Love Our Lady and make her loved

On Friday June 16, 2023 we not only celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus but also the twenty-first anniversary of Padre Pio’s canonization. It was on Sunday 16 June 2002 when my stigmatized Capuchin brother was canonized at St Peter’s Square by Pope St John Paul II.

It was worthwhile to recall the precious words Pope St John Paul II pronounced at the beatification of Padre Pio, precisely on May 2, 1999. In that beautiful homily Pope Wojtyła referred to the tender and constant devotion to Mary Padre Pio always showed. In his homily the Polish Pope said: His devotion to Our Lady was evident in every manifestation of his life: in his words and writings, in his teaching and in the advice he gave to his many spiritual sons. A true son of Francis of Assisi, the new Blessed did not tire of instilling in the faithful a tender, profound devotion to Our Lady, rooted in the true tradition of the Church. At the end of his life, he addressed his thoughts, as he had done all his life, to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Love Our Lady and make her loved; always recite the Rosary and recite it as often as possible”.

May we too make Our Lady, Mary, Our dear Mother, loved! May we always recite the Rosary and organize groups, even online like on whatz app, where we can pray the Rosary together. The Rosary is really a source of great graces! As Padre Pio used to say: “Pray the rosary frequently. It costs so little, and it’s worth so much!” “We can’t live without the Rosary.” “Say the rosary, and pray it every day.” “The Rosary is the weapon of defense and salvation.” “The Rosary is the weapon given us by Mary to use against the tricks of the infernal enemy.” “Mary has recommended the Rosary at Lourdes and Fatima because of it’s exceptional value for us and our times.”

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap