THE MEMORIAL OF ST PIO OF PIETRELCINA (PADRE PIO).
"The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.”
"He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” (Luke 8: 19 - 21).
Tuesday 23rd September, 2025 is the feast of St Pio Pietrelchina better known as Padre Pio. (1887 - 1968).
Padre Pio was an Italian Capuchin Priest. A mystic and stigmatist.
He was a highly gifted confessor and counseling guru.
Padre Pio died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002 by Pope St John Paul II in the lifetime of many people reading this.
Padre Pio entered the Capuchin Monastery at the age of 15. A mere boy, he had little in the way of this world's goods, education or spiritual riches.
He soon showed immense appetite for genuine riches or spiritual treasures. And in accordance with the spiritual law laid down by Jesus,
"To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” (Luke 8: 18).
Padre Pio grew into a spiritual giant.
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9: 22).
Padre Pio knew what it is to suffer. He suffered almost constantly from ill-health throughout his long life. He was maligned by some members of the Church hierarchy and even by his confreres.
In all these sufferings, Padre Pio never doubted for a moment his faith in Divine Providence.
His devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Rosary sustained him in the many crisis of his life.
St Padre Pio described himself as "a priest who prays."
St Padre Pio is one of the most popular saints in the Roman calendar.
"PRAYER IS THE BEST WEAPON WE HAVE; IT IS THE KEY TO GOD'S HEART." (ST PADRE PIO).
Pray for the grace of Perseverance especially in Prayer.
"My way is one of gentleness, of mercy, and of compassion. I offer My Cross to souls, but I never impose it, and when a soul begins to say “Yes” to the sweet and terrible exigencies of My love, I fit My Cross to her shoulders, and then help her to carry it step by step, increasing its weight only as that soul grows in love and in the fortitude that comes from the Holy Spirit." (IN SINU JESU, September 23, 2011, Feast of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina).
In the Gospel of today (Luke 8: 19 - 21), we hear:
“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."
What is the word of God?
#1. The word of God is the written word of God in the Sacred Scriptures.
#2. The word of God is decrees of God through the Sacred Tradition.
3. The living word of God comes to us through the living and Sacred Magisterium, that is the teaching authority of the Church.
In the Scriptures, the word of God is also called the promise, will, command, precepts, ordinances law and decrees of God.
In the Gospel for today, Jesus teaches that those who hear the word of God and observe it belong to a new family. A new family where blood is thicker than water.
Jesus gives power to those who listen to His voice and accepts His teaching the power to become the children of God.
Do we have an example of where the word of God forms close and tight families or communities?
From the beginning of the Church, this divine teaching of Jesus has been vindicated in the early Christian communities of the Desert Fathers and Mothers.
Today we have several religious communities, viz: Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, the Poor Clares, etc.
The members of these communities love and cherish one another and are closely knit as a family more than most natural families in the world.
In September, the Church honors the Sorrowful Heart of Mary.
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