St John Paul II When it was not some infirmity or other than caused him to experience pain, it was he himself who inflicted discomfort and mortification on his own body. Aside from the prescribed fasting, which he followed with great rigour, especially during Lent, when he reduced his nourishment to one complete meal per day, he also abstained from food before ordaining priests and bishops. And it was not …
Saints
October 22, 2019
St Paul of the Cross Today is the feast of St Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist order. He lived in the 1700’s, and is known as a great missionary and mystic. But he is also known as one of the great penitential saints. Like many saints across the ages, he engaged in intense physical mortification. He rolled naked in thorns, slept on the floor and used …
October 19, 2019
Today we start Fr Doyle’s reflections on the second week of the Spiritual Exercises. This part of the Exercises begins with a reflection on the call of Christ the King. Here is the text from St Ignatius: First Point. The first Point is, to put before me a human king chosen by God our Lord, whom all Christian princes and men reverence and obey. Second Point. The second, to look …
October 19, 2019
St Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church A wooden block used as a pillow by St Teresa The life of St. Teresa teaches us that we should never despair of becoming saints. As a child she was filled with a strange mysterious longing for martyrdom. But the early years of her religious life found her cold or tepid in the service of God, indifferent to the sacred duties of …
October 15, 2019
Saint John Henry Newman Today’s canonisation of John Henry Newman is not just important for the Church in England. Newman is also important for Dublin and indeed for Dalkey, Fr Doyle’s home parish. Saint John Henry Newman lived in Dublin for 7 years and founded what is now known as University College Dublin. For a time he lived in Dalkey, quite near the Doyle family home. So, while I …
October 13, 2019
St John XXIII Today is the feast of St John XXIII. Just as many young Catholic have a great devotion to St John Paul as he was the pope of their formative years, so too there are many of an older generation who have a strong affection for Pope John. At first glance there does not seem to be much in common between Fr Doyle and St John XXIII. But …
October 11, 2019
Solid virtue is so called because it is formed by amassing together a facility in repeated acts. Hence the practice of any virtue is not the less meritorious because it is easy. Quite the contrary. The merit depends on the intention we had when we determined to practise the virtue, and not on the amount of pain it costs. COMMENT: Here we see once again the tremendous balance of Fr …
October 8, 2019
Do I ever say, when an occasion of denying myself comes, “It’s too hard, I am no saint?” Might it not be asked of me in justice, “Why aren’t you? It is your business to be one, God intends you should be one, but you are too lazy, you won’t take the trouble.” Let us remember that we must not drag Christ down to our own level, but rather we …
October 5, 2019
Saint Francis in Meditation In the end what once caused us pain and tears becomes the source of great interior joy, since we have realised how these things help in our spiritual progress. COMMENT: It is true, as Fr Doyle says, that things that were once disagreeable to us can become a source of peace in our lives. We can see this in today’s saint, Francis of Assisi, who, …
October 4, 2019
Blessed Columba Marmion I cannot deny that I love Jesus, love Him passionately, love Him with every fibre of my heart. He knows it, too, since He has asked me to do many things for Him, which have cost me more than I should like to say, yet which with His grace were sweet and easy in a sense. He knows that my longing, at least, even if the strength …
October 3, 2019