Your suffering is not in vain, my friend. Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist who bore the five bleeding wounds of Christ for fifty years, says to you:
"I know that you are suffering more spiritually than physically, that the latter is a reflection of the former, your moral suffering. I know that your physical suffering is caused by your moral suffering. I know, and out of holy love, I am pleased that your spirit is on Calvary, nailed to the Cross of Jesus amidst the darkness and suffering. But do not fear. After having been nailed to the Cross with Jesus, and after having descended from the Cross, you will see the unfailing Light, and from Calvary you will go on to joy.
"Meanwhile," continues St. Padre Pio to you, "always pronounce the fiat [the yes] of trusting resignation, and take advantage of this period of divine testing for your greater sanctification and the salvation of souls, for whom Abraham immolated himself. Therefore, don't forget the reassurances of he who speaks to you in the name of God. Believe and hope. With faith and hope you will arm yourself in order to sustain the struggle in which the Heavenly Father's goodness has involved you. With faith and hope, you will not be without the sweet nectar of love which unites you more and more to the Supreme Good." (Letters 3, page327)
God bless you richly, my friend!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Your Suffering, Divine Fire, and Saint Padre Pio
Saint Padre Pio usually made his daily mediations before the Tabernacle in the church in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, at the Franciscan monastery where he lived. There he communicated with his Lord, offering Him praise, thanksgiving, and pleading for the needs of all the souls who came to Padre Pio for his prayers. From Heaven, St. Pio pleads for you, too, in your needs, my friend.
St. Pio bore the bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years in his hands, feet, and side, and these caused him continual pain, and yet he was actually grateful for all of it because he believed his sufferings, when offered up to God, united with Jesus on the Cross, would be used by God to save souls. He truly believed what Saint Paul says in Colossians 1:24: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church."
Perhaps, my dear friend, you could claim that Scripture for yourself, in your own sufferings? Yes! You can offer up your own afflictions to God, united with Jesus on the Cross, as did Saint Padre Pio, and God will use your offerings to save souls.
You might join your prayers with those of Saint Padre Pio as he kneels before the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. (Before he died he said that if you want to find him after his death, you would find him kneeling before Jesus in the Tabernacle in the Church.) Saint Padre Pio said: "My heart feels drawn by a higher power before being united with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. . . . At the moment that I am in possession of this greatest Good, then yes, the plenitude of sweetness is truly so great that I almost say to Jesus, 'Enough! I cannot stand anymore.' I forget that I am even in this owrld. The mind and heart desire nothing more. I sometimes ask myself if there are souls that do not feel their chest burn with divine fire, especially at the moment that they find themselves before Him in the Blessed Sacrament." (from The Life of Padre Pio by Gennaro Preziuso, page 181)
Run to Jesus, my dear friend, in the Blessed Sacrament, and there you will not only find Saint Padre Pio and all the holy angels and saints--in spirit--but you will also find The Answer to your every need and suffering.
St. Pio bore the bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years in his hands, feet, and side, and these caused him continual pain, and yet he was actually grateful for all of it because he believed his sufferings, when offered up to God, united with Jesus on the Cross, would be used by God to save souls. He truly believed what Saint Paul says in Colossians 1:24: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church."
Perhaps, my dear friend, you could claim that Scripture for yourself, in your own sufferings? Yes! You can offer up your own afflictions to God, united with Jesus on the Cross, as did Saint Padre Pio, and God will use your offerings to save souls.
You might join your prayers with those of Saint Padre Pio as he kneels before the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. (Before he died he said that if you want to find him after his death, you would find him kneeling before Jesus in the Tabernacle in the Church.) Saint Padre Pio said: "My heart feels drawn by a higher power before being united with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. . . . At the moment that I am in possession of this greatest Good, then yes, the plenitude of sweetness is truly so great that I almost say to Jesus, 'Enough! I cannot stand anymore.' I forget that I am even in this owrld. The mind and heart desire nothing more. I sometimes ask myself if there are souls that do not feel their chest burn with divine fire, especially at the moment that they find themselves before Him in the Blessed Sacrament." (from The Life of Padre Pio by Gennaro Preziuso, page 181)
Run to Jesus, my dear friend, in the Blessed Sacrament, and there you will not only find Saint Padre Pio and all the holy angels and saints--in spirit--but you will also find The Answer to your every need and suffering.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Be Healed
So many hundreds of people visited St. Padre Pio in San Giovanni, Italy, during the eighty years he lived on earth. They sought his prayers and his comforting words. God had given St. Pio the five bleeding wounds of Christ, the stigmata, which he bore for fifty long years in his hands, feet, and side. He was in constant pain. For example, the wounds in his feet caused him intense pain when he walked.
