According to Dorothy Gaudiose, a close friend of mine who worked three years for Saint Padre Pio at his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy: one day an elderly woman in a long black dress grabbed Padre Pio’s sleeve while he stood in the monastery hallway after saying Mass. “Please tell me how to pray,” she pleaded with him. “I’m always distracted by something.”
“Don’t be voluntarily distracted,” Padre Pio told her kindly, “but if you are distracted unintentionally, continue to pray, and you will have great merit, for Our Savior knows that you are not an angel praying to Him, but a poor woman. Go on praying without ceasing. And when you find it difficult to concentrate, don’t waste more time stopping to consider the why and the wherefore. It’s like a traveler who loses his way. As soon as he realizes he is on the wrong road, he immediately sets himself on the right road again. So you must continue to meditate without stopping to reflect on your lack of concentration.”
According to Dorothy, Padre Pio advises that we place ourselves in God’s Presence whenever we pray. “The first reason for that,” he said, is to render to God the honor we owe Him. This can be done without Him speaking to us or us to Him. Our obligation of honoring God is fulfilled in recognizing that He is our God and we His humble servants, prostrate in spirit, awaiting His commands. … The second reason is that we may speak to Him and hear His voice through His inspiration and illumination. … When God answers us, He spreads over us a thousand precious soothing and fragrant oils which bring great joy to the soul.” (Dorothy Gaudiose, Prophet of the People)
May you, my sweet friend in Christ Jesus, enjoy the beautiful fruits of prayer, all the days of your life. And remember what Saint Padre Pio always said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Amen.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
A True Story of Healing through St. Padre Pio's Intercession
Are you suffering because of something someone said or did to you? Saint Padre Pio said, “Suffer with patience all the iniquities you receive from your fellow people, because God will reward you with His Love in Heaven—tenfold.” (page 49 in PADRE PIO AS I KNEW HIM, by Lina Pancaro) That is so hard to do, though, isn’t it? To love those who are less-than-nice to us. Nevertheless, we can do it, if we ask for divine help, and we can get that help through the intercession of St. Padre Pio, so why don’t we simply ask for it? If you do that, if you ask for the help you need—for anything at all—Jesus is sure to help you through His servant St. Padre Pio. Padre Pio bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years—in his hands, feet, and side—which can be for us a sign of God’s Presence and Love in our world. If you go to Padre Pio and ask for his intercession, don’t be surprised if you smell soon a sweet odor that doesn’t seem to have a natural origin. That odor is a sign that Padre Pio has heard your prayers and will see what he can do for you.
Here is a true story Lina Pancaro tells in her book which I mentioned above. This story backs up the truth about the sweet odors people often smell after asking for St. Padre Pio’s help. “Believe me,” wrote Lina, “such messages from Padre Pio [the sweet odors] my family has experienced.
“Our fifth daughter Fernanda had been admitted to the hospital for the birth of her first child. …” Fernanda soon delivered a “darling little girl.” But suddenly Lina received the startling phone call, “the ugliest shock in my life,” said Lina. Fernanda was calling her mother Lina from her hospital bed to tell her she was “going through hell.” Fernanda was going through what the doctors called a “postpartum psychosis” She was on the verb of losing her mind.
When Lina and her husband arrived at the hospital, she suddenly noticed that her husband was a nervous wreck over Fernanda’s dire condition. “He knew better than I did what could happen,” said Lina. “God forbid—a daughter in a mental institution, a small baby to be taken care of! It was indeed a very difficult situation.”
Then, Lina’s husband looked at her “with a perplexed expression and said, ‘Do you note a beautiful aroma of flowers?’” Lina did not smell anything, but she looked around to see if there was a bouquet of flowers anywhere that someone may have brought to the hospital for a sick person. No. No flowers in sight.
“You must be imagining things,” Lina told him.
“Oh, no,” he said, “I am sure it is a SIGN. I was just making a supplication to Padre Pio, thinking how you once told me in San Giovanni Rotondo [where St. Padre Pio lived in his monastery]—during a time when I was discouraged—not to fear, and that our children would be St. Padre Pio’s children, too, if I entrusted them into his care. So a few moments ago, here at the hospital, I said to him, ‘Please now help us, Padre Pio.’”
