What does in mean to be spiritually poor? It means to be humble. It means to understand that you have no merit to offer to God. It means to understand that all you deserve is hell. It means to understand that you are spiritually bankrupt. It means to understand the unfathomable riches of Christ that by God’s sovereign grace have been accredited to your account. It means to boast not in yourself, but in Christ. It means emptying yourself of all your pride that the Holy Spirit might fill you with all of Christ… The humble pursuit of spiritual poverty is the path to true happiness. Empty of self, filled with the Holy Spirit and His fruit of joy.
Randy Smith

Padre

Padre

PADRE PIO

BASIC R.C. BELIEF From a speaker at the Rosary for Peace Rally, Dayton, Ohio, October 1986. Padre Pio is the only man known to have possessed all seven spiritual gifts. These were:

  1. Stigmata
  2. Prophecy – Padre Pio prophesied that when there were as many Blue Army members as Communist party members, Russia would be converted
  3. Discerning of spirits – he could tell if you were lying to him in Confession
  4. Invisibility
  5. Levitation
  6. Bi-location
  7. Heavenly Fragrance – he smelled good without applying perfume

In PADRE PIO THE STIGMATIST by Rev. Charles Carty (the same priest who teamed with Rev. Rumble to write RADIO REPLIES), we read of many miraculous claims that occurred in Padre Pio’s life. He fortold the exact moment of the death of the King of England; when bombers were sent to bomb his city, he levitated to the height of the airplanes to deter them, and thousands of healings were attributed to him, including many to which he bi-located. Incidents of his invisibility were numerous, and he very often read the minds of unsuspecting people. The stigmata (wounds of Christ) poured forth large quantities of blood – the wound in his side is said to have bled a cupfull every day, and yet, despite Padre Pio’s only eating one sparse meal a day, he never lost any weight or energy. If you are interested in reading the book, it is published by TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, Rockford, IL 61105 and can be obtained at almost any Roman Catholic bookstore.

From READ ME OR RUE IT by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan. Imp. Joanner Timotheus, Archiepiscopus, Cincinnatenesis, 8/22/25. Re-printed 11/2/74 by National Centre for Padre Pio, 11 N. Whitehall Rd., Norristown, PA 19403.

“On one occasion, while in conversation with some friars who were questionning him on the importantce of his prayers for (Holy Souls), Padre Pio said, `More souls of the dead from Purgatory than of the living, climb this mountain to attend my Masses and seek my prayers.”

“One day as Padre Pio and his brother friars were eating in the rectory, suddenly and unusually, he got up and went to the entrance door of the Friary where he started a lively conversation with some people who, however, remained invisible to the other friars who followed them. As they watched Padre Pio talking to what appeared to them to be no one, the friars remarked to one another,` He has gone crazy.’ However, they asked him to whom he was talking and Padre Pio smilingly replied, `Oh, don’t worry, I was talking to some souls who, while on their way from Purgatory to Heaven, stopped here to thank me because I remembered them at my Mass this morning,’ and with this, he returned to the refectory as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.”

Padre Pio said, “For some time now, I have felt the need to offer myself to the Lord as a victim for poor sinners and for the souls in Purgatory.”

CATHOLIC JOURNALS From THE SIGN, April 1959. “Q: I read that there was a time when the faithful were forbidden to visit or otherwise communicate with Padre Pio, the Capuchin stigmatist. Has the ban been lifted?

“A: Years ago, there were several admonitions issued by the Holy See, which typify the cautious prudence of the Church in appraising extraordinary phenomena such as alleged visions, stigmata and the like. The number of fraudulent cases on record is a bit shocking and is matched only by the gullibility of people at large. The alleged apparitions a few years ago, at Necedah, Wisconsin, are a typical example. Before he became a stigmatic, Padre Pio was severely obsessed by evil spirits. Later on, dire warnings to the world at large were falsely attributed to the Capuchin priest. By now, the `dust has settled,’ and Padre Pio is no longer under a cloud.

“The correctness of the observation of Pope Benedict XV is becoming more and more evident: `Padre Pio is truly the man of God – not appreciated by all as he merits.'”

From LEAVES, Mar/Apr 1979. “Padre Pio – who died on Seopt. 22, 1968, at the age of 81 – was one of the most `puzzling’ people of modern times. He bore the stigmata – the wounds of the crucified Christ – and though he wore cotton gloves, the bleeding on his hands was plainly visible when he offered Mass. No amount of medical analysis could explain the phenomenon – nor the endless miracles wrought by the cheerful and humble Capuchin Father.

“He was born May 25, 1887, in the farming region of Pietrelcina, Italy. His father had to emigrate to New York City to support his wife and five living children. His mother fasted several times a week in honor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (and it might be said that spiritual writers have always discerned a seemingly `special’ role in mysticism where Carmelites are concerned.)

“When Padre Pio died, an astonishing thing happened. The long-opened sores – the wounds of his stigmata – were instantly healed.

“A soldier . . . had a wounded leg which he dragged along with the aid of two sticks. Because of the handicap – and the crowds – he had to wait to the next day to go to Confession to the stigmatized priest (to whom penitents flocked from all over the world). His confession over, he asked Padre Pio if his wound might be healed. “`You may go’ was Padre Pio’s rejoiner. “The soldier reached for the familiar sticks, but Padre Pio stopped him. “`Leave them. They are no longer of any use to you. Stand up.’ “The soldier very cautiously tried to get to his feet. There was no

pain. He stood up. Still no pain! He tore off the bandages and rushed out like a madman, says the account. The wound had disappeared, leaving just a slight scar.”