Pope Francis at Pietrelcina:
Preserve Christian testimony of Padre Pio
 |
| The Pope Greeting the faithful in Pietrelcina. (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis on Saturday began his pastoral visit in the
footsteps of Padre Pio by greeting the faithful in Pietrelcina, the Italian
town were the Saint grew up. Against the backdrop of an image of the young
friar the Pope encouraged them to “preserve as a precious treasure the
Christian and priestly testimony of Saint Pio."
In his remarks to the faithful and the Capuchin community
gathered in the square in front of the liturgical hall of Piana Romana to greet
him, Pope Francis recalled Padre Pio’s early life in Pietrelcina and his
admission into the Capuchin Friars Minor where he said this friar “meditated
with intensity on the mystery of God who loved us so as to give Himself for
us.”
The Pope noted that this Capuchin never forgot his roots or
his family but he also said that these early years were not “an easy time for
him: he was strongly tormented in his heart and he feared falling into sin,
feeling assaulted by the devil”.
Pope Francis also highlighted how Padre Pio, "loved the
Church, he loved the Church with all its problems, all its troubles, all our
sins. Because we are all sinners, we are ashamed, but the Spirit of God has
called us into this Church that is holy. And he loved the holy Church and
sinful children, all of them. This was Saint Pio" he said.
Suffering and prayer
The Pontiff went on to say that, “in those terrible moments
Padre Pio drew vital life from the continuous prayer and trust he placed in the
Lord.” The Saint, recalled Pope Francis, “immersed himself in prayer to
adhere ever better to divine designs. Through the celebration of Holy Mass,
which was the heart of every day and the fullness of his spirituality, he
reached a high level of union with the Lord. During this period, he received
special mystical gifts from above, which preceded the manifestation in his
flesh of the signs of the Passion of Christ.”
This humble Capuchin friar, underlined the Pope, “amazed the
world with a life devoted to prayer and to patiently listening to his brothers,
on whose sufferings he poured out the love of Christ like a balm. Imitating his
heroic example and his virtues, he continued, “may you also become instruments
of Jesus' love for the weakest.”
Digressing from his prepared text the Pontiff urged those
gathered to refrain from arguing or gossiping because, he said, it doesn’t help
you grow or move ahead in life.
Christian testimony
Concluding his words, Pope Francis expressed the hope that
“this territory”, as he called it, would “be able to draw new life from
the teachings of the life of Padre Pio in a difficult time like the present
one, where the population gradually decreases and ages because many young
people are forced to go elsewhere to look for work.”
He also prayed that the intercession of Padre Pio would give
young generations concrete perspectives for a future of hope and he invited
young people to listen to the wisdom of the elderly. Then he quipped, "I
would like once give the Nobel Prize to the elderly who give memory to
humanity."
96/5000I encourage this land, said Pope Francis to preserve
as a precious treasure the Christian and priestly testimony of Saint Pio of
Pietrelcina.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét