a year of prayer: 365 Rosaries

“It is to your advantage to commit yourself to the sufferings that Jesus will send to you. Jesus cannot tolerate seeing you afflicted and he will come to you and comfort you, blessing you with many graces for your soul."


Today, September 22, we celebrate the feast of Saint Padre Pio (1887-1968), mystic, confessor, stigmatic, and modern-day saint. For the majority of his life, Padre Pio bore the continually bleeding stigmata of Christ and experienced the pain and suffering of His Passion. Famous for preaching, "Love is the first ingredient in the relief of suffering," Padre Pio bore these daily pains with grace and humility, joining his suffering to that of Christ, and drawing upon his experience to guide others in the paths of righteousness. In one of the largest canonization ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II spoke of Padre Pio in 2002, highlighting his prayer and charity, as well as his patient suffering. "This is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio's teaching," said the Holy Father. If accepted with love such suffering can lead to "a privileged path of sanctity."

“Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer."

Born Francesco Forgione (named after Saint Francis of Assisi), this young saint grew up in a family of farmers in the small town of Peitrelcina (southern Italy). Twice, his father left the family, working in Jamaica, Queens (New York), to supplement the family income. From his childhood, it was evident that Francesco was a special child of God. Francesco was very devout even as a child, and at an early age felt drawn to the priesthood. At this young age, devoted to Our Blessed Mother, Francesco began praying the Holy Rosary every day. He eventually demonstrated great love for Our Lady of Fatima, attributing a cure of his own illness to her intercession.

At the age of 15, Francesco joined the Capuchins as a novice, and received the habit in 1902. After seven years of study, he took the name Padre Pio upon ordination in 1910. Drafted during World War I, he was discharged after the discovery that he had tuberculosis. In 1917 he was assigned to the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo, 75 miles from the city of Bari on the Adriatic. He would live the remainder of his life there, but his life was about to become much more blessed, and much more complicated.

On September 20, 1918, as he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. This was the first of many ecstasies this holy man would experience. When the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet and side. The doctor who examined Padre Pio could not find any natural cause for the wounds. (Upon his death in 1968, the wounds were no longer visible. In fact, there was no scarring and the skin was completely renewed. He had predicted 50 years prior that upon his death the wounds would heal.) The wounds of the stigmata were not the only mystical phenomenon experienced by Padre Pio. The blood from the stigmata had an odor described by many as similar to that of perfume or flowers, and when Padre Pio thought of those he directed (even if they were not present), they reported that they were surrounded by the odor of violets.

Padre Pio was also blessed with the gift of bilocation, which allowed him to be in two places simultaneously. A gifted confessor, Padre Pio had the ability to read the hearts of the penitents who flocked to him for confession which he eventually heard for ten or twelve hours per day. Padre Pio used the confessional to bring both sinners and devout souls closer to God; he would know just the right word of counsel or encouragement that was needed. In addition, he experienced a phenomenon known as transverberation, wherein, the soul is pierced with a dart of fire, and wounded, thus leaving it open to an overflowing of divine love. This was originally described by Saint John of the Cross.

Medical doctors, Church authorities and curiosity seekers began flocking to San Giovanni Rotondo to see Padre Pio. In 1924 and again in 1931, the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned by Church authorities, and due to the attention it was causing, Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which were soon reversed. However, he wrote no letters after 1924, with the exception of those to his friends and the Holy Father. His only other writing, a pamphlet on the agony of Jesus, was completed before 1924.

Padre Pio rarely left the friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming to see him. He wrote to a friend regarding the embarrassment the attention caused him. Padre Pio wore brown gloves with the fingers cut off to absorb the constant blood from his stigmatic wounds, only removing them to celebrate Mass. He was especially devoted to the Eucharist, penning a prayer to be said after participating in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard confessions until noon. He took a mid-morning break to bless the sick and all who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his confessional ministry would take over 10 hours a day. (Penitents had to take a number so that the situation could be handled). Many of them have said that Padre Pio knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned.

