Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - Litany Lane Blog:
Conservative, Psalms 119, Proverbs 21:1-13, Luke 8:19-21, Pope Francis's Daily Catechesis, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina Padre Pio, Stigmata, Five Holy Wounds, Catholic Catechism Part Three: Life in Christ Section Two: The Ten Commandment Chapter Two: Eighth Commandment Article 8:5 The Use of Social Communications Media, RECHARGE Heaven Speaks to Young Adults
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge, reason and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. The Seven Gifts of
the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the
Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun
the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and
gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Prayers for Today: Tuesday in Ordinary Time
Rosary - Sorrowful Mysteries
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis Daily Catechesis:
September 23, 2014
Simplicity in Life and Action
(2014-08-23 Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis said Mass in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence on Tuesday morning. In remarks following the readings of the day, the Holy Father focused on the simplicity of the Christian life and the Gospel’s call to radical simplicity in life and action.
Christ’s words had a “new” sound to them, as did the authority with which he spoke them – and this was why people followed him in such large numbers. Christ’s words had “the power of salvation” in them. Even so, there were those, who followed him “for the sake of convenience” only, without too much purity of heart, or perhaps with the desire to be “a little better” only. Pope Francis said that little has changed in two thousand years. Even today, many listen to Jesus as did the nine lepers of the Gospel who, “happy” with their newfound health, “forgot” the Lord, who had restored it to them:
“Jesus continued to talk to people and loved the people and He loved the crowd, to the point that He says, ‘these who follow me, that immense crowd, are my mother and my brothers – that’s who they are’. He explains: ‘those who listen to the Word of God, put it into practice’. These are the two conditions in order to follow Jesus: to listen to the word of God, and to put it into practice. This is the Christian life – nothing more. Simple, simple. Maybe we’ve made it a little difficult, with many explanations that no one understands, but the Christian life is thus: listening to the Word of God and practicing it.”
That is why – as described in the passage from the Gospel of Luke (8:19-21) that was read at Mass – Jesus replies to those who reported that her relatives were looking for him by saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” The point is not to hear casually, but to bend our ears – really to listen to the word of God, which we find in the Gospel – the pages of which need to be heard, and heeded, rather than merely read by rote “Listening to the Word of God,” said the Holy Father, “means reading it and then asking, ‘What does this say to me? How does this speak to my heart? What is God saying to me, with this word?” This, said Pope Francis, is a life-changing line of questioning:
“Every time we do this – each time we open the Gospel and read a passage and ask ourselves: ‘Is God speaking to me with this? Is He saying something to me?’ – and if He is saying something, what is it that He is saying? This is [what it means] to listen to the Word of God: to listen with your ears and hear with your heart. Open your heart to the Word of God. The enemies of Jesus heard the word of Jesus, but were there in order to try to find a mistake, to make Him slip, so that He would lose His authority. They never asked themselves, though: ‘What is God saying to me in this Word?’ God not only speaks to all: yes, he does speak to all of us – but He also speaks to to every one of us – to each of us. The Gospel was written for each of us.”
The Holy Father went on to say that putting into practice what we have heard is “is not easy” and that “it is easier to live a mellow life without worrying about the exigencies of the Word of God.” He went on to remind the gathered faithful that the Commandments and the Beatitudes are sure guides for anyone who would really attempt to understand the requirements the Gopsel places on us and act accordingly – always counting on Jesus’ help. “[The Lord],” Pope Francis concluded, “ “is merciful and forgives all,” and waits for everyone, “because He is patient.”:
“Jesus receives everyone, even those who go to hear the Word of God and then betray Him. Think of Judas. ‘Friend,’ He says, in that moment where Judas betrays him. The Lord is always sowing His word, and asks [us] only [to have] an open heart [with which] to listen and willingness to put it into practice. For this reason, then prayer today, which is that of the Psalm [119:35]: ‘Lead me Lord in the path of thy commandments,’ that is, the path of your Word, that I may learn with your guidance to put it into practice.”
Reference: Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2014 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 08/23/2014
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: 2015
Vatican City, spring 2014 (VIS)
The following is the English text of the intentions –
both universal and for evangelization – that, as is customary, the Pope
entrusted to the Apostleship of Prayer for 2015.
January
Universal: That those from diverse religious traditions
and all people of good will work together for peace.
Evangelization: That in this year
dedicated to consecrated life, religious men and women may rediscover the joy
of following Christ and strive to serve the poor with zeal.
February
Universal: That prisoners, especially the young, may be
able to rebuild lives of dignity.
Evangelization: That married people who are separated may
find welcome and support in the Christian community.
March
Universal: That those involved in
scientific research may serve the well-being of the whole human person.
Evangelization: That the unique
contribution of women to the life of the Church may be recognized always.
April
Universal: That people may learn to respect creation and
care for it as a gift of God.
Evangelization: That persecuted
Christians may feel the consoling presence of the Risen Lord and the solidarity
of all the Church.
May
Universal: That, rejecting the culture of indifference,
we may care for our neighbours who suffer, especially the sick and the poor.
Evangelization: That Mary’s
intercession may help Christians in secularized cultures be ready to proclaim
Jesus.
June
Universal: That immigrants and refugees may find welcome
and respect in the countries to which they come.
Evangelization: That the personal
encounter with Jesus may arouse in many young people the desire to offer their
own lives in priesthood or consecrated life.
July
Universal: That political responsibility may be lived at
all levels as a high form of charity.
Evangelization: That, amid social
inequalities, Latin American Christians may bear witness to love for the poor
and contribute to a more fraternal society.
August
Universal: That volunteers may
give themselves generously to the service of the needy.
Evangelization: That setting aside
our very selves we may learn to be neighbours to those who find themselves on
the margins of human life and society.
September
Universal: That
opportunities for education and employment may increase for all young people.
Evangelization: That catechists may
give witness by living in a way consistent with the faith they proclaim.
October
Universal: That human trafficking, the modern form of
slavery, may be eradicated.
Evangelization: That with a
missionary spirit the Christian communities of Asia may announce the Gospel to
those who are still awaiting it.
November
Universal: That we may be open to
personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ
from our own.
Evangelization: That pastors of the
Church, with profound love for their flocks, may accompany them and enliven
their hope.
December
Universal: That all may experience the mercy of God, who
never tires of forgiving.
Evangelization: That families,
especially those who suffer, may find in the birth of Jesus a sign of certain
hope.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2014 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 08/23/2014.
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November 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to
continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above
everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor.
This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He
loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my
children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.
Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which
will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children –
of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the
Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help
others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father.
My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my
Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as
my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
Today's Word: conservative can·on [kan-uh
n]
Origin: 1350-1400; < Late Latin conservātīvus, equivalent to Latin conservāt (us) (see conservation ) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English conservatif < Middle French < Latin, as above
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit.
4. (often initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.
5. (initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
6. having the power or tendency to conserve or preserve.
7. Mathematics. (of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar.
8. a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc.
9. a supporter of conservative political policies.
10. (initial capital letter) a member of a conservative political party, especially the Conservative party in Great Britain.
11. a preservative.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 119
1 How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of Yahweh!27 Show me the way of your precepts, that I may reflect on your wonders.