Moments later, when Lina and her husband entered their daughter’s hospital room, they were appalled to find her delirious and hallucinating. “She was so confused,” said Lina, “she kept saying that the nurses were ‘out to get her.’ I recall one particular nurse who said to us, ‘She is so angry with all of us, she tells us all to get the hell out of the room!’ We are afraid to go near her. She is so strong, she tore the drapes around her bed yesterday, and she even scratched the doctor! But we understand that she is going through a very, very bad state of psychosis.’ The doctors wanted Fernanda to have shock treatment, but her husband would not allow it.
Lina felt sorry for the doctor and nurses. Her husband had brought a book with Padre Pio’s picture on it to the hospital, and before he and Lina left, he put the book in Fernanda’s hands. She burst into tears. That night a “very strong fragrance of flowers enveloped the room, in spite of the fact that no flowers were present, none even in the hallway. Lina and her husband believed the fragrance was another sign that Padre Pio was answering her husband’s plea.
“To shorten the story,” said Lina, “I can assure you our daughter left the hospital with a darling little angel. Today the child is six and my daughter is well and her usual self. She had NO shock treatment, no tranquilizers, no medicine of any kind. … We firmly believe that Padre Pio helped us through this storm.” (pages 49-52, in PADRE PIO AS I KNEW HIM, by Lina Pancaro)
Do you have a great need today? Just ask St. Padre Pio to help you, and he will. After all, he is now closer than ever to the Source of Life, the Ruler of All Nature, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Our God. And if, as you await an answer, you smell the sweet aroma of flowers that seems to have no natural origin, it is indeed a sign from St. Padre Pio that he is interceding for you with our Divine Lord.
Love,
Eileen
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
Here is a true story Lina Pancaro tells in her book which I mentioned above. This story backs up the truth about the sweet odors people often smell after asking for St. Padre Pio’s help. “Believe me,” wrote Lina, “such messages from Padre Pio [the sweet odors] my family has experienced.
“Our fifth daughter Fernanda had been admitted to the hospital for the birth of her first child. …” Fernanda soon delivered a “darling little girl.” But suddenly Lina received the startling phone call, “the ugliest shock in my life,” said Lina. Fernanda was calling her mother Lina from her hospital bed to tell her she was “going through hell.” Fernanda was going through what the doctors called a “postpartum psychosis” She was on the verb of losing her mind.
When Lina and her husband arrived at the hospital, she suddenly noticed that her husband was a nervous wreck over Fernanda’s dire condition. “He knew better than I did what could happen,” said Lina. “God forbid—a daughter in a mental institution, a small baby to be taken care of! It was indeed a very difficult situation.”
Then, Lina’s husband looked at her “with a perplexed expression and said, ‘Do you note a beautiful aroma of flowers?’” Lina did not smell anything, but she looked around to see if there was a bouquet of flowers anywhere that someone may have brought to the hospital for a sick person. No. No flowers in sight.
“You must be imagining things,” Lina told him.
“Oh, no,” he said, “I am sure it is a SIGN. I was just making a supplication to Padre Pio, thinking how you once told me in San Giovanni Rotondo [where St. Padre Pio lived in his monastery]—during a time when I was discouraged—not to fear, and that our children would be St. Padre Pio’s children, too, if I entrusted them into his care. So a few moments ago, here at the hospital, I said to him, ‘Please now help us, Padre Pio.’”
Moments later, when Lina and her husband entered their daughter’s hospital room, they were appalled to find her delirious and hallucinating. “She was so confused,” said Lina, “she kept saying that the nurses were ‘out to get her.’ I recall one particular nurse who said to us, ‘She is so angry with all of us, she tells us all to get the hell out of the room!’ We are afraid to go near her. She is so strong, she tore the drapes around her bed yesterday, and she even scratched the doctor! But we understand that she is going through a very, very bad state of psychosis.’ The doctors wanted Fernanda to have shock treatment, but her husband would not allow it.