Even as Jesus frequently appeared in person to Padre Pio, so too did Mary. On one occasion he described her physical presence as she accompanied him to the altar: "With what care she accompanied me to the altar this morning! It seemed to me as though she had nothing to think about other than me filling my heart completely with saintly affections. I felt a mysterious fire from my heart which I couldn’t understand. I felt the need to put ice on it to extinguish this fire which was consuming me! I should like to have a voice strong enough to invite the sinners of the whole world to love our Lady!"

Padre Pio believed that the love of God was inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God was the way for the soul to reach God. He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. His followers also believe that the Devil used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. In one of Padre Pio's letters, he states that he remained patient in the midst of his trials because of his firm belief that Jesus, Mary, his Guardian Angel, Saint Joseph and Saint Francis were always with him and helped him always

Padre Pio saw Jesus in all the sick and suffering. At his urging, a hospital was built on nearby Mount Gargano. The idea arose in 1940; a committee began to collect money. Ground was broken in 1946. Building the hospital was a technical wonder because of the difficulty of getting water there and of hauling up the building supplies. This "House for the Alleviation of Suffering" has 350 beds.

Numerous cures have been reported received through the intercession of Padre Pio. Those who assisted at his Masses came away edified; several curiosity seekers were deeply moved. Like St. Francis, Padre Pio sometimes had his habit torn or cut by souvenir hunters.

Despite his supernatural gifts, Padre Pio never made prophecies about world events and never gave an opinion on matters that he felt belonged to Church authorities to decide. He died on September 23, 1968, the names of Jesus and Mary on his lips. His body is venerated in the Church of Our Lady of Grace.

At Padre Pio's canonization Mass in 2002, Pope John Paul II referred to that day's Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) and said: “The Gospel image of 'yoke' evokes the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo endured. Today we contemplate in him how sweet is the 'yoke' of Christ and indeed how light the burden are whenever someone carries these with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio testify that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted with love, transform themselves into a privileged journey of holiness, which opens the person toward a greater good, known only to the Lord.”

Padre Pio saw the benefits of suffering with joy, and the path of righteous suffering that leads to the Lord. How often do we pray for our suffering to be lessened or removed altogether? Rather, we might pray for the strength to embrace our suffering, to find our union with Christ within our earthly pain and loneliness, and in those quiet moments together with Our Lord, move closer to the sanctity and grace we are each called to.


Selected Quotations of Saint Padre Pio:

“Have courage and do not fear the assaults of the Devil. Remember this forever; it is a healthy sign if the devil shouts and roars around your conscience, since this shows that he is not inside your will."

"Mary has to be the star that illuminates your path and she will show you the secure way to go to the Celestial Father. She will be an anchor to which you must cling in the hour of temptation."

“Invoke your Guardian Angel, who will enlighten you and guide you. God has given him to you for your protection, therefore, you should use him accordingly."

“My God, I beg you; let me bear the punishments that have been prepared for sinners and the souls in Purgatory. Multiply these punishments for me, so that you may forgive and save the sinners and free their souls from purgatory."

“If I knew that a person was afflicted in his mind, body or soul, I would beg God to set him free of his affliction. I would gladly accept the transfer of his affliction to myself, so that he may be saved, and I would ask that he benefit from the fruits of these sufferings... if the Lord would allow me to do it."

“If the people of the World could only see the beauty of ones soul when it is in the grace of God, all sinners and unbelievers of this world would be instantly converted."

“It would be most fulfilling, if God would grant me just one wish (if it were possible); that He would say, “Enter Heaven!” This is my one true wish; “That God would take me to Heaven at the same time that the last of my children and the last of the people who submitted to my priestly care have entered."

“You must always keep yourself on the straight and narrow path in the Holy Catholic Church because She is the only Bride of Christ and can bring you peace. She alone possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, who is the true Prince of Peace."

"Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord, because even God needs our prayers."

“I have often raised my hand in the silence of the night and in my solitary cell, blessing you all and presenting you to Jesus and to our father, St. Francis of Assisi.”

"Always humble yourself lovingly before God and man, because God speaks to those who are truly humble of heart, and enriches them with His gifts."

"Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer."

"Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God's heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips, but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions you should only speak to Him with your heart."

"Do you not see the Madonna always beside the tabernacle?"

"The longer the trial to which God subjects you, the greater the goodness in comforting you during the time of the trial and in the exaltation after the combat. "

"Keep close to the Catholic Church at all times, for the Church alone can give you true peace, since she alone possesses Jesus, the true Prince of Peace, in the Blessed Sacrament."

"Fear not because God is with you."

"Prayer is the oxygen of the soul."

"Who can assure us that we will be alive tomorrow? Let us listen to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of the royal prophet: "Today, if you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." Let us not put off from one moment to another (what we should do) because the (next moment) is not yet ours. "

"Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!"

"The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain."

“Don't spend your energies on things that generate worry, anxiety and anguish. Only one thing is necessary: Lift up your spirit, and love God.”

”Our present life is given only to gain the eternal one and if we don't think about it, we build our affections on what belongs to this world, where our life is transitory. When we have to leave it we are afraid and become agitated. Believe me, to live happily in this pilgrimage; we have to aim at the hope of arriving at our Homeland, where we will stay eternally. Meanwhile we have to believe firmly that God calls us to Himself and follows us along the path towards Him. He will never permit anything to happen to us that is not for our greater good. He knows who we are and He will hold out His paternal hand to us during difficulties, so that nothing prevents us from running to Him swiftly. But to enjoy this grace we must have complete trust in Him.”

”You must speak to Jesus also with the heart, besides with the lips; indeed, in certain cases you must speak to Him only with the heart.”

”Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!”

”The gates of Heaven are open for all creatures. (who repent) Remember Mary Magdalene.”

“A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

”My heart feels as if it were being drawn by a superior force each morning just before uniting with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. I have such a thirst and hunger before receiving Him that it's a wonder I don't die of anxiety. I was hardly able to reach the Divine Prisoner in order to celebrate Mass. When Mass ended I remained with Jesus to render Him thanks. My thirst and hunger do not diminish after I have received Him in the Blessed Sacrament, but rather, increase steadily. Oh, how sweet was the conversation I held with Paradise this morning. The Heart of Jesus and my own, if you will pardon my expression, fused. They were no longer two hearts beating but only one. My heart disappeared as if it were a drop in the ocean.”

“Humility and purity are the wings which carry us to God and make us almost divine.

"Hold on tightly to the Rosary. Be very grateful to the Madonna because it was she who gave us Jesus.”

“Love our Lady and make her loved; always recite the Rosary and recite it as often as possible.”

“Imagine Jesus crucified in your arms and on your chest, and say a hundred times as you kiss His chest,
'This is my hope, the living source of my happiness; this is the heart of my soul; nothing will ever separate me from His love.'"

“Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You.”

“Love Jesus, love Him very much, but to do this, be ready to love sacrifice more.”

“Our Lord sends the crosses; we do not have to invent them.”

“Charity is the measure by which Our Lord judges all things.”

“Don't allow any sadness to dwell in your soul, for sadness prevents the Holy Spirit from acting freely.”




Dear God, You graciously blessed Your servant, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and death of Your Son. Endowed with the with the gift of discernment, St. Pio labored endlessly in the confessional for the salvation of souls. with reverence and intense devotion in the celebration of Mass, he invited countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Through the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I confidently beseech You to grant me the grace of my prayers. Amen.





Year 2: Day 266 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Joyful and courageous suffering.

