Padre Pio and the third commandment, which is, remember to keep the Sabbath day holy.
So what exactly did this mean to Padre Pio?
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Pio.
Here, we have a series of short stories on the incredible life of our great Saint Padre
Pio.
He was a Capuchin friar, a mystic, a miracle worker, tremendous miracle worker.
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First, we want to know how did Padre Pio keep the Sabbath day holy?
What did this mean to him obviously?
And we are reflecting on the significance of the third commandment to Padre Pio.
Of course, Padre Pio didn't just keep the Sabbath day holy, he kept every day holy as
well.
And he consecrated every day in its entirety to our Lord.
Now, if we take from when Padre Pio was very young, we start there.
We know that from early childhood Padre Pio felt this strong attraction to the aspects
of the spiritual life.
So for example, when he heard the church bells ringing, he showed a great desire now to attend
church and he stopped right then playing, doing whatever he was doing.
And he would say, " I must go to church now with grandma."
As a child, he heard mass every morning and then he went to benediction.
He attended benediction in the evenings.
And then on Sundays, diligently, he would attend religious instruction at church.
And obviously during that time, he learned about the 10 commandments, and he focused
in on the importance of the third commandment that is remembering to keep the Sabbath day
holy, did not escape his attention.
So let's see through a few examples what this meant to him.
And besides observing this precept himself, he also could not tolerate it if other people
around him were in violation of this.
So he would try to inspire in them respect, and he would try to make everyone keep the
Sabbath day holy.
So let's see [00:03:00] some of these examples in which Padre Pio is inspiring this respect
in people.
In our first example, a young woman came to confession with Padre Pio.
She worked at a company that required its employees to work on Sunday and feast days.
And so now the young lady had finished her confession who stated her sins with Padre
Pio, and Padre Pio said, "Do you remember perhaps, anything else?"
Young lady thought about it and replied, "Padre, I have confessed everything."
But we have to remember Padre Pio was the confessor who could read our souls.
And so he said to her, he reminded her, "You did not go to mass on these days and on the
feast of St. Peter."
And then she said, "Yes, Padre," she admitted, "Now I remember.
I worked, I did not go to mass on those days because otherwise my boss would've fired me.
We are very poor."
So she's facing this style dilemma.
Padre Pio's response, "Did you not think of the serious offense that you were given to
God?
It would've been better ..." These are Padre Pio's words.
"It would've been better to be fired from the job than to offend God so seriously,"
kind of advising her to get another job, I guess.
And then he added, "Be careful never to miss mass again on feast days or ever to offend
the Lord again."
In the second example, another time Padre Pio, after having heard a confession, a man's
confession who had been away from mass for many, many years, Padre Pio was seen now weeping
bitterly.
What had happened?
This has affected him so strongly.
So someone asked him, "Padre, why are you crying?
What is torturing your heart?"
Padre Pio responded, "The ingratitude of people towards the Supreme benefactor.
And what more could Jesus have done than what he did do?
Poor Jesus."
Another time a man once told Padre Pio, "I missed mass on Sunday," and tears once again
came into Padre Pio's eyes and he said, "You just say it so lightly as if it's nothing.
Our Lord died on the cross for us.
And we couldn't even attend mass to show our appreciation."
And of course one could relate many, many other little stories and anecdotes of how
Padre Pio observed and wanted others to observe the third commandment.
In the same way that he celebrated and lived the holy mass, he wanted his spiritual children
to participate in the holy sacrifice without superficiality or distraction.
We must be focused on what's happening in the mass, and his knowledge of the inestimable,
the immense value of the Eucharistic sacrifice made him give these detailed counsels.
Now in 1915, Padre Pio wrote this letter to Annita Rodote describing what constitutes
exemplary conduct that a Christian should be aspiring to when we go to church.
And the following little excerpts are taken from that letter.
Padre Pio says, "In order to avoid irreverence and imperfections in the house of God, in
church, that is, which the divine master calls himself, calls a house of prayer, I exhort
you in the Lord to practice the following."
Padre Pio says, "When you enter the church, enter in silence and with great respect.
And among other pious considerations," he says, "Remember that the soul, your soul and
my soul is the temple of God.
And as such, we must keep it pure and spotless before God and his angels.
