Now, many times we've viewed Padre Pio's life from the outside, so to speak.
We've seen things like external miracles and all the effects of his spirituality, but we've
also got to ask sometimes, what was Padre Pio's spirituality?
What was his life like from the inside?
What was his spirituality that compelled him onwards?
What were his aspirations?
We're going to try and get a glimpse into this.
And of course, we have to ask part of this, where did his great devotion to our lady fit
in?
Where did it come from?
Where did it fit in?
Hello friends, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our channel, Following Padre Pio, were
through a series of short stories.
We investigate the life of our great Saint Padre Pio.
Of course, he was Capuchin friar.
He was a mystic and a tremendous miracle worker.
So do stay tuned to our channel, to find out more about Padre Pio and also to see what
his intercession can do for you.
We also wish to thank our Protected child of Padre Pio patrons for your tremendous support
of these years and you are the ones who make these videos possible.
And we ask everyone else to help us in this Padre Pio postulate, you can do this by liking
our video, by sharing the video with others, you'll really be helping us if you do this.
The story comes from the book Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, the first congress in the studies
of Padre Pio spirituality.
And this particular story, the contributor is a father Bernardino of Siena, and he was
the postulated general of the order of Capuchins so he's telling us the story.
But first there may be an objection, why are we even trying to head into this idea of explaining
Padre Pio and our lady?
Doesn't it lend itself to criticism?
The Catholic's worship Mary or you'll be accused.
Of course, every sincere Catholic knows that if they just scratch the surface a little
bit, that we do not, we worship God alone.
We do not worship anyone else.
And we have honors for other people.
It's a matter of Christian charity.
You honor someone else.
So we honor the saints.
We honor our lady as well.
So let's see what we actually do believe now.
And we're going to have a look at now for father Bernardino tells us.
He's the postulated general, pretty high up position in the capuchin order.
And he builds a groundwork from the foundation's upwards.
So first he wants us to understand the concept of church before getting onto the other concepts
of where our lady fits in.
We have to have this framework, what is the church?
So let's try and flesh this out a little bit.
Now, according to father Bernardino, this all hinges around having a personal encounter
with Christ, those are his words, a personal encounter with Christ.
So it's a bit ambiguous.
Is this something good or bad?
Personal encounter.
Perhaps its just mushy feelings that fade away after a while or perhaps a personal encounter,
lee is like something the prodigal son had, a complete change, radical change of heart,
where we enter into a state of grace with our Lord.
So that is the divine plan that there has to be this personal encounter with Christ,
for each person, a conversion within the heart of each person.
And for this divine plan to be carried forward, to be transmitted, it needs to go over generation
after generation, it can't just die out at any point, but we know that Christ lived in
a certain period in history.
He lived, and of course during that time, he influenced a few thousand people with this
divine plan, but he lived a short period of time.
And then after that, he died.
So now what was going to happen with this divine plan?
Well, he had to have another way of doing this because we know this divine plan has
to continue, as we said, over time this applies for all men, all generations, but he's now
dead.
So we have a problem.
And so how can we have this encounter with Christ, this conversion in our hearts?
How can it continue?
And for this Christ somehow needs to live again in another body like a mystical body.
So we're getting at the idea of what the church is, and only if Christ has this another life,
so to speak, prolonged in time, throughout time, never ending, then this new life or
this lengthening of Christ's life, this is the concept of the church that he gives us.
Hence there has to be an very intimate union between Christ and his church.
And it is so intimate this union that scripture refers to it gives these titles, a mystical
body or refers to the church as his immaculate bride.
He's going to take special care of his bride, isn't he?
And then as the bride of Christ, she is also the mother of the redeemed.
So somehow there's very maternal aspect to this, but is that our lady, the maternal aspect
of the church, is that our lady?
There are similarities.
And father Bernardino also tells us, the same spirit which animated our Lord Christ, leading
him to carry out each of his x in this divine plan, the same spirit is now within this church,
this mystical body of our Lord, the bride of Christ.
And so he says that people must be gathered in unity under the father, the son and the
holy spirit.
So these are essential things.
And of course, all men are called to enter into this church, into this body of Christ.
And he tells us also that it has a structure, so this mystical body does have a structure.
There are people in pre-eminent positions in the church, for instance, the Pope and
bishops and the priests and the holy spirit calls all of them to rule and to teach and
to sanctify the people of God so that's their mission within the church.
Their mission is certainly not to molest or mislead people.
Father Bernardino, it continues in his whole explanation of what the church is, he says
there is this intimate union between Christ and these people, the hierarchy, the people
leading the church.
So this is Christ speaking to the apostles and thereby to the rest of the hierarchy throughout
time.
As the father sent me so I send you, so he's intimately linked and Christ identifies with
them as well.
The problems they go through, he goes through.
He who listens to you, listens to me, Christ says, and he who scorns you, scorns me.
And we can see through the many examples in Padre Pio's life that he adhered to this whole
concept perfectly that he took these doctrines really to heart.
So the hierarchy exists doesn't mean it's always good.
Well, of course, Judas was one of the first bishops and we know what happened there.
And he tells us as well, each person must work for the others, which everyone has to
be looking after the next person.
Padre Pio also had his own special role within this church, special functions, some of them
unusual.
So this is taken from Padre Pio's spiritual letters, "And then for my brothers," Padre
Pio says, "oh, how many times must I say to God, the judge, like Moses said, either pardon
this people or strike me out of the book of life."
We see here, Padre Pio really bargaining and pleading with God for us sinners.
So he's acting as a mediator and anti-intercessor, or maybe Christ is acting through him in this
regard.
And then from a different angle now, another time in these same writings Padre Pio tells
us, "And I am in the extreme desolation.
I am alone.
I am bearing the weight of everyone.
So many souls who dizzily want to justify all of their sins.
This afflicts me, it tortures me.
It breaks my heart to pieces," and he continues, "Christ wants these."
He calls them victim souls and he says, Padre Pio tells us this, "The more these souls suffer,"
these victim souls suffer, "the lighter the sufferings of good Jesus become."
So is it like Simon the Cyrene they helping Christ to carry his cross, even though they
didn't live at that time, they still have the same function, Padre Pio had that function.
But where does our lady fit in really?
Padre Pio saw our blessed mother in the light of this whole saving plan that we've just
been describing somehow she fitted in, in a magnificent way.
Padre Pio used these words for instance, "As a tender mother in her great knowledge and
her mercy and goodness," he says, "I feel myself burning all over, but there is no fire."
So it's almost an enthusiasm or a love for Christ makes him feel like he's burning all
over.
I feel close to Jesus and bound to him by means of his mother.
So his mother brings him to our Lord, but I don't even see the change that bind me so
tightly to him.
Our lady is like these chains binding Padre Pio to our Lord.
So here we are beginning to see the role that our lady played in Padre Pio's life, but we
going to have to continue next time.
Please do join us next time.
Dear friends of Following Padre Pio, wouldn't you like to be, as scripture says, those who
instruct many to justice shall be as the stars for eternity, apparently that's from the book
of Daniel.
So with that intention in mind, we offer you a special program and it's called The Protected
child of Padre Pio program.
And through this, if you join this program, you'll be helping our team at Following Padre
Pio to reach out to many people, hopefully to inspire them so that they do not give up
hope, that they do not lose faith in God, in these very trying times.
So if you and I can give them this hope, then our Lord Jesus Christ death would not have
been in vain for them.
So that's our aim.
And we also have regular masses celebrated for all of those who join The Protected child
of Padre Pio program and of course there other benefits too.
To find out more, just click the video on the end screen, or you can go to the link
in the video description below.