St. Pio of Pietrelcina - Padre Pio

The Story of Padre Pio - St. Pio of Pietrelcina

A popular saint for the modern age

A popular saint for modern times is a Capuchin friar named Padre Pio. He was born on May 25, 1887 A.D., in the region of Benevento, Italy, to Mamma Peppa and Grazio Forgione. The fifth of eight children, he became an altar boy, shepherd boy and a scholar. What distinguished him from other boys was seen clearly by his confessor who said that the boy had "celestial visions and diabolical oppressors" at an early age. He was thus known to speak with Jesus and also had to contend with the devil and hell.

A Capuchin Franciscan

In 1903 A.D., he entered the Capuchins and wore their habit. He thus underwent the system of formation of the Capuchins: novitiate, study, vows, prayer, austerity, penance, and discipline. In these years, he had to endure ill health that the doctors diagnosed him as consumptive - certain that he would pass away. But in 1909 A.D., he was back at his mother's side at Pietrelcina. Then and there, he had another round of mystical afflictions, invisible stigmata, and terrible battles with the devil. But he was ordained on August 10, 1910 A.D., and he lived for some more years away from his friary so that his being "co-redeemer", as he was defined by his spiritual director, would mature. After this life in Pietrelcina, the "Nazareth" of his inner life soon ended.

The stigmata

In 1918 A.D., Padre Pio finds himself in San Giovanni Rotondo. It was here that he received the stigmata - "nailed to the cross with Christ...body bears the marks of the Lord Jesus" [Gal 2:19, 6:17]. Crowds started to flock to him to see the bleeding wounds in his hands and feet. From September 20 up until his death, he bore these wounds of Christ in his body for fifty years. Only upon his death did the wounds miraculously disappear - marking the end of the crucifixion in his life.

Other charisms

The stigmata was not the only charism or spiritual gift which Padre Pio received from God. There were other gifts which he was noted to have: hyperthemia, fasting, ecstasies, supernatural knowledge, miracles, bilocations, agility, levitations, tears of blood, fires of love, personal perfume, and many more.

Hyperthemia

The body temperature of this simple Capuchin friar is incredible. It rises up to over 48 degrees Centigrade or 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fasting

Padre Pio lived until 80 years of age living on only 300 calories per day. He did not eat breakfast, nor supper, but only picked up something to eat at midday. It was the Eucharist that gave him real life and strength.

Ecstasies

Padre Pio was seen daily or more than once during Holy Mass, completely absorbed in God, as if in a trance.

Supernatural knowledge

Doctors, scientists, politicians, priests, and people of all walks of life turned to Padre Pio for advice - presenting to him their grave problems, serious decisions to be made, and other difficult questions and situations. When these are presented to him, he would, at each of their own level, give a right reply. He was also known to have prophesied Paul VI's pontificate, the end of certain politicians, the economic crisis before 1960, the phenomenon of deChristianization, and many more.

Miracles

A living miracle himself, Padre Pio worked many real and authentic miracles. The miracles performed by this Capuchin friar is like the rewriting of many pages of miracles in the gospels. Just as St. Francis de Sales wrote, "between the gospel and a saint there is the same difference as between a written symphony and the playing of a symphony". Padre Pio's miracles thus brings the gospel miracles back to life again.

Bilocations

This spiritual gift permitted Padre Pio's presence, at the same time, in different places, even though he never left his friary. Of all his charisms, this is one of the most documented, and one of which he is popularly known for. Through this gift, he is able to accompany his spiritual children though they live faraway.

Sleep

Padre Pio has a charism which is something really beyond human capabilities and understanding. When someone would tell Padre Pio, "Good night, Padre Pio", he would reply: "Good night to who ever sleeps". He was also known to have said, "That which you sleep in a night would do me for a year".

Padre Pio is for everyone

Even though Padre Pio was totally immersed in God, he did not live in seclusion from the social problems of his time. He understood suffering and human pain better than anyone. So on May 5, 1956 A.D., when he was about seventy, he inaugurated his work - a "home for the sick" and a "home for the aged".

Death

Padre Pio passed away from earthly life on September 23, 1968 A.D. Beatified and canonized, St. Pio of Pietrelcina's tomb continues to be the object of continual pilgrimages, to the level of hundreds of thousands of people every year.

