Dear friends,
I wanted to give our supporting members something special for Padre Pio’s feast, and the more I read, the more stories I wanted to tell you. At one point he is reprimanding his guardian angel. At another, he is discovering that the visitor beside him has been dead for some time. Being a Capuchin at San Giovanni Rotondo must have required some serious spiritual composure.
Over the last few days, we have been talking about prayer and what is ours to do. Padre Pio brings those questions very close, especially when his own Church forbid him to minister publicly. I want you to know what happened.
This evening’s bonus begins below. Our supporting members make these longer pieces possible and help keep the regular reflections free. Thank you for being here, however you participate.
Now, about that ghostly guest…
Padre Pio had fallen asleep beside the fireplace when he discovered that he had a visitor.
The story comes from his own recollection to his fellow friars. It was during the First World War, at San Giovanni Rotondo. His superior, Padre Paolino, had been entertaining his sister in the guest quarters. When the two of them went to church, Pio stayed behind. He was tired. He dozed off.
Then he woke with a start.
A man wrapped in a short cloak was sitting nearby.
There are people whose lives make you wish somebody had thought to leave a camera running. Padre Pio is one of them. Even an attempt to get a little rest could become an encounter his fellow friars would be hearing about afterward.
You probably know his face. Brown habit, beard, hands partly covered. You may have his prayer card, or remember one tucked into a relative’s missal. If you’re Italian or Italian-American, there’s a good chance Nonna had his picture up on the wall. People who love him tend to be quite certain that everyone else ought to know him, too.
Believe it or not, I had a personal miracle I feel I can attribute to Padre Pio’s intercession. I’m not quite ready to tell that story yet, but maybe some day.
We’ll see.
Anywho, After spending time with his letters, I am inclined to join in the insistence that we study this great Saint.
Padre Pio writes about demons throwing the furniture around. He has an argument with his guardian angel. His visitors include people whose arrival presents difficulties well beyond the usual business of hospitality. And through all of this, he hears confessions, worries about the people entrusted to him, and loves Jesus with an intensity that can make our carefully managed religious lives look rather timid.
His own Church will investigate him and close the doors on his public ministry. We will come to that, too. For now, he is in the guest quarters, looking at someone he cannot account for.
Picture yourself waking from a nap to find a stranger sitting beside you. You would want an introduction. Padre Pio certainly did.
Startled and frightened, he asked, “Who are you?”
Join me for the full story. Become a supporting member to continue this evening’s visit with Padre Pio, from his extraordinary encounters to the years when his own Church closed the door on his ministry. Your subscription helps me keep writing these reflections and sharing our regular pastoral work freely.