30 I have chosen the way of constancy, I have moulded myself to your judgements.
34 Give me understanding and I will observe your Law, and keep it wholeheartedly.
35 Guide me in the way of your commandments, for my delight is there.
44 I shall keep your Law without fail for ever and ever.
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Today's Epistle - Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13
1 Like flowing water is a king's heart in Yahweh's hand; he directs it wherever he pleases.2 All actions are straight in the doer's own eyes, but it is Yahweh who weighs hearts.
3 To do what is upright and just is more pleasing to Yahweh than sacrifice.
4 Haughty eye, proud heart, lamp of the wicked, nothing but sin.
5 The hardworking is thoughtful, and all is gain; too much haste, and all that comes of it is want.
6 To make a fortune with the help of a lying tongue: such is the idle fantasy of those who look for death.
10 The soul of the wicked is intent on evil, to such a person no neighbour can ever do right.
11 When a cynic is punished, simpletons grow wiser, but someone of understanding acquires knowledge by instruction.
12 The Upright One watches the house of the wicked; he hurls the wicked to destruction.
13 Whoever refuses to listen to the cry of the weak, will in turn plead and not be heard.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Luke 8:19-21
Father,
guide us, as you guide creation
according to your law of love.
May we love one another
and come to perfection
in the eternal life prepared for us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 8,19-21
Jesus’ mother and his brothers came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd.
He was told, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.’ But he said in answer, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today presents the episode in which the relatives of Jesus and also his Mother want to speak with him, but Jesus does not pay attention to them. Jesus had problems with his family. Sometimes the family helps one to live the Gospel and to participate in the community. Other times, the family prevents this. This is what happened to Jesus and this is what happens to us.
• Luke 8, 19-20: The family looks for Jesus. The relatives reach the house where Jesus was staying. Probably, they had come from Nazareth. From there to Capernaum the distance is about 40 kilometres. His Mother was with them. Probably, they did not enter because there were many people, but they sent somebody to tell him: “Your Mother and your brothers are outside and want to see you”. According to the Gospel of Mark, the relatives do not want to see Jesus, they want to take him back home (Mk 3, 32). They thought that Jesus had lost his head (Mk 3, 21). Probably, they were afraid, because according to what history says, the Romans watched very closely all that he did, in one way or other, with the people (cf. Ac 5, 36-39). In Nazareth, up on the mountains he would have been safer than in Capernaum.
• Luke 8, 21: The response of Jesus. The reaction of Jesus is clear: “My mother and my brothers are those who listen to the Word of God and put it into practice”. In Mark the reaction of Jesus is more concrete. Mark says: Looking around at those who were sitting there he said: “Look, my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God, he is my brother, sister and mother (Mk 3, 34-35). Jesus extends his family! He does not permit the family to draw him away from the mission: neither the family (Jn 7, 3-6), nor Peter (Mk 8, 33), nor the disciples (Mk 1, 36-38), nor Herod (Lk 13, 32), nor anybody else (Jn 10, 18).
• It is the Word of God which creates a new family around Jesus: “My mother and my brothers are those who listen to the Word of God, and put it into practice.” A good commentary on this episode is what the Gospel of John says in the Prologue: “He was in the world that had come into being through him and the world did not recognize him. He came to his own and his own people did not accept him”. But to those who did accept him he gave them power to become children of God: to those who believed in his name, who were born not from human stock or human desire, or human will, but from God himself. And the Word became flesh, he lived among us; and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1, 10-14). The family, the relatives, do not understand Jesus (Jn 7, 3-5; Mk 3, 21), they do not form part of the new family. Only those who receive the Word, that is, who believe in Jesus, form part of the new family. These are born of God and form part of God’s Family.
• The situation of the family at the time of Jesus. In the time of Jesus, the political social and economic moment or the religious ideology, everything conspired in favour of weakening the central values of the clan, of the community. The concern for the problems of the family prevented persons from being united in the community. Rather, in order that the Kingdom of God could manifest itself anew, in the community life of the people, persons had to go beyond, to pass the narrow limits of the small family and open themselves to the large family, toward the Community. Jesus gives the example. When his own family tried to take hold of him, Jesus reacted and extended the family (Mk 3, 33-35). He created the Community.
• The brothers and the sisters of Jesus. The expression “brothers and sisters of Jesus” causes much polemics among Catholics and Protestants. Basing themselves on this and on other texts, the Protestants say that Jesus had more brothers and sisters and that Mary had more sons! The Catholics say that Mary did not have other sons. What should we think about this? In the first place, both positions: that of the Catholics as well as that of the Protestants, start from the arguments drawn from the Bible and from the Traditions of their respective Churches. Because of this, it is not convenient to discuss on this question with only intellectual arguments. Because here it is a question of the convictions that they have and which have to do with faith and sentiments. The intellectual argument alone does not succeed in changing a conviction of the heart! Rather, it irritates and draws away! And even if I do not agree with the opinion of the other person, I must respect it. In the second place, instead of discussing about texts, both we Catholics and the Protestants, we should unite together to fight in defence of life, created by God, a life totally disfigured by poverty, injustice, by the lack of faith. We should recall some phrase of Jesus: “I have come so that they may have life and life in abundance” (Jn 10, 10). “So that all may be one so that the world will believe that it was you who sent me” (Jn 17, 21). “Do not prevent them! Anyone who is not against us is for us” (Mk 9, 39.40).
4) Personal questions
• Does your family help or make it difficult for you to participate in the Christian community?
• How do you assume your commitment in the Christian community without prejudice for the family or for the community?
5) Concluding Prayer
Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your will,
and I will observe it.
Give me understanding and I will observe your Law,
and keep it wholeheartedly. (Ps 119,33-34)
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Feast Day: September 23
Patron Saint: Pietrelcina, Italy
Francesco Forgione was born to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860–1946) and Maria Giuseppa de Nunzio Forgione (1859–1929) on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the southern Italian region of Campania. His parents made a living as peasant farmers He was baptized in the nearby Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle. He later served as an altar boy in this same chapel. Restoration work on this chapel was later undertaken by the Padre Pio Foundation of America based in Cromwell, Connecticut. His siblings were an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia (who was later to become a Bridgettine nun). His parents had two other children who died in infancy. When he was baptized, he was given the name Francesco, which was the name of one of these two. He stated that by the time he was five years old he had already made the decision to dedicate his entire life to God. He also began inflicting penances on himself and was chided on one occasion by his mother for using a stone as a pillow and sleeping on the stone floor. He worked on the land up to the age of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family owned. This delayed his education to some extent.
Pietrelcina was a highly religious town (feast days of saints were celebrated throughout the year), and religion had a profound influence on the Forgione family. The members of the family attended daily Mass, prayed the Rosary nightly, and abstained from meat three days a week in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Although Francesco's parents and grandparents were illiterate, they memorized the Scriptures and narrated Bible stories to their children. It is asserted by his mother that Francesco was able to see and speak with Jesus, the Virgin Mary and his guardian angel, and that as a child, he assumed that all people could do so.
As a youth Francesco reported that he had experienced heavenly visions and ecstasies. In 1897, after he had completed three years at the public school, Francesco was drawn to the life of a friar after listening to a young Capuchin friar who was, at that time, seeking donations in the countryside. When he expressed his desire to his parents, they made a trip to Morcone, a community 13 miles (21 km) north of Pietrelcina, to find out if their son was eligible to enter the Capuchin Order. The Friars there informed them that they were interested in accepting Francesco into their community, but he needed more educational qualifications.
