WEDNESDAY REFLECTION
Mid-week Reflection
St Pius of Pietrelcina
On the 25th May 1887 Grazio Mario Forgione and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio gave birth to a baby boy whom they named Francesco. One of their daughters, Grazia, would become a Bridgettine nun but little did those devout parents know that their boy would become famous all over the world….but by a different name….Santo Pio da Pietrelcina…..still better known and loved simply as Padre Pio. Since then, there have probably been hundreds of good priests called Padre Pio, Father Pius, just as there have been loads of priests who, like St Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney bore the title of Curé d’Ars…..but let’s face it, when you say Padre Pio or Curé d’Ars only one man in each case, comes to mind. Well, today is the feast of Padre Pio who, of course, became famous for exhibiting stigmata for most of his life. Whether or not he told Cardinal Wojtyla that he would become Pope, I do not know but it was Pope St. John Paul II who both beatified and canonized the beloved saint. Pio was both a Confessor and a Confessor. You know the difference, don’t you? A Confessor is a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death. If it is to the point of death then they would be titled, martyrs. A Confessor is a priest who hears our confessions and serves our spiritual needs. So, not all Confessors can be Confessors but all Confessors can, with God’s grace, become Confessors! So, maybe in your prayers, you can pray that the priests who visit the school will be good holy dedicated Confessors who will one day become, Confessors!
Let us Pray:
Almighty and eternal God, who, by a singular grace, allowed Saint Pio to participate in the cross of your Son, and by means of his ministry renewed the wonders of your mercy, grant, through his intercession, that, constantly united to the passion of Christ, we may happily arrive at the glory of the resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Monsignor Monaghan
