We must be intellectually pious, that is, our piety should rest on the bedrock of principle, and not on mood, on sentiment, on spiritual consolation.
COMMENT: It is true that God may for a time give some people special consolations and gifts. However, it is more likely that we will face many periods of dryness and spiritual aridity. Many of the saints experienced long periods of spiritual darkness, but they persevered because they loved Jesus. They were not mercenaries…
St Josemaria Escriva has expressed the attitude we should adopt very succinctly:
When you go to pray, let this be a firm resolution: Don’t prolong your prayer because you find consolation in it or shorten it because you feel dry.
May 30, 2026
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on Thoughts for May 30 from Fr Willie Doyle.
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These are masters in spiritual advice. How true that our prayer life/spiritual life do not depend or should not rely on feelings. the “bedrock” Father Doyle mentions must be laid, formed early on so as to steady the spiritual life and so prepares one for the challenges in life. Thank you for these two brief passages which shed light on our intellect and re-enforces our will to focus on God and His plan for us, rather than focusing on our ever -changing, often unpredictable feelings.
Father Doyle, please intercede for a healing miracle for a young high school graduate, Marija, who has recently discovered she has a brain tumor.