I wonder is there a happier man in France than I am. Just now Jesus is giving me great joy in tribulation, though conditions of living are about as uncomfortable as even St. Teresa could wish – perpetual rain, oceans of mud, damp, cold and a plague of rats… Sometimes I kneel down with outstretched arms and pray God, if it is a part of His divine plan, to rain …
WWI
November 7, 2018
As we approach the centenary of the ending of World War 1 on Sunday, there will be more and more coverage of the war in the media. One interesting example is this selection of retouched and colourised photographs from the war. You may be interested in whacking them out to get a sense of some of the sights and experiences Fr Doyle was exposed to during his time as chaplain. …
November 6, 2018
Fr Doyle wrote the following in his diary on October 25 1916. It refers to the previous night, in other words, this evening and night 102 years ago. It is worth remembering that at this time Fr Doyle was at the Front. His prayer was conducted in a dug out, not in the relative comfort of a Jesuit house far from violence and death. He obviously found it hard, hence …
October 24, 2018
Pray for all, but especially for sinners, and in particular for those whose sins are most painful to His Sacred Heart. With great earnestness recommend to His mercy the poor souls who are in their agony. What a dreadful hour, an hour tremendously decisive, is the hour of our death! Surround with your love these souls going to appear before God, and defend them by your prayers. COMMENT: It’s almost …
October 9, 2018
Life in the army I find is a life of delightful and unexpected surprises. You are told that you are going to some large town and at once visions of comfortable quarters, with perhaps the luxury of a real bed loom up before you; you reach the town only to find you do not stay there but have to tramp out into the open country and fight for a …
September 23, 2018
Lieutenant Colonel H. R. Stirke, who commanded the 8th Dublins, had the following praise for Fr Doyle in a note that he wrote on this day in 1917: He was one of the finest fellows I ever met, utterly fearless, always with a cheery word on his lips, and ever ready to go out and attend the wounded and dying under the heaviest fire. He was genuinely loved by everyone, …
September 13, 2018
For fifteen months Fr Doyle and I worked together out here, generally sharing the same dug-outs and billets, we became fast friends. I acting as medical officer to his First Battalion. Often I envied him his coolness and courage in the face of danger; for this alone his men would have loved him, but he had other sterling qualities, which we all recognised only too well. Her was beloved and …
September 9, 2018
This is one of my favourite scenes from all of Fr Doyle’s writings – 102 years ago today. By cutting a piece out of the side of the trench I was just able to stand in front of my tiny altar, a biscuit box supported on two German bayonets. God’s angels, no doubt, were hovering overhead, but so were the shells, hundreds of them, and I was a little afraid …
September 9, 2018
We continue the narrative from O’Rahilly’s biography which recounts the events of September 5, 1916. Please note: this excerpt reveals the true horror of war, and those who are a bit squeamish may prefer to skip the first couple of paragraphs. At last came the expected order to advance at once and hold the front line, the part assigned being Leuze Wood, the scene of much desperate fighting. Fr. Doyle …
September 5, 2018
Today we continue the narrative and consider the events of September 4, 1916. Next morning there was a short march over the brow of a hill and down into a valley still nearer to the front line. It was a great change from the trench life of the past six months, since at Loos for days one never saw a soul overground and all guns were carefully hidden But here …
September 4, 2018