Penetrare et Perforate, sed sola Amore tuo.

Many people wonder about the meaning, the "why" of St. Padre Pio's stigmata. I think it was not a matter of worthiness, so much as the Will of God being embodied to serve the salvation of souls and the Church Herself. 

it may be the Church will suffer a great deal in the coming years, right along with the faithful and even the unfaithful of the Church, and perhaps, for the sake of having something sufficient to the need of the human race.

It is eminently practical that rather than several million stigmatists, there should be only one, taking on himself miraculously, the sin and need of the human race, with Jesus, which was sufficient for the need, but not encompassing everyone.

So, anyone who feels the same charity that St. Padre Pio felt kneeling before the crucifix with the Corpus hanging so near, knows the weeping and lamentation as he undergoes the imprinting of His crucifixion on himself as on a parchment of the needs of the Church.

The world does not exist outside of the Heart of Charity of Jesus. which is to say, he who encounters the love surrounding the place of the skull, encounters the Person and personal suffering of the Lord, Crucified. And he who encounters that, encounters Jesus personally, and not in some empty desolation, but in the furnace of love which engulfed every sensation of the crucifixion of Jesus. One could not experience the passion except with suffering the true pain and suffering of a human being who is also the Divine Lord.

It was all too easy to deprive Padre Pio of happiness by preventing him from hearing confessions, saying Mass or the ordinary joy of the existence of another human being. So, the miracle of the imprinting of the wounds of Jesus on Padre Pio was three-fold deprivation of the kindling of love in an extraordinary heart. But the heart was the first to be wounded, so that, in fifty years of bearing the wounds of Jesus, he might be available constantly and continuously, to intercede on our behalf of and for the salvation of many souls.

 I do not think one can encounter the person of Padre Pio and not suffer with him. Surely, as we are sinners, we are in need of healing, which abundantly encompassed all who approached Padre Pio. No one was outside the sphere of his healing power, the power and efficacy of his Holy Mass or encountered some disembodied wraithe, but he was wholly and entirely loving as Jesus loved in him.

I wanted to write this down before it wafted away from my old mind. If someone wanted to, they could easily carry me off like an old chair; it would not be hard. By the same token, it was not hard to do what they willed with the Padre, because he was so surrendered to the Lord, that he had no strength to resist His Will. O Padre, help my poor tattered soul !

I do not know how, but He has imprinted me, and I do not feel I can resist either, but let me know His love in your love for me, and enable me to be an offering, but one that is worthy in your estimation.

Deeper

 

To be a saint it is only necessary to be ready to love Him as He asks. It is amazing to regard with what love He deals with us. He is always ready to reach out to us in our daily, ordinary lives, constantly vigilant of any opportunity to please Him, whether what He asks is very little, or very great. Thus, pain that appears suddenly might be a request for more of your attention. Your soul might be fortunate to be asked only for your awareness, presence and willingness to be at His disposal.

If one's cross is small, so might the pain you share with Him hanging on the cross. On the other hand, the unbearable pain that can make its sudden appearance can likewise manifest how small our love is by the unwillingness to share any more pain than what is already at hand.

Often, saints have been saints from an early stage in their lives. They became aware of Him and the extraordinary nature of the love He was extending to them. Therefore, if you find yourself pierced through with pain accompanied with no visible sign of its origin, let your first prayer be to be able to bear it for His love, whether it is accompanied with bliss, or not, which is often associated with great sufferings. 

The trappings of modern life are such that they are captivating in themselves. They are capable of fascinating us with awe for their beauty and appreciation of human imagination which all tend to a level of comfort. What a surprise when we discover how extraordinary are His intentions to engulf us in bliss and agony all at the same time. One might even be tempted to ask how it can be unreasonable to enjoy one's place at such a sumptuous table. But the Lord invites us precisely at the realization of happiness at possessing what is possible in the moment. I testify that he has asked me abruptly on many occasions for reasons not disclosed, to embrace the unembraceable suffering, fully aware of its connection with His passion, and of His audcity to ask us. Truly, if we would love Him, we must be willing. 

His audacity in asking might be a sign of great importance to us in growing holier and less selfish and, indeed, selfless. Whether you are actually asked in an explicit way to suffer on His cross, or not, you must consider that He invites you to greater, sweeter love of Him, if you are ready and willing. If you are asked without a disclosure of His intention to permit your suffering or to permit its increase,life is eternal and so is His reward. Consider, also, that many other souls depend on your vigilance in willing to be aware of His desire for your company in a particular.

In the present day, wars break out, unprovoked and unjust, such as in Ukraine, but also in Israel and the greater middle east and even among our allies, that threaten wholesale destruction. If it is not that, then it is a personal crisis, a life-threatening physical incident, or even simply to loss of someone we loved. Giving the heart without asking for the reason, is the highest step before union, a selfless loving surrender to His intent.

I do not say it is always easy to say "yes", though often it is, simply to build our trust so we can be strong enough to actually persevere. Put yes is never trivial, but is easier if we have already previously been asked a lot and we have given the best we have. we cannot help but be closer to Him, and in being closer, we might be susceptible of being asked more explicitly.

How can I refuse You Lord. My hands hurt so much, and the least movement reminds me immediately of your cross. You touch them and make them holy to receive your grace and gifts. Let them, thus, be occasions of you grace and love, since you have so abundantly forgotten my sins and continued to be my Lord. I am only afraid I cannot bear the pain I do not know.Let my misery be the occasion of the greatest graces needed by my friends and enemies, so that it can be seen that you are love and desire from us only love, we who have been so reluctant. Quell the surge of fear the enemy launches at us, and let us invoke your love to protect us through anything.

Embrace me so your people may come to know the sweetness of your embrace, and strengthen their love to withstand the violence of the enemy,  show the world what it is to live in God and He in us, through love.