Francesco's father went to the United States in search of work to pay for private tutoring for his son, so that he might meet the academic requirements to enter the Capuchin Order. It was in this period that Francesco received the sacrament of Confirmation on 27 September 1899. He underwent private tutoring and passed the stipulated academic requirements. On January 6, 1903, at the age of 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone where, on January 22nd, he took the Franciscan habit and the name of Fra (Friar) Pio, in honor of Pope St. Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina. He took the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Priesthood
To commence his six-year study for priesthood and to grow in community life, he traveled to the friary of St. Francis of Assisi by oxcart. Three years later on January 27, 1907, he made his solemn profession. In 1910, Brother Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Four days later, he offered his first Mass at the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels. His health being precarious, he was permitted to remain with his family until early 1916 while still retaining the Capuchin habit.On September 4, 1916, Father Pio was ordered to return to his community life. Thus he was moved to an agricultural community, Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary, located in the Gargano Mountains in San Giovanni Rotondo in Foggia. At that time, with Father Pius the community numbered seven friars. He stayed at San Giovanni Rotondo until his death, except for his military service.
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| Bodgan, 2010 |
A strong believer in Christian meditation, Padre Pio stated: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him".
Padre Pio then became a spiritual director, guiding many spiritually, considering them his spiritual daughters and sons. He had five rules for spiritual growth, namely, weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience.
He compared weekly confession to dusting a room weekly, and recommended the performance of meditation and self-examination twice daily: once in the morning, as preparation to face the day, and once again in the evening, as retrospection. His advice on the practical application of theology he often summed up in his now famous quote, "Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry". He directed Christians to recognize God in all things and to desire above all things to do the will of God.
Poor health
According to the diary of Father Agostino da San Marco, his spiritual director in San Marco in Lamis, the young Francesco Forgione was afflicted with a number of illnesses. At six he suffered from a grave gastroenteritis, which kept him bedridden for a long time. At ten he caught typhoid fever. At 17, he suddenly fell ill, complaining of loss of appetite, insomnia, exhaustion, fainting spells, and terrible migraines. He vomited frequently and could absorb only milk and cheese.The hagiographers say that it was during this time, together with his physical illness, that inexplicable phenomena began to occur. According to their stories, one could hear strange noises coming from his room at night – sometimes screams or roars. During prayer, brother Pio remained in a stupor, as if he were absent. One of Pio's fellow friars claims to have seen him in ecstasy, levitating above the ground.
In June 1905, Padre Pio's health was so weak that his superiors decided to send him to a mountain convent, in the hope that the change of air would do him some good. His health got worse, however, and doctors advised that he return to his home town. But, even there, his health continued to worsen.
In addition to his childhood illnesses, throughout his life Padre Pio suffered from "asthmatic bronchitis". He also had a large kidney stone, with frequent abdominal pains. He further suffered from a chronic gastritis, which later turned into an ulcer. He also suffered from inflammations of the eye, of the nose, of the ear and of the throat, and eventually formed rhinitis and chronic otitis.
In the summer of 1915, in spite of poor health, he was drafted into the army. But after 30 days he was sent home on leave because of bad health. He returned to military service, and was put on leave again, this time for six months at a friary in a mountain village, San Giovanni Rotondo, where the weather was relatively cool, even in the summer. After six months in this friary he returned to military service, but was sent home again two months later. On his return he was declared fit for service, and sent to the Sales barracks in Naples, where he remained until March 1917, at which time he was found to have pulmonary tuberculosis, certified by a radiological exam. He was then discharged from the army.
In 1925, Padre Pio was operated on for an inguinal hernia, and shortly after this a large cyst formed on his neck and which had to be surgically removed. Another surgery was required to remove a malignant tumor on his ear. After this operation Padre Pio was subjected to radiological treatment, which was successful, it seems, after only two treatments.
In 1956, he came down with a serious case of "exudative pleuritis". The diagnosis was certified by Professor Cataldo Cassano, who personally extracted the serous liquid from the body of Padre Pio. He remained bedridden for four consecutive months. In his old age Padre Pio was tormented by arthritis.
Spiritual suffering
Padre Pio stated that he believed the love of God is inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God is the way for the soul to reach God. He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. His followers also believe that the Devil used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. Padre Augustine confirmed this when he said:The Devil appeared as young girls that danced naked without any clothes on, as Christ Crucified, as a young friend of the friars, as the Spiritual Father or as the Provincial Father; as Pope Pius X, a Guardian Angel, as St. Francis and as Our Lady.
Now, twenty-two days have passed since Jesus allowed the devils to vent their anger on me. My Father, my whole body is bruised from the beatings that I have received to the present time by our enemies. Several times, they have even torn off my shirt so that they could strike my exposed flesh.Fr. Gabriele Amorth, senior exorcist of Vatican City stated in an interview that Padre Pio was able to distinguish between real apparitions of Jesus, Mary and the Saints and the illusions created by the Devil by carefully analysing the state of his mind and the feelings produced in him during the apparitions. In one of Padre Pio's letters, he states that he remained patient in the midst of his trials because of his firm belief that Jesus, Mary, his Guardian Angel, St. Joseph and St. Francis were always with him and helped him always.
Transverberation and visible stigmata
Based on Padre Pio's correspondence, even early in his priesthood he experienced less obvious indications of the visible stigmata for which he would later become famous. In a 1911 letter, Padre Pio wrote to his spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis, describing something he had been experiencing for a year:Then last night something happened which I can neither explain nor understand. In the middle of the palms of my hands a red mark appeared, about the size of a penny, accompanied by acute pain in the middle of the red marks. The pain was more pronounced in the middle of the left hand, so much so that I can still feel it. Also under my feet I can feel some pain.His close friend Padre Agostino wrote to him in 1915, asking specific questions such as when he first experienced visions, whether he had been granted the stigmata, and whether he felt the pains of the Passion of Christ, namely the crowning of thorns and the scourging. Padre Pio replied that he had been favoured with visions since his novitiate period (1903 to 1904). He wrote that although he had been granted the stigmata, he had been so terrified by the phenomenon he begged the Lord to withdraw them. He did not wish the pain to be removed, only the visible wounds, since at the time he considered them to be an indescribable and almost unbearable humiliation. The visible wounds disappeared at that point, but reappeared in September 1918. He reported, however, that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and under certain circumstances. He also said that he was indeed experiencing the pain of the crown of thorns and the scourging. He was not able to clearly indicate the frequency of this experience, but said that he had been suffering from them at least once weekly for some years.
These experiences are alleged to have caused his health to fail, for which reason he was permitted to stay at home. To maintain his religious life as a friar while away from the community, he said Mass daily and taught at school.
St. John of the Cross describes the phenomenon of transverberation as follows:
The soul being inflamed with the love of God which is interiorly attacked by a Seraph, who pierces it through with a fiery dart. This leaves the soul wounded, which causes it to suffer from the overflowing of divine love.World War I was still going on, and in July 1918, Pope Benedict XV, who had termed the World War "the suicide of Europe," appealed to all Christians urging them to pray for an end to the World War. On 27 July of the same year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of the war. Days passed and between 5 August and 7 August, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and pierced his side.[2][9] As a result of this experience, Padre Pio had a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is considered as a "transverberation" or piercing of the heart indicating the union of love with God.
