The Longer Your Trials, the Greater God's Comfort

During his eighty years in Italy, Saint Padre Pio was sometimes harrassed by those who were jealous of him. After all, he had many gifts, including bilocation (the ability to be in two places at one time); the reading of souls (he could tell you in Confession what you'd done wrong without your saying a word); the odor of sanctity (his wounds would often give off a delightfully sweet scent); and the stigmata (the five wounds of Christ Crucified; St. Pio bore these ever-bleeding wounds in hands, feet, and side for fifty years). Once when one of his "enemies," a Monsignor, was re-assigned to a remote location in order to get him away from harrassing Padre Pio, St. Pio said, "The longer the trial to which God puts His elect, the greater His goodness in comforting them during oppression and exalting them after the struggle." (St. Padre Pio's quote is from page 220 in Prophet of the People, by Dorothy M. Gaudiose, my dear friend in Heaven.)

What struggles are you deailng with, my friend? Give them to Jesus. He will comfort you and be with you every step of the way until you are no longer suffering.

A blessed New Year to you!