Related resources:

• "A History of the Church" by Franzen and Dolan
• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
• "A Year with the Saints" by Don Bosco Press, Inc.
• "Passion of the Saints" by Discovery Channel
• Book on Padre Pio, from Ignatius Press.com

What are the Canonical and Non-canonical Gospels?

Canonical and Noncanonical Gospels

Canonical Gospels refers to inspired writing

Introduction

Canonical in biblical usage, according to the Pocket Catholic Dictionary of John A. Hardon, S.J., refers to the inspired writings known as the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are four canonical gospels in the New Testament: Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John.

Canonical gospels

Gospel of Mark - this was most probably written in Greek at Rome in the decade 60-70 A.D. It is written evidently for Christians because Mark uses terms meaningful only to Christians. Mark's gospel is a blend of history and theology written in simple but forceful language.


Gospel of Matthew - this was most probably written at Syria or Palestine in the decade 80-90 A.D. Matthew's purpose of writing was to convince the Christians of Jewish origin that Jesus was the Messiah and that He fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament prophets. This explains why Matthew also cites the Old Testament more frequently compared to either Mark or Luke

Gospel of Luke - scholars estimate that much of the writing of Luke was done at Antioch about the same time as Matthew - 80-90 A.D. Luke may have been a Greek Gentile directing his message to Gentile Christians. His gospel shows how in Jesus God has visited his people and manifested his loving-kindness towards them. He also wrote a second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.

Gospel of John - this gospel, written in Asia Minor about the years 95-100 A.D., is obviously the work of one close to Jesus - an eyewitness of his ministry and one who loved Jesus. The gospel of John as a whole is a profound meditation on Jesus as the Word of God. It shows how the crucified Jesus is still alive today and gives us His Spirit.

Noncanonical gospels

Listed below are other gospels not considered inspired writing by the Catholic Church. Eight are described below but there may be others existing of which are not as known or as popular.

Gospel of the Ebionites - this gospel was written in the first half of the second century. It was apparently an abridged and altered form of the Gospel of Matthew, which Epiphanius incorrectly refers to as the "Gospel of the Hebrews" or the "Hebrew Gospel". Written in Greek, this gospel was used by the Jewish Christian sect known as Ebionites. The Ebionites denied Jesus' birth of a virgin. They believed that Jesus' sonship to God rested not on his birth in a special way, but on the union of the Spirit with him at the time of his baptism. The seven existing fragments of this work are found in Epiphanius' "Against Heresies" XXX, 13-22

Gospel of the Hebrews - this gospel was written in the first half of the second century, for Greek-speaking Jewish Christian circles. It probably originated in Egypt since some of its main witnesses were the Alexandrians Clement and Origen. The gospel is apparently not a development from any of the four canonical gospels.

Gospel of the Egyptians - probably written in the first half of the second century, this gospel was used by Christians in Egypt as their only "life of Jesus". Though this gospel was influenced by Gnosticism, it was quoted by the author of II Clement. Clement of Alexandria also quoted this gospel and did not consider it heretical. Origen, however, regarded this gospel as heretical.

Gospel of the Naassenes - this gospel was quoted by Hippolytus in Book V of his "Refutation of All Heresies". The origin of the Naassenes, or Orphites, i.e. Serpent-Worshippers, is unknown, but they practiced heathen rites and were considered heretics by Hippolytus.

Gospel of the Nazaraeans - this gospel appeared in the first half of the second century in Syrian Jewish Christian circles. It is apparently an Aramaic translation of a Greek form of the Gospel of Matthew.

Gospel of Peter - this gospel comes from the middle of the second century and is a development in a Gnostic direction of the four canonical gospels. It is not, however, a full-blown Gnostic work. It was known by reference to its title only until the winter of 1886-87 A.D. when a fragment of it, coming from the eighth or ninth century, was found at Akhmim in Upper Egypt. The gospel began with Pilate's washing of his hands and ended with a unique description of Jesus' resurrection.

Acts of Philip - this is a fourth century Gnostic work which we know from fragments of later revisions.

Gospel of Thomas - this is a late fourth century "gospel" found about 1945 A.D. near the village of Nag Hammadi, up the Nile River in Egypt. Written in Sahidic Coptic, it is a collection of sayings of Jesus, many of them strongly influenced by Gnostic thought. The sayings probably originated in Greek about 140 A.D.

Sources and references:

• Pocket Catholic Dictionary, by John A. Hardon, S.J.


• How to Read the New Testament, by Etienne Charpentier


• Gospel Parallels, by Burton H. Throckmorton, Jr.

