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Padre Pio Suffering with the Crown of Thorns
With Image:
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“We are bidden by St. Paul to join our sufferings to supplement the sufferings of Christ for the redemption of the world.” - Father John Hardon, S.J. (Caption for image)
In a letter to Padre Agostino dated January 1912, six years before the permanent stigmatization, Padre Pio wrote, “From Thursday evening until Saturday is a time of suffering, of great suffering. The whole scene of the Passion is presented to me and imagine if any consolation can exist in the midst of all this.”
Capuchin Brother Modestino of Pietrelcina was close to Padre Pio for many years and was an eyewitness to his many sufferings. He left this testimony: “In January of 1945, when still not many people came to San Giovanni Rotondo, I used to serve Padre Pio’s Mass at dawn, with about twenty people present. In those times, Padre Pio’s Mass would last one hour to one hour and a half. Tired from remaining on my knees, I would move to the side of the altar to continue assisting at the Holy Sacrifice while standing. From that position I was able to follow carefully the gestures, movements, tears, sighs and profound recollection of Padre Pio.
When my eyes fell on his forehead and the nape of his neck, I noticed that his skin would seem blistered and on his forehead were marks similar to pricks made by thorns. With the middle finger of his right hand, Padre Pio frequently seemed to want to remove something bothering him around his temples. In the end, I noticed imprinted on his forehead a small cross of about three centimeters. I was assisting at the crowning of thorns of Padre Pio.”
A precious relic that has been preserved is a cloth that was used by Padre Pio to wipe his forehead. It is stained with blood. To one of his spiritual children who asked him if he suffered the crowning with thorns, Padre Pio responded affirmatively and said, “Otherwise the immolation would be incomplete.” The thorns, he assured, were “all around his head,” and during Mass there were many as well as before and after Mass.
Another insight into Padre Pio’s participation in the Passion is related by Padre Alberto D’Apolito: “In 1950, a young university student, Bruno G. Di Lucera, who had a low regard for religion and who did not believe Padre Pio to be a saint but an impostor and a charlatan, was persuaded by his fiancée to go to San Giovanni Rotondo to see for himself.
The first morning, out of curiosity he went to attend Padre Pio’s Mass. All of a sudden, at the moment of Consecration, he became pale. He had witnessed something extraordinary. On Padre Pio’s head he saw a triple crown of thorns and his face was covered in blood like the Ecce Homo (Jesus crowned with thorns). Believing it to be a hallucination or a trick of the eyes, he said nothing to his fiancée nor to anyone else.
The second morning, the same thing happened. And again for fear of being thought a fanatic he told no one. However, he began to reflect and change his opinion about Padre Pio. The third morning, the final blow came. At the moment of Consecration, he saw Padre Pio suspended from a cross. His face was like the face of Jesus and on his head was a triple crown of thorns. Seeing this, he burst into tears.”
Cleonice Morcaldi, one of Padre Pio’s spiritual children, heard about Bruno’s experience of seeing Padre Pio crowned with thorns. She heard that on seeing the serene and beautiful expression on Padre Pio’s face, Bruno was moved to tears. She also heard that Padre Pio told him not to say a word to anyone about the experience but to go home and thank God.
Cleonice wanted to know if the story was true and so she asked Padre Pio directly. He answered her, “Do you have any doubt? You are like St. Thomas. You don’t believe.” His reply seemed so evasive that she wanted to ask him a second time but was reluctant. She prayed to the Virgin Mary, “Madonna, please let Padre Pio tell me if it is true that he wears the crown of thorns.” Time passed and one day while she was making her confession to Padre Pio, she asked him again and said, “Father, do you wear the crown of thorns in all your Masses?” Padre Pio answered, “How many things you want to know!
Yes, I wear it before and even after the Mass because I can never take off that diadem which is the crown of thorns that God has put on me. I wear it before Mass, during Mass, day and night.”
Another spiritual child of Padre Pio, Professor Gerardo De Caro, in a conference held in Pavia, Italy on May 25, 1983, shed further light on Padre Pio’s painful way of the cross. Professor De Caro said: “One evening as I was standing by his cell, I saw Padre Pio return from the choir, walking with his shoulders bent over and with his chest almost touching his knees. His sandals shuffled across the ground as he dragged himself along like one carrying the cross.
He must have been in great pain walking. He rested his weight on the edges of his feet and his heels so as not to press on the wounds of his feet. I looked at him and he looked at me. Immediately, and with great effort he straightened himself.
For an instant I saw him like Jesus under the cross. After confession I said to him, “Padre, you are like Jesus.” And Padre Pio tried to reprove me.”
These were the sufferings which constituted Padre Pio’s Calvary and which caused him to be in a state of great pain his entire life.
“Padre Pio prays and suffers; he suffers and prays.” - Padre Agostino of San Marco in Lamis
“Jesus knows that my entire life has been consecrated to Him and to His sufferings.” - St. Pio of Pietrelcina
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Padre Pio restores sight to the blind
A blind men begged Padre Pio to restore sight “even if only in one eye,” so that he met again see the faces of his dear ones. Padre Pio questioned him repeatedly, “only in one eye?” Padre Pio told the man to be of good heart and that he would pray for him. Some weeks later the man returned in tears to thank Padre Pio because his sight was restored! Padre Pio said: “so, you are seeing normally again?” The man replied, “yes, from this eye here, not from the other.” Padre Pio said: “Ah! Only from one eye? Let that be a lesson to you. Never put limitations on God. Always ask for the big grace!
One young man asked Padre Pio to cure him of his blindness. Padre Pio asked him: "do you want to have your sight restored, or to save your soul?” The man responded: “if it is a strict choice, I should rather save my soul.” “It is a strict choice,” said Padre Pio, and it was a very bitter and hard thing for the young man to accept.
In 1919, a priest named Padre Carlo Naldi came with his Jewish friend, Lello Pegna. The priest explained that Pegna had recently become totally blind. They had come to Padre Pio to see if he could be healed. Padre Pio told Pegna: “the Lord will not grant you the grace of physical sight unless you first receive sight for your soul. After you are baptized, then the Lord will give you your sight.”
Months later, Pegna came back without the dark glasses that he normally wore. Pegna explain to Padre Pio that, despite opposition from his family, he had become a Christian and was baptized. At the beginning, he was discouraged when his blindness continued, but after a number of months his sight returned. The physician who had earlier told Pegna that he was hopelessly blind now had to admit that his eyesight was in perfect condition. Father Paolino kept in contact with Lello Pegna for nearly thirty years, and reported that his vision was still perfect.
Photo is of Raffaele La Pegna AKA Lello Pegna
Padre Pio and Prayer – Part 1
When Padre Pio’s spiritual Father asked Padre Pio to redouble his prayers, Padre Pio said that this was not possible because his time was “all spent in prayer.”
Padre Pio said: “What man lacks today is prayer.”
Padre Pio: “We seek God in books, but it is in prayer that we find Him. Prayer is the key that opens the heart of God.”
A Padre Pio Inspirational Story
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Father Carmelo and Padre Pio (Caption for linked image)
Father Carmelo Durante of Sessano used to go to Padre Pio’s cell in the evening to say goodnight to him. One time, as he bid Padre Pio goodnight, Padre Pio said to him, “I am in a hurry because I must make a long journey tonight.” “Where are you going?” Father Carmelo asked. Padre Pio made no reply. There was a moment of silence and then Padre Pio added, “To make this journey, I do not need the permission of my superior.” At the time, Father Carmelo was the superior of Our Lady of Grace monastery. So it was that Padre Pio, with a bit of humor, hinted to Father Carmelo that he was going to visit someone through bilocation. He would say no more.
Once, in the monastery dining room, Father Carmelo was speaking to his fellow Capuchins about the marvels of air travel. “Do you know that a nonstop flight from Rome to New York takes less than twelve hours?” Father Carmelo said. The information seemed incredible to all of the Capuchins. But Padre Pio was not impressed. “That is a long time!” Padre Pio remarked. “It only takes a second when I travel,” he added.
In 1954, Father Carmelo was making a detailed study of Padre Pio’s first years in San Giovanni Rotondo. In order to gather information, he organized some meetings with Padre Pio’s spiritual children who had been with him from the beginning. He met with Rachele Russo, the Ventrella sisters, the Pompilio sisters, Filomena Fini, Rosinella Gisolfi, Nina Campanile and others.
