I love to read about Padre Pio since he is such an amazing modern day saint. I am very intrigued by the idea of stigmata and I love and admire those who have suffered as Christ has suffered with the same wounds. This is one of the rare forms of miracles that we visually see and he was living his miracle day after day! He truly loves God's people and new how to shepherd his flock. I found the following written by Padre Pio in my Magnificat today:
Proclaiming the Kingdom
I beseech you, then, by the meekness of Jesus and by the bowels of mercy of the heavenly Father, never to slacken on the path of virtue. Keep on running and don't ever make up your mind to stop, for you know that to stand still on this path is equivalent to retracing one's steps. Don't ever disregard my suggestion and, for pity's sake, don't render fruitless and don't neglect the grace which was bestowed on you at baptism and has been increased in great measure by means of the other sacraments.
Be watchful, I tell you, and never place too much trust in yourself or count excessively on your own strength. Try to advance more and more on the way to perfection and practice charity more and more, for charity is the bond of Christian perfection. Throw yourself confidently into the arms of the heavenly Father with childlike trust and open wide your heart to the charism of the Holy Spirit who is only waiting for a sign from you in order to enrich you.
Yes, let us do good. Now is the time for sowing, and if we want to reap an abundant harvest it is not so necessary to sow a lot of seed as to scatter it in good ground. We have already sown a lot of seed, bit counts for very little if we want to be gladdened at harvest time. Let us sow now and continue to sow, my dear, and let nothing grieve us on this account. Let us make sure that this seed falls in good soil and when the heat arrives to burst it open and bring forth a plant, we must still be on the watch and take good care that the weeds do not smother the young plants.
Wow, to me this is a very powerful meditation. It makes me wonder if I am following the right path. I hope so because this path has brought me closer to the Truth and to better relationships with family. It has spawned fruitful and spiritually fulfilling relationships with new friends. The friendships I have made these past three years have shown me that there are more people out there who dedicate their lives to their faith and will pray for me unceasingly when I ask. These friends are very dear to my heart and in my prayers for them daily I realize that I never have prayed so fervently in my life before.
I also would never have found Matthew if I hadn't decided to uproot myself at Yale and move to Austin to pursue my degree in a different university. I came here for my faith and for my career. Now I realize more and more I came here for my faith. Which makes me scared about my career as it has lost some of its importance to me. I am going to continue sowing seeds and I pray that I am working towards God's will, not my own.
Many blessings to you all on this special day!
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