I feel drawn still more to the life of “interior union.” To acquire this I must practise the following:
1 . Constant and profound recollection.
2. To keep my thoughts always, if possible, centred on Jesus in my heart.
3. To avoid worry or anxiety about future things.
4. To avoid useless conversation.
5. Great guard over my eyes, not reading or looking at useless things.
COMMENT: Fr Willie’s programme for acquiring interior union seems radically counter-cultural to us today. How few of us live with recollection, keeping Jesus always in our hearts. How few avoid unnecessary worries about the future, and consequently live with chronic stress. How often we engage in useless conversations, or look greedily at all the sights around us, absorbed with curiosity.
Yet, despite the fact that Fr Willie’s resolutions might seem harsh to us at first glance, they are in reality a recipe for interior peace and freedom. This is the lesson of the saints, and as anyone who knows anything about the saints will confirm, there is no such thing as a sad saint. Counter-intuitively, by going against ourselves, we acquire an interior liberty of spirit that no amount of “things” or experiences can ever give us.
There’s no doubt that Father Doyle, though extremely active and reaching out to all who needed him, especially the soldiers in the final period of his life, he leaned intensely toward a deep and contemplative way of staying close to God. On the outside he was everything to everyone and always there for other, but interiorly bonded with God and the spiritual side of life. He teaches us here that we can indeed be one with God always, though still busy with our duties and available to others. Thank you, Father Willie.