Since so many people are intrigued by St. Padre Pio's stigmata, I think that is what I'll talk with you about today. Actually, the best way to explain to you about Padre Pio's stigmata—the five bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified, which God placed in Padre Pio's hands, feet, and side, and which bled for fifty long years—would be to let St. Pio do the explaining. Here are the words he used in his Letter to his Superior:
"On the morning of September 20, 1918," wrote Padre Pio, in obedience to his Superior, "in the choir [of the church in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, at his monastery], after I had celebrated Mass, I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep.
"All the internal and external senses and even the very faculties of my soul were immersed in indescribable stillness. Absolute silence surrounded and invaded me. I was suddenly filled with great peace and abandonment which effaced everything else and caused a lull in the turmoil. All this happened in a flash.
"While this was taking place I saw before me a mysterious celestial person [whom Padre Pio later admitted was Christ Crucified Himself], similar to the one I had seen on the evening of the 5th of august. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood.
"This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should die and really should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest.
"The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet, and side were dripping blood and pained me a great deal. I lacked the strength to rise. So I managed to crawl from the choir to my cell, down the whole length of the long corridor. The Fathers were all of them out of the monastery at the time. I lay on my bed and prayed that I might see Our Lord again, but then I pulled myself together and examined my wounds. Weeping with joy and thanksgiving, I prayed." [St. Padre Pio's Letters.]
Next week, my dear friend, I will continue with true events that followed St. Padre Pio's reception from God of the stigmata. Just know, in the meantime, that any problems you have can be taken to St. Padre Pio and he will do what he can for you. He is a powerful intercessor in Heaven now with Jesus, Our Lord and God. Go ahead now and ask your Holy Guardian Angel to take your prayer requests to Padre Pio.
"All things work together for the good for those who love God." Amen.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saint Padre Pio: Part Ten
Last week I began sharing with you about St. Padre Pio's childhood, his personal history. Using the words of author Dorothy M. Gaudiose, who worked for Padre Pio in his monastery in Italy for three years, I now continue for you, dear friend in Christ:
"The desire of young Francis Forgione [the future Saint Padre Pio] to become a monk posed a hardship for his parents," wrote Dorothy, who was a personal friend of mine. Southern Italy--where Francis grew up, in the late-1800s and early-1900s--was poverty stricken. People sometimes had to resort to killing starlings in order to feed their families. "So," continued Dorothy, "Francis' father immigrated to America and worked as a laborer in Long Island, to help educate his son Francis to the priesthood. Orazio Forgione's weekly letters to his wife Giuseppa contained nine American dollars. That small amount helped to alleviate the family's financial burden by feeding and clothing their five living children and by educating Francis. Due to his poor health, Francis was privately tutored until the age of fifteen.
"Francis Forgione was fifteen years of age when he left home and entered the Capuchin order on January 3, 1903," said Dorothy. "Here was to begin a life of prayer, fasting, and diabolic attacks on the road to the priesthood."
Next week, dear friend in Christ, I will continue with Part Eleven of St. Padre Pio's life, as told by Dorothy M. Gaudiose who knew him well.
Until then, "Pray, hope, and don't worry," as St. Padre Pio always said.
"The desire of young Francis Forgione [the future Saint Padre Pio] to become a monk posed a hardship for his parents," wrote Dorothy, who was a personal friend of mine. Southern Italy--where Francis grew up, in the late-1800s and early-1900s--was poverty stricken. People sometimes had to resort to killing starlings in order to feed their families. "So," continued Dorothy, "Francis' father immigrated to America and worked as a laborer in Long Island, to help educate his son Francis to the priesthood. Orazio Forgione's weekly letters to his wife Giuseppa contained nine American dollars. That small amount helped to alleviate the family's financial burden by feeding and clothing their five living children and by educating Francis. Due to his poor health, Francis was privately tutored until the age of fifteen.
"Francis Forgione was fifteen years of age when he left home and entered the Capuchin order on January 3, 1903," said Dorothy. "Here was to begin a life of prayer, fasting, and diabolic attacks on the road to the priesthood."
