Monday, June 14, 2010

The Trench Priest Goes Digital

And since Fr. Doyle used whatever technology he could lay his hands on to spread the Gospel, from print to primitive slide projectors, we can assume that -- having  been reconciled in heaven to God's will regarding the publication of his spiritual writings, which he never intended to be read -- he would approve.

From the very neighborhood where Fr. Doyle grew up comes Remembering Fr. William Doyle SJ, a blog about the heroic Dubliner who prayed for -- and, on the morrow of the Assumption, 1917, received -- the grace of becoming a Jesuit martyr.  "Pope Benedict XVI, in his letter to the Church in Ireland," says the blog owner, 
has wisely outlined the path of reform for the Church. It involves a return to the sources of our faith as well as acts of reparation and penance and a recognition of the need for holiness as the antidote to scandal in the Church. Significantly, it involves remembering the rock from which we have been hewn. We must remember, and emulate, the "generous, often heroic, contributions made by past generations of Irish men and women to the Church and to humanity as a whole". These heroes of the past show us the way to renewal of the Church and the way to Christ. They present a variety of modes of behaviour, and approaches to genuine spirituality that we can adapt for our own lives.

Fr Willie Doyle SJ was one of those heroes.
It is incredible that such a hero as Fr. Doyle was has largely been forgotten.  Our latest Ally for Victory thinks so too, and has set out to remedy the situation.  Check it out, and get to know this utterly courageous, staunchly patriotic and thoroughly lovable warrior of God.   

2 comments:

  1. What a beautiful example of prayer, fidelity, and priestly service...Fr. Doyle, pray for us!
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete