Avoid haste and want of control of bodily movements. The interior man, no matter how burdened with work or pressed for time, is never in a hurry. He is swift and expeditious in all he does, but never rushes; and by a jealous watchfulness over odd moments, “gathering up the fragments” of a full day “that none of them may be lost,” he finds time for all things. He …
Virtues
July 11, 2012
St Maria Goretti As a boy He gave me something of the kind, so that a passing glance at an immodest picture used to make me shudder; and until I began my theology at 31 I was quite ignorant of most sexual matters. That was His goodness, not mine. COMMENT: Today is the feast of St Maria Goretti, the great champion of purity. She preferred death (at age 12) to …
July 6, 2012
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Today is the memorial of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Amongst other things, Blessed Pier Giorgio was renowned, as a very young man, for his heroic charity towards the poor of Turin. Reading the life of Fr Doyle instantly reminds one of Blessed Pier Giorgio, for he too served the poor of Dalkey while he was himself was just a child. In both cases, very few knew …
July 4, 2012
If an aspiration, on the authority of the Blessed Cure d’Ars, often saved a soul, what must you not do each day you suffer so bravely! This thought certainly will help you and make the pain almost nothing, and will add to its merit, since the motive for bearing it will be all the higher. COMMENT: Today’s quotation comes from a letter of spiritual direction Fr Doyle wrote to somebody …
June 28, 2012
Try to grasp the fact – a very hard thing to do – that in the spiritual life ‘feelings’ count for nothing, that they are no indication of our real state; generally speaking they are just the opposite., . . You are perfectly right when you say that the first thing to do is ‘to give up your own will.’ Why not aim at making God’s will alone yours in …
June 23, 2012
“No evil shall come upon you”, (Jerem. 23. 17). It is a consoling thought that God watches over us with unceasing care; that no matter where we may be – alone in our humble cell or passing through the crowded streets of the feverish panting city – the hand of God is over us and sheltering us from a thousand unknown dangers, guiding us safely along the path of …
June 22, 2012
You need not fear whatever He may send you to bear, since His grace will come with it; but you should always try to keep in mind your offering, living up to the spirit of it. Hence endeavour to see the hand of God in everything that happens to you now; e.g. if you rise in the morning with a headache, thank Him for sending it, since a victim …
June 19, 2012
Today is the second day of the International Eucharistic Congress being held here in Dublin. The major theme for today is that of ecumenism and “Communion in One Baptism”. Fr Doyle is, in fact, a significant ecumenical figure. It is not something that we have discussed on this blog before, but it seems that today is the day to do it. It is a matter of historical fact that Fr …
June 11, 2012
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi I will strive ever to perform each action as perfectly as possible, paying special attention to small duties e.g. saying grace, odd Hail Marys, etc. It seems to me God is asking this particularly from me, and by this means I am to find the chief road to sanctity. COMMENT: As Fr Doyle tells us today, the chief road to sanctity for all of us is …
June 9, 2012
Today we have a small excerpt from one of Fr Doyle’s letters which describes his preparations for the Battle of Messines. It was a truly devastating engagement. We shall read Fr Doyle’s description of the events tomorrow, though in preparation you may be interested in reading a description of the attack here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Messines For today, we will focus on Fr Doyle’s spiritual preparations. One interesting coincidence for us today – …
June 6, 2012