Next week, dear friend in Christ, I will continue with Part Eleven of St. Padre Pio's life, as told by Dorothy M. Gaudiose who knew him well.
Until then, "Pray, hope, and don't worry," as St. Padre Pio always said.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Saint Padre Pio: Part 9
So far I've been sharing with you the facts about Saint Padre Pio's many spiritual gifts he received from God and which used to help and comfort and save souls. Today I'd like to begin sharing about Padre Pio's personal background, as told by Dorothy M. Gaudiose in a little pamphlet she has allowed me to quote. She worked for Padre Pio for three years in Italy, wrote two books about him, and was a dear friend of mine. Here is part of what she wrote. I will share the rest with you as the weeks progress.
"Who is Padre Pio?" Dorothy asks. "I shall begin by saying, Padre Pio was a Capuchin priest who wore the habit of Saint Francis of Assisi. Padre Pio was born on May 25, 1887, at Pietrelcina in southern Italy. His parents were Grazio Forgione, also known as Uncle Orazio or Z'Orazio. Padre Pio's mother was Maria Giuseppa DeNunzio Forgione, or Zia Giuseppa, or Aunt Josephine. Padre Pio was baptized Francesco, or Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the next day in the parish church. There was an older brother Michael, and later three younger sisters in the family: Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia, who later became a nun.
"Francis' parents were simple, humble, hardworking farm people who reared their children in the stern, staunch manner of peasants, placing God above all things.
"Francis was a well-behaved child and always obeyed his parents. They were never forced to punish him. His mother would sometimes say to him, 'Francis, go out and play with your friends for awhile,' but he would refuse, saying, 'I don't like to play with them because they swear.' Nevertheless, Francis was amiable, well-liked, and respected by everyone in the village and an example for other boys.
"When old enough," continued Dorothy, "Francis often accompanied his parents to work in the fields and later tended the sheep.
"At the age of five, Francis expressed a desire to become a Franciscan. As he grew older, his father asked him what he wanted to become, and Francis replied, 'I want to be a monk with a beard.' The Capuchins, a branch of the Franciscans, wore beards, and eventually, that is what Francis became, a Capuchin Franciscan."
Next week I'll continue to share more with you about Saint Padre Pio's personal background. In the meantime, ask your Guardian Angel to take your prayer requests to St. Padre Pio, and Padre Pio will do what he can for you. He will take them to Our Lady who will place them before her Divine Son.
"Pray, hope, and don't worry," my dear friend.
"Who is Padre Pio?" Dorothy asks. "I shall begin by saying, Padre Pio was a Capuchin priest who wore the habit of Saint Francis of Assisi. Padre Pio was born on May 25, 1887, at Pietrelcina in southern Italy. His parents were Grazio Forgione, also known as Uncle Orazio or Z'Orazio. Padre Pio's mother was Maria Giuseppa DeNunzio Forgione, or Zia Giuseppa, or Aunt Josephine. Padre Pio was baptized Francesco, or Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the next day in the parish church. There was an older brother Michael, and later three younger sisters in the family: Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia, who later became a nun.
"Francis' parents were simple, humble, hardworking farm people who reared their children in the stern, staunch manner of peasants, placing God above all things.
"Francis was a well-behaved child and always obeyed his parents. They were never forced to punish him. His mother would sometimes say to him, 'Francis, go out and play with your friends for awhile,' but he would refuse, saying, 'I don't like to play with them because they swear.' Nevertheless, Francis was amiable, well-liked, and respected by everyone in the village and an example for other boys.
"When old enough," continued Dorothy, "Francis often accompanied his parents to work in the fields and later tended the sheep.
"At the age of five, Francis expressed a desire to become a Franciscan. As he grew older, his father asked him what he wanted to become, and Francis replied, 'I want to be a monk with a beard.' The Capuchins, a branch of the Franciscans, wore beards, and eventually, that is what Francis became, a Capuchin Franciscan."
Next week I'll continue to share more with you about Saint Padre Pio's personal background. In the meantime, ask your Guardian Angel to take your prayer requests to St. Padre Pio, and Padre Pio will do what he can for you. He will take them to Our Lady who will place them before her Divine Son.
