Thank you for reading! Tomorrow is St. Martin's day and Remembrance Day. May those who faithfully served God and selflessly served their country rest in peace. God bless all our Catholic chaplains and all our military families who sacrifice so much for us. St. Martin and Father Willie, pray for us!
How embarrassing that I have not heard of Fr. Willy Doyle, SJ till today!
Less than halfway through, I said to myself, "Today's Society will never assign a Promoter of the Cause for this man's canonization - shame on them! "At least not till they retool his life so that the synodal crowd has something to embrace."
He's far too much a son of the Exercises. Far too Ignatian. That's what consoles me most about this narrative. Then, it breaks my heart. THE Ignatian spirit. THE Spiritual Exercises. They are right in the narrative. Hell. Christ, the Military Captain and the King. The Prayer for Generosity. The Degrees of Humility and the Types of Men. They are all here in the article, if one knows what he's looking at.
Thank you!
There he is. In the very shadow of the stinking memory of that Irish heresiarch George Tyrrell and of the fond and somewhat tragic memory of the faithful yet oft-misunderstood Dubliner-by-adoption, GM Hopkins'!
Speaking of the good Father Hopkins, though, the little things. The ordinary thing in an extraordinary way... like St. Alphonsus, SJ in Hopkins' poem. Like Father Willy.!
"The kind and merciful shepherd-of-a-priest has got to turn his back on his post that faces the altar of God," insists the cost-counting Worldling... and Father Willy, as you present him, makes a fool of the Worldling.
Thanks for reading, Mark! I highly recommend any of the books in the bibliography. My essay is a very modest introduction to Father Willie's heroism. His ardent love and relentless efforts at self-conquest really stagger the mind. At times, the bare biographical facts of his life read like the hagiography of a desert father, a 17th century mystic, or some great character from a war novel. But he is in fact a man raised up to these incredible heights of holiness in our own time. AMDG! May God revive the peerless spirituality of Loyola through his intercession!
"To conquer oneself and regulate one's life without any tendency that is disordered."
That's required reading on day one of the bare bones preparation of someone who is getting ready to make "the long retreat." It's jarring to read about someone doing that *for real* while being flooded with documents authored by men who are *supposed to* be doing that but probably don't.
Thank you for this beautiful tribute to the amazing battlefield priest, Fr. Doyle. Much to love and admire. And emulate.
All glory to God! Fr. Doyle is a wonderful spiritual father, friend, and intercessor. We are so blessed by his life of heroism and sanctity!
Hauntingly Beautiful, like our Faith.
Thank you! May God be praised.
This weekend we pray for the Catholic chaplains and all those who have served in our military. Thank you for this beautiful tribute.
Thank you for reading! Tomorrow is St. Martin's day and Remembrance Day. May those who faithfully served God and selflessly served their country rest in peace. God bless all our Catholic chaplains and all our military families who sacrifice so much for us. St. Martin and Father Willie, pray for us!
How embarrassing that I have not heard of Fr. Willy Doyle, SJ till today!
Less than halfway through, I said to myself, "Today's Society will never assign a Promoter of the Cause for this man's canonization - shame on them! "At least not till they retool his life so that the synodal crowd has something to embrace."
He's far too much a son of the Exercises. Far too Ignatian. That's what consoles me most about this narrative. Then, it breaks my heart. THE Ignatian spirit. THE Spiritual Exercises. They are right in the narrative. Hell. Christ, the Military Captain and the King. The Prayer for Generosity. The Degrees of Humility and the Types of Men. They are all here in the article, if one knows what he's looking at.
Thank you!
There he is. In the very shadow of the stinking memory of that Irish heresiarch George Tyrrell and of the fond and somewhat tragic memory of the faithful yet oft-misunderstood Dubliner-by-adoption, GM Hopkins'!
Speaking of the good Father Hopkins, though, the little things. The ordinary thing in an extraordinary way... like St. Alphonsus, SJ in Hopkins' poem. Like Father Willy.!
"The kind and merciful shepherd-of-a-priest has got to turn his back on his post that faces the altar of God," insists the cost-counting Worldling... and Father Willy, as you present him, makes a fool of the Worldling.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading, Mark! I highly recommend any of the books in the bibliography. My essay is a very modest introduction to Father Willie's heroism. His ardent love and relentless efforts at self-conquest really stagger the mind. At times, the bare biographical facts of his life read like the hagiography of a desert father, a 17th century mystic, or some great character from a war novel. But he is in fact a man raised up to these incredible heights of holiness in our own time. AMDG! May God revive the peerless spirituality of Loyola through his intercession!
I'll look them up when I get the chance!
Thank you!
"To conquer oneself and regulate one's life without any tendency that is disordered."
That's required reading on day one of the bare bones preparation of someone who is getting ready to make "the long retreat." It's jarring to read about someone doing that *for real* while being flooded with documents authored by men who are *supposed to* be doing that but probably don't.
You can get prayer cards and third class relics here https://williedoyle.org/
Thank you so much! That is awesome.
Beautiful piece. Fr Willie Doyle, Ora pro nobis 🙏
Amen!