As a side-note, a first-class relic of Padre Pio, which consists of a large framed square of linen bearing a bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart" in Padre Pio's side, is exposed for public veneration at the St. John Cantius Church in Chicago.
With his transverberation began another seven-week long period of spiritual unrest for Padre Pio. One of his Capuchin brothers said this of his state during that period:
During this time his entire appearance looked altered as if he had died. He was constantly weeping and sighing, saying that God had forsaken him.In a letter from Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, dated 21 August 1918, Padre Pio writes of his experiences during the transverberation:
While I was hearing the boys’ confessions on the evening of the 5th [August] I was suddenly terrorized by the sight of a celestial person who presented himself to my mind’s eye. He had in his hand a sort of weapon like a very long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed to emit fire. At the very instant that I saw all this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. I cried out with difficulty and felt I was dying. I asked the boy to leave because I felt ill and no longer had the strength to continue. This agony lasted uninterruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I cannot tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn and ruptured by the weapon, and nothing was spared. From that day on I have been mortally wounded. I feel in the depths of my soul a wound that is always open and which causes me continual agony.On 20 September 1918, accounts state that the pains of the transverberation had ceased and Padre Pio was in "profound peace." On that day, as Padre Pio was engaged in prayer in the choir loft in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, the same Being who had appeared to him and given him the transverberation, and who is believed to be the Wounded Christ, appeared again and Padre Pio had another experience of religious ecstasy. When the ecstasy ended, Padre Pio had received the Visible Stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. This time, however, the stigmata were permanent and would stay on him for the next fifty years of his life.
In a letter from St. Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, his superior and spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis dated October 22, 1918, Padre Pio describes his experience of receiving the Stigmata as follows:
On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of 5 August. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday. Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will he at least free me from the embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation.He quoted, "the pain was so intense that I began to feel as if I were dying on the cross."
Though Padre Pio would have preferred to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news about the stigmatic friar began to spread in the secular world. Padre Pio’s wounds were examined by many people, including physicians.[2] People who had started rebuilding their lives after World War, began to see in Padre Pio a symbol of hope.[9] Those close to him attest that he began to manifest several spiritual gifts including the gifts of healing, bilocation, levitation, prophecy, miracles, extraordinary abstinence from both sleep and nourishment (one account states that Padre Agostino recorded one instance in which Padre Pio was able to subsist for at least 20 days at Verafeno on only the Eucharist without any other nourishment), the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues, the gift of conversions, and the fragrance from his wounds.
Controversies
It is claimed that no more than Anecdotal evidence supports Pio’s alleged mystical abilities, some of his bilocations are consistent with hallucinations and the supposed odor of sanctity was purported to be Eau de Cologne. He was never watched continuously to ensure that chemicals like carbolic acid or iodine were not used to prevent wounds healing, as has been claimed. Pio over many years wore fingerless gloves which concealed his wounds or prevented him having to tend the wounds, yet near his death Pio avoided covering his hands and there was no sign of injury.The founder of Milan's Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, friar, physician and psychologist Agostino Gemelli, who met Padre Pio once, for a few minutes, but was unable to examine his stigmata, concluded Padre Pio was "an ignorant and self-mutilating psychopath who exploited people's credulity." In short, he was accused of infractions against all three of his monastic vows: poverty, chastity and obedience. Agostino Gemelli also speculated that Padre Pio kept his wounds open with carbolic acid. As a result of the Gemelli assessment, the wounds were wrapped in cloth. According to believers, the bleeding continued for some 50 years until they closed within hours of his death.
On 29 July 1960, an Italian monsignore, Carlo Maccari, later to become the archbishop of Ancona, began yet another investigation on behalf of Pope John XXIII and the Holy Office. The 200-page report he compiled, though never published in full, is said to be devastatingly critical. Vatican gossip long had it that the “Maccari dossier” was an insuperable obstacle to Padre Pio’s sainthood. According to official Capuchin literature, however, Maccari later recanted and prayed to Padre Pio on his deathbed.
In 1940, Padre Pio began plans to open a hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, to be named the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza or "Home to Relieve Suffering"; the hospital opened in 1956. Barbara Ward, a British humanitarian and journalist on assignment in Italy, played a major role in obtaining for this project a grant of $325,000 from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). In order that Padre Pio might directly supervise this project, Pope Pius XII, in 1957 granted him dispensation from his vow of poverty. Padre Pio's detractors used this project as another weapon to attack him, charging him with misappropriation of funds.
Padre Pio was subject to numerous investigations. Fearing local riots, a plan to transfer Padre Pio to another friary was dropped and a second plan was aborted when a riot almost happened. In the period from 1924 to 1931 the Holy See made various statements denying that the happenings in the life of Padre Pio were due to any divine cause. At one point, he was prevented from publicly performing his priestly duties, such as hearing confessions and saying Mass.
By 1933, the tide began to turn, with Pope Pius XI ordering the Holy See to reverse its ban on Padre Pio’s public celebration of Mass. The Pope said, "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been badly informed." In 1934, he was again allowed to hear confessions. He was also given honorary permission to preach despite never having taken the exam for the preaching licence. Pope Pius XII, who assumed the papacy in 1939, encouraged devotees to visit Padre Pio. According to a recent book, Pope John XXIII (1958–1963) apparently did not espouse the outlook of his predecessors, and wrote in 1960 of Padre Pio’s “immense deception." However, it was John XXIII's successor, Pope Paul VI, who, in the mid-1960s, firmly dismissed all accusations against Padre Pio.
Alleged supernatural phenomena
Padre Pio celebrating mass. His Mass would often last hours, as the
mystic received visions and experienced sufferings. Note the coverings
worn on his hands to cover his stigmata.
In 1947, Father Karol Józef Wojtyła, a young Polish priest who would later go on to become Pope John Paul II, visited Padre Pio, who heard his confession. Austrian Cardinal Alfons Stickler reported that Wojtyła confided to him that during this meeting Padre Pio told him he would one day ascend to "the highest post in the Church though further confirmation is needed." Cardinal Stickler further went on to say that Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a Cardinal, not Pope, as has been reported in works of piety. (John Paul's secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, denies the prediction, while George Weigel's biography Witness to Hope, which contains an account of the same visit, does not mention it)
According to oral tradition Bishop Wojtyła wrote to Padre Pio in 1962 to ask him to pray for Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a friend in Poland who was thought to be suffering from cancer. Later, what was thought to be Dr. Poltawska's cancer was found to be in Spontaneous remission; medical professionals were unable to offer an explanation for the phenomenon (see frequency of spontaneous remission).
Because of the unusual abilities Padre Pio possessed, the Holy See twice instituted investigations of the stories surrounding him. However, the Church has since formally approved his veneration with his canonization by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
In the 1999 book, Padre Pio: The Wonder Worker, a segment by Irish priest Malachy Gerard Carroll describes the story of Gemma de Giorgi, a Sicilian girl whose alleged blindness some believe was corrected during a visit to the Capuchin priest. Gemma, who was brought to San Giovanni Rotondo in 1947 by her grandmother, was born without pupils. During her trip to see Padre Pio, the little girl reportedly began to see objects including a steamboat and the sea. Gemma's grandmother did not believe the child had been healed.[ After Gemma forgot to ask Padre Pio for Grace during her Confession, her grandmother reportedly implored the priest to ask God to restore her sight. Padre Pio, according to Carroll, told her, "The child must not weep and neither must you for the child sees and you know she sees." The section goes on to say that oculists were unable to determine how she gained vision.