"Pray, hope, and don't worry," my dear friend.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Saint Padre Pio: Part Eight
Dear friend, I thought I'd begin today with an encouraging quote from Saint Padre Pio that I'm looking at right now in his third volume of Letters. He is speaking to you when he says, "Don't let temptations frighten you. They are the trials to which God subjects His chosen ones when He sees they are strong enough to sustain the trials, and thus weave the crown of glory with their own hands. Therefore, live tranquilly and do not fear because Jesus is with you." Amen.
Please let me continue sharing with you Dorothy M. Gaudiose's account of St. Padre Pio's life. As I've said in Parts One through Seven, she worked for Padre Pio for three years in his monastery, and she was a good friend of mine. In fact, the two books she wrote about Padre Pio are published by Alba House, and Dorothy was the impetus behind my writing my first of many books about Padre Pio, published by Our Sunday Visitor, The Word Among Us Press, and Pauline Books & Media--all by God's grace, of course. Last week I shared with you about Padre Pio as Confessor, and now this week I'll continue that topic:
"Many said Padre Pio could be gruff and irate in the Confessional," wrote Dorothy, "and he would shut the Confessional's panel door in the penitent's face. They said Padre Pio could demolish a penitent with a searing phrase. This is sometimes did actually happen, but it was always because Padre Pio would first recognize immediately any insincerity, hypocrisy, or falsehood on the part of the penitent, and then Padre Pio struck at it. But it was not out of vindictiveness that he did so. He loved souls too deeply for that. It was his way of 'netting the fish.' And where Padre Pio had been rough or angry, the penitent would be found later to have returned to Confession in a more correct or chastened disposition, and then Padre Pio would receive him with gentle forgiveness.
"When Padre Pio left the Confessional," continued Dorothy, who herself used to go to Confession to him, so she knew the truth of all that she wrote about him, "his step was slower and he looked tired. It was as though, in addition to his own cross, he was bearing those of the souls he had brought back to God through Confession.
"It is also well to know that when Padre Pio has 'bought' a soul by means of his suffering, he does not allow Satan to recapture it, for he is always on hand to guide, to support, and to help it in every circumstance that may arise. [And since St. Pio is now in Heaven, and closer to the Source of Life, he can look after you, too, my friend, even better than he could while on Earth.] It was thus that Padre Pio reassured a lawyer from Rome who was fearful lest he return to his former sinful ways," wrote Dorothy. "Padre Pio said to the lawyer, 'My son, pray without ceasing and never leave off, and you can be sure that when I have rescued a soul, I never let it fall again.'"
Dorothy continued, "One of Padre Pio's spiritual sons said to him one day, 'Padre Pio, you love what I fear--suffering.' St. Padre Pio replied, 'No, I don't love suffering itself; I ask it of God because I desire its fruits: It gives glory to God, saves my brothers and sisters here in this earthly exile, and frees souls from the fires of Purgatory. What more can I ask?'
"The spiritual son asked, 'Padre Pio, what is suffering?' And St. Pio replied, 'Expiation!' The spiritual son said, 'And for you, what is it?' Padre Pio answered, 'My daily bread; my delight!'
"Many of the Saints of the Church," continued Dorothy, "had one or more of these spiritual gifts, [which I elaborated on in Parts One through Eight], but none had as many as Padre Pio of Pietrelcina."
Do you have a great need today, my dear friend? Ask your holy Guardian Angel to take your need to St. Padre Pio. Padre Pio will do what he can to help you; he will intercede for you with Our Lady, the Mother of Christ, who will then intercede for you with her Divine Son, the Source of Life, the Author of All.
"Pray, hope, and don't worry." Amen.
