You Are On Your Way to Holiness

Saint Padre Pio is so positive about your becoming and staying holy, my dear friend. He opens one of his letters with, "May Our Lord be always with you and make you holy." That is Saint Pio's hope for you, and he continues with his wish that "Our Beloved Redeemer" will always "keep you in His holy grace and invariably treat you as a chosen child."

You'll hopefully smile as you read what Saint Padre Pio continues with in that letter: "Well, then, Jesus wants to toss and shake you, to thresh you like wheat in order that your spirit may be cleansed and purified as He wishes. Could grain be stored in the barn if it were not free from all husk or chaff? Could linen be stored in the owner's cupboard if it had not first been made quite spotless? So, too, must it be with the chosen soul."

And you, my dear friend, ARE a "chosen soul," so take heart. When your daily life hands you little unpleasantries; the never-ending repetition of daily drugeries; and the frequent annoyances from friends, family, others, and even from your own body, you can look up at Jesus and smile and say, "Okay, Lord, you're jiggling me a bit to shake off the chaff and husk so that my dear soul can shine for eternity in Your Kingdom."

No matter what your day brings, always remember what Saint Padre Pio says to you: "Hold resolutely to the comforting thought that God is with you all the time and will never abandon you. . . ."

Amen!

(I have quoted St. Pio's Letters, Volume II, pages 75 and 76.)