Reading today of how Luisa de Carvajal made herself the slave of her two maids, the old desire for this kind of life sprang up again. What would I not give for someone to treat me in this way? I have asked Jesus to do it, to accept me as His slave. He seemed to say to me that I must carry out what He puts into my mind.
I am to kiss the floor every time I enter, leave or pass before the Tabernacle
I am not to ask remedies for small ailments, toothaches etc
Not to shrink from or relieve small pains
Absolute abandonment to God’s will in all things; to have no will or wish of my own
To ask Fr. B. to treat me like Luisa Carvajal
Every night to tell my Master how many aspirations I have gathered up.
COMMENT: Luisa de Carvajal was a Spanish noblewoman who moved to London during the Elizabethan persecutions, and who provided much help to the persecuted priests, especially Jesuits. She insisted that her own servants treat HER as s servant in order to acquire greater humility and to conquer her own self-will.
Fr Willie had a very strong temperament; he had temptations towards impatience and bad temper. Yet, it would appear that he very substantially conquered this temptation – so many testimonies about him speak of his gentleness and serenity. And here we find him, a year and half before his death, seeking to go to extraordinary lengths to devise methods that would help him conquer his self-will. He seems to have been ever-vigilant to conquer his faults, and was an extraordinary spiritual tactician.
Father Doyle, You took your opportunities for sanctification seriously; please pray that we, too, are focused and determined to be the person God has planned us to be, and to do the things He wants us to do. This attitude will keep our hearts and minds open to Him.