St John Eudes August 19 The Feast of St John Eudes Two wings by which we can fly to God and become saints: the habit of little tiny acts of self-denial and the habit of making a definite fixed number of aspirations every day. COMMENT: The use of aspirations was an important part of Fr Doyle’s spiritual life. In fact, in his diary he writes that constantly repeating aspirations was …
Saints
August 19, 2010
3 March 1873 – 16 August 1917 My Martyrdom for Mary’s Sake. Darling Mother Mary, in preparation for the glorious martyrdom which I feel assured thou art going to obtain for me, I, thy most unworthy child, on this the first day of thy month, solemnly commence my life of slow martyrdom by earnest hard work and constant self-denial. With my blood I promise thee to keep this resolution, …
August 16, 2010
Fr Doyle's last written words The picture above is a copy of the last written words (that we know of) from Fr Doyle. They were written 93 years ago today. They read as follows: I have told you all my escapes, dearest Father, because I think what I have written will give you the same confidence which I feel, that my old arm chair up in Heaven is not ready …
August 13, 2010
Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman While praying for light to know what God wants from me in the matter of mortifying my appetite, a voice seemed to say: “There are other things besides food in which you can be generous with Me, other hard things which I want you to do.” I thought of all the secret self-denial contained in constant hard work, not giving up when a bit tired, …
August 13, 2010
Blessed Karl Leisner August 12: Feast of Blessed Karl Leisner We will return to some reflections on the life of Fr Doyle in a few days time when we approach the anniversary of his death. Incidentally, there is some dispute about the date of Fr Doyle’s death; some sources give it is August 16, others on August 17. I have also encountered some sources listing it as August 15, but …
August 12, 2010
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Co-Patroness of Europe August 9: Feast of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Fr Doyle does not have a specific entry in his letter home for August 9, so we will have one of his typical sayings, and resume his narrative tomorrow. You must bear in mind that, if God has marked you out for very great graces and possibly a holiness of which …
August 9, 2010
Continuing our narrative today, it is hard not to be struck by the extraordinary good humour of Fr Doyle. The “cathedral” to which he refers was, of course, just another dug out or shell hole somewhere in a battlefield. His final comment about being glad not to be asked to say the rosary with bombs falling around him is classic Irish wit. It is important to remember that these letters …
August 8, 2010
St John Vianney August 4 Feast of St John Marie Vianney, Patron of parish priests. Fr Doyle had a great devotion to the then Blessed John Vianney, and visited Ars in 1907. From O’Rahilly’s biography: In spite of missing a train, and after an adventurous journey on a very primitive steam-tram, he found himself in the spot hallowed by the Curé of Ars. Fr. Doyle insisted on seeing everything the …
August 4, 2010
St Ignatius Four Dangers to be Feared after a Retreat: 1 . Dissipation: There, it is over; amuse yourself. 2. Toning Down: Too much, too many, too hard, too often, too etc. 3. Putting Off: Wait a little, rest yourself, take your time. 4. Cowardice: You’ll never do it; you’re no good; it will be the same old story. And Four Remedies: 1. Presence of God: No, it is not …
August 3, 2010
Photo of an Irish soldier taken by Fr Browne We have no more reports from Fr Doyle until August 5th, and we shall take up his narrative once again on that date. What we do know about these days is that Fr Doyle and his men had a few days rest before facing the trauma of battle once again. This might be an appropriate place to give the following excerpt …
August 2, 2010