So You Think You Are Unworthy?

So, my friend, you think you are unworthy of God's love and help? You're wrong. Saint Faustina of the Divine Mercy said that those of us--myself included--who are the greatest sinners, the weakest of the weak, actually deserve God's mercy more than the others. Yes, it's true. Jesus delights in giving us His love and mercy. God is Love and Mercy, so never fear, and never hesitate to run to Him with all your sorrows and problems and mistakes.

Saint Padre Pio, too, encouraged everyone, especially the greatest of sinners, to run to Jesus for mercy and forgiveness and love. John McCaffery personally knew Padre Pio before the Padre died, and in John's book he says, "The fact that I write a book about Padre Pio is no guarantee of any worthiness of my own. On the contrary, the fact that such a person as myself [a weak sinner] writes such a book is but one more proof that Padre Pio, like his Master Jesus, came not just for the naturally good, but also and especially for the black sheep of the flock." (The Friar of San Giovanni: Tales of padre Pio)

From my own personal experience, I can totally agree with John's words above. I have written and published ten books, most of them about Saint Padre Pio and one about Saint Faustina, and I can tell you that God chooses the weakest to do His work because He knows we won't take credit for it. He knows that we know that we are the weakest of the weak and the most miserable of sinners. We know that anything good we do is done by God through us. On our own, as Saint Padre Pio said, we can only sin. We are in most need of God's constant mercy and love. What about you, my friend? Do you need God's mercy and love? Here are more encouraging words from John McCaffery, Padre Pio's personal friend and biographer:

"Like the church, Saint Padre Pio was and is there chiefly for those who need help and guidance, rather than for those who don't. And in order to help, Padre Pio had to be close to us, to be able to fully understand us and our difficulties."

In response to John's words you say, "But Saint Padre Pio is dead. How can he help me?"

Saint Padre Pio is not dead; he is alive in Heaven where his spirit can travel freely to help you whenever you call upon him to intercede for you with Jesus. As John says, ". . . Padre Pio is generous, compassionate, understanding, humorous, definitely one of us," so don't hesitate to ask for his help. "On earth, he was no dweller in an ivory tower, neither is he remotely inaccessible now that he is in Heaven. Today, as then, he is sympathetically aware of our limitations, our needs, and our weak-willed aspirations.

"Despite Saint Padre Pio's great gifts and powers, and remembering them, let us think of him as being here alongside each of us to help us in our trials and difficulties. If you truly desire it, that is exactly where you will find him." (The Friar of San Giovanni, page 139)

Yes, Saint Padre Pio is right there alongside you, my friend, so don't wait to ask him for his help. Have a great day!

The Secret to Having Your Prayers Answered

You are experiencing trouble today, my friend? As ludicrous as it might seem, during trial Saint Paul recommends we rejoice. Yes, rejoice because Jesus is on your side and all will work out for your best, as God promises in Scripture.

"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice," says Saint Paul, "for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance." (Philippians 1:18-19)

"Your prayers." Ahh, there is the secret I mentioned in the title of today's letter to you, my friend. Yes, your prayers are powerful. They can actually "oblige" God, as Saint Padre Pio says below, to answer those prayers. But according to Padre Pio, your prayers must be humble; you must accompany them with sorrow for your sins; and you must be confident as you pray, trusting that God will hear and answer your cries of the soul and heart. And He will! In the meantime, Saint Padre Pio, like Saint Paul, recommends you rejoice when you are afflicted. These two great Saints know the rewards of suffering, and yes, there are rewards for you, believe it or not. So now gather comfort and strength from St. Padre Pio's words to you:

"Never fear the snares of Evil because," says Saint Padre Pio to you, "for even though your trials may be harsh, they will never succeed in displacing a soul who keeps attached to the Cross. Be vigilant and fortify yourself more and more with prayer and the beautiful virtue of humility. You will find that you will not be submerged in the stormy sea. May the little ship of your spirit have a strong anchor of trust in Divine Goodness and keep before the eyes of your soul God's promise in Scripture: 'Whoever confides in Him will not be confused,' and 'He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble' and you should 'watch and pray that you might not enter into temptation.'

"So when you feel oppressed by temptation," continues St. Padre Pio to you, "the means to oblige God to come to your aid is through humility of spirit, contrition of heart, and confident prayer. It is impossible for God to be displeased with this demonstration; impossible for Him not to come to your aid and give in. It is true that God's power triumphs over everything; but humble and suffering prayer triumphs over God Himself!" (Saint Padre Pio's Letters, Volume 3, page 97)

May God richly bless you, my friend!

Eileen

P.S. For further consolation and encouragement, you might read the Book of Psalms and make the author's pleas and cries and complaints to God your own, allowing all the pent-up misery in your heart and soul to pour out so that Jesus might heal you. Today, especially, Saint Padre Pio's words above echo for you Psalms 51:17: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Pray and Ask 'Big'

Today I thought you might find inspiration and hope from a true story I found in The Friar of San Giovanni by John McCaffery. John personally knew Saint Padre Pio and wrote this book in 1978, ten years after Padre Pio's death and entrance into Heaven where he intercedes for you to Jesus. John knew Padre Pio before he was canonized, of course, but even then, John and the thousands of other souls who visited Padre Pio knew already that he was a Saint. After all, Jesus used the Padre every day to heal the sick in mind and body; to bi-locate (be in two places at one time) to help anyone in need; to read souls (tell them how they needed to change their lives); and to perform other miraculous works for the salvation of souls. Saint Pio also bore the five bleeding wounds of Christ for fifty years, and those wounds--and Padre Pio's constant suffering--convinced them that Jesus was somehow trying to speak to them and help them through this humble friar in a remote monastery in San Giovanni, Italy.

