word.
Our deepest sympathy to you and your children. May your husband’s soul rest in peace, and thank you for sharing his final, and profoundly moving, column.
Amy,
My heart aches for you, even though I’ve only known you through your writing. As a fellow mother of five, I am with you through my prayers.
Thanks so much for gracing us with Michael’s last column. It is very prophetic.
Blessings and peace, even though it might come very slowly. God is with you. Michael too.
Roxane
You are surrounded by the love and prayers of so many people … even unknown to you… whose lives you and Michael have touched through your thoughtful and wise observations.
May God bless Michael and may He give you and the children His peace.
Amy and I are praying for you and Michael and your family. And we’ll be buying some of Michael’s books…
Dear Amy,
Thank you for your generosity in sharing Michael’s column with us.
It has been my great joy to witness the love you two have shared with each other, and with your children.
Thank you for that. And for so many other things.
May God reward you all abundantly.
Amy, I can not even imagine the shock and grief that you and your family are going through right now. Please be assured of my prayers and sacrifices for Michael’s soul and for comfort for you and your children.
modo bis familiam tuam convenimus, sed lectores libros tuos maritique, et amici Gauravi sumus. Dolemus nuntii causa. Preces nostrae te tuisque. Vulnus tuum non cito sanabitur, sed gratiam donat Deus.
Chorus angelorum eum suscipiat et lux aeterna luceat eo.
Bene maere.
My prayers are for your and Michael’s family and loved ones.
I loved his last column which you posted above.
Amy – I offered up all the sufferings (two of the hardest days in a long while) of the last two days for you and for Michael. May you know the consolation of a poverty that becomes rich with the presence of God’s will and love.
I am praying for Michael, you and your family.
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him, may he rest in peace. Amen.
May the Lord be with you and your family and console you in your loss. God bless you and keep you Amy.
Honoring Amy’s request, OSV is donating proceeds from Mike Dubruiel books sales to the childrens’ college find. http://tinyurl.com/b8msbk
I’m so sad to learn of your husband’s sudden death via “Standing on My Head.” I lost my husband suddenly two years ago. I will remember you and your family in my prayers.
Amy, in a fit of insanity, the folks at KCHS elected me president of the school board. It’s been a relatively easy job until now.
On behalf of the entire Knoxville Catholic High School family we offer our most profound sympathies and condolences.
There is not much more I can say except:
“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. And may his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”
God bless you and yours.
Pat Gang
KCHS ’75
A poignant column. I’m very sorry for your loss, Amy.
Amy, I have lurked on your blogs for several years without ever posting. I want to express my deep sorrow and profound condolences and assure you of my prayers for Michael, you, and your family.
I think of all the people you’ve touched that you’ll never meet; all the lives you’ve influenced that you may never be aware of. I imagine them all as threads in some giant quilt. I hope that quilt can be a comfort to you now. We all love you.
Amy,
I am extremely sorry for your loss and that of your family.
If only more of us could part this world with such a gloriously poignant and prescient sentiment as Michael, we could possibly hope to beckon as many souls to that peaceful rest as he no doubt has done, and will continue to do.
Sincere condolences to you and your family during these days of loss.
Amy,
You mean so much to so many people, including me. I am so sorry you have lost your beloved husband. The whole of the cyber-community you have sustained mourns with you, and prays for you.
May you feel the embrace of God’s love, as angels’ wings, around you and your children through the difficult days.
Amy,
Thank you for sharing Michael’s last column.
May the Blessed Mother hold you and your children close to her Immaculate Heart. Our family’s prayers are for you and for the repose of Michael’s soul.
Amy, your books have meant so much to our family, my children especially, that we’ve felt we knew you. A convert to Catholicism myself, I owe you a lifelong debt of gratitude for being part of my oldest children’s persuasion (it was that for them, more than conversion). We are praying for you and your family.
Beautiful article. I don’t really know you, but I’m impressed by you and offer my condolences. Eek, that sounds so insufficient and lame. Still, best for you and your family in this time.
Amy,
This was a shock even to those of us who only know you and Michael through your blog. Please know that our family is praying for all of you.
Dear Amy,
I am just a frequent visitor to your blog, a fan. I have the How to book and will get one for my sister.
I will and have been praying for you and especially your children.
I know what it is like to lose your father at young age.
Thank you for sharing the column.
God grant you and your family comfort. I’ll remember you and Michael in my prayers.
Amy we prayed the rosary for your family tonight. Thank you for reaching out to share this profound column in your time of suffering. I’m so sorry.
When questioned by an English journalist about the future of the Religious Order that he co-founded, Father Benedict gave a simple reply, “We have no plans, except to be led by God.”
None of us knows what the future holds, but hopefully we can embrace what is inscribed in our coinage, “In God we Trust.”
Such fitting words. God bless him.
Keeping you and your family in our prayers.
I was thinking only tonight of the need to be open to God’s will for us. As I have been pondering my own future, many different sources have, seemingly randomly, converged upon the concept of open heartedness to God, that we be willing to be led to what is good and right.
I am a brand new reader of this blog – never before have I landed here – and I arrive at a time of great sadness and loss. Yet I know that earthly loss is but the other side of the joy of a heavenly arrival.
Requiescat in pace, Michael.
Amy, please accept the prayers of my family for you and the kids. What a great gift that last column is. Incredible. The Good Lord must love you very much to have inspired your husband to write on this topic when you need it most.
Sincerely, Monica
Amy,
What a beautifully moving and fitting last article. I am so, so sorry for your tremendous loss. Know that all of you are in our prayers.
Amy, so often you write heartfelt thoughts when other members of the Catholic family experience painful losses. When I first saw your entries I thought it was one of those. I am so very sorry. You and your children will be in my prayers and, I am sure, the prayers of so many that you and Michael have inspired and touched.
Amy, this is such a beautiful column, almost as though he’s speaking to you and about himself, consoling you. I am so sorry for your loss. You and your family are in our prayers.
Amy,
I join the prayer, that God will bring light, comfort, and His tender touch to you in your time of darkness.
Maybe it will be in a dream, such as Diana experienced…
Several years ago my godfather, after suffering years of mental illness, ended his life. This troubled me greatly.
Six months to the day that he died I had a dream that was God’s gift of peace and assurance of His deep love for us all.
Please God, that Amy and her children will experience your love in a new and certain way.
What words can’t adaquately express, prayer can. Theresa and I have been saying lots of them.
Amy,
So sorry for your loss. Prayers for you, Michael and your children.
Amy, I promise to pray for you, your children and Michael. By God’s grace may the prayers of the many whom you have helped over the years now be of help to you as you and your family carry this heavy cross.
Amy,
May I simply sit beside you on your mourning bench? (Nicholas Wolterstorff).
My deepest condolences and sincere prayers for you and those you love. To paraphrase St. Paul in a way that someone did as a comfort for me after the loss of a loved one: Michael now knows as he has always been known.
thank you Trish. That last statement brought me up about thirty steps. I realized how little I had been thinking about Michael, as opposed to focusing on my loss. Thank you.
Amy–
I’m terribly sorry for your loss and am praying like crazy for you all.
Thanks be to God for the wonderful blessing of having this final consolation. Jesus, we trust in You. God bless you, Amy, and your family. God bless you and keep you. Christ is holding all of you *together* in His arms.
How unerringly insightful and exquisitely profound, that last column of Michael’s…and what a beautiful last testament. May the Lord bless and keep you, dear Amy.
I am very sorry for your loss. I do not know you yet after reading your blog and Michael’s Last Column – I felt like I did in a very big way.
Both of you are God’s beautiful gift to the rest of us. Thank you for your love and devotion to our Father in Heaven and for that unwavering faith in Him.
May the loving comforting arms of the Father in heaven surround you and your loved ones at this very difficult time.
Rex Dela Pena
Laguna, Philippines
My prayers are with you and your family and I’ll be checking out his books in the morning.
Amy, you and your family have my deepest sympathies and my prayers.
Dear Amy
Your writing and your faith have been a several-times-a-week inspiration. I pray that you will have the strength to carry your young children through these days, and in the ever-hard days after the funeral.
Since I am in Jerusalem, I will tonight put Michael’s name in the western wall, and pray for you all at the Holy Sepulchre.
Please know that thousands of us out here want to embrace you in your pain and gradually help you feel the time when there will be no more death, tears, pain. May God bless you,
Tom Ryan
What a beautiful last column of Michael’s. I’m reading it through tears. May God comfort and protect you and your children. I will be praying for you.
I’ve followed your blog for the last 5 years or more. You formed a part of the cornerstone of the virtual catholic community that enabled my conversion to the Holy Catholic Church. It is within in her walls that I have learned to have courage enough to pray for our dead, and hope in Christ’s mercy. I know that your lay apostolate has won a small army of people just like me, who now pray for your beloved.
Thank you for your witness.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My father died the same way just last year, I know how it feels to lose someone so suddenly and unexpectedly. You and your family are in my prayers tonight.
God Bless,
Brian
Amy, it is with heartfelt sympathy I read of your dear husband’s passing. Blessings and condolences at this sad time. I simply offer my prayers from the other side of the world for you and your children. God Bless.
Matt from Australia
Amy,
I am a reader and fan from Rome. We have a lot in common; older kids, young kids and busy lives.
I have often been grateful for your blog for helping me decipher Vatican moves and giving me perspective.
But I am particularly grateful for your husband’s last column. It was clearly a life well-lived.
Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.
Please look me up when you come to town. CW
I am so sorry for your loss. May God bless you and your family.
A blog reader.
I am praying for you all.
Amy, i am so very sorry for your loss. Having lost my beloved to a young and sudden death when our daughter was 8 months old, i know perhaps, a little of your pain. I had not faith in God in those dark days…i hope your faith in God will bring you comfort in your time of grief.
My heart truly goes out to you and to all your children at this sad time.
Prayers ascend for the repose of the soul of your dear husband and prayers too for yourself and for all who hold Michael dear in their hearts, that they may be comforted.
God Bless you.
Dear Amy, as a sometime reader and admirer of your writing, I offer prayers for your suddenly departed husband, Michael, from the holy places here in Rome where I study for the priesthood. May angels lead your husband into Paradise; may the martyrs receive him at his coming, and lead him to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive him, and with Lazarus who once was poor, may he have eternal rest.
Deepest sympathies to you and your family on the loss of your husband and father. Thank you for posting Michael’s last column.
I am so sorry, Amy. May God surround you and your family with his love and compassion. My condolences and prayers for you all.
In a twelve-month period when I have lost two very dear family members very suddenly, and as I write this note, at this very moment, my last family member is undergoing a serious operation; all I can say is that in our Lord Jesus Christ, you are now closer to your dear husband than you have ever been, and he to you. These past months have shown me how faithful our Lord is. You stand at His cross now, but the time will come when you, and all the faithful in Christ, will glory in the light of the Resurrection.
With love and prayers for you, and yours.
Dear Amy, I have never met you, and I never met Michael, although I heard of you both through my friend, Michael Tinkler and my sister, Sr. Margaret Andrew. I knew you best through the blog and Michael through what you said of him there. I will offer Mass for the repose of Michael’s soul, and I will pray for you and your children.
Faithfully, Fr. John Sims Baker
I’m so sorry to hear this news. Please be assured that our family is praying for Michael, for you and the children, and all his loved ones.
May the Blessed Mother comfort you in your sorrow.
With love,
Melanie Small
Amy, I am so sorry for your loss. I will keep Michael, you and your family in my prayers.
Please accept my condolences and be assured of my continuing prayers for Michael, and for you and your family.
My heart just hurts so much for you and your kids, while at the same time rejoices with the hope of things unseen for your husband.
So, so many prayers, and a renewed dedication to not live one. single. day. just going through the motions. Thank you and Michael, too, for the gift of sharing yourselves with all of us.
Dearest Amy, you are in the heartfelt prayers of my family. My children, especially, are saying many Hail Marys for your boys.
I will be offering up my next Mass and Holy Hour for your intentions and Michael’s. My eyes see so poorly what is real, but I will ask Michael’s intercession to help me pray (and live) as I ought.
May Our Lady be a source of grace and comfort for your family, today and always.
With love & blessings,
Margaret Berns
Amy, you and your family are in our prayers. Thank you for giving us Michael’s last column; or I should say thank you, Michael, for this insightful inspiration of a column. Those of us who are facing going home sooner than we had hoped can find encouragement in Michael’s words. It must be a comfort to you to see what was on his mind in his final days.
My condolences.
I know how little use words are at such a time.But mine, poor as they are, are going to Our Lord on behalf of you and the children, and for the repose of Michael’s soul. This last column was a lovely note to remember him by. I am so, so sorry.
I have come a long way in the last few years thanks to the writings of people like your husband. You may never know the ones out there who are reading silently, not posting any comments, but taking it all to heart. Your husband’s final post touched one more heart, mine.
My family prays for Michael, you and your family.
Amy, I was shocked and saddened to read about Michael’s death. I will keep you, him and your family in my prayers.
I’m so sorry for your loss. My prayers are with you and your family. May Michael rest in peace with our Lord.
I’m so sorry.
God bless you.
Amy
you have been a support to me in the past, through your blog and a kind e-mail. You and your family are in my prayers.