Lina felt sorry for the doctor and nurses. Her husband had brought a book with Padre Pio’s picture on it to the hospital, and before he and Lina left, he put the book in Fernanda’s hands. She burst into tears. That night a “very strong fragrance of flowers enveloped the room, in spite of the fact that no flowers were present, none even in the hallway. Lina and her husband believed the fragrance was another sign that Padre Pio was answering her husband’s plea.
“To shorten the story,” said Lina, “I can assure you our daughter left the hospital with a darling little angel. Today the child is six and my daughter is well and her usual self. She had NO shock treatment, no tranquilizers, no medicine of any kind. … We firmly believe that Padre Pio helped us through this storm.” (pages 49-52, in PADRE PIO AS I KNEW HIM, by Lina Pancaro)
Do you have a great need today? Just ask St. Padre Pio to help you, and he will. After all, he is now closer than ever to the Source of Life, the Ruler of All Nature, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Our God. And if, as you await an answer, you smell the sweet aroma of flowers that seems to have no natural origin, it is indeed a sign from St. Padre Pio that he is interceding for you with our Divine Lord.
Love,
Eileen
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Saint Padre Pio's Love for the Mother of God
Please let me share with you today the truth about Saint Padre Pio’s love for the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God.
Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist who bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years, intensely loved Jesus' mother. Padre Pio began having visions of her when he was only five years old in his home in Pietrelcina, Italy. In later years, when he shared about his visions with a fellow friar, the friar said, "But why didn't you tell us sooner about seeing Our Lady?" St. Padre Pio replied, "I thought everyone saw her!"
Padre Pio liked to call Our Lady "My little Mother," or "La mia Madonnina" in his native Italian. Often when he spoke to others about her, tears would flow from his eyes, his love was so intense. But did he love her more than he loved Jesus, her divine Son? He said to Our Lady, "You are so beautiful and sweet, if we humans did not know better, we would make you into a goddess." But Padre Pio never placed her above Jesus, above God. He knew she was a creature, just as he was a creature.
One day he said, "She treats me as if I were her only child on earth!" As Padre Pio always did, if you, my dear friend in Christ, turn to Our Lady right now and ask for her intercession, for her help, she will never fail you. How can she? She is always in the Presence of the Source of Life, the Ruler of All Nature, her Son, the One she bore in her womb. She is the Ark of the New Covenant (see Revelations). She is the New Eve. (See Genesis.)
Please take encouragement from St. Padre Pio. Even though he led a virtuous life, constantly in touch with God and Our Lady and his Holy Guardian Angel, he still needed to pray—all the time. He carried his rosary beads with him everywhere. He called them "our weapon." Even if you never pray the rosary, please seriously consider carrying rosary beads with you. They have the Cross of Christ Crucified on them, the sign of faith that the devil and all evil spirits hate. St. Padre Pio said, "Hold on tightly to your rosary. Be very grateful to the Madonna because it was she who gave us Jesus."
And if we have Jesus, we have Everything! Amen.
Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist who bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years, intensely loved Jesus' mother. Padre Pio began having visions of her when he was only five years old in his home in Pietrelcina, Italy. In later years, when he shared about his visions with a fellow friar, the friar said, "But why didn't you tell us sooner about seeing Our Lady?" St. Padre Pio replied, "I thought everyone saw her!"
Padre Pio liked to call Our Lady "My little Mother," or "La mia Madonnina" in his native Italian. Often when he spoke to others about her, tears would flow from his eyes, his love was so intense. But did he love her more than he loved Jesus, her divine Son? He said to Our Lady, "You are so beautiful and sweet, if we humans did not know better, we would make you into a goddess." But Padre Pio never placed her above Jesus, above God. He knew she was a creature, just as he was a creature.
