Depressed?

Maybe you're feeling depressed or gloomy because of the weather, the economy, your family, your whatever. Saint Padre Pio has some words of encouragement for you: "Your suffering is by no means a chastisement [from God], because nobody fears being unworthy when he truly is or wants to be such. This uncertainty is permitted to all the living by God, in order to avoid their being presumptuous, and in order that they move cautiously as regards their eternal salvation. . . . Even the martyrs believed while they suffered. The most beautiful Credo is that pronounced in darkness, in times of sacrifice and when you have to make a great effort to do this." (Letters 3, page 549)

So don't be so hard on yourself, dear friend. God loves you and hasn't cast you aside just because you're feeling low. You are precious in His sight and nothing will change that.

A Rememdy for Your Dreadful Torture

Whatever pain you're experiencing today, St. Padre Pio offers you a remedy: "May Jesus always be with you, and may He console and comfort you in this extrememly painful trial. I well understand the dreadful torture that is consuming you totally, and neither do I know how to give you some relief. But if I, a miserable creature, am unable to do so, at the same time I have absolute trust that Jesus will not leave you to suffer at length in this state, which is more acute than death itself." (Letters 3, page 916)

Trust Jesus, my dear friend. He will never let you down.

True Love

What is true love? St. Padre Pio says it is the love you have for Jesus and the love He has for you. "The bitterness of love is still sweet and its weight suave," St. Pio said. "Therefore, why do you continually say, when feeling its great transports, that you are unable to contain it? Your heart is small, but it is expandable, and when it can no longer contain the grandeur of the Beloved, and resist its immense pressure, do not fear, because He is both inside and outside of you. By pouring Himself into your interior, He will surround the walls. Like an open shell in the ocean, you will drink your fill, and exhuberantly you will be surrounded and carried along by His power." (Letters 3, page 1040)

Please forgive me, dear friend, by the way, for not posting anything last week. I was recovering from surgery.