The End Will Not Be At Once by Herman Hendrickx, CICM

This book is part of a series on Studies in the Synoptic Gospels by Fr. Herman Hendrickx, CICM. Other books in this series are: The Infancy Narratives, The Passion Narratives of the Synoptic Gospels, The Resurrection Narratives of the Synoptic Gospels, The Miracle Stories, The Parables of Jesus, and The Sermon on the Mount.

Introduction

Popular religious literature about the end times are often written by holy men and women, saints, and religious, who base their prophecies on visions and revelations from God. Some of these holy men and women are: Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (Rome), St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Capuchin Priest, Italy, feast on September 23), Pere Lamy (Priest, France), Elizabeth Canori-Mora (Rome), Sister Rosa Colomba Asdente (Italy), Father Nectou (Jesuit Priest, Belgium), Sister Palma D'Oria (Italy), Sister Marie Baourdi (Carmelite, France), Marie Julie Jahenny (France), Saint Hildegard of Bingen (Germany), Marie Martel (Normandy), and many more. Although the prophetic visions of these holy men and women are regarded as authentic, when one reads the scripture texts themselves, with a special attention to the eschatological passage in Mark and Luke, a systematic study of the text can provide quite a substantial number of biblical insights on what can happen in the end times. Fr. Herman Hendrickx, CICM, a noted scripture scholar, writes this book for students who want to learn an exposition of the end times as it is presented in the gospel of Luke and in Mark.

A modern biblical study

Fr. Herman Hendrickx takes account of modern biblical scholarship in this book with the treatment of the gospel of Luke - especially the eschatological discourse. He however writes in a style and manner that is accessible to the general reader. Section by section, he compares the passages which refer to the end times in the gospel of Luke with that of the passages in Mark. He explains the original significance and meaning of these texts and presents its relevance to the present times. A final chapter in the book contains valuable suggestions for homilies on gospel readings taken from chapter 13 of the gospel of Mark and chapter 21 of the gospel of Luke. The book also contains an extensive bibliography of general and specialized studies.

The author

Fr. Herman Hendrickx, CICM, was born in Belgium and studied scripture and theology at Louvain University. He was Professor of Theology at St. Joseph's Seminary, Louvain. In 1967 A.D., he arrived in the Philippines where he became a Professor of New Testament Studies. He has lectured widely in the Philippines, Asia, Australia and the United States to groups of priests, religious, teachers, and catechists. One of the schools in which he applied all his learning and shared it in his teaching is Maryhill School of Theology in New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines.

Main sections of the book

Listed below are the main sections of the book. For those undertaking New Testament studies, this is a welcome resource and good material for research.

• Luke 21:5-36: Context, Structure, Source(s), Train of Thought
  


• The Introduction to the Discourse (Luke 21:5-7)
  


• The Beginning of the Discourse (Luke 21:8-11)
  


• Description and Interpretation of Persecution (Luke 21:12-19)
  


• Destruction of the Temple as Judgment (Luke 21:20-24)
  


• The Return of the Son of Man (Luke 21:25-28)
  


• The Parable of the Fig Tree (Luke 21:29-31)
  


• Additional Sayings (Luke 21:32-33)
  


• Concluding Warnings (Luke 21:34-36)
  


• Results of the Inquiry into Luke 21:5-36
  


• Preaching the Eschatological Discourse (Mark 13 and Luke 21)
  

General message of the book

Those who read the passages of the gospel referring to these end times will feel a certain uneasiness in words such as "cosmic collapse" and other descriptive warnings of the end times in the gospel of Mark and Luke. Whether the warnings can be justified and currently relevant (as no one knows exactly when the end times will be), it can evoke negative emotions. But, the context of the Christian message presented by Fr. Herman Hendrickx contains an attitude of faith and confidence in the midst of trouble. The crisis-situation presented in the gospel texts can be seen more as a hope in God's salvation (cf. v. 28 "Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near"). What is seriously to be considered is that God's judgment definitely comes. All the faithful need to be aware of this and see what this means for each one's life. It is an opportune time not to live blindly, but to be ready, vigilant and confident that liberation from God is a reality strongly present in the daily events of life. All the faithful are thus called to avoid what is unworthy of being Christian, to have a healthy detachment from temporary relationships, possessions and realities, and live with a hopeful attitude to what is eternal: the redemption and liberation of humanity by Christ.