One day he said, "She treats me as if I were her only child on earth!" As Padre Pio always did, if you, my dear friend in Christ, turn to Our Lady right now and ask for her intercession, for her help, she will never fail you. How can she? She is always in the Presence of the Source of Life, the Ruler of All Nature, her Son, the One she bore in her womb. She is the Ark of the New Covenant (see Revelations). She is the New Eve. (See Genesis.)
Please take encouragement from St. Padre Pio. Even though he led a virtuous life, constantly in touch with God and Our Lady and his Holy Guardian Angel, he still needed to pray—all the time. He carried his rosary beads with him everywhere. He called them "our weapon." Even if you never pray the rosary, please seriously consider carrying rosary beads with you. They have the Cross of Christ Crucified on them, the sign of faith that the devil and all evil spirits hate. St. Padre Pio said, "Hold on tightly to your rosary. Be very grateful to the Madonna because it was she who gave us Jesus."
And if we have Jesus, we have Everything! Amen.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A True Bilocation Story About Saint Padre Pio
In 1958, in his book Padre Pio: A City On a Mountain, Pascal P. Parente (STD, PhD, JCB, Professor of Ascetical and Mystical Theology at the Catholic University of America) told a true story about Padre Pio and his gift of bilocation, the ability to be in more than one place at one time. Today I’d like to share that true story with you.
“The late Monsignor D’Indico of Florence,” wrote Pascal Parente, “reported that his sister was dying of typhus, despite the best of medical care. On July 20, 1921, she was in a coma. The Monsignor was alone in his office when suddenly he felt that someone was standing behind him. He looked around and saw a friar who suddenly disappeared.”
According to Pascal Parente, the Monsignor left his office, and when he spotted one of his chaplains, he told him immediately about his strange experience of feeling as if someone—and invisible someone—were standing behind him in his office. The chaplain told the Monsignor that he had hallucinated all of it because of his great concern about his dying sister. But later the two men went together to visit the Monsignor’s sister and, to their surprise, found the woman no longer in a coma! In fact, she was totally out of any danger of dying.
“Even more surprising,” wrote Pascal Parente, “the Monsignor’s sister, from her hospital bed, told them that a friar, Saint Padre Pio, had come into her room and spoken to her [before she started to suddenly get well].”
Padre Pio, transported in spirit by God’s Holy Spirit, had entered the woman’s hospital room and told her not to be afraid. “Your fever will disappear tomorrow,” he said, “and in a few days no trace of your sickness will be left.”
According to Pascal Parente, the woman said to Padre Pio, “But Father, you must be a saint!”
“No,” he replied, “I am a creature whom the Lord uses for His mercies.”
The woman asked Padre Pio if she could kiss his brown Capuchin habit. But he told her to, instead, kiss the bleeding wounds on his hands, because they were the “marks of the Passion” of Christ Crucified. (Padre Pio bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified in his hands, feet, and side for fifty long years!) After the woman kissed his hands, he blessed her.
The next day the woman felt completely well, and a week later she was “completely cured,” according to Pascal Parente.
Do you or someone you love need a healing today, my dear friend in Christ? Please turn to Saint Padre Pio and tell him of your needs. Pour out your heart to him. He will indeed hear you and do whatever he can for you. Now, in Heaven, he is closer than ever to the Source of Life, the Ruler of All Nature, Christ Our Lord and Savior. If, after you ask for St. Padre Pio’s intercession, you smell a sweet odor that seems to have no natural source, know that it is a sign from Padre Pio that he will answer your prayers in one way or another. “All things work together for the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.” Everything, my friend. Everything.
I love you,
Eileen
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
“The late Monsignor D’Indico of Florence,” wrote Pascal Parente, “reported that his sister was dying of typhus, despite the best of medical care. On July 20, 1921, she was in a coma. The Monsignor was alone in his office when suddenly he felt that someone was standing behind him. He looked around and saw a friar who suddenly disappeared.”
According to Pascal Parente, the Monsignor left his office, and when he spotted one of his chaplains, he told him immediately about his strange experience of feeling as if someone—and invisible someone—were standing behind him in his office. The chaplain told the Monsignor that he had hallucinated all of it because of his great concern about his dying sister. But later the two men went together to visit the Monsignor’s sister and, to their surprise, found the woman no longer in a coma! In fact, she was totally out of any danger of dying.