Padre Pio is alleged to have waged physical combat with Satan and his minions, similar to incidents described concerning St. John Vianney, from which he is said to have sustained extensive bruising. He is said to communicate with angels and grant favors and healings before any written or verbal request.
On the day of his death, mystic and Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini from Caracas, Venezuela reported that Padre Pio appeared to her in a vision and stated "I have come to say good-bye. My time has come. It is your turn." It is reported that her husband then watched as his wife's face transfigured into that of Padre Pio. On the following day, they heard of the death of Padre Pio. Witnesses claim to have seen Esperanza herself levitating during Mass and engaging in bilocation Padre Domenico da Cese a fellow Capuchin stigmatist reported that on Sunday, September 22, 1968 he saw Padre Pio kneeling in prayer before the Holy Face of Manoppello, although it was known that Padre Pio hadn't left his room.
Stigmata
Padre Pio showing the stigmata
His stigmata, regarded by some as evidence of holiness, was studied by physicians whose independence from the Church is not known. The observations were reportedly unexplainable and the wounds never became infected. His wounds healed once but reappeared. They were examined by Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital of Barletta, for about one year. Dr. Giorgio Festa, a private practitioner also examined them in 1920 and 1925. Professor Giuseppe Bastianelli, physician to Pope Benedict XV agreed that the wounds existed but made no other comment. Pathologist Dr. Amico Bignami of the University of Rome also observed the wounds but could make no diagnosis. Both Bignami and Dr. Giuseppe Sala commented on the unusually smooth edges of the wounds and lack of edema. Dr. Alberto Caserta took X-rays of the hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.
It was reputed, however, that his condition caused him great embarrassment, and most photographs show him with red mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet where the bleedings occurred. At Padre Pio's death in 1968, his body appeared unwounded, with no sign of scarring. Allegedly, there was a report that doctors who examined his body found it empty of all blood.
Those who have accused Padre Pio of faking his stigmata, both religious and non-religious, such as historian Sergio Luzzatto and others, claim that Padre Pio used carbolic acid to self-inflict the wounds. The sole piece of evidence for this is a single document found in the Vatican's archive — the testimony of a pharmacist at the San Giovanni Rotondo, Maria De Vito, from whom he ordered 4 grams of the acid. This letter was amongst the material gathered by those who disputed Padre Pio's stigmata at the time. According to De Vito, Padre Pio asked her to keep the order secret, saying it was to sterilise needles (he also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles). The document was examined but dismissed by the Catholic Church during Padre Pio's beatification process.
One commentator expressed the belief that the Church likely dismissed the claims based on witnesses that stated the acid was in fact used for sterilization: "The boys had needed injections to fight the Spanish Flu which was raging at that time. Due to a shortage of doctors, Padres Paolino and Pio administered the shots, using carbolic acid as a sterilizing agent.”
Death
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| St. Pio of Pietrelcina Chapel, San Giovanni Rontondo, Italy |
Early in the morning of 23 September 1968, Padre Pio made his last confession and renewed his Franciscan vows. As was customary, he had his rosary in his hands, though he did not have the strength to say the Hail Marys aloud. Till the end, he repeated the words "Gesù, Maria" (Jesus, Mary). At around 2:30am, he said, "I see two mothers" (taken to mean his mother and Mary). At 2:30 a.m. he breathed his last in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo with his last breath whispering, "Maria!"
His body was buried on 26 September in a crypt in the Church of Our Lady of Grace. His Requiem Mass was attended by over 100,000 people. He was often heard to say, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death." The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the end state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without even leaving a scar. Only a red mark "as if drawn by a red pencil" remained on his side which then disappeared.
St. Pio of Pietrelcina is currently known as the patron saint of civil defense volunteers, after a group of 160 of them petitioned the Italian Bishops’ conference. The Bishops forwarded the request to the Vatican, which gave its approval to the designation. He is also “less officially” known as the patron saint of stress relief and the “January blues,” after the Catholic Enquiry Office in London proclaimed him as such. They designated the most depressing day of the year, identified as January 22, as Don’t Worry Be Happy day, in honor of Padre Pio’s famous advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”
Sainthood and later recognition
In 1982, the Holy See authorized the Archbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to discover whether Padre Pio should be considered a saint. The investigation went on for seven years, and in 1990 Padre Pio was declared a Servant of God, the first step in the progression to canonization.Beginning in 1990, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints debated how heroically Padre Pio had lived his life, and in 1997 Pope John Paul II declared him venerable. A discussion of the effects of his life on others followed, including the cure of an Italian woman, Consiglia de Martino, which had been associated with Padre Pio's intercession. In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation, John Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed.
After further consideration of Padre Pio's virtues and ability to do good even after his death, including discussion of another healing attributed to his intercession, the Pope declared Padre Pio a saint on 16 June 2002. Three hundred thousand people were estimated to have attended the canonization ceremony.
Padre Pio is one of only two saints who were priests living after the Second Vatican Council; the other being Saint Josemaria Escriva. Both priests had permission from the Pope to offer the traditional Latin Mass without any of the liturgical reforms that stemmed from the Council.
On 1 July 2004, Pope John Paul II dedicated the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church in San Giovanni Rotondo to the memory of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. A statue of Saint Pio in Messina, Sicily attracted attention in 2002 when it reportedly wept tears of blood. Padre Pio has become one of the world's most popular saints. There are more than 3,000 "Padre Pio Prayer Groups" worldwide, with three million members. There are parishes dedicated to Padre Pio in Vineland and Lavallette, New Jersey and Sydney, Australia, and there is a St. Padre Pio Shrine in Buena, New Jersey. A 2006 survey by the magazine Famiglia Cristiana found that more Italian Catholics pray to Padre Pio than to any other figure. This prayer, more properly understood as a request, is not to be confused with worship which the Catholic Church teaches is due only to God himself.
A statue of Padre Pio will be built on a hill near the town of San Giovanni Rotondo in the southern province of Puglia, Italy, close to the town where he is commemorated. The project will cost several million pounds, with the money to be raised from his devotees around the world. The statue will be coated in a special photovoltaic paint which will enable it to trap the sun's heat and produce solar energy, making it an "ecological" religious icon.
On 3 March 2008, the body of Saint Pio was exhumed from his crypt, 40 years after his death, so that his remains could be prepared for display. A church statement described the body as being in "fair condition". Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, Papal legate to the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, stated "the top part of the skull is partly skeletal but the chin is perfect and the rest of the body is well preserved". Archbishop D’Ambrosio also confirmed in a communiqué that “the stigmata are not visible.” He went on to say that St. Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a manicure". It was hoped that morticians would be able to restore the face so that it will be recognizable. However, because of its deterioration, his face was covered with a lifelike silicone mask.
Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, celebrated Mass for 15,000 devotees on 24 April at the Shrine of Holy Mary of Grace, San Giovanni Rotondo, before the body went on display in a crystal, marble, and silver sepulcher in the crypt of the monastery. Padre Pio is wearing his brown Capuchin habit with a white silk stole embroidered with crystals and gold thread. His hands hold a large wooden cross. 800,000 pilgrims worldwide, mostly from Italy, made reservations to view the body up to December 2008, but only 7,200 people a day were able to file past the crystal coffin. Officials extended the display through September, 2009.
