Reflections on St. Pio's Canonization - St. Pio & Fatima -Rare Film Footage of St. Pio!

 

"For my yoke is easy and my burden light" (Mt 11,30). Jesus' words to his disciples, which we just heard, help us to understand the most important message of this solemn celebration. Indeed, in a certain sense, we can consider them as a magnificent summary of the whole life of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, today proclaimed a saint. The evangelical image of the "yoke" recalls the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo had to face. Today we contemplate in him how gentle the "yoke" of Christ is, and how truly light is his burden when it is borne with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio prove that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted out of love, are transformed into a privileged way of holiness, which opens onto the horizons of a greater good, known only to the Lord.
--Excerpt from Homily of John Paul II

St. Pio and the Cross of Christ

"But may I never boast except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ"(Gal 6,14)   Is it not, precisely, the "glory of the Cross" that shines above all in Padre Pio? How timely is the spirituality of the Cross lived by the humble Capuchin of Pietrelcina. Our time needs to rediscover the value of the Cross in order to open the heart to hope. Throughout his life, he always sought greater conformity with the Crucified, since he was very conscious of having been called to collaborate in a special way in the work of redemption. His holiness cannot be understood without this constant reference to the Cross. In God's plan, the Cross constitutes the true instrument of salvation for the whole of humanity and the way clearly offered by the Lord to those who wish to follow him (cf. Mk 16,24).

St. Pio understood this well, when on the Feast of the Assumption in 1914, he wrote: "In order to succeed in reaching our ultimate end we must follow the divine Head, who does not wish to lead the chosen soul on any way other than the one he followed; by that, I say, of abnegation and the Cross"

"May Mary rest her motherly hand on your head".

The wish that Padre Pio once addressed to one of his spiritual daughters, he addresses to you today. Let us entrust to the motherly intercession of Our Lady and to St Pio of Pietrelcina the journey of holiness of the whole Church at the beginning of the new millennium.

"I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because ... these things ... you have revealed to little ones" (Mt 11,25). How appropriate are these words of Jesus, when we think of them as applied to you, humble and beloved Padre Pio. Teach us, we ask you, humility of heart so we may be counted among the little ones of the Gospel, to whom the Father promised to reveal the mysteries of his Kingdom.

Help us to pray without ceasing, certain that God knows what we need even before we ask him.
Obtain for us the eyes of faith that will be able to recognize right away in the poor and suffering the face of Jesus. Sustain us in the hour of the combat and of the trial and, if we fall, make us experience the joy of the sacrament of forgiveness.Grant us your tender devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother. Accompany us on our earthly pilgrimage toward the blessed homeland, where we hope to arrive in order to contemplate forever the glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen --Excerpt from Homily of John Paul II. 

St. Pio and the Message Fatima

The Pilgrim Virgin goes to San Giovanni Rotondo  

On July 27, 1959 Padre Pio announced the beginning of the novena "for the visit the Heavenly Mother wants to make" and he exhorted to prepare for it with Christian renewal. Every evening he reminded them of the joy, the good fortune, the "very special grace" of this visit and the obligation of a worthy welcome above all with the practice of some virtues During the morning of August 6, the Padre was able to go down to the church. He stopped in front of the statue of our Lady — but had to sit down because he was exhausted — and he gave her a gold rosary. The statue was lowered before his face and he was able to kiss her. It was a most affectionate gesture. Between two and three in the afternoon of August 6 the helicopter carrying the statue of our Lady rose from the terrace of the Home for Relief of Suffering headed for Sicily. It did three turns over the crowd gathered on the square in front of the church and flew away. F rom a window Padre Pio watched the helicopter fly away with eyes filled with tears. To our Lady in flight Padre Pio lamented with a confidence that was all his own: "My Lady, my Mother, you came to Italy and I got sick, now you are going away and you leave me still ill." 