“Even more surprising,” wrote Pascal Parente, “the Monsignor’s sister, from her hospital bed, told them that a friar, Saint Padre Pio, had come into her room and spoken to her [before she started to suddenly get well].”
Padre Pio, transported in spirit by God’s Holy Spirit, had entered the woman’s hospital room and told her not to be afraid. “Your fever will disappear tomorrow,” he said, “and in a few days no trace of your sickness will be left.”
According to Pascal Parente, the woman said to Padre Pio, “But Father, you must be a saint!”
“No,” he replied, “I am a creature whom the Lord uses for His mercies.”
The woman asked Padre Pio if she could kiss his brown Capuchin habit. But he told her to, instead, kiss the bleeding wounds on his hands, because they were the “marks of the Passion” of Christ Crucified. (Padre Pio bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified in his hands, feet, and side for fifty long years!) After the woman kissed his hands, he blessed her.
The next day the woman felt completely well, and a week later she was “completely cured,” according to Pascal Parente.
Do you or someone you love need a healing today, my dear friend in Christ? Please turn to Saint Padre Pio and tell him of your needs. Pour out your heart to him. He will indeed hear you and do whatever he can for you. Now, in Heaven, he is closer than ever to the Source of Life, the Ruler of All Nature, Christ Our Lord and Savior. If, after you ask for St. Padre Pio’s intercession, you smell a sweet odor that seems to have no natural source, know that it is a sign from Padre Pio that he will answer your prayers in one way or another. “All things work together for the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.” Everything, my friend. Everything.
I love you,
Eileen
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Saint Padre Pio's Mysterious Handprint on the Window
Today I'd like to share a true story with you from Father Alessio Parente's book titled Padre Pio: Our Good Samaritan. Father Alessio was one of Saint Padre Pio's fellow monks at the monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, and was also a dear friend and "bodyguard" of Padre Pio during the Padre's last years. I corresponded with Father Alessio and have enjoyed his many books about Padre Pio. Now, from his Padre Pio: Our Good Samaritan, I bring you the following true story:
“In July, 1957, Father Placido of San Marco in Lamis, Italy, a friend of Padre Pio’s from his novitiate and student days, was urgently hospitalized, in Foggia, near the monastery. Father Placido had an acute form of cirrhosis of the liver. His condition deteriorated, despite medical treatment. One night, Father Placido saw Padre Pio [in spirit, because Padre Pio never physically left the monastery, so Jesus had to very often transport him in spirit to get to people God wanted Padre Pio to help—that gift is called ‘bilocation’]. That night Padre Pio appeared beside Father Placido’s hospital bed, speaking to him, urging him to have patience; comforting him and assuring him of his recovery. Then Placido saw Padre Pio go towards the window of the hospital room, place his hand on the glass, and disappear.
“In the morning when Fr. Placido woke up,” continued Fr. Alessio Parente, “he felt better; he remembered the welcome visit of the night before and now looked toward the window. He was surprised to see the mark of a hand on the glass. He got out of bed and approached the window to examine the mark carefully, close up. He recognized Padre Pio’s handprint [because Padre Pio bore the ever-bleeding wounds of Christ for fifty years in his hands, feet, and side]. Fr. Placido was then convinced that Padre Pio’s visit had not been a dream, but reality. He told the whole story to the nuns, the nurses, and the hospital staff.
“The news spread throughout the city, and immediately there was a rush of friends and people to the hospital to see the mark of Padre Pio’s hands.” (A true story from Fr. Alessio Parente, OFM Capuchin’s Padre Pio: Our Good Samaritan.)
The above story is only one example of the many wonderful things God did through St. Padre Pio—and continues to do through St. Padre Pio. Do you need a healing or a blessing of any kind today? Do your loved ones have an urgent need? Please look up at St. Padre Pio, because he’s there, waiting to intercede for you with Jesus. Our Saint is so close now to the Source of Life, the Great Physician, the Ruler of All Nature, now that Padre Pio is in Heaven. Turn to him. He’ll do what he can for you, my friend.
