Today I thought I'd share an experience with you which I had this week. Someone in our family, whom I thought for sure I had forgiven, came to my mind. Suddenly I recalled so many of the rotten things she had done and said to me over a period of about thirty years. So I'm telling you this now as sort of a personal confession and also to share with you what Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist-priest, said about forgiveness. One day a young woman came to him and told him how badly she'd been treated by her husband's relatives. "So, you hate them?" asked the Padre, peering at her with his dark penetrating Italian eyes. "Yes, Padre Pio." He didn't try to tell her that she had no reason to hate them. He told her this, instead, "You have good reason to be so angry with them because you are in the right. But for the love of God, you must forgive."
Now why did he say that? Because when I don't forgive--when I don't forgive the relative who hurt me for so many years--I'm really hurting myself. Do I want to do that? No. Neither do I want to hurt the other person, even though she hurt me so many times. For all I know, she was abused as a child or has a brain tumor or is a terribly unhappy person and simply can't treat me any better than she does. God knows her heart and He loves her just the same and wants me to forgive. Here is the remedy St. Padre Pio gave to the young woman, and I think I'll use that remedy too. What about you? Here it is:
"Think often of Jesus nailed to the Cross for our faults and sins when you find it difficult to forgive someone," advised St. Padre Pio.
Jesus on the Cross. For my sins. For yours. He has forgiven us everything. So I forgive that woman in my life too. Amen. "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me," says Saint Paul in Scripture, and that's the truth. You and I can forgive those who hurt us if we only ask Jesus to give us the strength and the love and the compassion to do so. Amen. So be it!
Before I forget, my brother shared with me last week the scripture verses that meant so much to him when he was in military combat, so I thought I'd share a couple of them with you too. Aren't we all in combat every day with the world and the devil and the flesh? But God will prevail in our lives. Amen.
Here are a couple of the verses my brother shared with me:
(1. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice!"
(2. "Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness. The Lord is near.”
(3. "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God."
I love you, my friend.
Talk to you next week. Don't worry; Jesus will never desert you.
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
Friday, October 28, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
What Do You Do?
October 21, 2011
So, today I thought I’d share my thoughts with you about finding out your loved one has cancer, or some other life-threatening illness. What do you do? Well, that’s what happened to me today. So perhaps it has happened to you, too, and perhaps my thoughts would help you? I hope so. What is my source of hope and strength? First, God’s Word, so let me share with you one of my favorite verses from the Bible: "No temptation [or testing] has taken you but such as is common to humankind. But God is faithful and will not allow you to suffer beyond that which you are able to bear, but will, with the temptation [or test] make a way for you to escape so that you may be able to bear it." I love that verse which Saint Paul gave to us. Of course he God’s Holy Spirit was speaking the truth through Saint Paul, so we can completely trust that what God has said in that verse, God will do for us. Therefore, whatever you are facing today—or tomorrow or whenever—God will give you the grace and strength and love to bear it. Never fear. Never. And here is a second favorite Scripture verse of mine for you: "All things work together for the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes." But perhaps I’ve already shared that one with you? Nevertheless, it is God’s promise to you that ALL things will work together for good in your life. So simply trust Him.
Now, for Saint Padre Pio’s encouragement for you, please read the following which I took from his Letters, Volume Two: “Do not give way to sadness, for the Lord is with you always. Aren’t you in the Hands of Divine Providence, a fonder Mother than we can ask for or imagine? Take heart, then,” says Saint Padre Pio to you, my dear friend, “for Jesus will not leave you for a single instant.” Amen!
I will return next week, God willing, with some more encouraging words for you from God’s Word and from Saint Padre Pio’s letters. In the meantime, as Padre Pio always said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Amen.
So, today I thought I’d share my thoughts with you about finding out your loved one has cancer, or some other life-threatening illness. What do you do? Well, that’s what happened to me today. So perhaps it has happened to you, too, and perhaps my thoughts would help you? I hope so. What is my source of hope and strength? First, God’s Word, so let me share with you one of my favorite verses from the Bible: "No temptation [or testing] has taken you but such as is common to humankind. But God is faithful and will not allow you to suffer beyond that which you are able to bear, but will, with the temptation [or test] make a way for you to escape so that you may be able to bear it." I love that verse which Saint Paul gave to us. Of course he God’s Holy Spirit was speaking the truth through Saint Paul, so we can completely trust that what God has said in that verse, God will do for us. Therefore, whatever you are facing today—or tomorrow or whenever—God will give you the grace and strength and love to bear it. Never fear. Never. And here is a second favorite Scripture verse of mine for you: "All things work together for the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes." But perhaps I’ve already shared that one with you? Nevertheless, it is God’s promise to you that ALL things will work together for good in your life. So simply trust Him.
Now, for Saint Padre Pio’s encouragement for you, please read the following which I took from his Letters, Volume Two: “Do not give way to sadness, for the Lord is with you always. Aren’t you in the Hands of Divine Providence, a fonder Mother than we can ask for or imagine? Take heart, then,” says Saint Padre Pio to you, my dear friend, “for Jesus will not leave you for a single instant.” Amen!