During the first meeting, there were ten people in attendance. While the meeting was in progress, Rosinella Gisolfi whispered that she could see Padre Pio in the room. Rosinella, who had received spiritual direction from Padre Pio through the years, was a very devout woman. Father Carmelo was certain that she was telling the truth. He had no reason to doubt it. But he wanted confirmation regarding Rosinella’s claim.
Father Carmelo did not want to ask Padre Pio directly about the bilocation incident. When he returned to the monastery, he asked the Capuchins about Padre Pio’s activities that evening. They told him that Padre Pio had conducted the Benediction service in the church just like always and that he had spoken to some visitors. After that, he went to bed.
At Father Carmelo’s second meeting with Padre Pio’s spiritual children, Rosinella saw Padre Pio once again. Father Carmelo decided to speak to Padre Pio about it. One day he gathered up his courage and said to Padre Pio, “Rosinella said that you…” and then he trailed off. He lost his nerve midway through the sentence. “What did Rosinella say?” asked Padre Pio. With a great effort, Father Carmelo was finally able to blurt out the words, “Rosinella said that you are present at our meetings through bilocation.” “Well, don’t you want me to come to those meetings?” Padre Pio asked. As usual, his words were evasive.
Rosinella told Father Carmelo that Padre Pio was present at their third meeting. As time passed, speaking to Padre Pio about bilocation became easier. When Father Carmelo questioned Padre Pio about being present at their third meeting, he confirmed that it was true. “Yes, of course I was at the meeting,” Padre Pio exclaimed. Several weeks later Padre Pio said to Father Carmelo, “You never ask me anymore if I attend your meetings. Don’t you want to know?” “The reason that I don’t ask is because I am now convinced that you are always there,” Father Carmelo replied. “Yes, it is true,” Padre Pio said. “I accompany you always and everywhere.”
Saint Padre Pio - Just a Monk Who Prays
“ Let us climb Calvary without getting tired, carrying our Cross and be certain that the climb will lead us to the beatific vision of our dear Savior.” - Padre Pio
Just a Monk who Prays
by Fr. G. Biacamelli in Il Cuore di Padre Pio
Padre Pio was canonized on June 16, 2002.– “ They seek God in books; but He is found in prayer,” said Saint Padre Pio one day to his spiritual children.
“If no one believes today, it is because no one prays. God is not found in books, but in prayer. The more you pray, the stronger your faith gets, and the more you find God … My children, do not ever neglect your prayer. Pray often during the day. Do a bit of meditation, too. You will find and you will see God.” Pio would often say: “Prayer is bread and life for the soul; it lets the heart breathe; it is an intense and prolonged encounter with God.”
The Bible is full of people who conversed with the Creator. Jesus prayed and urged us to pray. Early Christians were called men and women of prayer. Prayer must be intense because you cannot pray without preparation when you are full of your own problems, worries, and concerns.
It must be prolonged because you cannot pray in a second… it takes time to turn inward. It often happens that as we begin to pray we stop, for we have to go to do something, but when we go, also our prayer goes.
To pray is to love. We cannot fool ourselves. Just as there is no love without suffering, neither is there prayer without suffering, because to pray is to love. A person who loves God prays; a person who says words to God does not pray.
When a person loves God, everything becomes prayer, every moment is a prayer. The reason is because when you love, you think constantly of your Loved One, and want to be with Him. So, your heart breaks out with a song, words of praise, of thanksgiving, a good deed, etc.
Prayer was Padre Pio’s daily bread. A few years before he died, he said: “All I want to be is a monk who prays.” And, where do we remember Padre Pio? … at the altar, in the chancel, on his knees, in the confessional, and always with Rosary beads in his hands.
On the subject of prayer, Padre Pio wrote on November 1, 1913, to Padre Benedetto, his spiritual director: “When I pray, my soul loses itself in God … other times it consumes me with love for God … I perceive within my soul that it ardently desires being loosened from life … I feel that time gets away so quickly; there is never enough time to pray…”
Prayer for him meant to be lost in God, to forget oneself so as to find oneself in God, to - consume oneself for love of God, and the most ardent desire to be in communion with God. It was leaving this time behind, so as to participate in a reality that was way beyond time.
Prayer is indispensable for every day life. This is what Our Lady has been telling us for centuries. Padre Pio paid heed and put Her calls into practice, and for all of us, he became a teacher of prayer. Not that he attended courses to specialize in prayer, but because, with great humility, he prayed.
