Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Priest, Memorial
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
Born into a poor Italian farm family, from a young age Francesco Forgione desired to be a friar. When he was sixteen, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Order, and took the name Brother Pius (Fra Pio). He was ordained to the priesthood in 1910; six years later, joined the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo. He spent many hours every day hearing Confessions. The height of his apostolic commitment was the celebration of the Holy Mass. He described himself as “a poor brother who prays.” “Prayer is the greatest weapon we have,” he said. It is “a key to open the heart of God.”
Opening Prayer
Almighty ever-living God, who, by a singular grace,
gave the Priest Saint Pio a share in the Cross of your Son
and, by means of his ministry,
renewed the wonders of your mercy,
grant that through his intercession
we may be united constantly to the sufferings of Christ,
and so brought happily to 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,
God, for ever and ever.
First Reading
As for me, the law itself caused me to die to the law so that I might live for God. I am crucified with Christ.
Do I still live? It is no longer I who live; Christ lives in me. The life I now live in this body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. (1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. (1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. (1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Conditions for Being a Disciple
Then Jesus told his disciples:
“If you want to follow me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me.
Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for my sake will find it.
What does a person gain by winning the whole world if he destroys his soul? Or what can someone offer in exchange for his life?
Know that the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels, and he will reward each person according to his deeds.
Prayers of the Faithful
Prayer Over The Gifts
Father of mercy,
we have these gifts to offer in honour of your saints
who bore witness to your mighty power.
May the power of the Eucharist
bring us your salvation.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer After Communion
Lord,
may the mysteries we receive
prepare us for the eternal joys
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, won by his faithful ministry.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
REFELCTIONS
An extraordinary meeting
In 1948, Padre Pio heard the Confession of a young Polish priest, Father Karol Wojtyła, who thirty years later would ascend the throne of Peter, taking the name John Paul II. It was during John Paul’s pontificate that Padre Pio was declared blessed. During the rite of beatification, the Pope said that in the humble friar, we see the image of Christ suffering and risen. “His body,” he said, “marked by the ‘stigmata,’ showed the intimate connection between death and resurrection… Not less sorrowful, and humanly much more scorching, were the trials he had to suffer as a consequence, one could say, of his singular charisms.”
For Padre Pio, “suffering with Christ” was a gift: “In contemplating the Cross on Jesus’ shoulders,” he said, “I always feel strengthened and I exult with holy joy… All that Jesus suffered in His Passion, I too have suffered, insofar as it is possible for a human creature.”
“Relief from suffering”
The life of Padre Pio also shows an intense commitment to alleviate the sufferings of families. In 1956 he inaugurated the “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza” (the House of Relief from Suffering), a new state-of-the-art hospital. “It is the apple of my eye,” the friar said when the hospital opened. “This is the creation that Providence, with your help, has created. Gaze at it in wonder, and with me bless the Lord God. He has placed upon the earth a seed that He will warm with His rays of love.”
Death
Padre Pio died during the night of 23 September 1968, at the age of 81. On 16 June 2002, he was proclaimed a saint by Pope John Paul II. In his homily, the Pope said, “The life and mission of Padre Pio prove that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted out of love, are transformed into a privileged way of holiness, which opens onto the horizons of a greater good, known only to the Lord."