Amy, I am heartily sorry for your loved one’s absence. I do not call it loss for he has gained so much. Be comforted in the knowledge that he now watches over your family in the comfort and joy of Jesus, which he so tirelessly promoted while with you on earth. Be assured that he will forever be with you until we are all reunited on the last day. God Bless.
It seems that we all feel we know Michael, even those of us who didn’t even know what he looked like, from your loving descriptions of your family doings. The shock of the news felt like a death in the family.
What an incredible last column. What a wonderful father and husband. May his words console you.
Last night we learned a few new pieces at choir practice. One in particular made me think of your situation. The gist of it was:
There is no pain or sorrow that heaven cannot take away.
I pray that will be so in time for you and yours.
I don’t comment here often but I always appreciate your posts. I am terribly sorry for your loss. There is nothing to say — but I will buy some books. I’ve been meaning to do that for a long time anyway.
I have no words of my own, but perhaps these will do.
If the tumult of the flesh fell silent for someone,
and silent too were the phantasms of earth, sea and air,
silent the heavens,
and the very soul silent to itself,
that it might pass beyond itself by not thinking of its own being;
if dreams and revelations known through its imagination were silent,
if every tongue and every sign and whatever is subject to transience
were wholly stilled for him
— for if anyone listens, all these things will tell him,
‘We did not make ourselves,
he made us who abides forever’ —
and having said this they held their peace
for they had pricked the listening ear to him who made them;
and then he alone were to speak,
not through things that are made, but of himself,
that we might hear his Word,
not through fleshly tongue nor angel’s voice,
nor thundercloud,
nor any riddling parable,
hear him unmediated, whom we love in all these things,
hear him without them,
as now we stretch out and in a flash of thought
touch that eternal Wisdom who abides above all things;
if this could last,
and all other visions, so far inferior, be taken away,
and this sight alone ravish him who saw it,
and engulf him and hide him away, kept for inward joys,
so that this moment of knowledge —
this passing moment that left us aching for more —
should there be life eternal,
would not ‘Enter into the joy of your Lord’
be this, and this alone?
And when, when will this be?
When we all rise again, but not all are changed?
Augustine, Confessions, Book IX,
Amy,
Our Lady of the Snow has been a great comfort to me in the loss of my mom 2 years ago. There are no words now, but there is the Word.
Amy,
I am so very, very sorry. What a beautiful last column. Many prayers offered.
Amy,
I have read your blog for many years and Michael’s for the past few years. We all will miss Michael’s work and grieve for your sudden, stunning loss. May God enfold you and your family in His love and consolation.
Jim
Hi Amy – I have only recently (within the last couple of weeks) started visiting your blog. I am so sorry for your loss and I will pray for you and your family. May God walk with you through this difficult time, and throughout your entire lives.
And thank you so much for sharing Michael’s touching and poignant column.
Amy,
Very sorry for your loss. You and your family are in my prayers.
Amy, I am heartbroken for you and your family. Please accept my deepest sympathy. What a beautiful life of faith both you and Michael have led. May the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding surround you and your family during this time. You are in my prayers.
May light perpetual shine upon him.
And may the Good Shepherd, who calls his own sheep by name, make you and your children able to hear His voice and follow where He leads, even in this great sorrow—just as your beloved husband now hears His voice, and sees Him, face to face.
I am so sorry for your loss.
Though like my mom (Julia from Illinois) I have not known you or your husband personally, but it seems like we are neighbors.
My heart and prayers will be with you.
Ms. Welborn:
I always used to think that there were plenty of words in the English language to say anything one wishes to say, but now I feel like I don’t have enough to express my deep sympathy for you and your children.
I love Mr. Dubriel’s last column, and I love the fact that these were the words he leaves you with…he leaves all of us with. He remains a true champion of the Faith, and I pray that God will speed him to his heavenly reward and keep you and your kids closely enfolded in His mercy as you learn to cope with your loss. May God bless you all.
Amy, I am so sorry. Thank you for posting Michael’s column – he continues to minister truth.
Amy:
Our family grieves with you and yours in your loss. Our deepest sympathy.
Thank you so very much for sharing Michael’s last column. How poignant, how perfect and what a testimony to the heart of this lovely man. We are touched by his legacy and pray God continue to pour His sweet mercy and consolation upon you.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. May perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
Praying for you…
Amy, you and the family are in our thoughts and prayers.
God’s life is Love
God’s love is Life!!!
Please be assured of my prayers and of my deepest sympathy.
Dear Amy,
I am so very saddened by your great loss. I pray for Michael’s soul. May he too hear the words of our blessed Lord; “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into God’s eternal kingdom”.
May our Lord comfort you and your children. Place all your trust in Him.
I am a long-time fan of your blog, though I very seldom comment. This last column, and your whole situation, brought tears to my eyes. Please be assured of my prayers.
Amy,
We are all so touched by the writings of your dear husband and also deeply sad for your loss. In time
if not already, you will feel his presence and know that
he is still with you all. God will allow for that and you will continue on with God’s message too. Bless your
little ones also.
So very sorry for your loss.
Dear Amy, may God grant Michael eternal peace and may He watch over your family, especially your little ones.
Amy, I sat at dinner with my family last night, my young children, and we all prayed for you and your family.
I hope that these messages of support and sympathy and love will give you some comfort in the days and weeks ahead.
As I read Michael’s column I thought of John Paul II saying there are no coincidences with God. But the human pain is no less for having Christian hope. I’ll try and keep you in my prayers in those days and weeks and months ahead. I hope the blog gives you some support.
God bless,
Christopher Mc Camley,
Ireland
My deepest condolences Amy. I hope you can find some measure of comfort in these dark times in knowing that both Michael and yourself are truly loved by so many people that you’ve never even met.
“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. “
Lord, may it be so.
Amy:
We feel like we know you and your family after years of reading your blogs. We’re praying for Michael and all of you. Your boys were blessed to have him, if only for a little while.
I have been praying for the physical safety of your family for two weeks now… due to things I’ve seen on the news.
So God must have had a supervening very high reason to say no to that prayer in respect to Michael. I’m crying in a public library. That’s all right now.
Like many here, I only know you from your blog. Yet, when I heard the news yesterday morning I was heartbroken. Thank you for posting Michael’s last column. Thank you for all the work you both have done to promote the faith. I will pray for the repose of Michael’s soul and that the Lord comfort you and your family.
LIke many others, I’ve never met you or your dear husband, but have enjoyed reading both your blogs. Thank you so much for posting Michael’s final article for us to share and be fed by. It’s so typical of you to think of others in the midst of your grief. God bless you and the family, Amy, and may he grant Michael eternal happiness in heaven. I hope that some day we will meet, and I can express to you personally my deep gratitude for helping me re-discover my faith. “Be strong, and let your heart take courage; trust in the Lord”.