Our Most Effective Weapon
He would say: “When you are feeling discouraged because of doubt, anxiety, pain, or sorrow, it is then that you need to have recourse to the Lord through prayer, and find in it support and renewed courage.” And: “Prayer is our most effective weapon; it is a key which opens God’s heart.”
Padre Pio started prayer groups. He said: “If you are my children, be united to me, and together we will respond to Jesus’ commandment and to the Pope’s invitation and desire to pray together.
When my children will be united in groups to pray, Jesus will be amid them, and also Jesus’ Mother will be with them in spirit, and united in prayer.”
Prayer is not an end in itself. If praying is encountering God, then a prayer meeting must change us, and make us witnesses of the Gospel in the family and in the world, and be for us a fount of joy and good, of charity and peace. Padre Pio would often say: “ If you are my children, I want you to pray together in the evenings, as a family; and together recite the Holy Rosary in honor of Our Lady.”
To know Padre Pio is to know God’s love for mankind and the love that a person can have for God. From Padre Pio, we can learn to be true Christians and to understand that prayer must lead to charity, and that without prayer, charity does not exist.
For Jesus, Himself, tells us: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” It is only when we are in communion with Him that our deeds become efficacious. Only God can teach us how to love. God is love. Love is found in Him alone.
Prayer radiates love. One day, one of Padre Pio’s spiritual daughters was half awake when she had a vision. In this vision she saw that in the middle of the sky there was a priest dressed in richly adorned robes. Then she saw his face: it was Padre Pio’s. He became like the sun, and from this sun myriads of rays radiated in all directions. The rays were made up of little white and red roses.
When she asked Padre Pio what it meant, he replied: “ The rays made up of roses represent the prayer groups which are springing up all over the world. The white roses represent those souls which strive to live in the grace of God, and be loved by God, and to practice fraternal charity. The red roses represent those souls which bear with joy the cross of suffering, and united to Jesus and to me, they collaborate in the conversion of sinners and in the salvation of our brethren.”
This is what Padre Pio wants from each of us. We are called to become roses … either white or red roses … but roses in any case. Padre Pio is with us; he will not abandon us; but, he cannot respond for us. He has already done his part, now it is up to us to do ours.
PADRE PIO’S CHRISTMAS MEDITATION
Story with images:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/padre-pios-christmas-meditation-harold-baines/?published=t
Padre Pio praying over the Christmas Creche
Story at bottom of page about Padre Pio and Jesus in this image
Appearing in volume four of the Italian-language edition of Padre Pio’s letters, this essay was taken from Padre Pio’s hand-written notebooks. Translated by Frank M. Rega, December 2005. “Padre Pio da Pietrelcina: Epistolario IV,” Edizioni Padre Pio, San Giovanni Rotondo, 2002, pages 1007-1009.
Far into the night, at the coldest time of the year, in a chilly grotto, more suitable for a flock of beasts than for humans, the promised Messiah - Jesus - the savior of mankind, comes into the world in the fullness of time.
There are none who clamor around him: only an ox and an ass lending their warmth to the newborn infant; with a humble woman, and a poor and tired man, in adoration beside him.
Nothing can be heard except the sobs and whimpers of the infant God. And by means of his crying and weeping he offers to the Divine justice the first ransom for our redemption.
He had been expected for forty centuries; with longing sighs the ancient Fathers had implored his arrival. The sacred scriptures clearly prophesy the time and the place of his birth, and yet the world is silent and no one seems aware of the great event. Only some shepherds, who had been busy watching over their sheep in the meadows, come to visit him. Heavenly visitors had alerted them to the wondrous event, inviting them to approach his cave.
So plentiful, O Christians, are the lessons that shine forth from the grotto of Bethlehem! Oh how our hearts should be on fire with love for the one who with such tenderness was made flesh for our sakes! Oh how we should burn with desire to lead the whole world to this lowly cave, refuge of the King of kings, greater than any worldly palace,
because it is the throne and dwelling place of God! Let us ask this Divine child to clothe us with humility, because only by means of this virtue can we taste the fullness of this mystery of Divine tenderness.