Saint Pio's remains were placed in the church of Saint Pio, which is beside San Giovanni Rotondo. In April 2010 they were moved to a special golden "Cripta".
References
- Ruffin, Bernard C. (1991). Padre Pio: The True Story. Our Sunday Visitor. pp. 444. ISBN 978-0-87973-673-6
- Gerhold, Ryan (2007-02-20). "The Second St. Francis". The Angelus: 12–18."Padre Pio the Man Part 1". http://www.ewtn.com/padrepio/man/biography.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-19
- Peluso, Paul (2002-06-17). "Back to Pietrelcina". Padre Pio Foundation. http://www.padrepio.com/app19.html. Retrieved 2012-09-20
- olan, Geraldine. Padre Pio A living Crucifix. Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary Editions. http://www.padrepio.org.uk/padrepiointro.html#EarlyYears. Retrieved 2012-09-19
- Pelletier, Joseph A (2007-02-20). "PADRE PIO, MARY, AND THE ROSARY". Garabandal. http://www.garabandal.us/padre_maryrosary.html. Retrieved 2012-09-19
- Michael Freze (1989). They Bore the Wounds of Christ: The Mystery of the Sacred Stigmata. OSV Publishing. pp. 283–285. ISBN 0-87973-422-1.
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Today's Snippet I: Stigmata
The term originates from the line at the end of Saint Paul's Letter to the Galatians where he says, "I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." Stigmata is the plural of the Greek word στίγμα stigma, meaning a mark or brand such as might have been used for identification of an animal or slave. An individual bearing stigmata is referred to as a stigmatic or a stigmatist.
Stigmata are primarily associated with the Roman Catholic faith. Many reported stigmatics are members of Catholic religious orders. St. Francis of Assisi was the first recorded stigmatic in Christian history. For over fifty years Padre Pio of Pietrelcina of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin reported stigmata which were studied by several 20th century physicians, whose independence from the Church is not known. The observations were reportedly unexplainable and the wounds never became infected.
A high percentage (perhaps over 80%) of all stigmatics are women. In his Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age, Edward Harrison suggests that there is no single mechanism whereby the marks of stigmata were produced.
Stigmata Description
Reported cases of stigmata take various forms. Many show some or all of five Holy Wounds that were, according to the Bible,
inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion: wounds in the wrists and
feet, from nails, and in the side, from a lance. Some stigmatics display
wounds to the forehead similar to those caused by the Crown of Thorns.
Stigmata as crown of thorns appearing in the 20th century, e.g. on
Marie Rose Ferron have been repeatedly photographed. Other reported
forms include tears of blood or sweating blood, and wounds to the back
as from scourging.
Many
stigmata show recurring bleeding that stops and then starts, at times
after receiving Holy Communion and a large percentage of stigmatics have
shown a high desire to frequently receive Holy Communion. A relatively high percentage of stigmatics also exhibit Inedia,
living with minimal (or no) food or water for long periods of time,
except for the Holy Eucharist, and some exhibit loss of weight.
The ecstasy and sufferings usually began for the Saints who suffered
stigmata starting on Thursday and ending on Friday afternoon around 3 or
4 o' clock. All the recipients of this mystical wounding suffered
dreadfully. Many of the stigmatics experienced cruel rejection and
suspicion before their wounds were authenticated. Saints who suffered
stigmata were carefully watched day and night so that tampering with the
wounds could not be performed. When these methods were used, a number
of false stigmatics were exposed. Sometimes this stigmata became
invisible on express request and prayers by the Saints who suffered
them.
Some stigmatics claim to feel the pain of wounds with no external
marks; these are referred to as invisible stigmata. In other claims,
stigmata are accompanied by extreme pain. Some stigmatics' wounds do not
appear to clot, and stay fresh and uninfected. The blood from the
wounds is said, in some cases, to have a pleasant, perfumed odor, known
as the Odour of Sanctity.
Odour of sanctity
The odour of sanctity or odor of sanctity,
according to the Catholic Church, is commonly understood to mean a
specific scent (often compared to flowers) that emanates from the bodies
of saints, especially from the wounds of stigmata.
The odour of sanctity can be understood to mean two things:
- An ontological state (a state of being), not usually related to an actual olfactory sensation, indicating that the individual possessing it is in a state of grace (i.e., a state characterized by the absence of mortal sin). Usually refers to the state of an individual's soul at the time of death. Some canonized saints are said to have died in an odour of sanctity.
- An actual odour (scent or aroma) present at the time of death and for some time thereafter.
The term "odour of sanctity"
appears to have emerged in the Middle Ages, at a time when many saints
were raised to that status by acclamation of the faithful. In the
absence of carefully written records, either by or about the individual,
evidence of a saintly life
was attested to only by personal recollections of those around him or
her. It appears that the odour of sanctity occurring at the person’s
death carried some weight in convincing the local ecclesiastical
authority to "canonize" the saint – to allow the faithful to venerate
and pray to him or her.
Religious ecstasy
Individuals who have obtained the stigmata are many times described as
ecstatics. At the time of receiving the stigmata they are overwhelmed
with emotions. No case of stigmata is known to have occurred before the
thirteenth century, when the depiction of the crucified Jesus in Western
Christendom emphasized his humanity.
Religious ecstasy is an altered state of consciousness
characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded
interior mental and spiritual awareness which is frequently accompanied
by visions and emotional/intuitive (and sometimes physical) euphoria. Although the experience is usually brief in time,
there are records of such experiences lasting several days or even
more, and of recurring experiences of ecstasy during one's lifetime.
Subjective perception of time, space and/or self may strongly change or
disappear during ecstasy.
In his paper Hospitality and Pain, Christian theologian Ivan Illich
states: "Compassion with Christ... is faith so strong and so deeply
incarnate that it leads to the individual embodiment of the contemplated
pain." His thesis is that stigmata result from exceptional poignancy of
religious faith and desire to associate oneself with the suffering Messiah.
Specific cases
St. Francis of Assisi
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| St Francis Assisi with Stigmata, Murillo C1680 |
St. Francis' first biographer, Thomas of Celano, reports the event as follows in his 1230 First Life of St. Francis:
"When the blessed servant of God saw these things he was filled with wonder, but he did not know what the vision meant. He rejoiced greatly in the benign and gracious expression with which he saw himself regarded by the seraph, whose beauty was indescribable; yet he was alarmed by the fact that the seraph was affixed to the cross and was suffering terribly. Thus Francis rose, one might say, sad and happy, joy and grief alternating in him. He wondered anxiously what this vision could mean, and his soul was uneasy as it searched for understanding. And as his understanding sought in vain for an explanation and his heart was filled with perplexity at the great novelty of this vision, the marks of nails began to appear in his hands and feet, just as he had seen them slightly earlier in the crucified man above him. His wrists and feet seemed to be pierced by nails, with the heads of the nails appearing on his wrists and on the upper sides of his feet, the points appearing on the other side. The marks were round on the palm of each hand but elongated on the other side, and small pieces of flesh jutting out from the rest took on the appearance of the nail-ends, bent and driven back. In the same way the marks of nails were impressed on his feet and projected beyond the rest of the flesh. Moreover, his right side had a large wound as if it had been pierced with a spear, and it often bled so that his tunic and trousers were soaked with his sacred blood."
