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Reflection on Today’s Feast

By Fr. Rick Nichols, SJ

Today is the feast day of St. Jose Maria Rubio, a Jesuit priest from Spain.  He died on May 2, 1929.  After being ordained to the diocesan priesthood in his early 20’s he ministered faithfully for 17 years.  Then he made a lengthy pilgrimage, which included visits to the tombs of the Popes and the Apostles in Rome, and even to the tomb of our Lord himself in Jerusalem.  His experiences on pilgrimage inspired him to enter the Society of Jesus at the age of 40.  After completing his novitiate, he was sent to Madrid, where he eventually acquired the nickname “apostle of Madrid” for his simple but effective preaching, for hearing confessions and for service to the poor.  Fr. Rubio’s mantra was “Hacer lo que Dios quiere y querer lo que Dios hace.”  Which is to say, “Do what God wants, and want what God does.”

 There was another distinguished Jesuit who died on the same date: Brother Georg Joseph Kamel, in 1726.  Br. Kamel was Czech by birth, but flourished while working in the Philippines, where he served as a missionary, a pharmacist and naturalist.  He set up a pharmacy in Manila which provided medicine for rich and poor alike.  He established a botanical garden there, too, where he cultivated rare and medicinal plants.  He wrote extensively on botany, only to have his earliest works seized and destroyed by pirates.  His later writings found their way to Europe where they had a major impact.  In fact, the father of modern taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, a Lutheran, was so impressed that he named the flower “Camellia” in Br. Kamel’s honor.  The majority of Br. Kamel’s original manuscripts are kept today in the British Museum.

Each of these men brought about great results while laboring in the Society of Jesus, which was founded, according to papal charter, “chiefly for this purpose: to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine.”  Fr. Rubio’s service as a priest helped souls to progress in Christian life and doctrine, as did Br. Kamel’s service as a brother.  Their service remains valuable even to this day.  Consider: if you have been putting off going to confession because you’re not sure it’s worth your time, remember that people would wait three hours in line to have Fr. Rubio hear their confession.  The grace of the sacrament is worth the inconvenience.  Again, consider: if you are frustrated with the ugliness and the stupidity of this world, recall the beauty and the design of the camellia flower, and be happy that the same God who created it created everything else, besides. 

St. José Maria Rubio, pray for us!

Fr. Rick Nichols, SJ, serves as Chaplain at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.