Glittering were the palaces of the proud Hebrews. Yet, the light of the world did not appear in one of them. Ostentatious with worldly grandeur, swimming in gold and in delights, were the great ones of the Hebrew nation; filled with vain knowledge and pride were the priests of the sanctuary. In opposition to the true meaning of Divine revelation, they awaited an officious savior, who would come into the world with human renown and power.
But God, always ready to confound the wisdom of the world, shatters their plans. Contrary to the expectations of those lacking in Divine wisdom, he appears among us in the greatest abjection, renouncing even birth in St. Joseph’s humble home, denying himself a modest abode among relatives and friends in a city of Palestine.
Refused lodging among men, he seeks refuge and comfort among mere animals, choosing their habitation as the place of his birth, allowing their breath to give warmth to his tender body. He permits simple and rustic shepherds to be the first to pay their respects to him, after he himself informed them, by means of his angels, of the wonderful mystery.
Oh wisdom and power of God, we are constrained to exclaim - enraptured along with your Apostle - how incomprehensible are your judgments and unsearchable your ways! Poverty, humility, abjection, contempt, all surround the Word made flesh. But we, out of the darkness that envelops the incarnate Word, understand one thing, hear one voice, perceive one sublime truth: you have done everything out of love, you invite us to nothing else but love, speak of nothing except love, give us naught except proofs of love.
The heavenly babe suffers and cries in the crib so that for us suffering would be sweet, meritorious and accepted. He deprives himself of everything, in order that we may learn from him the renunciation of worldly goods and comforts. He is satisfied with humble and poor adorers, to encourage us to love poverty, and to prefer the company of the little and simple rather than the great ones of the world.
This celestial child, all meekness and sweetness, wishes to impress in our hearts by his example these sublime virtues, so that from a world that is torn and devastated, an era of peace and love may spring forth. Even from the moment of his birth he reveals to us our mission, which is to scorn that which the world loves and seeks.
Oh let us prostrate ourselves before the manger, and along with the great St. Jerome, who was inflamed with the love of the Infant Jesus, let us offer him all our hearts without reserve. Let us promise to follow the precepts which come to us from the grotto of Bethlehem, which teach us that everything here below is vanity of vanities.
***
A Vision of the Child Jesus (Image Above) - Explanation by Br. Modestino, O.F.M., Cap.
The painting reproduced here representing Padre Pio receiving the Child Jesus in his arms is not the fruit of a fervid fantasy of the artist but a faithful transcription, in pictorial language, of an extraordinary event that really happened and related in the following lines.
This episode was told to me by Lucia Iadanza, a hidden and favored soul of God who grew up from childhood in Pietrelcina under the guidance of Padre Pio, learning from him the catechism, hymns and pious practices. When the Padre was transferred to San Giovanni Rotondo she often came to this little town on the Gargano to ask and receive advice and direction from Padre Pio for her spiritual life.
On 24 December 1922, Lucia wanted to spend the vigil of Christmas close to Padre Pio. That evening was cold and the friars had brought a brazier into the sacristy. Next to the brazier with the other women, Lucia awaited for midnight to assist at the Mass that Padre Pio was to celebrate.
The three women began to doze off, while she continued to recite the Rosary.
From the internal stairway of the sacristy Padre Pio came down and stopped near the window. All of a sudden, in a halo of light, there appeared the Child Jesus who rested in the arms of Padre Pio, whose face turned radiant.
When the vision vanished Padre Pio realized that Lucia was looking at him astonished. He went up to her and asked: “Lucia what did you see?” Lucia answered: “Padre I saw everything.” Padre Pio then admonished her severely: “Don’t say anything to anyone or else I will wring your neck like a chicken.”
Anatomical Study of Padre Pio’s Blood And Physical Condition
Over the years various doctors examined Padre Pio. One doctor has offered us some precious medical details of Padre Pio’s life. He is Dr. Giuseppe Sala, Padre Pio’s personal physician for ten years and Mayor of San Giovanni Rotondo.
Dr. Sala was asked by someone if Padre Pio had ever had a blood test. The doctor answered affirmatively. When asked what the results were, he fielded this sophomoric question respectively by saying which of the many results are you interested in learning about.