Requested Intentions: Business success, peace, health (E); Conversion and deliverance of those who suffer, increase in vocations (M); Financial security and safe housing (M); For a daughter (K); Conversion of a family, deliverance of the souls in Purgatory (S); Successful marriage (A); Health, safety, grace, success of a building project (A); Successful treatment and recovery from cancer (D); Clear speech for a child (C); Conversion of a family (A); Successful employment (S); For the healing of impaired vision (F); For a couple experiencing difficulties (L); Successful employment after finishing college (M); Mother’s health (A); Financial security, freedom from anxiety (S); For a son and cousins (L); Peace and civility (B); Successful examination results (D); Safety of family, strength, courage, wisdom (C); For the souls of a departed father and brother, finding of a suitable marriage partner (R); Successful pilgrimage, deepening of prayer life (R); Restoration of health (J); Restoration of health (S); Freedom from pride (A); For children and marriage (M); For the birth of a healthy baby (Y); For personal family intentions, for the sick, poor, hungry, and homeless (G); Financial security and peace (J); Grace, peace, and obedience to the will of God in a marriage (H); Successful and blessed marriage for sin, freedom from anxiety for husband, spiritual contentedness for family (N); Employment and health for a husband (B); Recovery and health of a mother (J); For a family to grow closer to the Church, salvation for all children (D); Successful employment (L); Successful employment (S); Renewal of faith life (A); Support for an intended marriage, health for friend and aunt (J); Mental health assistance for son (G); Freedom from illness (S); Successful employment (C).

Today, July 9, we celebrate the feast of Saint Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727), Capuchin mystic and stigmatist. Regarded as one of the most extraordinary mystics of her time, Veronica was the recipient of the stigmata and visions of Christ in 1697. She impressed her fellow nuns by remaining remarkably practical despite her numerous ecstatic experiences, leading her order toward union with Christ in His suffering.


Saint Veronica was born named Ursula, in Binasco, Italy (near Milan), the daughter of pious parents. From an early age, Veronica demonstrated signs of sanctity. It is told that when she was only eighteen months old, she uttered her first words a shop clerk who was trying to sell her mother a false measure of oil, saying distinctly, "Do justice, God sees you."

At the age of three, Ursula was first graced with Divine communications, and as a result, began to show great compassion for the poor. Each day, she would set aside a portion of her food for them, and was even known to literally give the clothes off her back to poor children whom she would encounter. As she grew older, her devotion to God, especially her great love for the Cross and for the suffering of Christ, grew exponentially. By all reports, Ursula very much wished others to join her in her religious pursuits, prayer, fasting, and penance. However, her family and peers were less devout, and in these moments, she tended to demand their piety and participation in her routines—a character weakness she corrected following a vision of her heart as a heart of steel when she was sixteen.

Sometime in Ursula’s adolescence, her mother passed away, after first consecrating her daughter to the wounds of Christ. Her father, raising five girls on his own, also received a significant promotion at the time, becoming the superintendent of finance at Piacenza. In her writings, Ursula confessed that she enjoyed the privileges and wealth that her father’s position afforded the family, but through a series of visions came to realize that a religious life was her calling. Despite her father’s urging to marry—and his arrangement of several suitors for her—Ursula refused. She fell ill, and only recovered upon receiving her father’s permission to join the convent of Capuchin Poor Clares in Citt' di Castello.

Ursula joined the order in 1677, taking the name of Veronica in memory of the Passion. At the conclusion of her reception, the presiding bishop said to the abbess: "I commend this new daughter to your special care, for she will one day be a great saint." In her writings, Saint Veronica details the trials and struggles she underwent during her novitiate, tempted to leave the order and return to the world. However, she embraced her calling, and demonstrated obedience, Christian meekness, and submissiveness to her superiors, earning her the respect and admiration of her sisters. The following year, in 1678, she professed her entrance into the Capuchin Order, and began receiving heavenly visions, desiring to suffer in union with Christ for the conversion of sinners.

Saint Veronica’s first vision occurred one day, while praying alone in her cell. Jesus appeared to her, carrying His cross on His shoulder. He asked her, “What do you wish?”

Veronica replied, “That Cross, and I wish for You, for Your love.”

Jesus took the cross from His shoulder, placing it on hers. As Veronica wrote in her diary, the cross was too heavy, and she fell to the ground beneath its weight, but the Lord lifted her back up. Following this vision, she reported a physical pain in her heart for the remainder of her life, and upon examination following her death, an imprint of the cross was discovered on her heart.

