Don't Feel Guilty

Do you ever feel guilty because your ailing and/or aging body won’t allow you to do all of the good things you used to do for love of God and His people? “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” said Jesus.

As vehement as he was about Christians regularly attending worship services, Saint Padre Pio—the famous stigmatist-priest who bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified in his hands, feet, and side for fifty long years—often ordered ailing and/or aged spiritual children to be easy on their bodies. For example, he forbade one of his dearest friends and “servants”—Mary Pyle, a once-Protestant American who went to live near Padre Pio’s monastery in Italy after she met him—to go to church services because “Brother Body was too heavy and her energy was no longer that of a young girl.” (see p. 118 in Mary Pyle, by Bonaventura Massa)

Of course, like Mary Pyle, you want to keep going, keep doing everything you’ve been doing, since you were young and strong and healthy, but “Brother Body”—or Sister Body—won’t allow it. Saint Padre Pio said to Mary Pyle in her suffering, “Fasten yourself to the Cross until He who was crucified comes to take out the nails.” In support of Padre Pio’s words, here is what Saint Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and this life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

In conclusion, here is a blessing for you from Saint Padre Pio: “May Jesus be always with you; may He sustain you in all the trials which He sends you out of sheer goodness; and may He fulfill in you His holy will for your salvation and for the salvation of all the other souls He wants to save. Amen.” (Saint Padre Pio’s Letters, Volume II, p. 557)

May Jesus always smile on you, my dear friend whom I love.
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti

The Heavenly Homeland and You

So, the winter is dark. So, your life sometimes seem dark too. Never fear. The Divine Helmsman—as Saint Padre Pio called Jesus Christ Our Lord—is in charge of your life. Jesus will never fail you. Here is what Saint Padre Pio says to you today: “Live tranquilly and trust in the Divine Helmsman, if you want to come into Port [Heaven] soon, safely and rich in merit. … …continually praise God for the steadfastness He gives you in submitting yourself to His loving trials. … You must eliminate even that little residue of restlessness and worry in desiring to be freed soon, because it impedes the last effects of your patience, which is more perfect when it is least mixed up with disturbances and worries. Do not be frightened if the hour of trial is lengthy. … Do not strive to know why Jesus wants this, but remember that the sons [and daughters] of Israel were in the desert for forty years before reaching the Promised Land…. Courage, I beg you! Pay no attention to the path of trial, but I invite you to keep your eyes constantly fixed on He who guides you to the Heavenly Homeland.” (Saint Padre Pio’s Letters, Volume Three)

I love you, my friend!
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti

God's Blessing for You

“May Jesus totally possess your heart and render you worthy of His singular purpose for your life!” This is what Saint Padre Pio’s blessing is for you today, my friend whom I love. St. Padre Pio—the famous stigmatist-priest who bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified in his hands, feet, and side for fifty years—wrote these words to a spiritual child, and if you have asked Padre Pio to be your spiritual guide, then you, too, are his spiritual child, and his blessings are for you too: “May Jesus totally possess your heart and render you worthy of His singular purpose for your life!” Amen.

What about God’s blessing for you today? Here it is from God’s Holy Word: “’He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil.’ Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is right? But even if you do suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord.” (1 Peter 3:10-15) Amen.

May God richly bless you, my friend whom I love.
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti

God Will Bless Your Work and Give You Strength

Have you been putting a lot of time and effort into some sort of good work, merely because you love the Lord and His people? Have you been waiting to see the fruits of your labor and are still waiting to see them? Don’t give up.
Saint Padre Pio—the famous stigmatist-priest who bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified for fifty years—offers you today this encouragement: "God has warmed with His rays of love the seed that has been sown." So if God has indeed warmed with His love your efforts, don’t give up. God is not going to give up on you!
And for further encouragement, from God Himself, here is what the Holy Spirit says to you today, “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11)
Did you catch that one phrase: “as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies”? Yes, all you have to do is ask God for the strength to continue doing good works for Him. He will not fail you. You are His hands, feet, and voice. Don’t give up.
Love, Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti

Your Shepherd Forever

So, my dear and precious friend in Christ, how are you feeling today? What problems are weighing you down? I thought I’d share with you some thoughts from the Psalmist and Saint James and Saint Padre Pio to lift up your spirits. All three of them were plagued by troubles and so they understood exactly how you feel when you are plagued with them too.