Several blood tests, the doctor reported, were conducted between 1958 and 1959 in the Home for the Relief of Suffering, the hospital started by Padre Pio. He simplified his findings by saying: “His blood showed normal characteristics, with the normal count of red and white cells. When the Padre was ill, his blood showed the changes that any normal person’s blood would show. There was no anemia, in spite of his loss of blood. A person might think that he would be anemic and without any blood. Absolutely not! The fact is that his blood was normal. The only thing that was beyond comprehension was the nature of the wounds, which were not inflamed or infected. They were normal wounds, but not made by any type of instrument, gunshot, etc.
"They were a special kind of wounds, in that they did not have the capacity to heal as normal wounds do. They had characteristics that to a doctor are important. A doctor is interested in seeing if a wound is healing or if it is not going to heal. Padre Pio’s wounds were beyond any anatomical classification. They were unique (sui generis).”
Dr. Sala was questioned further about other medical questions relating to Padre Pio. For example, Padre Pio’s high temperatures which had shattered clinical thermometers. Dr. Sala, speaking only from his personal observation, remarked: “The temperature was normal when he was well. Sometimes, for various reasons, he had a fever, and his temperatures reached 38 or 39.5 degrees C (100 or 103.5 degrees F).
I personally have never witnessed a temperature of over 40 degrees C (104 degrees F). If you refer to the reports of others who said that the thermometer used to break, I never witnessed this.”
The most important response that Dr. Sala gave regarding Padre Pio was in reference to the possibility of hysteria as an explanation for the existence of the stigmata. Dr. Sala responded immediately and emphatically: “The wounds were not at all the result of hysteria. They were not caused by any irritation. They were physiological in their existence, but they were beyond any physiological explanation as to their cause. It is impossible for a hysterical person to produce holes in his hands or in his head. The existence of the wounds are independent of the character of Padre Pio, who was a gentle and calm person and not at all hysterical. The wounds were real and true wounds and not caused by irritation. They were not stimulated or induced by pricking. Although there were scratches or marks on his face, which he could have made himself, the stigmata were not self-made.”
Of particular interest to Dr. Sala was the staggering workload which Padre Pio carried from morning to night, without a day off or a vacation, for fifty years. Dr. Sala was unable to comprehend how Padre Pio could have endured such a pace.
Nor could Dr. Sala understand medically Padre Pio’s physical ability to go on, with less than half of the minimum caloric intake necessary to sustain life. The doctor stated: “Padre Pio averaged 500 to 600 calories a day, more or less, because under my care a few drops of whiskey or brandy were added to his coffee. A normal person requires at least 1,400 to 1,600 calories a day.” Until those few drops of brandy, his daily caloric intake was about 100!
Doctors estimated that the stigmata bled about a cup of blood a day, sometimes even more. Yet, Padre Pio was never anemic until the last months of his life. From 1918 on, blood did not flow from the wounds. Rather, it oozed out. This bleeding never stopped, nor did the wounds ever become infected, although dark woolen socks and mittens could hardly have been conducive to good hygiene.
The only time Padre Pio’s wounds could be seen publicly was during the Sacrifice of the Mass, when he removed his fingerless mittens. It was difficult even then to see the stigmata, because he tried to keep them covered as much as possible with the long sleeves of his habit and alb. But when he removed the mittens before Mass, coagulated blood showered down on the vesting table.
At night, he washed the wounds himself and then covered them with white, fingerless mittens. By morning these mittens were soaked with blood.
Doctors confessed their bewilderment over the stigmata and were baffled by the operations which Padre Pio had, one for a hernia, and one for a cyst. The wounds from these operations healed normally, but the stigmata never healed.
Story with image of the Blood of St. Padre Pio - Click Below:
The Tortures of Padre Pio at the Hands of the Demons – Part 3
Early one morning, after everyone had fallen asleep, Padre Pio heard a knock on his door. It seemed to be Fr. Agostino (his spiritual director) asking to come in. Padre Pio said, “come in… Why have you come… How did you get here?” Fr. Agostino said: “God sent me. He is displeased with you.” Padre Pio was stunned: “what?” Said Padre Pio as he swung his legs over the bed and began to get out of bed. “No, no, no need to rise. I only came to say God does not approve of your practice of penance.” Padre Pio said: “if you are truly here at God’s request, you must give me a sign. I ask you to say the name of Jesus.” At that moment Agostino’s lips parted and he started to laugh; his voice changed. Padre Pio tried to reach out and touch his brown robe. The apparition vanished, leaving behind a strong smell of sulphur. Speaking about this event in a letter on July 28, 1914, Padre Pio said: “the devil, as you know, is a great artificer of evil… He could deceive you by some diabolical illusion or apparition disguised as an angel of light… This unhappy apostate even knows how to disguise himself as a Capuchin and to act the part quite well. I beg you to believe one who has undergone an experience of this nature.”
Testimonies About Padre Pio By Fellow Capuchins - Part 6:
Father Alessio used to assist Padre Pio when it was time for him to get into bed for the night. Afterward, he would wait in Padre Pio’s cell for Father Pellegrino to come in for the night duty. Laying in bed, Padre Pio would always recite the Rosary.
Frequently, Father Alessio heard Padre Pio interrupt the Rosary by saying such things as, “Tell her that I will ask Jesus.” “Tell her that I will pray deeply about it.” “Tell him that I will remember him at my Mass.” It was only later that Father Alessio realized that Padre Pio was carrying on a conversation with the guardian angels of some of his spiritual children.
One afternoon, Padre Pio was sitting alone on the veranda, just outside his cell. He was praying the Rosary. Father Alessio felt it would be a good opportunity to go over some of the mail with Padre Pio. Many people wrote to Father Alessio and asked him to relay their individual messages to Padre Pio, seeking his counsel and advice. Father Alessio would always discuss the items with Padre Pio and then write back with Padre Pio’s recommendations.
Father Alessio told Padre Pio about a woman who had just written with a question about her job. She had an opportunity to make a job change and she was hoping that Padre Pio might be able to advise her about it. When Father Alessio put the question to Padre Pio, he was surprised at his response. “I am very busy right now,” Padre Pio replied. “I cannot answer your question at this time.”
Father Alessio was confused. It was obvious to him that Padre Pio was not busy. He was sitting alone with his Rosary in his hand. He always had his Rosary in hand. Father Alessio remained silent but he continued to think about the irony of Padre Pio’s remark.
“There have been many guardian angels here today,” Padre Pio explained to Father Alessio. “They were bringing me messages from my spiritual children. Did you see them?” Father Alessio told Padre Pio that he had never seen a guardian angel in his life. He finally understood why Padre Pio had said that he was busy. He was busy communicating with that celestial world which very few mortals were privileged to glimpse.
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYhye5VLxZ8)
Padre Pio on the Blessed Mother and the Rosary – Part 5:
Padre Pio understood all of this. Padre Pio said many times: “I wish I had a voice loud enough to tell all the sinners of the world to love Mary. She is the ocean across which one must travel in order to reach Jesus.” Above Padre Pio’s door were the words: “Mary is the reason of all my hope.”
Padre Pio instructed: “Recite the Rosary and recite it always and as much as you can.”
One person said: “We always saw him with his Rosary in his hand – in the friary, in the halls, on the stairs, in the sacristy, in the Church, even in the brief interval when going to and coming from the confessional.” Another person added, “When at the end he did not talk to us anymore, we told him our thoughts. We asked for help. And all he did was to show us the Rosary, always, always,.”
Speaking of Our Lady, Padre Pio said: “Each grace passes through her hands.”
Padre Pio instructed his spiritual children as follows: “In all the free time you have, once you have finished your duties of state, you should kneel down and pray the Rosary. Pray the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament or before a crucifix.”
Concerning the Rosary, Our Lady herself said to Padre Pio: “With this weapon you will win.” Convinced of the power of the Rosary, Padre Pio always held the Rosary in his hands. When his death was approaching, he recommended the Rosary to his spiritual children by saying: “Love Our Lady and make her loved. Always recite the Rosary.”
On Thursday’s - Recite the Luminous Mysteries (Click on link above for EWTN version of the Luminous Mysteries):
A Padre Pio Inspirational Story
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PADRE PIO AND THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
“Remember to Keep Holy the Sabbath Day.” Exodus 20:8
We should often reflect on the third commandment and the significance it held in the life of Padre Pio. Padre Pio not only kept holy the Sabbath day, but every day of his life, by consecrating each day entirely to the Lord.
From early childhood, Padre Pio felt strongly attracted by all aspects of the spiritual life. As soon as he heard the bells ringing, he showed a great desire to go to church. He stopped playing and left whatever he was doing, saying, “I must go to church with Granny.” As a child he heard Mass every morning before going to school and every evening he went to Benediction. He always tried to bring a companion. Every Sunday he diligently attended religious instruction at his parish. He learned the ten commandments and the importance of the third, “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day,” had not escaped his attention.
Besides observing this precept, Padre Pio could not tolerate its violation and would always try to inspire respect in everyone for holy days. Once the Padre heard the confession of a young woman who worked for a company that made its employees work on Sundays and feast days. When the young woman finished her confession, Padre Pio asked her, “Don’t you remember anything else?” The woman replied, “Padre, I have confessed everything.” But the exceptional confessor reminded her, “You did not go to Mass and you worked on the feast of St. Peter.” “Yes, Padre,” admitted the woman, “Now I remember. I worked and did not go to Mass that day because otherwise my boss would have fired me. You know, we are poor.” And Padre Pio said, “Did you not think of the serious offense you gave to God? It would have been better to be fired from your job than to offend God seriously.” Then he added, “Be careful not to miss Mass on feast days or to ever offend the Lord again.”
Another time after having heard a man’s confession who had not been to Mass in years, Padre Pio was seen weeping bitterly. Someone asked him, “Padre, why are you crying? What is torturing your heart?” Padre Pio replied, “The ingratitude of people towards the Supreme Benefactor. And what more could Jesus have done, poor Jesus, that He did not do?” A man once told Padre Pio, “I missed Mass on Sunday.” Tears came into the Padre’s eyes and he said, “You say it so lightly.”
One could relate many more anecdotes that show how Padre Pio observed and made others observe the third commandment. In the same way that he celebrated and lived the holy Mass, he wanted his spiritual children to participate at the holy Sacrifice without superficiality or distraction. His knowledge of the inestimable and immense value of the Eucharistic offering made him give detailed counsel on the way of keeping the Lord’s day holy.
In 1915, Padre Pio wrote a letter to Annita Rodote describing the exemplary conduct that a Christian should aspire to. The following are excerpts from that letter:
“In order to avoid irreverance and imperfections in the house of God, in church, which the Divine Master calls the house of prayer, I exhort you in the Lord to practice the following: Enter the church in silence and with great respect. Among other pious considerations, remember that our soul is the temple of God and, as such, we must keep it pure and spotless before God and His angels. Then take holy water and make the sign of the cross carefully and slowly.
As soon as you are before God in the Blessed Sacrament, devoutly genuflect. Once you have found your place, kneel down and render the tribute of your devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Confide all your needs to Him along with those of others. Speak to him with filial abandonment, give free rein to your heart and give Him complete freedom to work in you as He thinks best.
When assisting at Holy Mass be very composed when standing up, kneeling down and sitting, and carry out every religous act with the greatest devotion. Be modest in your glances; don’t turn your head here and there to see who enters and leaves. Don’t laugh, out of reverence for this holy place and also out of respect for those who are near you. Try not to speak to anybody, except when charity or strict necessity requires this.
On leaving the church, you should be recollected and calm. First, take your leave of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Do not leave Him without asking for and having received His paternal blessing.
Once you are outside the church, be as every follower of the Nazarene should be. Above all, be extremely modest in everything, as this is the virtue which, more than any other, reveals the affections of the heart. You must be modest in speech, modest in laughter, modest in your bearing, modest in walking.
Therefore, be humble of heart, circumspect in words, prudent in your resolutions. Always be sparing in your speech, attentive in your work, modest in your conversation.
Always keep before your mind the Divine Master’s meekness which according to the expression of the Apostle to the Corinthians, is on a par with His gentleness. “I, Paul, exhort you, by the gentleness and meekness of Christ…” After so perfect a model, change all your external actions so that they are a faithful mirror revealing your interior sentiments.
Never forget this Divine Model, Annita. Try to see a certain lovable majesty in His presence, a certain pleasant authority in His manner of speaking, a certain sweet serenity in His face. Imagine that extremely composed and sweet expression with which He drew the crowds, making them leave cities and castles, leading them to the mountains, the forests, to the solitude and to deserted beaches, totally forgetting food, drink and their domestic duties.
Thus let us try to imitate, as far as we possibly can, such modest and dignified actions. And let us do our utmost to be, as far as possible, similar to Him on this earth, in order that we may be more perfect and more similar to Him for the whole of eternity in the heavenly Jerusalem.”
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