Please let me continue sharing with you Dorothy M. Gaudiose's account of St. Padre Pio's life. As I've said in Parts One through Seven, she worked for Padre Pio for three years in his monastery, and she was a good friend of mine. In fact, the two books she wrote about Padre Pio are published by Alba House, and Dorothy was the impetus behind my writing my first of many books about Padre Pio, published by Our Sunday Visitor, The Word Among Us Press, and Pauline Books & Media--all by God's grace, of course. Last week I shared with you about Padre Pio as Confessor, and now this week I'll continue that topic:
"Many said Padre Pio could be gruff and irate in the Confessional," wrote Dorothy, "and he would shut the Confessional's panel door in the penitent's face. They said Padre Pio could demolish a penitent with a searing phrase. This is sometimes did actually happen, but it was always because Padre Pio would first recognize immediately any insincerity, hypocrisy, or falsehood on the part of the penitent, and then Padre Pio struck at it. But it was not out of vindictiveness that he did so. He loved souls too deeply for that. It was his way of 'netting the fish.' And where Padre Pio had been rough or angry, the penitent would be found later to have returned to Confession in a more correct or chastened disposition, and then Padre Pio would receive him with gentle forgiveness.
"When Padre Pio left the Confessional," continued Dorothy, who herself used to go to Confession to him, so she knew the truth of all that she wrote about him, "his step was slower and he looked tired. It was as though, in addition to his own cross, he was bearing those of the souls he had brought back to God through Confession.
"It is also well to know that when Padre Pio has 'bought' a soul by means of his suffering, he does not allow Satan to recapture it, for he is always on hand to guide, to support, and to help it in every circumstance that may arise. [And since St. Pio is now in Heaven, and closer to the Source of Life, he can look after you, too, my friend, even better than he could while on Earth.] It was thus that Padre Pio reassured a lawyer from Rome who was fearful lest he return to his former sinful ways," wrote Dorothy. "Padre Pio said to the lawyer, 'My son, pray without ceasing and never leave off, and you can be sure that when I have rescued a soul, I never let it fall again.'"
Dorothy continued, "One of Padre Pio's spiritual sons said to him one day, 'Padre Pio, you love what I fear--suffering.' St. Padre Pio replied, 'No, I don't love suffering itself; I ask it of God because I desire its fruits: It gives glory to God, saves my brothers and sisters here in this earthly exile, and frees souls from the fires of Purgatory. What more can I ask?'
"The spiritual son asked, 'Padre Pio, what is suffering?' And St. Pio replied, 'Expiation!' The spiritual son said, 'And for you, what is it?' Padre Pio answered, 'My daily bread; my delight!'
"Many of the Saints of the Church," continued Dorothy, "had one or more of these spiritual gifts, [which I elaborated on in Parts One through Eight], but none had as many as Padre Pio of Pietrelcina."
Do you have a great need today, my dear friend? Ask your holy Guardian Angel to take your need to St. Padre Pio. Padre Pio will do what he can to help you; he will intercede for you with Our Lady, the Mother of Christ, who will then intercede for you with her Divine Son, the Source of Life, the Author of All.
"Pray, hope, and don't worry." Amen.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Saint Padre Pio: Part Seven
About Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatized priest, I've been sharing with you from Dorothy M. Gaudiose's written account she left me. She knew Padre Pio well and worked for him for three years at his monastery in Italy. Also, she wrote two books about him for Alba House publishers and insisted I write my first children's book about him, which was subsequently published by Pauline Books & Media. After that, as if Padre Pio had opened the door for me--and I believe he did--I wrote many more books published by Our Sunday Visitor, The Word Among Us Press, and Chelsea House. All my success, though, I owe to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Without Him working through Our Lady, St. Padre Pio, my Holy Guardian Angel, my husband, and friends like you, I would be nothing. Worse than nothing.
But back to Saint Padre Pio: Let me share with you today Dorothy's words about his gift as a Confessor. (I have her written permission to quote her account.)
"CONFESSOR: Saint Padre Pio's day revolved chiefly around his confessional," wrote Dorothy. "I believe he would have wished to be remembered as a Confessor more than anything else. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week, he sat there for fifty long years.
"Padre Pio was unique as a confessor," continued Dorothy. "What distinguished him from other priests was his faculty of bringing to the mind of his penitent certain sins that he wished him [or her] to confess. He sometimes mentioned these faults before the penitent could mention them, as if reading that penitent's conscience, and Padre Pio often reminded the penitent of some sin he [or she] had neglected to mention in previous confessions.