Much affection and love goes out to you all.
What a column. A great testament to a great man, it seems.
Amy, I’m so sorry. Our family will be keeping yours in our prayers. FWIW, if I were hurting and could have anyone in the world pray for me, it would be my eldest daughter, so putting her on your case is the best gift in my power.
Amy,
So sorry to see your loss, you are in our prayers.
John
Amy, I offered our rosary for Michael and for you all this morning and will keep you in our prayers. We are so deeply sorry for your loss and will continue to keep you in our prayers. M
Amy, I only know you and Michael from the ‘net and from your books, but I want to offer my sincere condolences and deepest sympathy. My heart goes out to you.
With prayers for God’s blessings and comfort,
James Wood sfo
Amy, we are yours; you are ours. Our prayers go with you. May Our Lord and Our Lady keep you and yours.
Amy, thank you for posting this — it is truly an inspiring final testament.
I am so sorry to hear the news of Michael’s passing away, and I will keep the two of you in my prayers.
I had just recently purchased The How To Book of the Mass and it has been a great help for me in learning to celebrate the Mass properly. Though I was born into a Catholic family and baptised in the Church I was not raised as a Catholic. Michael’s book has given me a good perspective of the whys and hows of the Mass. I am further gratified to know that sales of his book will benefit the children’s college fund. As a parent I know how important these things are.
My deepest condolences to you and your family.
It’s times like these that I find myself really at a loss to come up with anything to say that feels like it really matters or helps. No matter what comes to mind it seems wholly inadequate because I know that despite the hope that we have in Christ, the grief is still there.
I guess all I can say is Amy, I’m so sorry and I know that you and your family misses Michael terribly. I’ll pray for you. It’s all I know to do that can have any real effect.
Amy:
I am so sorry to hear about Michael’s passing. My prayers for you and your family. And thank you for the wonderful posts these past few days.
Tony, from Canada
Amy, I am so sorry for your loss. Michael, you and your family are in my prayers.
This is the first time I’m visiting your blog.. after learning about your loss from Katie Shadlie’s web site.
After reading the absolutely beautiful final column from your husband I almost feel like I’ve known you and your family all my life.
You have my deepest condolences.
But there is joy in knowing that Michael is in a far far better place
Be brave, be strong.
God bless you and your family. We will say a Rosary for Michael and your family.
I am a long time fan, first of your columns in OSV and then of your blog. It was a great shock to learn of Michael’s passing. His last column, which you have shared with us, is most moving. Be assured of my prayers for his soul and for you and the children. May God hold you in His loving arms.
Amy:
My heart and prayers go out to you and especially the little guys. I have two boys of similar age. We just lost my mom last week. We are hispanic and pray a nine day family rosary novena afterward. I will now do one for Michael. God bless you always.
Eric
I’m so sorry Amy. My prayers are with all of you.
Staying with you and your children in prayer this week. May God grant Michael blessed repose and eternal memory.
Amy,
I have been a reader of your books for several years and of your blog for a couple of years. There is much for me to thank you for out of that, but for this last column of Michael’s, thank you isn’t enough.
My prayers are with you and your family, may God hold you in the palm of His hand, and may Michael bathe in His glory.
Prayers for Michael, you, and your family at this difficult time.
Shocked and saddened. Though I know you and your husband only through your books and blogs, this feels as though I had lost a beloved parishioner. Clearly, all of us at St. Blog’s feel the same way.
As a priest, I will offer a trio of Masses for the repose of the soul of my brother priest, as is the custom here. May the comforting Spirit of Christ enfold you and your children!
My condolences and prayers are with you and your family. I will continue to pray for the repose of Michael’s soul and include him in my rosary intentions.
What a beautiful article. I’m sure it will touch many lives as will his other “Some Seed Fell” columns.
May God bless you all.
Amy I am humbled that you have the wherewithall amidst making far-flung arrangements and caring for the wee ones to lead us in “ear-pricking” (vide Augustine, supra). Please don’t reproach yourself for admitting to the pain…
May it console you to recollect that the Boyz daddy’s wonderfully wise words were penned on the Feast of the Presentation(*) of the Lord where Simeon voiced his “nunc dimmitis” and prophesied heart-piercing pain. Mary lost her dear Joseph also, she knows where you’re at and has your back! Prays from Pennsylvania for Michael’s prematurely-bereaved family-of-origin also.
__
* also known as Purification of the Virgin. She who was immaculata in need of no greater purification, embraced the Font of Cathartic Grace in her maternal lap. May each of us be willing to embrace His salvific catharsis as gracefully as Mary.
Over the past few years, you and Michael and your kids became a real part of my life. The funny thing is I didn’t even realize it until yesterday morning when I went to your blog after returning home from a week in Huntsville AL. The news of Michael’s death pierced my heart and left me reeling as if a member of my own family had suddenly died. Such is the power of your blogging, Amy.
I have been grieving and praying for all of you ever since and cannot find the words to express my profound sympathy.
Thank you for taking the time to share Michael’s last trust filled column.
Judy Smith
Yesterday I offered Mass for Michael and your family. You have my deepest sympathies. Michael’s life was a blessing to you and to those who only knew him through his books. May God reward him and bless you all.
Fr. James
I join the many others who never met you but came to know you, Michael, and your family here. We are all trusting that God will take our humble but heartfelt prayer support and allow it to somehow bring you comfort and some peace. You and Michael both have blessed us all so much over the years that our prayers can seem inadequate in comparison, but please know they are sent with great love.
God grace is always with me if I follow Him and trust in Him. The most important thing is trust Him from the beginning even to the LAST MINUTE. Not to rely on my intelligence or experience or method.. but rely on HIM. Abraham trusted in God even in Last Minute when he needed to offer his son. In bad circumstance, I don’t know how to solve big problems. I can’t even imagine what method can be used. But God have more-than-sufficient methods and grace to help me. So wait and don’t give up until the last minute and see His signs and wonders!!!! Wow!!!
I didn’t know Michael nor do I know you, Amy, but my prayers are with you both. Know that there are thousands like me: people you don’t even know, who are bringing you and your husband before the throne of Almighty God in prayer.
May God give you the peace that passes all understanding, and let Perpetual Light shine upon Michael.
I will offer Mass for Michael and for you Amy. Jesus weeps with you as he wept for his friend Lazarus. You are not alone.
My prayers and thoughts are with you and your boys. I’m so sorry for your sudden loss.
Our prayers are with you. If there’s anything at all we can do please just let us know.
