Words of Saint Padre Pio

Hi there. Today I thought I'd simply share with you some of Saint Padre Pio's profound words, hoping they would bring to you the same comfort and strength that they bring to me. Why do I put so much emphasis on Padre Pio? (I’ve written many books about him, which are published by Our Sunday Visitor, Pauline Books & Media, and The Word Among Us Press.) Don't I know that Jesus is God, not Padre Pio? Mais oui, but of course! But God chose to come to us through another human being, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and God also comes to us through each other; He speaks to us through each other, including through the Saints, so why not allow God to speak to you and to me through Saint Padre Pio? Mais oui! Therefore, let me share with you, if you please, a few of Padre Pio’s words and how you can apply them to your problems, to your life, today.

For example, here is part of a letter Padre Pio wrote to one of his Superiors, Padre Agostino: “My very dear Father, May Jesus be always with you and with all the souls who love Him sincerely and with a pure heart. Amen. With a trembling hand I am writing these few lines. Jesus is inebriating me more and more with His sufferings. May He be blessed for ever for it!”

Now, why would a Saint be happy that God is “inebriating” him with sufferings? Like Saint Paul (Colossians 1:24), St. Padre Pio believed that God allows us to share in Christ’s sufferings here on earth in order to save souls. What? Didn’t Christ, once and for all, suffer and die and in doing so provide salvation for anyone who comes to Him and accepts it, His free gift of Self to us? Of course, but God’s ways are far beyond our comprehension, and if St. Paul says that we can help save others by offering up our sufferings to God, then why not offer up your sufferings for the salvation of the souls of all those you love? Why not offer your pains and trials and worries and miseries to God as prayer for others? If you don’t believe the efficacy, the benefit, of offering up your sufferings to God, then read Saint Paul’s own words about it in Colossians 1:24:

"I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I
am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of
His body, that is, the church."

Wow, I know, if it wasn’t in Scripture, who would believe it? But it is there, and it is God’s Word, and Christ is The Word, so we can believe it. Therefore, dear friend in Christ, today—and every day—offer up your sufferings to God; offer up your miseries in union with Christ on the Cross. God will greatly bless you—and your loved ones—for your sacrifice.

Until next week, may God richly bless you, and may you receive the benefits of practicing what Padre Pio always said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Amen.

Love,
Eileen
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti