Saints
of Empowered Prayer #2
St. Pio of Pietrelcina: Known throughout the world as Padre Pio, he was born on May 25, 1887. He was the fourth of
eight children born to his parents in the village of Pietrelcina,
Italy. It was a simple humble life. He tended to the sheep for the family. In
1897, after hearing an inspiring sermon in church he told his parents he wanted
to be a priest. The following year he met with Brother Camillus who came to
visit Pietrelcina from the Capuchin friary. Franci, as he was called as a child, decided there and then
he wanted to be a Capuchin. While Franci lived a
normal, outward, everyday life, only after time did it become known of his
rich interior life and intimacy with Our Lord. In 1902 he was accepted into
the Capuchin order.
When he was
making his final preparations into religious life he had a vision of the
mission of spiritual battle which would be the mark of his religious life
and his priesthood. In another vision he understood that "Jesus Christ
Himself" would be his guide and always be at his side to assist in the
fight provided he "placed his trust in Him alone and fought generously." He
remained extremely affectionate and tenderhearted throughout his life as he
fought generously to the very end. Padre Pio was in
the tradition of the mystics who sought union with God. He felt that through
prayer and meditation the soul could be brought into union with God.
His
priesthood was filled with illness' and suffering. Because of this he was unable to
live in a friary, living some of his life in Pietrelcina,
then later in the friary at San Giovanni Rotondo. On
the morning of September 20, 1918 he received the stigmata of
Christ's wounds. They remained painful until his death at which time they
were healed. When Padre Pio was alive he had said, "After
my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death."
During all
his sufferings he remained obedient to the Church even when he was
placed in isolation, choosing to trust in Our Lord through it all. He was
canonized on June 16th, 2002 by Pope
John Paul II where he stressed Padre Pio's
witness to the power of suffering. If accepted with love such suffering can
lead to "a privileged path of sanctity" he said. The Pope also spoke of the Gospel of
Matthew(11:25-30) and the image of being "yoked" and how light our burdens are
whenever we are "yoked" to Christ as Padre Pio
demonstrated in his life. Padre Pio's feast day is September 23rd.
Questions:
1) What do I
"yoke" myself to when I am suffering?
2) Do I
trust that Our Lord is by my side in all the situations that I encounter?
3) Is my
interior life rich with an intimate relationship with Our Lord?