So we now, before God and his angels in the church."
And then he says, "Then take holy water and make the sign of the cross carefully and slowly,
not just a random little thing," and its important he's advising us, "make the sign of the cross."
And then Padre Pio tells Rodote, "As soon as you are before God in the blessed sacrament,
devoutly, genuflect, show your respect through genuflecting."
And then he says, "Once you have found your place in the church, kneel down and render
the tribute of your devotion to Jesus in the blessed sacrament."
So we must give him a tribute before we do anything else.
And his advice, Padre Pio's advice, giving this tribute to our Lord in the blessed sacrament
is, "Confide all of your needs to him, along with those of others you might have brought
other people's needs there to church.
And speak with him, with our Lord, in a filial abandonment and give free reign to your heart,"
he says, "and give him complete freedom to work as he thinks best in our hearts."
When participating at holy mass, Padre Pio advises, "Be very composed.
When you're standing up or kneeling or sitting and carry out each one of these religious
acts with the greatest devotion."
Padre Pio says, "Be modest in your glances."
So don't turn your head to see who's entering or who's leaving.
Also he says, "Don't love out of reverence for the holy place and also out of respect
for those who are near you."
It's going to be very distracting if they hear laughter and conversation going on.
So don't laugh in church.
"And try not to speak to anyone as well," he says, except when charity or strict necessity
requires this.
Let's just say the minimum that we can to others in church.
Now, when we leave the church, how should we behave then?
He says, "We should be recollected and calm when we leave the church.
But before we leave, first take your leave of Jesus in the blessed sacrament."
How do we do this?
Padre Pio says, "Do not leave him without asking for and receiving our Lord's paternal
blessing."
And then once we're outside the church, he says, "We should be as every follower of the
Nazarene should be."
Above all, Padre Pio advisors, "Be extremely modest in everything, because this is the
virtue more than any other that reveals what the affections and the attractions of our
heart are.
You must be modest in your speech," he says, "in your laughter, in your bearing as well,
modest even in your walking."
So nothing flamboyant or excessive, and therefore, "Be humble of heart," Padre Pio councils,
"and circumspect in your words, considering the consequences of each word and prudent
also in your resolutions.
Don't promise to do things that you really shouldn't be carrying out.
And always be sparing in your speech, attentive in your work, and modest in your conversation."
So these are all ways to keep the Sabbath holy that Padre Pio's recommending.
"Always keep before your mind the divine master's meekness," Padre Pio councils, which according
to the expression of the apostle to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells us, "I, Paul, exhort you by
the gentleness and the meekness of Christ."
So after so perfect a model, change all your external actions so that they reflect, they
are a mirror of our interior sentiments.
So the two should be corresponding to each other.
"We don't think one thing interiorly and live a different way outside.
Never forget this divine model, Anita."
That's how he finish his letter.
We need to really try to see a certain lovable majesty in our Lord's presence, a certain
pleasant authority when our Lord speaks in his manner of speaking and a sweet serenity
that is on his face.
So we could imagine that extremely composed and sweet expression with which our Lord drew
people out from the cities and from castles and led them into the mountains and the forest
and the solitude, even to deserted beaches.
Totally to the extent, in fact, where they totally forgot about food and drink, and even
the domestic duties.
This was our Lord's expression.
We tried to picture that expression that he had, and thus, let us try to imitate as far
as we possibly can his modest and his dignified actions.
And Padre Pio says as well, " Let us do our utmost to be as far as possible similar to
him, similar to our Lord on this earth in order that we may be more perfect and more
similar to him for the whole of eternity in the heavenly Jerusalem."
So how our actions are now is going to determine how we are in the heavenly Jerusalem, once
we are in heaven.
In conclusion, let us take these words of Padre Pio, these inspiring words of Padre
Pio about the infinite value of the mass, let us take them to heart.
And he says, "Let us attend mass wholeheartedly because it is really ... mass is really calvary,
where Jesus accomplished our redemption in the presence of the father.
And let us not leave this mount ... the amount of calvary lightheartedly when mass is over
as if we had in assisted at some ordinary spectacle.
Be really sorry for your sins," he says, "but at the same time, be confident in divine justice
and mercy."
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