In 1693, Jesus again appeared to Saint Veronica, showing her a chalice full of liquid, which seemed to be on fire. He told her, “If you want to be Mine, you must taste this liquid for my love.” Veronica later wrote that when He placed just a few drops of the liquid on her tongue, she was filled with such indescribable bitterness and sadness, she thought she would die. Her tongue became dry and from that day on, she could not taste anything. From that time on, the suffering of the Passion of Christ was continuously experienced by Saint Veronica, causing her extreme suffering and sadness. Despite this great weight, she never complained, joining her suffering to that of Christ for the conversion of sinners.

On another occasion, in 1694, Jesus appeared again to Veronica, covered with sores, the crown of thorns on His head, and actively bleeding. He said to her, “See what sinners have done to me?”

Veronica wrote in her diary, following that vision: “Seeing the great agony that my Lord was in, I begged Him to give Me His Crown. He placed it on my head; I suffered so much, I thought I was dying.” Veronica received the stigmata of the crown of thorns, which remained permanently etched on her forehead. She could be observed to be bleeding beneath her veil, such was the wound she suffered. Her superior, and eventually her bishop, ordered her to receive medical care, which she obediently undertook. However, she received little comfort.

The last of her visions occurred on Christmas Day, when the Infant Jesus appeared to Veronica. She awoke with a deep pain in her heart, and found herself to be bleeding. Her heart ached so painfully, she was unable to sleep. Jesus told her that she would have to bears the marks of His wounds, feeling the lance and nails he felt on the cross. She wrote in her diary:

“In an instant, I saw five shining rays shooting out from His Wounds, coming towards me. I watched as they turned into little flames. Four of them (the flames) contained the nails, and the fifth one contained the lance, golden and all aflame, and it pierced my heart. The nails pierced my hands and feet.” Embracing the crucifix from her wall, Veronica said: “My Lord, pains with pains, thorns with thorns, sores with sores, here I am all Yours, crucified with You, crowned with thorns with You, wounded with You.”

Veronica was appointed Mistress of Novices, a role she filled for 34 years, guiding the novices with great prudence, and refusing to let them read any related to visions or mysticism, insisting that they instead become practical brides of Christ. During that time, she began to physically relive the Passion each night, carrying a heavy cross through the garden of the monastery. While she did so, she wore a robe lines with sharp thorns which pierced her body. She would often carry this heavy cross until the point of collapse, at which time her sisters observed her levitating. She further engaged in fasting, eating little more than bread and water in penance for sinners.

In 1716, Saint Veronica was elected Abbess, a position she held until her death eleven years later. Her body remains beautifully incorrupt and can be seen at the Monastery of St. Veronica Giuliani in Citt` di Castello, Italy.

Saint Veronica’s willingness to suffer—her desire to suffer—is remarkable. She endured the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain of the Passion without complaint. She never tried to prove her stigmata to be real, despite the scorn of some of her community, and would not have sought medical help without being ordered to do so. Instead, she bore her cross—the Cross of Christ—and turned to Him for comfort and assistance. The beautiful symbolism of her first vision, in which she fell beneath the weight of the cross, only to be lifted by Jesus, is a message that we can each carry into our own lives. While we may not be graced with the spiritual gifts of vision, ecstasy, or stigmata, we each have struggles and personal crosses to carry. In looking to the Lord, in joining with Christ’s suffering on Calvary, we find our own sorrows to be eased, our burdens to be lighter, our crosses to be lifted by He who suffered and died for us!


Year 2: Day 190 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Comfort in our suffering; Union with Christ.
Requested Intentions: For a daughter’s successful examination results (A); Occupational success, health and safety of family (S); Reduction in anxiety for husband, financial freedom (S); Healing for a sister-in-law (J); For a family experiencing a difficult child custody case (M); Reunification of a family struggling with separation (M): For a son struggling with mental illness (M); Successful examination results (B); To be freed from the chains of sin (J); Admission to a good university (M); For successful surgery (T); For a mother’s mental health and for kindness and forgiveness, for housing problems, for dental health (T); For the soul of a departed friend (X); Restoration of health (D); Successful employment for couple (N); For employment for children (K); For health of friend, for successful relationships for children, for safe pregnancy for daughter (C); For the health of a mother (J); Virtue for daughter (V); Successful acceptance to college for nephew (M); For the health of a cousin (T); Freedom from legal difficulties for husband (S); Husband’s freedom from illness (L).