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
A young Padre Pio showing the stigmata.
For
over fifty years, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina reported stigmata which were
studied by several 20th century physicians, whose independence from the
Church is not known. The observations were reportedly unexplainable and
the wounds never became infected. His wounds healed once, but
reappeared. The wounds
were examined by Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital
of Barletta, for about one year. Dr. Giorgio Festa, a private
practitioner, also examined them in 1920 and 1925. Professor Giuseppe
Bastianelli, physician to Pope Benedict XV, agreed that the wounds
existed but made no other comment. Pathologist Dr. Amico Bignami of the
University of Rome also observed the wounds, but could make no
diagnosis. Both Bignami
and Dr. Giuseppe Sala commented on the unusually smooth edges of the
wounds and lack of edema. Dr. Alberto Caserta took X-rays of the hands
in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.
Notable stigmatics
- Saint Paul the Apostle
- Blessed Lucia Brocadelli of Narni
- Saint Catherine of Ricci
- Saint Catherine of Siena
- Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
- Saint Francesco di Assisi
- Saint Gemma Galgani
- Saint Veronica Giuliani
- Saint John of God
- Saint Faustina Kowalska
- Saint Marie of the Incarnation
- Marie Rose Ferron
- Marcelline Pauper, member of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers
- Marthe Robin
- Therese Neumann
- Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
- Saint Rita of Cascia
- Zlatko Sudac
- Natuzza Evolo
References
- Saint Francis of Assisi by Jacques Le Goff 2003 ISBN 0-415-28473-2
- Harrison, Ted (1994-10). Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age. St Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-11372-2.
- Poulain, A. (1912). Mystical Stigmata. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14294b.htm
- Thurston, Herbert (2007-02-01). The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism. Roman Catholic Books. ISBN 1-929291-91-4, 9781929291915..
- Michael Freze, 1989, They Bore the Wounds of Christ: The Mystery of the Sacred Stigmata, OSV Publishing ISBN 0-87973-422-1
- Living Miracles - Stigmata, Zentropa Real ApS. & Wonders Unlimited, 2005.
- Sadaputa Dasa, Religion and Modern Rationalism: Shifting the Boundary Between Myth and Science, ISKCON Communications Journal #1.2, July/December 1993.
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Today's Snippet II : The Five Holy Wounds
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| Crucifixon 13th Century, Monastery |
Two
of the wounds were through either his hands or his wrists, where nails
were inserted to fix Jesus
to the cross-beam of the cross on which he was crucified. According to
M.D., Ph.D Frederick T. Zugibe, the most plausible region for the nail
entry site in the case of Jesus is the upper part of the palm angled
toward the wrist since this area can easily support the weight of the
body, assures no bones are broken, marks the location where most people
believed it to be, accounts for where most of the stigmatists have
displayed their wounds and it is where artists through the centuries
have designated it and lastly it would result in apparent lengthening of
the fingers of the hand because of nail compression. Two were through the feet where the nail(s) passed through both to the vertical beam.
The final wound was in the side of Jesus' chest, where, according to the New Testament, his body was pierced by the Holy Lance in order to be sure that he was dead. The Gospel of John states that blood and water poured out of this wound (John 19:34).
The Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers that focus on the Holy Wounds. An example is the Rosary of the Holy Wounds (also called the Chaplet of Holy Wounds),
a rosary devotion directed to Jesus, rather than the Virgin Mary. Like
some other rosary based prayers (such as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy) it
uses the usual rosary beads, but does not include the usual Mysteries
of the Rosary. The Rosary of the Holy Wounds was first introduced
at the beginning of the 20th century by the Venerable Sister Mary
Martha Chambon, a lay Roman Catholic Sister of the Monastery of the Visitation Order in Chambéry, France as a focus on the Holy Wounds of Jesus.
Marie Martha Chambon (1841 – March 21, 1907) was a lay Roman Catholic nun known for introducing the Rosary of the Holy Wounds. She was a member of the Monastery of the Visitation Order who lived in Chambéry, France. She is in the process of canonization by the Roman Catholic Church. She died on March 21, 1907, and the cause for her beatification was introduced in 1937. She began to report visions of Jesus in 1866, telling her to contemplate the Holy Wounds, although it is said that she had received her first vision when only five years old. These were visions of Jesus Christ appearing to her and teaching her specific prayers and meditations on His wounds. She reported that she was told to pray to and invoke the Holy Wounds unceasingly. Her mother superior kept a chronicle of her life which was published in 1923 and sold widely. The next year the Vatican granted an indulgence to those who said the following prayer, based on her reported visions: "Eternal Father I offer the wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to heal those of our souls."
She reported that Jesus asked her to unite her sufferings with His in the Rosary of the Holy Wounds as an Act of Reparation for the sins of the world. She reported that Jesus told her that "[w]hen you offer My Holy Wounds for sinners, you must not forget to do so for the souls in Purgatory, as there are but few who think of their relief... The Holy Wounds are the treasure of treasures for the souls in Purgatory."
According to Ann Ball, Chambon was told to revive the Holy Wounds devotion. Part of this devotion can be a Chaplet of Mercy of the Holy Wounds of Jesus, which was based on Chambon's private revelations. This chaplet was approved for the Institute of Visitation in 1912, and was extended to all the faithful at large by the Sacred Penitentiary in 1924. According to Liz Kelly, the Rosary of the Holy Wounds was revealed to Chambon and is prayed on a standard five decade rosary.
The final wound was in the side of Jesus' chest, where, according to the New Testament, his body was pierced by the Holy Lance in order to be sure that he was dead. The Gospel of John states that blood and water poured out of this wound (John 19:34).
Holy Wounds Devotion
Venerable Marie Martha Chambon.
Marie Martha Chambon (1841 – March 21, 1907) was a lay Roman Catholic nun known for introducing the Rosary of the Holy Wounds. She was a member of the Monastery of the Visitation Order who lived in Chambéry, France. She is in the process of canonization by the Roman Catholic Church. She died on March 21, 1907, and the cause for her beatification was introduced in 1937. She began to report visions of Jesus in 1866, telling her to contemplate the Holy Wounds, although it is said that she had received her first vision when only five years old. These were visions of Jesus Christ appearing to her and teaching her specific prayers and meditations on His wounds. She reported that she was told to pray to and invoke the Holy Wounds unceasingly. Her mother superior kept a chronicle of her life which was published in 1923 and sold widely. The next year the Vatican granted an indulgence to those who said the following prayer, based on her reported visions: "Eternal Father I offer the wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to heal those of our souls."
She reported that Jesus asked her to unite her sufferings with His in the Rosary of the Holy Wounds as an Act of Reparation for the sins of the world. She reported that Jesus told her that "[w]hen you offer My Holy Wounds for sinners, you must not forget to do so for the souls in Purgatory, as there are but few who think of their relief... The Holy Wounds are the treasure of treasures for the souls in Purgatory."
According to Ann Ball, Chambon was told to revive the Holy Wounds devotion. Part of this devotion can be a Chaplet of Mercy of the Holy Wounds of Jesus, which was based on Chambon's private revelations. This chaplet was approved for the Institute of Visitation in 1912, and was extended to all the faithful at large by the Sacred Penitentiary in 1924. According to Liz Kelly, the Rosary of the Holy Wounds was revealed to Chambon and is prayed on a standard five decade rosary.
