Saint Padre Pio's Mass

Today I’d like to share with you about St. Padre Pio’s Mass. Dorothy Gaudiose, my dear friend, assisted at many of Padre Pio’s Masses in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, at his monastery, because she worked for him for three years. Therefore, I would like to use her own words, since I know they are the truth.

“What moved people the most was the manner in which Padre Pio celebrated Holy Mass,” said Dorothy. “It is difficult, and indeed nearly impossible, to describe the Mass of Padre Pio. Many have tried without too much success, because he was not an ordinary priest, but a creature in pain, who renewed the Passion of Christ with the devotion and radiance of one who is inspired by God.

“Padre Pio celebrated a daily Mass at 5 a.m.,” continued Dorothy. “And nearly a thousand persons from all over the world came every morning, in all kinds of weather, to be present for it. When the hour of Mass approached, Padre Pio could be seen coming, hobbling painfully on his pierced feet. In one of his writings, he related how the Madonna [the Mother of Christ] had accompanied him to the altar that very morning: ‘You’d think,’ he wrote, ‘She had nothing else to do.’ Padre Pio was very humble.

“When he reached the altar,” said Dorothy, “and made the Sign of the Cross, he seemed to pass into ecstasy. This ecstasy spread throughout the crowd and held it spellbound.

“During the Mass, suffering shone through his features, and all could see the painful contractions of his body, especially when he leaned on the altar and genuflected, as though he bore the weight of the Cross. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and from his mouth came words of prayer, of supplication for pardon, of love for his Lord Jesus of Whom he seemed to be a perfect replica [because Padre Pio suffered the pain and constant bleeding of the Stigmata—the five wounds of Christ Crucified in his hands, feet, and side—for fifty years.]”

About the Mass, St. Padre Pio once said, “I should like to shed, not a few tears, but torrents of tears when faced with the mystery of a God-Victim. During the Mass, I suffer unworthily all that was suffered by Jesus, Who deigned to allow me to share in His great enterprise of human redemption.” (St. Padre Pio’s Letters.)

Let me continue with Dorothy’s own account now: “The only time Padre Pio removed the fingerless gloves that covered the wounds in his hands was to celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass. At the Consecration, the wounds in his hands bled, and all those present witnessed this spectacle.

“Also, none of those present,” said Dorothy, “noticed the passage of time. It took Padre Pio about one and one-half hours to say Mass, but the attention of all was riveted on every gesture, movement, and expression of St. Padre Pio., the celebrant.”

Next week, my dear friend, I will share with how Padre Pio explained the Holy Trinity, and how St. Pio guided souls. You know, don’t you, that Padre Pio will guide you too? Oh course he will! Just ask him. Let him put peace in your heart, which he can obtain for you from Our Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t forget Padre Pio’s words: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

Until next week—and forever—you’ll be in my prayers. Love, Eileen