Feast Of Padre Pio, Capuchin Saint

[cappie]

Padre Pio, born Francesco Forgione, entered the Capuchin Friars at the age of 16. He set out in this way to respond to God’s love in following Jesus in the humility, the poverty, in the obedience of the Capuchin Franciscan Order. He gave his life to God without reserve. He placed himself totally at the disposal of the Holy Spirit. One phrase from his biography sums up his life. “Assiduously given to prayer, he passed the day and a great part of the night in speaking with God.”

Prayer was the first characteristic of his religious life. Prayerfulness is the key to his way of life. He was accustomed to say, “Prayer is the strongest weapon that is available to us, prayer is the key which opens the heart of God. We seek God in our reading, but we find God in prayer.” Padre Pio was a man of prayer. Habitual prayerfulness permeated every moment of his daily routine.

Love of The Cross
St Paul in his letter to the Galatians states that the only thing to boast about is the love of God and of Christ, which are the realities of the Cross, because the love of God and the love of Christ open the way to salvation through the gift of faith. St Paul insists that this is the rule to be followed if one’s life is to be that of a Christian.

Padre Pio has lived to the fullest this rule by his life-long example of faith, of love and of hope. Padre Pio has given witness to the truth that the Cross is the turning point in history. In the words of Pope Paul VI he had the gift to be a representative sealed with the stigmata of our Lord.

The late Pope John Paul said “The witness given by Padre Pio constitutes a powerful reminder of the supernatural dimension and of its distinction from a mere desire for the miraculous.”

The Heart of Each Day.
If prayerfulness was the secret of the life of Padre Pio, and if the love of the crucified was his strength, the Mass was, in the words of the Pope, “The heart of each of his days.”
This further keystone of the life of Padre Pio was his devotion to the Eucharist together with the expression of the fruit of the Eucharist in his devotion to the ministry of the confessional.
During the Mass Padre Pio was transfigured. It seemed that all passage of time and all dimensions of space between Calvary and Altar had faded. And this happened day after day, month after month, for 50 years. In his Mass one sees the same experience as that of which St Paul writes “I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me.”

Following his Mass, he heard confessions. He gave of his self each and every day in union with Jesus for the salvation of the world. He carried that burden with great love, giving of himself and using his own words, abandoning himself “to the heart of Jesus” and to the “Mercy” of our heavenly Father.

And so it seems to me that there are three petitions which we might direct to God through the intercession of Padre Pio.

Our first is that we might be prayerful. That our prayer might be a prayer of praise and of gratitude to God who has made us more aware of the need to pray for the whole of the world so that all may know and accept the love and pardon of the Father.

Our second petition is that our faith be a mature faith based on the mystery of “the Crucified and Risen Christ” as the essence of the Gospel message May Padre Pio teach us to receive the Law of the Cross with faith and love. May he teach us to draw good from evil and to draw life from death.

Our third petition is that we discover anew the power of the Eucharist, a power which can make us evermore worthy persons both morally and socially. That we come to appreciate evermore the beauty of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with its power to enable us to be truly open and generous towards others, giving them in turn the pardon which God has given to us.

We ask Padre Pio to watch over us and to intercede for us, that we may become more generous in our following of Christ; that we become more desirous of serving God with each passing day, seeking holiness of life which alone can radiate joy, peace and hope to those around us.

Edited September 22, 2010 by cappie

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I love Padre Pio. Blessings to all Capuchins on his feast day!