With love and prayer for you,
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
“In July, 1957, Father Placido of San Marco in Lamis, Italy, a friend of Padre Pio’s from his novitiate and student days, was urgently hospitalized, in Foggia, near the monastery. Father Placido had an acute form of cirrhosis of the liver. His condition deteriorated, despite medical treatment. One night, Father Placido saw Padre Pio [in spirit, because Padre Pio never physically left the monastery, so Jesus had to very often transport him in spirit to get to people God wanted Padre Pio to help—that gift is called ‘bilocation’]. That night Padre Pio appeared beside Father Placido’s hospital bed, speaking to him, urging him to have patience; comforting him and assuring him of his recovery. Then Placido saw Padre Pio go towards the window of the hospital room, place his hand on the glass, and disappear.
“In the morning when Fr. Placido woke up,” continued Fr. Alessio Parente, “he felt better; he remembered the welcome visit of the night before and now looked toward the window. He was surprised to see the mark of a hand on the glass. He got out of bed and approached the window to examine the mark carefully, close up. He recognized Padre Pio’s handprint [because Padre Pio bore the ever-bleeding wounds of Christ for fifty years in his hands, feet, and side]. Fr. Placido was then convinced that Padre Pio’s visit had not been a dream, but reality. He told the whole story to the nuns, the nurses, and the hospital staff.
“The news spread throughout the city, and immediately there was a rush of friends and people to the hospital to see the mark of Padre Pio’s hands.” (A true story from Fr. Alessio Parente, OFM Capuchin’s Padre Pio: Our Good Samaritan.)
The above story is only one example of the many wonderful things God did through St. Padre Pio—and continues to do through St. Padre Pio. Do you need a healing or a blessing of any kind today? Do your loved ones have an urgent need? Please look up at St. Padre Pio, because he’s there, waiting to intercede for you with Jesus. Our Saint is so close now to the Source of Life, the Great Physician, the Ruler of All Nature, now that Padre Pio is in Heaven. Turn to him. He’ll do what he can for you, my friend.
With love and prayer for you,
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Those Who Knew St. Padre Pio
From my dear friend Dorothy Gaudiose who worked for St. Padre Pio for three years in Italy, I "inherited" hundreds of books, now out of print, about Padre Pio. (From those books I’ve been able to write many of my own books about Padre Pio—by God’s grace working through Padre Pio’s intercession—and get them published by Our Sunday Visitor, The Word Among Us Press, and Pauline Books & Media. Of course I’ve had the faithful help of my Holy Guardian Angel and Our Lady, too. You can find more about my books and publishers online at my Facebook page, blog, and website.) I'm always thrilled to find personal accounts of people who actually knew St. Padre Pio. Right now I have with me a little book by Lina Pancaro, titled "Padre Pio As I Knew Him." Let me share a few tidbits from her book with you today.
One day Lina and her friend were on their way up the mountain in Southern Italy toward Padre Pio's church, Santa Maria delle Grazie. "We passed the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering)," wrote Lina, "a grandioso edifice erected stone upon stone. [The hospital was a result totally of St. Padre Pio's brave idea and promotional work on its behalf.] I should stress," continued Lina, "that all building material was brought to the abandoned mountain by mules on the then-dirt road, miles and miles from Foggia [the nearest town]. The sight of this beautiful hospital was truly like a mirage in the desert: the miracle of a poor, humble monk, the Stigmatist, Padre Pio. One really wonders how so much material could have been brought up, tons and tons of it, all by man and beast. This, too, I thought to myself, was a miracle.
"The tiny Church was already half filled with people, the early comers, and Padre Pio was hearing confessions. The altar of Saint Francis of Assisi had been tastefully decorated with flowers, beautiful ones sent from faraway places by the many devotees of Padre Pio. The church was ablaze with candles—and made all present so happy. The noon hour soon approached and we were told to quickly get into the little corridor, where Padre Pio would come to the door and recite with us the Angelus. The door opened. I was so confused to see him standing there with the brown wool mittens over his hands [the gloves were fingertipless], to cover the Stigmata he bore. [He bore the Stigmata, the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified, for fifty years!] We pushed toward him," said Lina, "so that we could be nearer to him and ask for his prayers and blessings. He smiled and blessed us all. The few who were in the front row reached for his hand to kiss it. Others were invoking him for prayers in their illness. Many were visibly moved and weeping. He was so happy today. Here, truly, was a man of God. A man God had sent to us bearing the wounds of Christ Jesus."
Today, my dear friend in Christ, you, too, can ask St. Padre Pio for his prayers and blessing. He is now in heaven, but ever-closer to Jesus, the Great Physician. Now St. Padre Pio can ask Our Lord for what it is that you need. Simply take your requests to Padre Pio. He'll do what he can for you. Be sure to wait with great expectation for something good to happen. And if you should happen to smell a sweet aroma that seems to have no natural source, you can be sure that it is a sign that St. Padre Pio has heard your prayer.
Have a great day! I love you.
One day Lina and her friend were on their way up the mountain in Southern Italy toward Padre Pio's church, Santa Maria delle Grazie. "We passed the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering)," wrote Lina, "a grandioso edifice erected stone upon stone. [The hospital was a result totally of St. Padre Pio's brave idea and promotional work on its behalf.] I should stress," continued Lina, "that all building material was brought to the abandoned mountain by mules on the then-dirt road, miles and miles from Foggia [the nearest town]. The sight of this beautiful hospital was truly like a mirage in the desert: the miracle of a poor, humble monk, the Stigmatist, Padre Pio. One really wonders how so much material could have been brought up, tons and tons of it, all by man and beast. This, too, I thought to myself, was a miracle.
"The tiny Church was already half filled with people, the early comers, and Padre Pio was hearing confessions. The altar of Saint Francis of Assisi had been tastefully decorated with flowers, beautiful ones sent from faraway places by the many devotees of Padre Pio. The church was ablaze with candles—and made all present so happy. The noon hour soon approached and we were told to quickly get into the little corridor, where Padre Pio would come to the door and recite with us the Angelus. The door opened. I was so confused to see him standing there with the brown wool mittens over his hands [the gloves were fingertipless], to cover the Stigmata he bore. [He bore the Stigmata, the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified, for fifty years!] We pushed toward him," said Lina, "so that we could be nearer to him and ask for his prayers and blessings. He smiled and blessed us all. The few who were in the front row reached for his hand to kiss it. Others were invoking him for prayers in their illness. Many were visibly moved and weeping. He was so happy today. Here, truly, was a man of God. A man God had sent to us bearing the wounds of Christ Jesus."
Today, my dear friend in Christ, you, too, can ask St. Padre Pio for his prayers and blessing. He is now in heaven, but ever-closer to Jesus, the Great Physician. Now St. Padre Pio can ask Our Lord for what it is that you need. Simply take your requests to Padre Pio. He'll do what he can for you. Be sure to wait with great expectation for something good to happen. And if you should happen to smell a sweet aroma that seems to have no natural source, you can be sure that it is a sign that St. Padre Pio has heard your prayer.
Have a great day! I love you.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Pope Benedict XV was in favor of St. Padre Pio. He believed in the genuineness of Padre Pio's spiritual gifts, which included the stigmata (the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified which Padre Pio bore for fifty long years); bilocation (the ability to be in more than one place at a time); prophecy; and even levitation, which was witnessed by fellow priests and monks. According to Dorothy M. Gaudiose, in her book PROPHET OF THE PEOPLE, "In 1921 Pope Benedict said to a group of lawyers, 'Padre Pio is indeed an extraordinary man. He is one of those whom God sends from time to time to convert mankind. Take on the task of making him better known. He is not appreciated as he deserves.'"