May the Lord bless you Amy and keep you. May He make face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look upon you with kindness and give you His peace. In gratitude for all the ways Michael has been a herald of the Gospel to so many. You and your children are kept within our prayers.
May you find peace and balance in this trying time.
What a beautiful and fitting final column your dear Michael wrote. May he rest in peace.
I am filled with sorrow for your great loss. May God comfort and protect you and your family.
Words fail me at times like this, and it’s at moments like these when I feel happy that our tradition has given us a rich treasury of rote prayers. Please know that I am praying for Michael and for your family.
Words fail. Grace never does. May that grace be yours in the days ahead, and may the peace that passes all understanding descend upon you and your children, until at last you are reunited with your beloved in the Kingdom of Love.
Beautiful final words. May we all enter eternity with such trust.
Amy, I will offer a Mass for Michael’s eternal rest – and for you and your children.
What an extreme and sad shock…
To your husband, Memory Eternal!
I’m sorry.
Amy, as a longtime reader I’m filled with sorrow for you and your children to hear this news. The road ahead will be a tough one for all of you, and I know how inadequate my words or anyone’s feel in the face of the shock and numbness of this time. Losing my mother was and has been the greatest challenge my family has ever faced. My own experience taught me that all I really knew about grief and death was that there was nothing I really knew about grief and death.
The only thing I know for sure about death and grieving, is that it takes time. A lot of time. As you and your children enter into the deep mystery of grief, which will indelibly mark all of your lives, know that you will be lifted up in prayer.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Amy, I’m praying for you and your family.
Amy,
I’ve been stunned on your behalf since I first read this early Wednesday evening.
Words are inadequate here, but prayers never are inadequate, so be assured that the repose of Michael’s soul, and the comfort and well-being of all his loved ones, especially you and your children, are in my daily intercessions. May the angels and saints come to your aid in their intercessions, and may the peace of Christ be always with you.
Amy, I knew Mike from the seminary days. We recently reconnected. I’m sure I can speak for all of us who knew him in those years, he was much loved.
Precious, wise words from Michael. We will pray for the repose of his soul, and for the comfort of you and the children. Lord, have mercy.
Lisa in Cleveland
I was shocked to hear of your loss but wish you to know that you are all in my prayers.
Amy,
I join my voice to the ever-growing choir of support found here and around the web.
We will pray without ceasing for your consolation and for your children. We will also offer praise and thanks for the gift of the life of Michael Dubruiel.
Thank you for sharing his “Last Column.”
That final column was beautiful!
I never met either one of you in person, but I have felt that I got to know you through both of your blogs which I read daily. I am filled with sorrow at your great loss and my family and I have been praying for Michael, you and your family since we heard the news. Our Rosary intention over the next few days will continue to be Michael, you and your family.
I met my husband when he was left widowed with five children and while I cannot say I know what you are going through, I did see what he went through. The thing that kept him going through the dark days with hanging on to his faith with all the strength he had. It eventually got him through the darkness.
I wish there was more that I could do but rest assured, you will be in our prayers.
Dear Amy, Michael and I had a few exchanges over the past few years. My heart goes out to you and to the children. I will offer Holy Mass for Michael this evening. May Our Lady comfort you.
My prayers and heart go to you and your children. No other words I can offer are worthy.
Love is man’s origin.
Love is man’s constant calling.
Love is his fulfillment in heaven.
– Eucharistic Preface, Matrimony
Michael is home. And you are not alone.
Trust in God no matter what. Sometimes need to wait until the LAST MINUTE. Not to rely on me, my ability or my experience but to rely on Him! Be humble in difficult time, and let Him be my leader and boss. I am just a follower. He will show his wonders for those who trust in Him and endure till the last moment.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful column. Keeping you and your family in prayer,
-Nzie
He was kind enough to send me a copy of his book on the Mass and to comment from time to time on my blog. Gott im Himmel, what a loss. I am so sorry.
Amy I offered up my communion for Michael this morning. I have been reading your blog for a few years and feel like I know you God watch over you and your children God bless
Dear Amy,
I met your husband once, ever-so-briefly, the one time I met you, in DC about 3 years ago. It was a shock to read of his death. You have my family’s prayers, and (I know) the prayers of thousands around the US and the world.
What can be added to what has already been said? Please know the heart of our family is with you.
Amy,
While I did not know Michael personally, his book, “The How To of the Mass,” has been my constant companion in the year before and these two years since I became a convert to Catholicism after over 30 years in the Protestant church. I have read passages to people over the phone, reread chapters when I would forget where aspects of the liturgy came from, and have many pages turned back and bookmarked. When I read of Michael’s death, I felt the shock of someone who may actually have met him and will miss him. He helped shape my Catholic growth.
The piece he last wrote, which will be printed next week, is so profound, and must be comforting. Both my husband and I have been spared from death in the last two years and we both walk a fragile path. Writings such as these by Michael and others like Richard Neuhaus bring much comfort, renewed faith and trust.
God bless you and your family.
Linda Hoenigsberg from Helena, MT
We are keeping all of you in prayer during family prayer time. May God’s peace be with you.
I am so sorry. We are praying for you and your family.
Amy,
I’m honored to read your husband’s last column…how profound and relevant. My prayers are with you and your family. Only Jesus can carry you through the days ahead, and I know He will because He is worthy of trust.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful last words with all of us.
Peace be with you.
From one of Michael’s book readers , I am so sorry to hear of this, Amy. Our loss is Heaven’s gain. Eternal rest, Grant him, O Lord…. peace be with your whole family, Amy.
“How good it is to be sinking down below the horizon towards God: to rise again into the dawn of his presence.”
Ignatius of Antioch.
I am so sorry for your loss. I stumbled upon this blog while traveling through the blogosphere. I will be praying for all of you.
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I met Michael once about two years ago at a Men’s Conference in Cincinnati. He recommended a book to me called The Gift of Faith. He told me it changed his life, which was enough for me. I’ve just recently been reading it, and I can see what he meant.
Michael did a lot of good work for the Church, and I’m sure so much more for his family. I can’t begin to imagine your loss. I hope you’re able to take comfort knowing that he’s in a better place. My family will continue to pray for him, for you, and your family. May God bless you.
Amy,
I too grieve for your loss and rejoice in the hope that Michael is now in the best hands. Although he may not have realized it explicitly, his last column was a loving and faith-filled message to you. Be steadfast in trusting Him and He will take care of the rest. We’ll try to do our best in our little ways, Michael will continue to be at your side, though in a different capacity.
A spiritual hug to you and the children.
Amy,
I met Michael last year when he did our Lenten Parish Mission at St. Edward. When I said I was going to bring in my copy of his book to autograph, he generously autographed and gifted me with the copy he used during the mission. What a sweet guy.