I will return next week, God willing, with some more encouraging words for you from God’s Word and from Saint Padre Pio’s letters. In the meantime, as Padre Pio always said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Amen.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
My Experience This Week
October 12, 2011
Why not, each week, share with you my experiences as a sinner, relate those experiences to the Word of God, and also relate them to Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatic priest? (By the way, we are all sinners; those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are sinners who are saved by the Blood of Christ; those who have not accepted Christ as their personal Savior are just plain sinners. I am a sinner saved by the Blood of Christ.)
This week’s experience to share with you would be my inner moanings about having to clean up a loved one’s vomit and blood and having to wait on that person “hand and foot” after that person’s return from the hospital and major surgery. Please picture this: here is this very sick man, pathetic really, and here I am, inwardly complaining—silently, of course—that I have to clean up oceans of vomit, toss out a perfectly good Penn State rug because of the vomit stains, and clean up blood, empty regularly the person’s bottle that hangs from his body that drains the blood and fluids from the internal wound, etc., etc., etc. Then, to my surprise—but it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all because it’s happened to me over and over again that when I need a shove in the right direction, there is the Lord Jesus, smiling and nudging me ever-so-gently in the right direction, sometimes using the soft wings of my Holy Guardian Angel—anyhow, to my surprise, one day this week when I opened my Bible for my daily reading, here was the Scripture and Jesus’ own words: “For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves.” Jesus serves; Jesus is the Servant. Then what am I supposed to be? A complaining brat or a smiling, cheerful, giving servant? You guessed it; I chose to be a smiling servant, but I first asked Jesus for His grace to achieve that goal because I knew I’d fail if I continued to try to do it on my own. (“God loves a cheerful giver.”) And I continue to ask for that grace each day, each hour, each moment.
Oh yes, without Christ’s grace and love, I am doomed to fail because of all my weaknesses. But God’s Word says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” That means all good things He calls me to do. Therefore, for my encouragement—and yours, in case you are also, like me, being asked to do servant tasks, perhaps day after day after day—here are Saint Padre Pio’s own words: “The grace that is meted out to you from above is sufficient for you, because God’s power achieves its purpose by means of our weakness.” (Saint Padre Pio’s Letters, Volume One, page 1263)
May God richly bless you and yours, my dear friend!
Love,
Eileen
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
(If you wish, you can see more about my St. Padre Pio books on Facebook, at my blog, and at my publishers’ Websites: Our Sunday Visitor, Pauline Books & Media, The Word Among Us Press, Chelsea House Publishers)
Why not, each week, share with you my experiences as a sinner, relate those experiences to the Word of God, and also relate them to Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatic priest? (By the way, we are all sinners; those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are sinners who are saved by the Blood of Christ; those who have not accepted Christ as their personal Savior are just plain sinners. I am a sinner saved by the Blood of Christ.)
This week’s experience to share with you would be my inner moanings about having to clean up a loved one’s vomit and blood and having to wait on that person “hand and foot” after that person’s return from the hospital and major surgery. Please picture this: here is this very sick man, pathetic really, and here I am, inwardly complaining—silently, of course—that I have to clean up oceans of vomit, toss out a perfectly good Penn State rug because of the vomit stains, and clean up blood, empty regularly the person’s bottle that hangs from his body that drains the blood and fluids from the internal wound, etc., etc., etc. Then, to my surprise—but it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all because it’s happened to me over and over again that when I need a shove in the right direction, there is the Lord Jesus, smiling and nudging me ever-so-gently in the right direction, sometimes using the soft wings of my Holy Guardian Angel—anyhow, to my surprise, one day this week when I opened my Bible for my daily reading, here was the Scripture and Jesus’ own words: “For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves.” Jesus serves; Jesus is the Servant. Then what am I supposed to be? A complaining brat or a smiling, cheerful, giving servant? You guessed it; I chose to be a smiling servant, but I first asked Jesus for His grace to achieve that goal because I knew I’d fail if I continued to try to do it on my own. (“God loves a cheerful giver.”) And I continue to ask for that grace each day, each hour, each moment.
Oh yes, without Christ’s grace and love, I am doomed to fail because of all my weaknesses. But God’s Word says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” That means all good things He calls me to do. Therefore, for my encouragement—and yours, in case you are also, like me, being asked to do servant tasks, perhaps day after day after day—here are Saint Padre Pio’s own words: “The grace that is meted out to you from above is sufficient for you, because God’s power achieves its purpose by means of our weakness.” (Saint Padre Pio’s Letters, Volume One, page 1263)
May God richly bless you and yours, my dear friend!
Love,
Eileen
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
(If you wish, you can see more about my St. Padre Pio books on Facebook, at my blog, and at my publishers’ Websites: Our Sunday Visitor, Pauline Books & Media, The Word Among Us Press, Chelsea House Publishers)
Friday, October 7, 2011
In Spite of Your Troubles, Rejoice
Since God's Word is infinitely more powerful than anyone else's, I'll just share that with you today and then follow it up with some wisdom from my favorite Saint, Saint Padre Pio.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let all people know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)
"Pray, hope, and don't worry," says Saint Padre Pio, echoing God's Holy Word for you today.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let all people know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)
"Pray, hope, and don't worry," says Saint Padre Pio, echoing God's Holy Word for you today.
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