Many people knew St. Padre Pio well, and one of those people was Oscar DeLiso who wrote a book entitled "Padre Pio: The Priest Who Bore the Wounds of Christ." (1960, McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc.) In his book, beginning on page 142, Oscar describes how a wounded war veteran traveled all the way up the mountain to St. Padre Pio's monastery to attend his Mass and to ask for his blessing. Among Padre Pio's many gifts from God was the gift of healing, so the war veteran hoped that Jesus would heal him through St. Pio. Here is how Oscar describes this true story:
"In the winter of 1936, soldiers were still returning from Africa, where all military operations had stopped months before. One day, a veteran on crutches, made his way up the graveled road. For three days in the harsh December cold, he sat in front of the door of [Padre Pio's church] Saint Mary of the Graces. He would leave the clearing only for his meals. For the whole three days, he showed the people coming and going a gash in his knee. His face was bathed in tears. His own wounds were not the only reason for his sorrow. In 1936, the civil war in Spain had just begun, and his brother had gone there to fight with the Nationalists. When he himself had returned from Ethiopia, with his painful, crippling wound, his spirit had been crushed by the news that his brother was reported missing. After his three days of crouching on the church steps in prayer and weeping, he finally steeled himself to go to Padre Pio. The compassionate people moved aside to let him enter the church before his turn. He knelt before Padre Pio as best he could with only one good leg, and Padre Pio motioned to the crowd to give space to the crippled soldier. Then Padre Pio lowered his head toward the man.
"Throw away your crutches!" St. Padre Pio told him.
"Padre Pio, I cannot. I need them to kneel, to get up. I cannot walk without my crutches."
"Open your hands and let the crutches go. Drop them!"
In the silence of the church the veteran's breathing sounded unnaturally loud. "Padre Pio, I am afraid. I will fall."
Severely, Padre Pio said, "Stand up."
The war veteran tried to keep all his weight on his good leg. Still gripping the crutches, he tentatively touched the floor with the crippled leg. Then suddenly he opened both hands and let his crutches go, standing on his two feet as the crutches crashed to the floor. He took a few steps. Then he cried aloud with joy. He could walk, run, leap, his leg was cured. The gasp that rose from the crowd quivered the windowpanes in the church. Padre Pio was already walking away, slightly wavering on his feet, [from the pain of the bleeding wounds of Christ], as always, toward the sacristy, behind the altar."
Why have I shared this true story with you, my dear friend? Because St. Padre Pio is still alive; he's in Heaven with Jesus, and he is ready to intercede for you with Jesus. Just ask St. Padre Pio to help you, and he will.
God bless you, my dear friend.
Many people knew St. Padre Pio well, and one of those people was Oscar DeLiso who wrote a book entitled "Padre Pio: The Priest Who Bore the Wounds of Christ." (1960, McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc.) In his book, beginning on page 142, Oscar describes how a wounded war veteran traveled all the way up the mountain to St. Padre Pio's monastery to attend his Mass and to ask for his blessing. Among Padre Pio's many gifts from God was the gift of healing, so the war veteran hoped that Jesus would heal him through St. Pio. Here is how Oscar describes this true story:
"In the winter of 1936, soldiers were still returning from Africa, where all military operations had stopped months before. One day, a veteran on crutches, made his way up the graveled road. For three days in the harsh December cold, he sat in front of the door of [Padre Pio's church] Saint Mary of the Graces. He would leave the clearing only for his meals. For the whole three days, he showed the people coming and going a gash in his knee. His face was bathed in tears. His own wounds were not the only reason for his sorrow. In 1936, the civil war in Spain had just begun, and his brother had gone there to fight with the Nationalists. When he himself had returned from Ethiopia, with his painful, crippling wound, his spirit had been crushed by the news that his brother was reported missing. After his three days of crouching on the church steps in prayer and weeping, he finally steeled himself to go to Padre Pio. The compassionate people moved aside to let him enter the church before his turn. He knelt before Padre Pio as best he could with only one good leg, and Padre Pio motioned to the crowd to give space to the crippled soldier. Then Padre Pio lowered his head toward the man.
"Throw away your crutches!" St. Padre Pio told him.
"Padre Pio, I cannot. I need them to kneel, to get up. I cannot walk without my crutches."
"Open your hands and let the crutches go. Drop them!"
In the silence of the church the veteran's breathing sounded unnaturally loud. "Padre Pio, I am afraid. I will fall."
Severely, Padre Pio said, "Stand up."