Your family is in my prayers.
Amy, we are praying for you and the family. Thank you for reaching out in the midst of your own grief and sharing Michael’s last column with us. We will keep him in our prayers.
Amy, I am so sorry for the loss of Michael to you and your family, but I am so happy for the love and joy I am sure he graced you and your family with. I know your gratitude will help you to counterbalance the sorrow. He, you, and your family will be in our family’s prayers.
Amy — the tragic death of your husband shows us that we never know when God will call us home. We must live life to the fullest every day, to His glory.
God bless you and your sweet family. We’ll keep you close in prayer.
Amy –
I don’t have a friend that I call every day to chat – I follow your blog instead. I feel like a close friend has had a terrible loss. Michael was a great communicator of the faith and his writings will continue to teach many people. Thank you for the updates – they are a real comfort to your virtual circle of friends.
I will continue praying for all of you.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that.
Amy,
I am just one of the many, many readers of your blog whom you don’t know but who feels as if they have been invited into your family. My sincere condolences, and of course I am praying for you and your family.
“God’s Will is also shown to us through events that He in his omniscience permits, and which are always directed towards a greater good, if we remain more trustingly and more lovingly close to God our Father. There is a hidden providence behind each happening. Everything – even the things we don’t understand, the very turn of events our will starts off by resisting – is ordered and directed towards the good of all. Omnia in bonum. In this life we will never fully understand the mysterious and baffling events that God allows to happen.” In Conversation with God; Fr. Francis Fernandez; vol 3; pg 127;
GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU MICHAEL- Husband and Father
Amy and kids – you are in my prayers
Dear Amy:
I lost my wife to cancer at 35 years old leaving me with two young children. I wasn’t sure I could see a way out, but God supported us, looked out for us and 15 years later we are doing ok. It’s not what I would have chosen, but it was God’s doing and it actually eventually led to my return to the Catholic Church.
You and your family have been in my prayers.
Russ (AKA TiberJumper)
I am sorry for your loss and wish you the best
We love you Amy…
Dear Amy,
I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for posting Michael’s last column.
May God bless you and your family, protect you and sustain you.
I will pray for the repose of Michael’s soul.
First time reader. It is a shame I found this blog on such an unfortunate note. I am very sorry for your family. I can tell that he was a very loving man to his family.
Don’t stop writing.
Eternal memory and blessed repose, O Lord, grant to the servant of God, Michael.
Many prayers for you and your family in your grief.
I am not a Catholic. I really no little about Catholicism other than classes on religion or history of Christianity. I am an evanglical Protestant believer.
However, reading the blog that announced this and then going to Michael’s blog etc., and reading samples of his writings and yours…There is no doubt that Catholics and Protestants are in the same family, serving the same Lord and will live together in the same Heaven.
Doctrine and differences aside I truly appreciate all that I have read.
My condolences to you and your family and friends.
Amy, I live just south of Birmingham and I was so happy when I found out you and Michael had moved here. I hoped I would get a chance to meet you both. When I logged on to your blog and saw the title of your post I knew something was horribly wrong.
I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I confess I’m sorry for myself too. I didn’t get a chance to meet Michael, in person, although I’ve met him through his books. What a difference he made in such a short time on this earth. He will live on and touch many more lives.
You are all in my prayers and will continue to be. God Bless you and your family, I pray all the love and prayers are a comfort to you.
Many prayers for you and your family,
Kalina Massie
I just two days ago finished reading “Charlotte’s Web” to my third-grade class. I met you, Amy, at the CNMC in Atlanta last year, and you inscribed a book for my children. Anyway, when we got to the last line, I teared up for the pain of death, for Charlotte, that good friend and good writer, and at the same time thought of you, Amy. Charlotte was both. And Michael was both. God be with you.
Dear Amy, I am so very sorry. You and your children are in my prayers. I’m thinking of you. Lots of love.
What powerful words he leaves us with. My sincere condolences to you and your family. You will be in my prayers.
Amy,
I keep thinking of you and your children and you are all in my prayers. Please find some comfort knowing that Michael’s writings and witness touched so many.
Amy:
The inner life of God is love. May the Father, Son, and Spirit embrace Michael in this love and grant you and your children strength, peace, and consolation. Please know that you are in our prayers.
Pax Christi,
John
My heart aches for you and your children. I lost my father when I was young, so I pray that our heavenly Father will give you the strength to be strong for your children in the coming days and beyond. I will pray for you and them. Thank you for your Christian witness through this blog.
Amy, thank you for sharing Michael’s last column with us. You, Michael, and your family are in my prayers at this difficult time.
Amy, I am sorry to hear that Michael died. I will pray for you all.
3 hours ago my husband lost his temper and said some things in anger that he apologized for shortly thereafter. I could not even look at him; I was so angry still. Unable to sleep because of an uncomfortable couch, I got on the computer and happened upon your husband’s last article. The bitterness I embraced melted away as the Lord showed me, through your husband’s words, how important it is to treasure what we have, when we have it.
Thank you for that, and God bless you and yours.
If you aren’t familiar with the children’s book called – The Next Place – you might find it of comfort for you and your children at this difficult time.
Peace be with you…
You and the children are surrounded by love and prayers out here in cyberspace. Take courage from that and from the love and faith you were blessed to share with a remarkable husband and father. God bless you and the children as you walk through the sadness of loss. Michael’s last prophetic written words have given great comfort to all of us. Thank you, and hang on tight.
My prayers are with you and your family. I am so sorry to hear of your loss.
Though I am a regular reader of your blog, this is the first time I post a comment. I am very sorry for your loss and will pray for Michael, you and your family.
Gonzalo from Argentina
please know you and your children are in my prayers dear amy. peace be with you.
Amy,
What a beautiful and fitting last column. He was ready, and he left behind strength and faith for you and for us all, to run the race. Thank you for sharing that. We are praying for you and your family.
In the peace of Christ,
– Bryan
words fail me… I am so very, very sorry.
I SEND YOU THE BIGGEST FLORIDA SUNSHINE HUG…. WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? I AM VERY SERIOUS…. COME AND VISIT ME….. ANYTIME HERE IN TAMPA.
HUGS PRAYERS…..
What a gift this column is! His faith and trust in the Lord will continue to lead others to Christ as long as their are eyes to read his writing.
May God bless you and keep you all with His peace,
Jane
My prayers are with you, Amy.
My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. May God enfold you all in his merciful embrace.
Amy,
May you and the children know “the breadth and length and height and depth” of the love of Christ (Eph 3:14-21). Michael’s writing and teaching touched so many, I can only imagine what a terrific husband and father he was, and can only imagine your loss.