"The first time that Alberto del Fante--who later became a biographer of Padre Pio--went to Confession to him," said Dorothy, "Alberto said, 'Padre, I have never had faith, but I have always been honest.' 'Even when,' said Padre Pio, who proceeded to tell Mr. del Fante things that no mortal could have known, things that Alberto had forgotten or not mentioned because they seemed to him to be unimportant.
"Padre Pio," continued Dorothy, "could tell you exactly how many times you missed Mass, how many promises you broke, and the mortal and venial sins you committed." [Dorothy knew all this as fact, since she often Confessed to Padre Pio while in Italy.]
"How was Padre Pio as a Confessor?" wrote Dorothy. "All things to all people, paternally. Where tenderness was needed, it flowed out from him. Where help and prompting were required, they were given. Where bracing and strengthening were called for, they were provided. All sincere men and women were at once enveloped in the mantle of his sanctity. They came away not only cleansed, but more keenly aware of what sin really meant."
Dorothy wrote more about Saint Padre Pio as Confessor, but I would like to continue with that next week, because today I would like to leave you with the above positive thoughts. And I hope that those thoughts will encourage you, my dear friend, to ask Saint Padre Pio--at any time, day or night--to hear what is on your heart and mind and--most importantly--your conscience. You know, from Heaven he can do more for you than he could on earth, for now he is even closer to the Source of Life, the Author of all that is good and holy. Ask Padre Pio to help you, and he will. He always said to send him your Guardian Angel with any message you might have, and that the Angel would then take it to Padre Pio, and Padre Pio would do for you what he could.
As you wait for the answer, please remember what Saint Padre Pio always said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry."
See you next week!
But back to Saint Padre Pio: Let me share with you today Dorothy's words about his gift as a Confessor. (I have her written permission to quote her account.)
"CONFESSOR: Saint Padre Pio's day revolved chiefly around his confessional," wrote Dorothy. "I believe he would have wished to be remembered as a Confessor more than anything else. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week, he sat there for fifty long years.
"Padre Pio was unique as a confessor," continued Dorothy. "What distinguished him from other priests was his faculty of bringing to the mind of his penitent certain sins that he wished him [or her] to confess. He sometimes mentioned these faults before the penitent could mention them, as if reading that penitent's conscience, and Padre Pio often reminded the penitent of some sin he [or she] had neglected to mention in previous confessions.
"The first time that Alberto del Fante--who later became a biographer of Padre Pio--went to Confession to him," said Dorothy, "Alberto said, 'Padre, I have never had faith, but I have always been honest.' 'Even when,' said Padre Pio, who proceeded to tell Mr. del Fante things that no mortal could have known, things that Alberto had forgotten or not mentioned because they seemed to him to be unimportant.
"Padre Pio," continued Dorothy, "could tell you exactly how many times you missed Mass, how many promises you broke, and the mortal and venial sins you committed." [Dorothy knew all this as fact, since she often Confessed to Padre Pio while in Italy.]
"How was Padre Pio as a Confessor?" wrote Dorothy. "All things to all people, paternally. Where tenderness was needed, it flowed out from him. Where help and prompting were required, they were given. Where bracing and strengthening were called for, they were provided. All sincere men and women were at once enveloped in the mantle of his sanctity. They came away not only cleansed, but more keenly aware of what sin really meant."
Dorothy wrote more about Saint Padre Pio as Confessor, but I would like to continue with that next week, because today I would like to leave you with the above positive thoughts. And I hope that those thoughts will encourage you, my dear friend, to ask Saint Padre Pio--at any time, day or night--to hear what is on your heart and mind and--most importantly--your conscience. You know, from Heaven he can do more for you than he could on earth, for now he is even closer to the Source of Life, the Author of all that is good and holy. Ask Padre Pio to help you, and he will. He always said to send him your Guardian Angel with any message you might have, and that the Angel would then take it to Padre Pio, and Padre Pio would do for you what he could.
As you wait for the answer, please remember what Saint Padre Pio always said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry."
See you next week!
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