And Saint Padre Pio, by God's grace, will help you too. Just ask him!

But now, the true story I promised you from John McCaffery's book:

"Let me tell of the man from Lecco," wrote John. "He was sitting in my office looking at me with two perfectly ordinary-looking eyes. The truly extraordinary thing about them was that, until some months previously, they had been like dried, shrivelled peas in his head, and he had been totally blind.

"I had never met him before," continued John, "but had learned every detail of his case from Gino Ghisleri, who had been present when the blind man had knelt and begged Padre Pio to restore his sight, 'even if only in one eye,' that the blind man from Lecco might again see the faces of his dear ones. Padre Pio repeatedly asked him, 'Only one eye?' 'Only one eye?' 'Only one eye?' And then Padre Pio told him to be of good heart and that the Padre would pray for him.

"Gino Ghisleri said that this had been one of the most moving spectacles he had witnessed in San Giovanni," wrote John, "but that it had been completely outshone some weeks later when the blind man returned with his sight restored and his two eyes of completely normal appearance. He had been at the monastery in San Giovanni again when the man from Lecco once more knelt, this time with tears of happiness, to thank Padre Pio, his benefactor.

John continued, "Padre Pio said to the man from Lecco, 'So, you are now seeing normally again?' 'Yes,' replied the man, 'from this eye here, not from the other.' 'Ah!' said Padre Pio, 'only from one eye? Let that be a lesson to you. Never put limitations on God. Always ask for the big grace!'" (pp. 70-71, The Friar of San Giovanni)

Now, my dear friend, are you putting "limitations on God"? He will do more for you than you can ask or imagine, so go ahead and ask--and ask "big," as Saint Padre Pio recommends.

May God richly bless you, my friend!

Allow Your Difficulties Today Draw You Closer to God

Perhaps your difficulties today are permitted by God to draw you closer to Him. Like the man in the following true story, told by Father Alessio Parente, good friend and bodyguard of Saint Padre Pio during the Saint's last years, perhaps God is speaking to you through your troubles, trying to help you to lean on Him, to trust Him, to allow Him to lead you out of the darkness and fatigue, the strain and the sadness.

According to Father Alessio, with whom I corresponded, here is a true story about a married man with a sick child: "We had four children," said the man, "and I was shocked when my wife told me she was expecting our fifth. I didn't want the baby and was angry at God. I hadn't been faithful to my religion or my God, and this unwanted child just made my faith even weaker. However on August 4th my wife gave birth to our son. It took only days to realize something was wrong with him. The doctors discovered his kidneys were not functioning. One of his kidneys was simply 'mush,' as the doctor described it.

"Our baby lay in a little room of his own in the hospital," continued the man. "He was just a skeleton with sunken eyes, and I knew that death was near. Each morning we were at his bedside and, although everyone was kind, the nurse sister and the doctors told us it was just a matter of time. We should take him home to die.

"I broke down," admitted the man, "and hurried to confession. Afterward, I remembered hearing of Padre Pio, but I knew nothing about him. I saw a book about him in a book store and purchased it. I read it from cover to cover.

"It was September 20th," said the man, "when we took Stephen home from the hospital. He ate nothing, drank nothing, and grew weaker with eyes sunk and staring. We had him home two weeks and we saw the end was imminent. We could not watch our wee boy die. We hurried to the hospital with him. They took him and phoned that night to say that it would probably be all over by morning.

"I prayed and prayed to Our Blessed Lady and Saint Padre Pio, asking them to intercede on behalf of my little son, asking Jesus God to heal our little Stephen. I swore I would never leave my faith again if this grace were given to me. I cut a picture from the Padre Pio book and slipped it under Stephen's pillow the next day. He hadn't died that night. Each day he lingered and I prayed. Day after day.

"One night I woke up. It was dark outside. Our bedroom was saturated with the perfume of roses. My first thought was that my wife had brought flowers into the bedroom. But she hadn't. The aroma was overpowering. And then I remembered reading that such a phenomenon meant that the Saint Padre Pio had heard your petition and was telling you that God had granted your request. I put my head on the pillow again, knowing the aroma was a message.

"The next day," said the man, "I got a call from my wife at my office. She'd just been on the phone with the hospital. They had noticed an improvement in Stephen's blood. Days turned to weeks. His blood kept slowly improving. The kidney tissues were working. The doctors were amazed. They still are amazed. Stephen is six years old next Saturday. He is a joy in our life. A wonderful wee boy who plays at being a priest. He is my pride and joy. We took him to Lourdes as a thank-you. But we know that Saint Padre Pio and Our Lady interceded for us and obtained from Jesus the healing of our little son.

"I've never faltered in my faith since the healing, and I keep up with my duties, and I'm all the happier for it," said the man. "Who knows; perhaps Stephen was sent just for that purpose, to melt my hardened heart and draw me back to Jesus and the Church." (from Padre Pio, Our Good Samaritan, by Father Alessio Parente, OFM, Capuchin, my friend and surely a Saint right along with Padre Pio)