In love and prayer,
Frank
That’s such a fitting column to be his last.
I’ll be keeping your whole family in my prayers.
Dear Amy
From Australia, we also join with everyone else in praying for Michael you and your children.
Amy, I have been reading your various blogs for years, and reading your work and books and Michael’s has helped me on my way into the Church, and in the 3 years since. I am grateful for the generosity and faith you and Michael have shown in sharing your lives and witness with your many readers. You, Michael, the children and all your family have been in my prayers since I heard, and will continue to be. God bless you all.
The Lord be with you all.
I did what you asked: bought some books.
May you all be under the protection of good St. Joseph from here on out.
Prayers and condolences for you and your family, Amy. Your writing and Michael’s were very helpful to me in my journey into the Church and I’ll always be grateful.
May God bless you with comforts both natural and super-natural, so that you can clearly feel His warm embrace through all of this. “Be not afraid, I go before you always…”
Your family is in our prayers.
Amy,
While we have never met, I read your blog regularly, and I have been thinking and praying for your family almost constantly since the shocking news of Micheal’s passing. I am so incredibly sorry about your loss. Please be assured of my continued prayers during this very difficult time. May God Bless you and your children.
Amy, our prayers are with you and all your family.
“Love never ends.” (I COR 13:8)
In Christ,
Rosalia.
Amy: I was priviledged to meet Michael at a couple of stewardship advisory board meetings at OSV and I have read your blogs for years. May Micheal now see the Blessed Face and you and your children find peace in unfailing happy memories and the love and support of many around you.
“To those who live in Christ there never is a last farewell.”
What can one say?…prayers and condolences.
I read that last column aloud to my wife, without giving the author’s name, and she was doubly-moved when she learned of its provenance. Very, very powerful for both of us.
Back in the early days of blogging I recall reading Michael’s blog and being cheered by his occasional post about sports. No grind was he, and I thought it refreshing. Here was the sort of healthy, sports-minded Christian that we could use more of.
I’m so very sorry for your loss, and included prayers for you and yours during my adoration today.
Michael was a beautiful writer, may he view the Face of grace.
My prayers and condolences.
Toronto, Canada
What a terribly painful loss. My deepest sympathies.
Thank YOU Amy …. it was awesome to know him. I hated I had to write it–you know what I mean. But I’m glad you like it. As I said before … he always made me laugh.
So sorry for your loss Amy. During Mass this morning I prayed to the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph to watch over your family. My deepest condolences.
Dear Amy – I read and reread and reread your two posts, just not able to grasp what I was reading. I am so very sorry for your loss and for your pain. I will be keeping you and your family in my daily prayers.
And I will buy the books. Read them. And share them.
God bless,
Cindy Jacobs
Tallahassee
My condolences and prayers are with you and your family, Amy. May God be with you in a special way during this time.
When my father died two years ago, one of his friends tearfully told me, “I can’t stop telling everyone about my friend Richard.” (He is my namesake.) It was a compliment and a comfort, Amy. Thousands of people this week have been “telling everyone” about Michael.
May the peace of Christ salve your unspeakable loss…
You and your family will be in my prayers.
To Amy,
I knew Mike since 1979. I can say he was one of the better angels that walked among the rest of us. I could give you a list of things I shared with Mike over the years : work, education, draft beer, discussions of good vs. evil, The Red Barn Barbeque in Jacksonville, pro-wrestling, death of one of my parents , celebrating the Eucharist, and just trying to walk in the light in spite of ourselves.
John the Baptist announced the arrival of the Messiah,
Mike kept pointing out that He was still open for business.
May Mike enjoy eternity in the house of the Lord, and may the Father , Son, and Spirit enjoy the company of one of Their best ambassadors ever.
I am sorry for this loss to you and your family. I offer you all of our prayers and thoughts of support.
All our prayers,
Joe, Maggie, and Alesa
I’m so sorry for the pain you and your family are going through now. May God take your husband to paradise, and may those words in Romans 8 echo in your heart every day.
As I knelt in front of the Blessed Sacrament today, I prayed that your Michael now knows Paradise. May God comfort you and your children.
May he be enjoying the Beatific Vision at this moment.
DE PROFUNDIS
Every Sacrament
I could…
Immersed my soul
In graces, good.
Every penance
That I uttered
In fear and trepidation
Shuddered.
Every child
I birthed in pain,
I offered Him
So souls would gain.
And now, my soul,
In night, won’t cease,
For him, my prayers…
De Profundis.
stay close to the Sacraments, Amy and God bless you
So sorry to hear of your loss. What a beautiful and poignant article your husband penned in his last hours. What a vibrant testimony. May God hold you close in the coming days! May He carry you through the sorrow. I linked to this post on my blog.
Dear Amy,
I am so very sorry to hear this sad news. You and your children will be in my prayers. I did not know your husband personally, but only from reading his wonderful articles that appeared in The One Voice diocesan newspaper and his books.
May God bless you and keep you during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Bernadette Edens
Dear Amy,
I was so terribly sorry to hear about Michael when Hilary and David told me. Though we have never met each other, I of course hear about you and your children often and my heart goes out to all of you. Please know that you are very much in my thoughts.
With sympathy,
Margaret (Hilary’s niece)
Dear Amy,
You and yours are in my prayers. I have been a reader of your blog since you spoke in St. Louis for Legatus. My very sincerest sympathy.
Amy, it was quite unselfish of you that in your deep grief you shared your dear husband’s last column with us. It really touched me and I know it will postively touch many, many others as well.
Praying for all of you.
My boss and good friend Tom tuned me in to your website and wisdom some time ago. He never hesitates to immediately forward a link when you write something that touches him, in case I should miss it. How special a voice was your husband Michael, too. Thank you for your thoughts and insights. Prayers for you and your family in your great loss.
Amy,
I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing the blessing of Michael’s article – it moved me beyond words. Michael was truly a gift to us all, as are you. My prayers are with you and all your children. All of us here at Resurrection are holding you in our prayers. May he rest in peace, and may you find comfort and peace from our Lord in your grief.
You have been an inspiration to me for some time through your books. Today you are an inspiration in love and courage. Thank you for sharing “The Last Column” and know you have been in my thoughts and prayers.
Dear Amy & Family –
We just read about your loss in today’s Keene Sentinel. Words are so cheap now, but please accept our prayers for your family and for the repose of your husband’s soul. You don’t know us, but we felt a special connection with your family. We have little ones of similar age to yours. Your husband’s book about the mass was appreciated so much by us both. Your writings were a part of our becoming Catholic. We also lived in northern IN for many years. We are so sorry.
