“Fear nothing. Jesus is and will always be totally yours, and nobody will take him from you.”
—Letters, Vol. 3, 792
It must have been rather frightening for Padre Pio to experience some of the things that occurred to him throughout his life—things such as bilocation, attacks by the devil, and receiving the stigmata. Can you also imagine what it must have been like to experience any of those things at a young age, as he did? He also did not welcome the notoriety that came once word spread of him bearing the wounds of Christ. Still he accepted each of the burdens that the Lord laid upon him, seeing them as the will of God.
Meditate on the words of Padre Pio below. He writes of how God’s redemptive light can dispel all measures of darkness. How is Christ the light of your life? How can you be a light for others?
In Padre Pio’s Own Words
You say that you cannot tell if the rays of light that are coming into the depths of your spirit at times are coming from God or not. Well, here are three signs by which to discern if these rays of light are from the Father of lights.
The first is that such light gives us even more wonderful knowledge of God. To the degree that this knowledge is disclosed to us, it gives us a much deeper understanding of his incomprehensible greatness. That light leads us to love God the Father even more and to sacrifice ourselves even more for his honor and glory.
The second sign is an increased knowledge of ourselves, a deeper sense of humility when we realize that such wretched creatures as ourselves have had the impudence to offend him.
The third is that these heavenly rays always produce increasing disdain for the things of this world, except for those things that can be useful for God’s service.
If the rays of light produce these three effects, consider them as coming from God. These results cannot be produced by the enemy and even less so by your fantasy and imagination.
(To Raffaelina Cerase, April 25, 1914)
Prayer
St. Pio, give us strength to endure whenever we feel weak
or unprepared for any challenges that may come our way.