The war veteran tried to keep all his weight on his good leg. Still gripping the crutches, he tentatively touched the floor with the crippled leg. Then suddenly he opened both hands and let his crutches go, standing on his two feet as the crutches crashed to the floor. He took a few steps. Then he cried aloud with joy. He could walk, run, leap, his leg was cured. The gasp that rose from the crowd quivered the windowpanes in the church. Padre Pio was already walking away, slightly wavering on his feet, [from the pain of the bleeding wounds of Christ], as always, toward the sacristy, behind the altar."
Why have I shared this true story with you, my dear friend? Because St. Padre Pio is still alive; he's in Heaven with Jesus, and he is ready to intercede for you with Jesus. Just ask St. Padre Pio to help you, and he will.
God bless you, my dear friend.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Your Heavenly Tutor
Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist of the twentieth century, who bore the five bleeding wounds of Christ for fifty years, calls Jesus your "Heavenly Tutor." Doesn't that make you smile? Your Heavenly Tutor. Here is what St. Pio says to you today about your Tutor:
"How fortunate you are to be held so tightly to your Heavenly tutor! You need do no more than what you are doing at present; that is to love Divine Providence and abandon yourself in His arms and Heart." (Letters, Volume 3, page 425)
Today, and every day, may the blessings of God--through the intercession of Saint Padre Pio--bring you comfort and peace and joy: "May Jesus, the only Heart of our hearts, bless you with His holy Love. Live entirely, as you already do, in this heavenly Love." (Letters, Volume 3, page. 428)
"How fortunate you are to be held so tightly to your Heavenly tutor! You need do no more than what you are doing at present; that is to love Divine Providence and abandon yourself in His arms and Heart." (Letters, Volume 3, page 425)
Today, and every day, may the blessings of God--through the intercession of Saint Padre Pio--bring you comfort and peace and joy: "May Jesus, the only Heart of our hearts, bless you with His holy Love. Live entirely, as you already do, in this heavenly Love." (Letters, Volume 3, page. 428)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
In Your Darkest Hours
In your darkest moments, take encouragement from Saint Padre Pio, the great stigmatist and healer. He, too, suffered dark moments, dark days, dark years. Always he turned to Jesus, and even when Jesus seemed to be "hiding," St. Pio knew He was there and he received the healing balm that only Christ can give. Here are St. Pio's words to his "superior" at the monastery in San Giovanni, Italy, during some dark times. Hopefully St. Padre Pio's words will comfort you and let you know you are not--you are never--alone:
"Ah, my dear Father, for the love of Heaven don't leave at its own mercy a life that is petering out in the thickest darkness of night, deprived of every least glimmer of light! I feel I am about to die of the torment I experience in the deepest recesses of my soul.
"Alas, what a sharp thorn there is in the depths of my soul, which makes me suffer agonies of love day and night! What acute pain I suffer in hands and feet and heart! [In addition to spiritual sufferings, Padre Pio also bore in his body the bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years in his hands, feet, side, and heart.] . . .
"In the midst of this torment I find the strength to utter a painful 'Fiat.' ['So be it, Lord.'] Oh, how sweet and yet how bitter is this, 'May Thy will be done.' It cuts and heals, it wounds and cures, it deals death and at the same time gives life. O sweet torments, why are you so unbearable and so lovable simultaneously?"
St. Padre Pio found his physical and spiritual sufferings to be sweet and bitter at the same time because he knew that in his suffering he felt at one with the Crucified Christ whom he followed. St. Pio asked Jesus to let him join Him spiritually on the Cross. St. Pio offer himself, united with Jesus on the Cross, as a victim for the salvation of souls. You, my dear friend, can take your own sufferings, no matter what form they take, and offer them to Jesus. Unite yourself with Him on the Cross and He will use you to help Him save souls. You are beautiful, my dear friend; you are loved; you are never alone, even in your darkest, most painful moments.
"Possessing Him within me," said St. Padre Pio, "I am impelled to say with the spouse of the Sacred Song [Song of Solomon in the Old Testament], 'I found Him whom my soul loves; I held Him and would not let Him go.'" Not only can you, too, my friend, find Jesus within your soul; you can find Him constantly surrounding you with His unfathomable love.
(I've taken St. Padre Pio's words today from Letters, Volume 1, pages 1227, 1228, 1239)
"Ah, my dear Father, for the love of Heaven don't leave at its own mercy a life that is petering out in the thickest darkness of night, deprived of every least glimmer of light! I feel I am about to die of the torment I experience in the deepest recesses of my soul.
"Alas, what a sharp thorn there is in the depths of my soul, which makes me suffer agonies of love day and night! What acute pain I suffer in hands and feet and heart! [In addition to spiritual sufferings, Padre Pio also bore in his body the bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years in his hands, feet, side, and heart.] . . .