My friend Dorothy and I have worked to do exactly that by writing books about Saint Padre Pio--all by God's grace through the intercession of Padre Pio and our holy Angels and Our Lady. Dorothy worked for Padre Pio for three years at his monastery in Italy, and now here is more of what she says in her book about Pope Benedict XV and Padre Pio: "Many of the faithful shared the Pope's good sentiments about Padre Pio, but not all. One skeptic was a bishop who was a member of the pope's advisory staff. 'You've been badly informaed about Padre Pio,' he told the pope. But the pope wasn't convinced and asked him to go to San Giovanni Rotondo [the location of Padre Pio's monastery in Italy] and see the stigmatist for himself.
"The bishop arrived at the railway station," continued Dorothy, "and was greeted by two young Capuchin monks, brother monks of Padre Pio. 'Who told you that I was coming?' the bishop asked them. He was utterly amazed.
"'Padre Pio told us,' they answered.
"'This is incredible!' the bishop exclaimed. 'No one except His Holiness knew I was coming.'
"'I only know,' said one of the friars, 'that Padre Pio told us to go to the railway station and greet the bishiop who was coming to San Giovanni Rotondo, sent by the Holy Father.'
"The bishop was dumbfounded. He threw up his hands and said, 'Please tell Padre Pio that I'm not coming to see him, that I'm going to take the next train back to Rome, because if he knew of this, then he knows how bitterly I've felt about him and all the damaging things I have done against him with my tongue.'
"The Capuchins went back and told Padre Pio. He nodded, not the least surprised." (PROPHET OF THE PEOPLE, by Dorothy M. Gaudiose)
Even now, Saint Padre Pio can know exactly what you, my dear friend in Christ, are doing and what you need. He wants to help you. He can do more for you now than when he was here on earth, because now he is so much closer to the Source of Life, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Ruler of All Nature. All you have to do is speak to St. Padre Pio and tell him your needs. He really cares about you. He will do for you what he can. Just wait and see.
In the meantime, as Padre Pio always said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry."
I love you. Have a great day!
My friend Dorothy and I have worked to do exactly that by writing books about Saint Padre Pio--all by God's grace through the intercession of Padre Pio and our holy Angels and Our Lady. Dorothy worked for Padre Pio for three years at his monastery in Italy, and now here is more of what she says in her book about Pope Benedict XV and Padre Pio: "Many of the faithful shared the Pope's good sentiments about Padre Pio, but not all. One skeptic was a bishop who was a member of the pope's advisory staff. 'You've been badly informaed about Padre Pio,' he told the pope. But the pope wasn't convinced and asked him to go to San Giovanni Rotondo [the location of Padre Pio's monastery in Italy] and see the stigmatist for himself.
"The bishop arrived at the railway station," continued Dorothy, "and was greeted by two young Capuchin monks, brother monks of Padre Pio. 'Who told you that I was coming?' the bishop asked them. He was utterly amazed.
"'Padre Pio told us,' they answered.
"'This is incredible!' the bishop exclaimed. 'No one except His Holiness knew I was coming.'
"'I only know,' said one of the friars, 'that Padre Pio told us to go to the railway station and greet the bishiop who was coming to San Giovanni Rotondo, sent by the Holy Father.'
"The bishop was dumbfounded. He threw up his hands and said, 'Please tell Padre Pio that I'm not coming to see him, that I'm going to take the next train back to Rome, because if he knew of this, then he knows how bitterly I've felt about him and all the damaging things I have done against him with my tongue.'
"The Capuchins went back and told Padre Pio. He nodded, not the least surprised." (PROPHET OF THE PEOPLE, by Dorothy M. Gaudiose)
Even now, Saint Padre Pio can know exactly what you, my dear friend in Christ, are doing and what you need. He wants to help you. He can do more for you now than when he was here on earth, because now he is so much closer to the Source of Life, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Ruler of All Nature. All you have to do is speak to St. Padre Pio and tell him your needs. He really cares about you. He will do for you what he can. Just wait and see.
In the meantime, as Padre Pio always said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry."
I love you. Have a great day!
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