“It comforts and promises comforting, it explains the deepest mysteries of his Passion”. Jesus is there for us, without veils, Padre Pio reminds us.
San Pio (websource)
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina is probably the best known saint of our time. There is talk of him all over the world and, from all over the world, the pilgrimages to San Giovanni Rotondo, to the Convent that preserves its mortal remains, are unstoppable.
An example of holiness was certainly Padre Pio, we know it, and it was also about how Lent should be lived. From a young age he felt the constant need to repent for sins committed, not only by him but also by everyone else. Famous is the episode in which the mother caught him scourging himself with a chain and in an attempt to stop him asked him the reason for that self-inflicted suffering. Padre Pio replied: “Mom, I have to fight, as the Jews beat Jesus!”.
It is said that at night he preferred to sleep on the ground with his head resting on a stone. A habit, that of penance, which he decided to marry for a lifetime after making his first entry to the Convent of Morcone for the novitiate in the Capuchin friars minor. At the entrance of the door he read: “Penance or hell” . Shaken by those words, the Saint of Pietrelcina decided to do penance for all his earthly existence.
Many miracles are attributed to him; there has been much discussion about him. During his earthly life, he suffered a lot, because of the signs of the Passion that accompanied him for most of his life and that did not stop bleeding .
The Father of Pietrelcina, however, also suffered greatly from the initial refusal of the Church which, through the Holy Office ( today Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ) refused to believe in the mystical manifestations concerning him. Over time, everything became clear and John Paul II, elected Pope, resolved all remaining doubts, pushing forward his cause of canonization.
“O what immensity of love that Heart contains! … His face is suffused with sadness and love together; his words start from the depths of his Heart . He speaks with profusion of affections, encourages, comforts and promises comforting, explains the deepest mysteries of his Passion “.
Padre Pio (websource)
Prayer and meditation on the events that led to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross reveal the mystery of that moment to us. And Jesus makes himself “understood” by us who want to give the utmost importance to his saving gesture.
Padre Pio (websource)