First, what if I share what Saint James says in James 1:2-4? “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Now, for a few words from our Psalmist, but first, let me suggest that you use the following as your own prayer, your own cry to God, Who is your Helper, your Savior, your Friend: “O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their Shepherd, and carry them forever.” (from Psalm 28)

And what kind and wise words does Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist-priest who bore the five ever- bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified in his hands, feet, and side for fifty long years, have to encourage you today? “I feel very weak, but I am not afraid,” says Saint Padre Pio, “for Jesus will see my anguish and the weight that oppresses me. He has told us…that, ‘As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear Him.’” (from Saint Padre Pio’s Letters)

I love you, my dear and precious friend. Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti

God's Love Will Guard You

What difficulties are you facing today? If you want to do so, you can right now—and every day—entrust yourself and your loved ones to the Lord, and He will surely take care of you. He loves you with an unconditional Love that we can’t even imagine; it is a Love that guards and guides us, if we entrust ourselves to Him. Here is His promise of exactly that, from Scripture, which my brother shared with me the other day. It is one of the scripture verses he memorized and took comfort from while in military combat for many years. We, too, are in combat of one sort or another every day of our lives, don’t you think? No matter what you are combatting, though, God is guarding you with His unfathomable Love. Here is one of my brother’s favorite verses, and it is God’s promise to you too:

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God's peace, which transcends all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Now, I always like to leave you each week with a word from Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist-priest who bore the five ever-bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified in his hands, feet, and side for fifty years:

“Let us humble ourselves deeply and confess that if God were not our breastplate and our shield, we should at once be pierced by every kind of sin. This is why we must invariably keep ourselves in God by persevering in our [prayers], so let this be our constant concern. We must continually keep alight in our hearts the fire of love and never lose courage. If some languor or spiritual weakness overtakes us, we must hasten to the foot of the Cross, immerse ourselves in the heavenly perfumes, and we shall undoubtedly be invigorated.” (Saint Padre Pio’s Letters, Volume One, page 1023)

I love you, my dear friend, and pray for the very best for you that God has! Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti

I Need to Forgive Someone

Today I thought I'd share an experience with you which I had this week. Someone in our family, whom I thought for sure I had forgiven, came to my mind. Suddenly I recalled so many of the rotten things she had done and said to me over a period of about thirty years. So I'm telling you this now as sort of a personal confession and also to share with you what Saint Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist-priest, said about forgiveness. One day a young woman came to him and told him how badly she'd been treated by her husband's relatives. "So, you hate them?" asked the Padre, peering at her with his dark penetrating Italian eyes. "Yes, Padre Pio." He didn't try to tell her that she had no reason to hate them. He told her this, instead, "You have good reason to be so angry with them because you are in the right. But for the love of God, you must forgive."
Now why did he say that? Because when I don't forgive--when I don't forgive the relative who hurt me for so many years--I'm really hurting myself. Do I want to do that? No. Neither do I want to hurt the other person, even though she hurt me so many times. For all I know, she was abused as a child or has a brain tumor or is a terribly unhappy person and simply can't treat me any better than she does. God knows her heart and He loves her just the same and wants me to forgive. Here is the remedy St. Padre Pio gave to the young woman, and I think I'll use that remedy too. What about you? Here it is:
"Think often of Jesus nailed to the Cross for our faults and sins when you find it difficult to forgive someone," advised St. Padre Pio.
Jesus on the Cross. For my sins. For yours. He has forgiven us everything. So I forgive that woman in my life too. Amen. "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me," says Saint Paul in Scripture, and that's the truth. You and I can forgive those who hurt us if we only ask Jesus to give us the strength and the love and the compassion to do so. Amen. So be it!
Before I forget, my brother shared with me last week the scripture verses that meant so much to him when he was in military combat, so I thought I'd share a couple of them with you too. Aren't we all in combat every day with the world and the devil and the flesh? But God will prevail in our lives. Amen.
Here are a couple of the verses my brother shared with me:
(1. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice!"
(2. "Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness. The Lord is near.”
(3. "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God."

I love you, my friend.
Talk to you next week. Don't worry; Jesus will never desert you.
Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti