EMBER DAY-ST PIUS OF PIETRELCINA
(padre Pio)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”-Acts 1:8
When I
read this I remember the South Pole[1]
On Sunday, it was my chance to make a phone patch
to my parents everything worked great but then I found out they changed their
number. What! Here I was in Antarctica working my ass off; freezing my ass off
and my alcoholic Father changed the phone number and too make matters worse I
knew nothing of what was going on with my parents because they hadn’t written
me in the two years I had been in the Navy. I thought, “That’s it, I am an
orphan.”
After my failed phone patch, I went to Mass. The
Catholic Priest from McMurdo took a flight up to bring us Holy Communion. We
had not been able to receive Communion since we left. I felt good after
receiving Our Lord. I thought that even though I had no communication with my
physical Father I did have communication with my eternal Father. Afterwards I
showed the Priest around the site, before he left he said that he had a letter
from the Bishop which gave me permission (Back then only Priests could give
communion) to secure and give Holy Communion to the Catholic Boys there at the
South Pole. I didn’t feel worthy; come on this is Richard you know; but the
Priest convinced me that it was the only way and I did want to bring “Our Lord”
to my fellow brothers in Christ.
I thought about my experiences in Barbados, West
Indies where I had a friendly relationship with a Jesuit Priest on the Island. I was stationed in Barbados after “A-School;”
just prior to my assignment with MCB 71. It was luck or maybe providence that I
got my first assignment to Barbados, West Indies. At the end of “A School”, I ended up having
the highest grade average-probably due to I studied and drank less than the others
drank. The Chief had six orders for
Vietnam and one set of orders for Barbados. I was given the orders to Barbados.
It was
while I was in Barbados that I was examining my Catholic Faith and was
considering a faith change because I was also involved with a non-Catholic
Pentecostal religious group and because my Father had not practiced the
Catholic Faith. I was at a point where I had to decide to be a Catholic or not.
I was praying about it and one night I had a horrid dream where a horribly disfigured
face appeared in white on a dark background. I woke up in a sweat.
I was disturbed by the thought of this vision. I
got on my motorcycle and rode around the island. It was a four-hour ride. At the end of the ride, I passed a church and
turned around to go in and pray. I knew I needed God in my life. After a short
prayer, I was walking out of the church and there right next the exit door in a
pamphlet rack, at eye level was the face in my dream. I was shocked, I pulled
the pamphlet out and trembling read that this was the image of the reported
face of Christ. It was on the burial cloth of Christ and was stored in a
Catholic Church in Italy. I decided God was calling me back to the Catholic
Faith. Why me? Why did he appear to me sinner that I was; I knew not. Yet,
because of the memory of this call from Christ, I knew I had to consent to
bring his precious body to my brother Seabees. The priest also left me a book
to read. The book explained the Catholic faith. As I read it, I knew and
understood my faith better. I was especially taken by an Old Catholic symbol
and I drew it on a small red flag and wore that symbol on my back declaring
myself an ICEMAN for Christ. The symbol means “Jesus Christ Conqueror” Now instead
of a blue ribbon of pain. I had a flag for victory. I still was the same old
sinner but the flag reminded me of God’s ever presence; even here at the bottom
of the world.
Psalm 76, Verse 12-13
12 Make and keep vows to the LORD your God. May
all around him bring gifts to the one to be feared,
13 who checks the spirit
of princes, who is fearful to the kings of earth.
Why are the powerful so
reluctant to make and keep vows to God? Do they not know that if they humble
themselves before Him; He will exalt them. God gives all men gifts and talents
of spirit, mind and beauty. Today consider letting a more qualified Other defend
your ego.
Ember Saturday of September-Commemoration
of Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles (both of
which occur in the Jewish calendar around this time), two important
foreshadowings of the Christ event.[2]
Feast of St. Pio
Padre Pio was born Francesco Forgione on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina,
Italy, into a simple peasant family. At the age of 15 he entered the Capuchin
Franciscan Friars, and was ordained a priest in 1910. In September 1916 he was
assigned to the Friary in San Giovanni Rotondo in central italy, where he
lived for the rest of his life. After celebrating morning Mass on September 20,
1918, during his prayers of thanksgiving before the Crucifix, Padre Pio
received the "Stigmata". His hands, feet and side were pierced with
the nail marks and the lance wound of the Crucified Christ. Doctors estimated
that for the next 50 years he lost a cup of blood every day. His five wounds
were deep, bleeding and painful, but completley free of inflammation and
swelling. News of his holiness spread rapidly. Millions of people attended his
Masses. He received letters from believers all over the world who asked for his
saintly counsel in their times of distress and mjisfortune. Countless were
attracted to his confessional, where he celebrated the Sacrament of Penance for
as many as 16 hours a day. People waited as much as two weeks to have him hear
their confession, for they perceived in Padre Pio the true heart and soul of
the Gospels, expressed in a simple and uncomplicated manner. His whole life was
marked by long hours of prayer, continual sacrifice, and strict austerity. He
had a very deep union with God, a burning love for the Holy Eucharist, and a fervent
devotion to Our Blessed Mother. Worn out by half a century of intense suffering
and constant apostolic activity in San Giovanni Rotondo, Padre Pio was called
to his heavenly reward on September 23, 1968. He was canonized a Saint by Pope
John Paul II on June 16, 2002. Today his tomb is the most visited shrine in
Europe, surpassing even Fatima and Lourdes — a place of extraordinary holiness
for those in search of inspiration.
Prayer
Gracious
God, You generously blessed Your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the
Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a
powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son, and as a stirring
inspiration to many people of Your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.
In
the confessional, Padre Pio labored endlessly for the salvation of souls.
Through his prayerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness
and disease. Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people's
hearts. From the blood of his wounds came a perfumed fragrance, a special sign
of Your Holy Presence. With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily
Mass, inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ, in
the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Through
the intercession of Saint Pio, I confidently beseech You to grant me the grace
of (here state your petition).
Help me to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion, so that I,
too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord, and one day rejoice in the Kingdom,
where You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
·
Fast today
praying for those who are entombed remembering that our Lord was in the earth
on Holy Saturday. Embrace true true humility[3]
thus entombing false pride and bravado. In the evening when you break the fast
have some food from Ital (Farfalle with Sausage & Peppers). Make a donation to an organization that
supports the work of Padre Pio.
[1]Havermale,
Richard. The Ice is Nice and Chee Chee is Peachy. 2012
[3]Rabbi
Lord Jonathan Sacks states that in Judaism humility is an
appreciation of oneself, one's talents, skills, and virtues. It is not meekness
or self-deprecating thought, but the effacing of oneself to something higher.
Humility is not to think lowly of oneself, but to appreciate the self one has
received. In recognition of the mysteries and complexities of life, one becomes
humbled to the awesomeness one is and what one can achieve.
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