Received my appointment from the War Office as chaplain to the 16th Division. Fiat voluntas tua. What the future has in store I know not but I have given Jesus all to dispose of as He sees best. My heart is full of gratitude to Him for giving me this chance of being really generous and of leading a life that will be truly crucified.

COMMENT: The above words were written by Fr Willie on 15 November 1915. His long desired wish to give all for Christ was approaching, and the final heroic chapter of his life was about to open.

Anyone who has read an account of the experiences of Fr Willie in the Great War knows just how difficult and “crucified” that life really was. None of us know what the future holds in store for us. Undoubtedly it holds a mixture of joys and sufferings, but we need not fear future sufferings now. We receive grace to cope with sufferings when we actually need it, in other words, when we are actually experiencing those sufferings. As Fr Doyle once wrote, we carry our cross bit by bit, not all in one go – we take each day as it comes. We do not receive grace to bear sufferings that are not asked of us at all, or that are not asked of us yet. That is why fear about the future is such an awful thing – the imagined problems of the future lack the divine assistance that we would receive if we were actually asked to carry that particular cross. 

Fr Doyle believed in living in the present moment – it is the only time we actually have, and the only time we can truly offer to God. By cultivating this habit, and relying on the grace God gives us in the present moment, we can learn to have the same detachment and serene acceptance that Fr Doyle exhibited 108 years ago today.

Fr Doyle was a victim soul who offered his sufferings in the war in reparation for the sins of priests. He was not the only holy priest who did this. St Pio of Pietrelcina, who offered his stigmata in reparation for priests, was also drafted into the Italian army on 15 November 1915 – the very same day Fr Doyle was formally appointed to the 16th Irish Division. An Irish Jesuit and an Italian Capuchin, victim souls in reparation for the sins of priests who were unknown to each other, were both formally incorporated into World War 1 on the same day. Divine Providence is always at work, even when we do not know what the future has in store for us.