Saint José María Rubio y Peralta

José María Rubio y Peralta shares his feast day with St. Athanasius. 

José María Rubio y Peralta is a little saint however, perhaps a saint after the heart of Pope Francis. St. Jose Maria was a Jesuit who loved the poor.  He was acclaimed by his Bishop on the day of his death in Madrid, in 1929, as the apostle of Madrid. 

An anecdote from his life.

Father Rubio was a famed confessor. The locals used to queue, having to wait for several hours, in order to be confessed by the Father Rubio.

While hearing confessions one day, a lady came and told him of a man who had to confess soon, as he was dying. That evening, Father Rubio went to visit the dying man, following the directions the woman had given him.  Fr. Rubio had to go to the third floor without a lift. When he finally arrived at the apartment, he knocked and asked for the gentleman.

"It's me" the gentleman said, "but I think that someone has played a practical joke on you, as you see I'm in perfect health. Come in, man! Have a drink and relax after you have had to climb so many stairs." Entering the room, Fr. Rubio noticed a portrait on the wall.  While the man he came to see served him a drink, Fr. Rubio told him that the woman in the portrait was the lady who visited him and sent him.

The host laughed and said that he must be mistaken since that lady was his mother and she died some years ago. Then, the gentleman said; "Look, as long as you are here, I would like to make my confession because it has been years since I even entered a church - this way your journey will not have been in vain".

After making his confession that night, he died. - Catholic Online
 

 Pray for us, St. Jose Maria, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.