"In the midst of this torment I find the strength to utter a painful 'Fiat.' ['So be it, Lord.'] Oh, how sweet and yet how bitter is this, 'May Thy will be done.' It cuts and heals, it wounds and cures, it deals death and at the same time gives life. O sweet torments, why are you so unbearable and so lovable simultaneously?"
St. Padre Pio found his physical and spiritual sufferings to be sweet and bitter at the same time because he knew that in his suffering he felt at one with the Crucified Christ whom he followed. St. Pio asked Jesus to let him join Him spiritually on the Cross. St. Pio offer himself, united with Jesus on the Cross, as a victim for the salvation of souls. You, my dear friend, can take your own sufferings, no matter what form they take, and offer them to Jesus. Unite yourself with Him on the Cross and He will use you to help Him save souls. You are beautiful, my dear friend; you are loved; you are never alone, even in your darkest, most painful moments.
"Possessing Him within me," said St. Padre Pio, "I am impelled to say with the spouse of the Sacred Song [Song of Solomon in the Old Testament], 'I found Him whom my soul loves; I held Him and would not let Him go.'" Not only can you, too, my friend, find Jesus within your soul; you can find Him constantly surrounding you with His unfathomable love.
(I've taken St. Padre Pio's words today from Letters, Volume 1, pages 1227, 1228, 1239)
Friday, June 25, 2010
So Your Efforts Didn't Turn Out Perfectly--So?
Saint Pio continues to love and to pray for and to help his "spiritual children." You, my dear friend, are a "spiritual child" of God, so that makes you a spiritual child of Saint Padre Pio, too, since he works for Jesus, even now from Heaven. St. Pio always said he would do more for you after he reached Heaven than he could on earth, so always feel free to ask him to intercede for you with Jesus. He will be so kind and good, as always, and he will help you.
Saint Padre Pio had a way of sharing his very heart and soul with his spiritual children. For example, here he says to you, his spiritual child, "You must not be discouraged or let yourself become dejected if your actions have not succeeded as perfectly as you intended. What do you expect? We are made of clay, and not every soil yields the fruits expected by the one who tills it. But let us always humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are nothing if we lack the Divine Assistance. To be worried because something we have done has not turned out in accordance with our pure intention shows a lack of humility. . . . Rejoice in the Lord, even though you feel oppressed by many sufferings. Rejoice, for Jesus is with you. . . ." Amen, dear friend!
(St. Padre Pio Letters, Volume 2, pages 290 and 303)
Saint Padre Pio had a way of sharing his very heart and soul with his spiritual children. For example, here he says to you, his spiritual child, "You must not be discouraged or let yourself become dejected if your actions have not succeeded as perfectly as you intended. What do you expect? We are made of clay, and not every soil yields the fruits expected by the one who tills it. But let us always humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are nothing if we lack the Divine Assistance. To be worried because something we have done has not turned out in accordance with our pure intention shows a lack of humility. . . . Rejoice in the Lord, even though you feel oppressed by many sufferings. Rejoice, for Jesus is with you. . . ." Amen, dear friend!
(St. Padre Pio Letters, Volume 2, pages 290 and 303)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
How to Obtain Favors from Heaven
So, my dear friend, you've been needing a favor from God but your prayers seem unanswered. Saint Padre Pio has a bit of encouragement here for you:
"Always give most fervent thanks to God through Jesus Christ. By so doing, you will prepare yourself very well to receive other favors from Heaven. On the other hand, whoever does not appreciate the favors he has already received is very naturally unworthy of further favors."
But, my dear friend, you say you are worried that someone or something will snatch those favors from your grasp before you even take hold of them? Saint Padre Pio continues: "Pray constantly and you will thus win the victory over your enemies. Humble yourself beneath the powerful hand of the Heavenly Physician and thu, when the heavenly nuptials are celebrated [when you arrive in Heaven], Jesus will have you sit in the first place at thebanquet table, for God has promised that whever humbles himself will be exalted." (Letters 2, page 519)
"Always give most fervent thanks to God through Jesus Christ. By so doing, you will prepare yourself very well to receive other favors from Heaven. On the other hand, whoever does not appreciate the favors he has already received is very naturally unworthy of further favors."
But, my dear friend, you say you are worried that someone or something will snatch those favors from your grasp before you even take hold of them? Saint Padre Pio continues: "Pray constantly and you will thus win the victory over your enemies. Humble yourself beneath the powerful hand of the Heavenly Physician and thu, when the heavenly nuptials are celebrated [when you arrive in Heaven], Jesus will have you sit in the first place at thebanquet table, for God has promised that whever humbles himself will be exalted." (Letters 2, page 519)
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