Tim & Dawn Smith
Fitzwilliam, NH
So sorry for your loss. I will pray for your husband’s soul and your family at Mass tomorrow.
I am stunned by the sad news. I am crying for you and your little ones. Please know that you will be in my prayers.
As Our Lady of Sorrows stood at the Foot of the Cross with Her heart breaking, she then held her Son in Her arms. Know now that Michael is in Her arms watching over you and your family.
Bind yourself to Her and you will be in peace and will have strength for these tough days to follow…
I have been there…I will ask Her to care for you and give you what you need.
Ad Iesum per Mariam
Dear Amy,
know that you, Michael and your family have been in one readers prayers for several days now and will remain there for days to come. Thank you for his last column. His words have been on my mind since I read it and I think that’s an honest tribute to a writer, to remember his words. ¡Corazón, en la Cruz! is a phrase that sometimes comes to me at difficult moments and I hope that phrase, in a very small way, might help strengthen you in these moments.
“At times the Cross appears without our looking for it: it is Christ who is seeking us out. And if by chance, before this unexpected Cross which, perhaps, is therefore more difficult to understand, your heart were to show repugnance…don’t give it consolations. And, filled with a noble compassion, when it asks for them, say to it slowly, as one speaking in confidence: ‘Heart: heart on the Cross! Heart on the Cross!’ ”
Way of the Cross, fifth station
St. Josemaría Escrivá
Dear Amy,
Your life in faith and the life of your family have been a great source of strength and insight to me and I join you in suffering your loss. I will re-read again tomorrow the beautiful readings you have chosen and join you in prayer. May the Lord bless and keep you and Michael and your children.
James Englert
“I am the way and the truth and the light…”
Michael heard Him and followed Him. They are together now as we all hope to be for all eternity. Pain and loss are the path to eternal joy.
Another longtime reader, I have been praying for you, your beloved husband and your children all week and will continue to do so. May the Lord comfort you and your family as only He can and may He give you peace.
Profound condolences on your loss. It is a loss for all of us. But it is also an opportunity for our faith to be more enlivened, and that’s perhaps a farewell gift to many, many more people than in most situations because of the blogging and writing that Michael and you have done. You and your family — and Michael’s soul — are in my prayers.
My prayers are with you and your entire family.
Amy, hundred of people were praying for my family and I a couple of years ago as we went through a horrible time. The knowledge of that helped carry us through. You were one of the people who posted a link, and who asked for prayers for us. I am so sorry for your loss, and for the tears I know you and your children must be shedding. I know for us, having to see the pain of our children was the worst part.
I can’t say any words that would truly console you at this time of loss, nor can I tell you the emptyness will soon pass. Hopefully, you will be able to think of Michael and his happiness, and take comfort in the fact that he has gone home to Christ.
“Blessed are they whom you have chosen and received O Lord; they are remembered from generation to generation”.
For Michael: Blessed repose and Eternal Memory
Nancy and James Sandrock and family
Dear Amy,
I was shocked and saddened upon learning this news today, and offer my deepest condolences. Michael was a very kind man who did a great deal for the kingdom (and, no doubt, for many aspiring writers, in his work as an editor).
May God comfort you in this difficult hour. You and your family and Michael will be in our prayers. You’ll be together again one day.
You have my deepest condolences and prayers.
I celebrated Mass for Michael today. I am truly sorry. My heartfelt prayers are with you and your children.
Fr. Joe Lody
I am keeping you and yours in prayer
So Sorry to hear of your loss. My prayers are with you and with your famiy. I shall pray for Michael.
Amy, I am so sorry. You have been so important to readers and this occasional correspondent, and so generous in inviting all of us to know your family.
Please accept my sincere condolences.
I have been praying for you and your family. I lost my 17 year old son last April – he collapsed while running track – I know the agony.
I am sorry for your loss. I truly am.
Dear Amy, I’m thinking of you this morning. Susan
As many others have said reading your blog has made me feel like I know you and your family and has helped me immensely. Please accept my condolences and prayers.
Again, I still am praying for you.
Ask God… sigh… God… only He can tell you how.
I would have come up there, but my prayers would do better than filling up my gas tank and driving 4 hours up there to St. Auggie.
Ask God how I am praying for you. Ask Him about my being on prayer call for you and anyone who needs it.
Mike Dubruiel was a passionate guy – he was passionate about his family and passionate about his Faith. It is truly heartbreaking to think of the grief Amy and the children and all Mike’s family are feeling. His office at OSV was a testament to his love for his family. He didn’t have just one picture of them on his desk, he had a credenza filled with photos of them from different places, of different occasions and at different ages. The great love he felt for his family was so evident in so many ways.
Mike was never one to be wishy-washy about his beliefs. It was always very clear what he believed and he was untiring in his sharing of what he held true. While he might compromise on what time to eat lunch or other insignificant details of life, he was unwavering in his dedication to the Faith. His love for the Lord was not just something he talked or wrote about, he lived it. Prayers were shared, as well as blessed oil or the name of a favorite shrine he had visited. There was no bushel that could have contained the light of his faith. It was so bright he just naturally had to share it. What a blessing that the light will still continue in his numerous writings. Hopefully his books will afford his children a glimpse into their father’s heart, a heart that held them close always and loved them dearly. Mike will be missed. May he rest in peace and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.
A prayer Mike included in his book, The How-To Book of the Mass:
Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within Thy wounds, hide me.
Separated from Thee let me never be.
From the malignant enemy, defend me.
At the hour of death, call me.
To come to Thee, bid me,
That I may praise Thee in the company
Of Thy Saints, for all eternity. Amen.
Our prayers for you, Amy, for the children and for all the family will continue. May the presence of our gracious Lord comfort you and give you peace – Don & Jackie Lindsey.
Amy,
I am so sorry for your loss. You and your family will be in my prayers.
May God comfort you and speed Michael to his eternal reward.
Dear Amy,
We are so sorry. Michael will be missed by so, so many! I know Bishop Baker is among those who will feel a great loss. Please know we are keeping you all in our prayers. We will have Masses said for Michael.
Love and prayers,
Kay and Clark
Thank you for sharing that. May God bless, strengthen, and uphold you and your family.
Dear Amy,
“Those who die in grace go no further than us from God. And God is very near.”
Michael was graced to write that last column for you and your family, Thank you for sharing it with the rest of us, as generously as you have shared yourself for so long.
I am a longtime reader from Canada of your blog and books. They have meant a great deal to me. I am also a mother of five whose last child was born when I was 43. I am deeply saddened for your loss. You and your children and your husband are in my prayers and will be for a long time to come.
Maura B.
Amy,
I got that quotation wrong. It should have read:
Those who die in grace go no further from us than God. And God is very near.
Maura