Chaplet of the Five Holy Wounds
The Chaplet of the Holy Wounds is recited on a standard rosary.On the Crucifix recite:
Oh JESUS, Divine Redeemer, be merciful to us and to the whole world. Amen.
Strong God, Holy God, Immortal God, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen
Grace and Mercy, O my Jesus, during present dangers; cover us with Your Precious Blood. Amen.
ETERNAL Father, grant us mercy through the Blood of Jesus Christ, Your only Son; grant us mercy we beseech You. Amen, Amen, Amen
The first three beads of
the Rosary recite:
Bead 1: Strong God, holy God, immortal God, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Amen.
Bead 2: Grace and mercy, O my Jesus, during present dangers; cover us with Your Precious Blood. Amen. Bead 3: Eternal Father, grant us mercy through the Blood of Jesus Christ, Your only Son; grant us mercy, we beseech You. Amen.
Bead 2: Grace and mercy, O my Jesus, during present dangers; cover us with Your Precious Blood. Amen. Bead 3: Eternal Father, grant us mercy through the Blood of Jesus Christ, Your only Son; grant us mercy, we beseech You. Amen.
On the each decade:
Recite Mystery and Hail Mary followed by "My Jesus, pardon and mercy, through the merits of Your Holy Wounds" and a Glory Be.
On the large beads between each decade:
Recite an Our Father followed by "Eternal Father, I offer You the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ. To heal the wounds of our souls."
Conclude:
Recite three additional Hail Mary's are said in honor of Our Lady of Sorrow's Tears. Amen.
THE 17 PROMISES OF OUR LORD OF CHAPLET DEVOTION:
1. At each word that you pronounce of the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds, I allow a drop of My Blood to fall upon the soul of a sinner.
2. Each time that you offer to My Father the merits of My Divine Wounds, you win an immense fortune.
3. Souls that will have contemplated and honored My crown of thorns on earth, will be My crown of glory in Heaven!
4. I will grant all that is asked of Me through the invocation of My Holy Wounds. You will obtain everything, because it is through the merit of My Blood, which is of infinite price. With My Wounds and My Divine Heart, everything can be obtained.
5. From My Wounds proceed fruits of sanctity. As gold purified in the crucible becomes more beautiful, so you must put your soul and those of your companions into My sacred Wounds; there they will become perfected as gold in the furnace. You can always purify yourself in My Wounds.
6. My Wounds will repair yours. My Wounds will cover all your faults. Those who honor them will have a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. In meditation on them, you will always find a new love. My Wounds will cover all your sins.
7. Plunge your actions into My Wounds and they will be of value. All your actions, even the least, soaked in My Blood, will acquire by this alone an infinite merit and will please My Heart.
8. In offering My Wounds for the conversion of sinners, even though the sinners are not converted, you will have the same merit before God as if they were.
9. When you have some trouble, something to suffer, quickly place it in My Wounds, and the pain will be alleviated.
10. This aspiration must often be repeated near the sick: "My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of Thy Holy Wounds!" This prayer will solace soul and body.
11. A sinner who will say the following prayer will obtain conversion: "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls."
12. There will be no death for the soul that expires in My Holy Wounds; they give true life.
13. This chaplet is a counterpoise to My justice; it restrains My vengeance.
14. Those who pray with humility and who meditate on My Passion, will one day participate in the glory of My Divine Wounds.
15. The more you will have contemplated My painful Wounds on this earth, the higher will be your contemplation of them glorious in Heaven.
16. The soul who during life has honored the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ and has offered them to the Eternal Father for the Souls in Purgatory, will be accompanied at the moment of death by the Holy Virgin and the Angels; and Our Lord on the Cross, all brilliant in glory, will receive her and crown her.
17. The invocations of the Holy Wounds will obtain an incessant victory for the Church.
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Catholic Catechism
Part Three: Life in Christ
Section Two: The Ten Commandments
Chapter Two: Eighth Commandment
Article 8:5 The Use of the Social Communications Media
CHAPTER TWO
YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS
YOURSELF
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Love one another as I have loved you."1 Jn 13:34
2196
In response to the question about the first of the commandments, Jesus says:
"The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind, and with all your strength.' the second is this, 'You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than
these."2 Mk 12:29-31; cf.
⇒ Deut 6:4-5; ⇒ Lev
19:18; ⇒ Mt 22:34-40;
⇒ Lk 10:25-28
The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."3 Rom 13:8-10
The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."3 Rom 13:8-10
Article 8
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor.
It was said to the men of old,
"You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have
sworn."
2464
The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with
others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to
bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses
against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral
uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they
undermine the foundations of the covenant.
V. The Use of the Social
Communications Media
2493
Within modern society the communications media play a major role in
information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a
result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news
transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion.
2494
The information provided by the media is at the service of the common
good.284 Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom,
justice, and solidarity:
The proper exercise of this
right demands that the content of the communication be true and - within the
limits set by justice and charity - complete. Further, it should be
communicated honestly and properly. This means that in the gathering and in the
publication of news, the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man
should be upheld.285
2495
"It
is necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice and
charity in this domain. They should help, through the means of social
communication, in the formation and diffusion of sound public
opinion."286 Solidarity is a consequence of genuine and right
communication and the free circulation of ideas that further knowledge and
respect for others.
2496
The
means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to a
certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what
is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their
approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct
consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences.
2497
By the
very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the
truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should
strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of
critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation.
2498
"Civil
authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because of the
common good.... It is for the civil authority ... to defend and safeguard a
true and just freedom of information."287 By promulgating laws and
overseeing their application, public authorities should ensure that "public
morality and social progress are not gravely endangered" through misuse of
the media.288 Civil authorities should punish any violation of the
rights of individuals to their reputation and privacy. They should give timely
and reliable reports concerning the general good or respond to the well-founded
concerns of the people. Nothing can justify recourse to disinformation for
manipulating public opinion through the media. Interventions by public
authority should avoid injuring the freedom of individuals or groups.
2499
Moral
judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which systematically
falsify the truth, exercise political control of opinion through the media,
manipulate defendants and witnesses at public trials, and imagine that they
secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they consider
"thought crimes."
284 Cf. IM 11.
285 IM 5 # 2.
286 IM 8.
287 IM 12.
288 IM 12 # 2.
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RE-CHARGE: Heaven Speaks to Young Adults
To all tween, teens and young adults, A Message from Jesus: "Through you I will flow powerful conversion
graces to draw other young souls from darkness. My plan for young men
and women is immense. Truly, the renewal will leap forward with the assistance
of these individuals. Am I calling you? Yes. I am calling you. You feel
the stirring in your soul as you read these words. I am with you. I
will never leave you. Join My band of young apostles and I will give you
joy and peace that you have never known. All courage, all strength will
be yours. Together, we will reclaim this world for the Father. I will
bless your families and all of your relationships. I will lead you to
your place in the Kingdom. Only you can complete the tasks I have set
out for you. Do not reject Me. I am your Jesus. I love you...Read this
book, upload to your phones/ipads.computers and read a few pages everyday...and then Pay
It Forward...
Reference
- Recharge: Directions For Our Times. Heaven Speaks to Young Adults. recharge.cc.
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