Sunday
Saint Padre Pio
Feast Day, Tuesday, Sept. 23rd.
Feast Day, Tuesday, Sept. 23rd.
Padre Pio is one of the great saints of our time.
Like the Apostle Paul, he placed at the centre of his life and apostolic work the Cross of his Lord as his strength, his wisdom and his glory. Inflamed by love of Our Lord, he became like him in the sacrifice of himself for the salvation of the world and had the privilege of experiencing the stigmata—the wounds of Christ on his body. In his following and imitation of the Crucified Christ so generously and so perfect that he could say with St. Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
The treasures of grace which God had granted him so lavishly he passed on through his ministry, serving the thousands of men and women who came to his monastery in ever greater numbers wanting to change their lives.
Padre Pio was born on 25 May 1887 at Pietrelcina in the Archdiocese of Benevento, the son of Grazio Forgione and Maria Giuseppa De Nunzio. He was baptized the next day and given the name Francesco. At the age of twelve he received the Sacrament of Confirmation and made his First Holy Communion.
Like the Apostle Paul, he placed at the centre of his life and apostolic work the Cross of his Lord as his strength, his wisdom and his glory. Inflamed by love of Our Lord, he became like him in the sacrifice of himself for the salvation of the world and had the privilege of experiencing the stigmata—the wounds of Christ on his body. In his following and imitation of the Crucified Christ so generously and so perfect that he could say with St. Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
The treasures of grace which God had granted him so lavishly he passed on through his ministry, serving the thousands of men and women who came to his monastery in ever greater numbers wanting to change their lives.
Padre Pio was born on 25 May 1887 at Pietrelcina in the Archdiocese of Benevento, the son of Grazio Forgione and Maria Giuseppa De Nunzio. He was baptized the next day and given the name Francesco. At the age of twelve he received the Sacrament of Confirmation and made his First Holy Communion.
On 6 January 1903, at the age of sixteen, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone, where on 22 January he took the Franciscan habit and the name Brother Pio. At the end of his novitiate year he took simple vows, and on 27 January 1907 made his solemn profession. After he was ordained priest on 10 August 1910 at Benevento, he stayed at home with his family until 1916 for health reasons. In September of that year he was sent to the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo and remained there until his death.
Filled with the love of God and love of his neighbour, Padre Pio lived to the full his vocation to work for the salvation of souls. This was his special mission on earth to which he dedicated his whole life through his spiritual direction of souls, the reconciliation of penitents in the confessional and the celebration of the Eucharist. The pinnacle of his life as a priest was the celebration of daily Mass. The people who participated in his mass were aware of his intense holiness and union with Christ.
He was dedicated to the poor, and he committed himself to relieving the pain and suffering of many families, chiefly through the foundation of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (House for the Relief of Suffering), which was opened on 5 May 1956.
For Padre Pio, faith was life: he willed everything and did everything in the light of faith. He was devoted to prayer. and passed the day and a large part of the night in conversation with God. He would say: “In books we seek God, in prayer we find him. Prayer is the key which opens God's heart”. Faith led him always to accept God's mysterious will.
He demonstrated to the full his love of neighbour by welcoming, for more than fifty years, countless thousands of people who had recourse to his ministry and his confessional, his counsel and his consolation. He was almost besieged: they sought him in church, in the sacristy, in the friary. And he gave himself to everyone, rekindling faith, dispensing grace, bringing light. But especially in the poor, the suffering and the sick he saw the image of Christ, and he gave himself particularly to them. Only God alone knows the thousands he reconciled to Christ and found peace and the grace to start life anew. His concern was always for the glory of God and the good of souls. Virtue shone in him, for he understood very early on that his life would be the Way of the Cross, and he accepted it at once with courage and with love. >>>>>>>>>>>>>
Filled with the love of God and love of his neighbour, Padre Pio lived to the full his vocation to work for the salvation of souls. This was his special mission on earth to which he dedicated his whole life through his spiritual direction of souls, the reconciliation of penitents in the confessional and the celebration of the Eucharist. The pinnacle of his life as a priest was the celebration of daily Mass. The people who participated in his mass were aware of his intense holiness and union with Christ.
He was dedicated to the poor, and he committed himself to relieving the pain and suffering of many families, chiefly through the foundation of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (House for the Relief of Suffering), which was opened on 5 May 1956.
For Padre Pio, faith was life: he willed everything and did everything in the light of faith. He was devoted to prayer. and passed the day and a large part of the night in conversation with God. He would say: “In books we seek God, in prayer we find him. Prayer is the key which opens God's heart”. Faith led him always to accept God's mysterious will.
He demonstrated to the full his love of neighbour by welcoming, for more than fifty years, countless thousands of people who had recourse to his ministry and his confessional, his counsel and his consolation. He was almost besieged: they sought him in church, in the sacristy, in the friary. And he gave himself to everyone, rekindling faith, dispensing grace, bringing light. But especially in the poor, the suffering and the sick he saw the image of Christ, and he gave himself particularly to them. Only God alone knows the thousands he reconciled to Christ and found peace and the grace to start life anew. His concern was always for the glory of God and the good of souls. Virtue shone in him, for he understood very early on that his life would be the Way of the Cross, and he accepted it at once with courage and with love. >>>>>>>>>>>>>