The helicopter that flew the Pilgrim Virgin to St. Padre Pio in 1959

There is an unknown story behind the story told by the priest in the helicopter Msgr. Giovanni Strazzacappa who had founded the Blue Army in Italy. He stated that the pilot had suddenly swirled the machine around. In surprise, he asked what was happening. The pilot, himself surprised, said he just felt "compelled" to turn around. Then to the amazement of both, they saw St. Padre Pio come to the window with the help of his friars and cry out to Our Lady.  As long as he lived St. Pio repeated. "In that very instant I felt a sort of shudder in my bones which cured me immediately." His Spiritual Father confirmed it saying: "In a moment the Padre felt a mysterious force in his body and said to his confreres: 'I am healed Our Lady of Fatima has healed me!'." He was healthy and strong as never before in his life.

Padre Pio later wrote,” Thank the Virgin of Fatima for me. On the very day She left here, I felt well again. “ Three days later, he was celebrating Mass.   When St. Pio was told about an article that appeared in Foggia, which asked why Our Lady of Fatima had gone to San Giovanni Rotondo and not the shrine of Saint Michael at Monte Sant'Angelo, Padre Pio explained with enchanting simplicity: "Our Lady came here because she wanted to cure Padre Pio."

     St. Pio Spiritual Father to Blue Army 

Not many people realize that St.. Padre Pio had provided a way that those after his death could still become his spiritual children? They could do so in just one way: they could make the Blue Army pledge (the basic requests of Our Lady: Morning Offering, Scapular and Rosary).    He did this in gratitude for the great favor he recieved through the Pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima,  St. Pio had accepted all who make and keep the Blue Army pledge as his spiritual children (for whom he will wait at the gates of Heaven "until all have entered").  Provided  of course, that they live the message of Our Lady and they remain good! St. Pio also sent a crucifix to the Bishop of Fatima (the Most Rev. John Venancio) who was the international spiritual head of the Blue Army at the time.  When asked one day whether it was a good thing to belong to the Blue Army, St. Pio answered: "Could you do anything better?"

The following quotes of Padre Pio tell how he looked after and loved his spiritual family:

 'I love my Spiritual Children as much as my own soul and even more.'

 'Once I take a soul on, I also take on their entire family as my spiritual children.'

 'To my Spiritual Children, my prayers for you will never be lacking.'

 'If one of my spiritual children ever goes astray, I shall leave my flock and seek him out.' 

   A Gruff but Dedicated Confessor
St. Pio's conformity to the Paschal Mystery of His Lord necessarily embraced a commitment to the ministry of reconciliation, its fruit. Toward that end he dedicated many hours of the day to hearing confessions, both in the mornings and the afternoon. Some days he spent up to fourteen hours in the confessional.  In accordance with the custom of the time he heard men's confessions and women's confessions separately - the men in the sacristy and the women in the confessional.
It was not possible to lie to him during a confession, for he saw what lay within people's  hearts. Often, when sinners lacked the courage to confess properly, St. Pio listed their sins during the confession. He also advised weekly confession. "Confession is the soul's bath. You must go at least once a week. I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week and you will see that it needs dusting again!"

St. Pio  and Bl. Jacinta on Christian Modesty

Modesty in actions, words and dress was mentioned by  Bl. Jacinta of Fatima as well as St. Pio. While Jacinta was in the hospital during her last illness she was very saddened by the worldliness of the visitors, the women dressed in fashionable clothes, often with low-cut dresses.  "What is it all for?" she asked Mother Godinho (her guardian ). "If they only knew what eternity is." "the sins which bring most souls to hell are the sins of the flesh.  Certain fashions are going to be introduced which will offend Our Lord very much... the Church has no fashions; Our Lord is always the same..."

Padre Pio wouldn't tolerate low-necked dresses or short, tight skirts, and he forbade his spiritual daughters to wear transparent stockings. Each year his severity increased.  He stubbornly dismissed them from his confessional, even before they set foot inside, if he judged them to be improperly dressed.  On some mornings he drove away one after another, until he ended up hearing very few confessions.  His brothers observed these drastic purges with a certain uneasiness and decided to fasten a sign on the church door; "By Padre Pio's explicit wish, women must enter the confessional wearing skirts  AT LEAST 8 INCHES BELOW THE KNEE.  IT IS FORBIDDEN TO BORROW LONGER DRESSES IN CHURCH AND TO WEAR THEM TO CONFESSION."

