You must trust entirely in our Lord. He alone can help you. Give God His time. Be generous with Him and He will be so with you.

COMMENT: The effectiveness of a message is often determined by the credibility of the person delivering it. Toothpaste companies try to feature dentists in their ads. Similarly, ads for household cleaning products will feature busy housewives who seem concerned for the welfare of their children. Source credibility is everything.

When considering today’s quote, we have a source of the highest credibility. Fr Doyle lived this message, and was living proof of the power of trusting in God. This was not just evident in the war years – even as a retreat master, spiritual director and missionary, Fr Doyle was remarkably effective. It was said that he never encountered a sinner that he could not win back to the faith. His fundraising work for poor African children was also very successful. His work promoting vocations met with remarkable success, even after he died. Some months ago I received a letter from a World War II veteran who was given one of Fr Doyle’s pamphlets on the priesthood by his own military chaplain. This man subsequently became a priest because of this pamphlet. Years later he met the military chaplain who gave him the leaflet; this chaplain revealed that he knew of at least 11 other men who became priests after reading Fr Doyle’s pamphlet on priesthood and vocations.

Fr Doyle was generous with God and trusted Him completely. We see the wonderful effects of this generosity and trust in his life just as we see it in the lives of all the saints. And yet despite these examples we so often hold back, lacking in trust and generosity…