Sometimes when Padre Pio refused to absolve his penitents and closed the small confessional door in their faces, the people would reproach him asking why he acted this way.  "Don't you know," he asked, "what pain it costs me to shut the door on anyone?  The Lord has forced me to do so.  I do not call anyone, nor do I refuse anyone either.  There is someone else who calls and refuses them.  I am His useless tool. 

The Canonization of Padre Pio gives us the opportunity to reflect on the severity of the Saint who put this poster on the door of his church: "The Church is the house of God.  It is forbidden for men to enter with bare arms or in shorts.  It is forbidden for women to enter in trousers, without a veil on their head, in short clothing, low necklines, sleeveless or immodest dresses." Excerpts from: Catholic Modesty.com

St. Pio and the Rosary

 Our Lady of Fatima asked especially for the prayer of the Rosary. And who could count the hours Padre Pio spent in prayer for the conversion and salvation of sinners? And who more than he held the rosary in his hand, night and day, filling all the free moments of the day with the most devout recital of the Rosary? And with how much loving insistence did he not recommend the Rosary to everyone as a means of salvation! 

 
"Love our Lady, make others love her. Always say your Rosary and say it well. Satan always tries to destroy  this prayer, but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone."

One day one of his penitents said to him: "Padre, today they say the Rosary is out of date, that it is no longer in fashion. It is no longer said in many churches." He replied: "Let us do what our fathers did and all will be well with us." "But Satan rules the world."  St.  Pio replied: "Because they make him rule; can a spirit rule by itself if it is not united to the human will? We could not have been born in a more depraved world. The one who prays a lot saves himself. The one who prays little is in danger. The one who does not pray loses his soul."

 "From these stories let us make a holy resolution to grow always in the devotion to the Immaculate Heart and with a generous reply to the message of Fatima, reciting fervently the Rosary every day, praying and offering our sufferings for the conversion of sinners, receiving Communion on the first Saturdays of the month in the hope that the consoling words will come true for us: "I promise salvation to all those who practice devotion to my Immaculate Heart. These souls will be most dear to God, and like flowers I will place them before his throne."  Like this we can even look to the future of the Church and humanity with serenity, trustful in the prophetic word of Mary who in her third apparition of 13 July 1917 announced: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."  from Padre Pio and the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Most Rev. Paola Carta, Bishop Emeritus of Foggia

Padre Pio - Rare Film Footage  

Uploaded by ZrinjskiPetar on Dec 27, 2010  

Filmed at Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary which is located in the Gargano Mountains at San Giovanni Rotondo. At times there is an atmosphere of playfulness redolent of the Fioretti of St Francis. At the end, they are obviously teasing him about the camera and he hits the cameraman with his cincture. We see him in the refectory and in the Church, and there are scenes of his brothers dealing with the massive postbag which he generated. Starting at 4'23" there is some footage of Padre Pio as celebrant at Tridentine Latin Mass.

  

A Prayer for Trust and Confidence in God's Mercy

 by St. Pio of Pietrelcina

 O Lord, we ask for a boundless confidence and trust in Your divine mercy, and the courage to accept the crosses and sufferings which bring immense goodness to our souls and that of Your Church. Help us to love You  with a pure and contrite heart, and to humble ourselves beneath Your cross, as we climb the mountain of holiness,  carrying our cross that leads to heavenly glory.

May we receive You with great faith and love in Holy Communion, and allow You to act in us as You desire for your greater glory. O Jesus, most adorable Heart  and eternal fountain of Divine Love, may our prayer find favor before the Divine Majesty of Your heavenly Father.

A Blessing Prayer

by Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

  

May Jesus comfort you
     in all your afflictions.
     May He sustain you in dangers,
     watch over you always with His grace,
     and indicate the safe path
     that leads to eternal salvation.
     And may He render you always
     dearer to His Divine Heart
     and always more worthy of Paradise.  Amen 

St Padre Pio remember us from your eternal glory as you promised!  Do not forget us your spiritual sons and daughters in our hours of trial. Defend us from the snares of the enemy seeking our ruin. Continue your prayers for us that after passing through the darkness and trials of this life, we may arrive safely at the heavenly gates and enter with you the joy of beholding our God face to face for all eternity. Amen 

Beloved St. Pio, Ora pro nobis!