“It is to your advantage to commit yourself to the sufferings that Jesus will send to you. Jesus cannot tolerate seeing you afflicted and he will come to you and comfort you, blessing you with many graces for your soul."


Today, September 22, we celebrate the feast of Saint Padre Pio (1887-1968), mystic, confessor, stigmatic, and modern-day saint. For the majority of his life, Padre Pio bore the continually bleeding stigmata of Christ and experienced the pain and suffering of His Passion. Famous for preaching, "Love is the first ingredient in the relief of suffering," Padre Pio bore these daily pains with grace and humility, joining his suffering to that of Christ, and drawing upon his experience to guide others in the paths of righteousness. In one of the largest canonization ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II spoke of Padre Pio in 2002, highlighting his prayer and charity, as well as his patient suffering. "This is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio's teaching," said the Holy Father. If accepted with love such suffering can lead to "a privileged path of sanctity."

“Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer."

Born Francesco Forgione (named after Saint Francis of Assisi), this young saint grew up in a family of farmers in the small town of Peitrelcina (southern Italy). Twice, his father left the family, working in Jamaica, Queens (New York), to supplement the family income. From his childhood, it was evident that Francesco was a special child of God. Francesco was very devout even as a child, and at an early age felt drawn to the priesthood. At this young age, devoted to Our Blessed Mother, Francesco began praying the Holy Rosary every day. He eventually demonstrated great love for Our Lady of Fatima, attributing a cure of his own illness to her intercession.

At the age of 15, Francesco joined the Capuchins as a novice, and received the habit in 1902. After seven years of study, he took the name Padre Pio upon ordination in 1910. Drafted during World War I, he was discharged after the discovery that he had tuberculosis. In 1917 he was assigned to the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo, 75 miles from the city of Bari on the Adriatic. He would live the remainder of his life there, but his life was about to become much more blessed, and much more complicated.

On September 20, 1918, as he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. This was the first of many ecstasies this holy man would experience. When the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet and side. The doctor who examined Padre Pio could not find any natural cause for the wounds. (Upon his death in 1968, the wounds were no longer visible. In fact, there was no scarring and the skin was completely renewed. He had predicted 50 years prior that upon his death the wounds would heal.) The wounds of the stigmata were not the only mystical phenomenon experienced by Padre Pio. The blood from the stigmata had an odor described by many as similar to that of perfume or flowers, and when Padre Pio thought of those he directed (even if they were not present), they reported that they were surrounded by the odor of violets.

Padre Pio was also blessed with the gift of bilocation, which allowed him to be in two places simultaneously. A gifted confessor, Padre Pio had the ability to read the hearts of the penitents who flocked to him for confession which he eventually heard for ten or twelve hours per day. Padre Pio used the confessional to bring both sinners and devout souls closer to God; he would know just the right word of counsel or encouragement that was needed. In addition, he experienced a phenomenon known as transverberation, wherein, the soul is pierced with a dart of fire, and wounded, thus leaving it open to an overflowing of divine love. This was originally described by Saint John of the Cross.

Medical doctors, Church authorities and curiosity seekers began flocking to San Giovanni Rotondo to see Padre Pio. In 1924 and again in 1931, the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned by Church authorities, and due to the attention it was causing, Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which were soon reversed. However, he wrote no letters after 1924, with the exception of those to his friends and the Holy Father. His only other writing, a pamphlet on the agony of Jesus, was completed before 1924.

Padre Pio rarely left the friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming to see him. He wrote to a friend regarding the embarrassment the attention caused him. Padre Pio wore brown gloves with the fingers cut off to absorb the constant blood from his stigmatic wounds, only removing them to celebrate Mass. He was especially devoted to the Eucharist, penning a prayer to be said after participating in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard confessions until noon. He took a mid-morning break to bless the sick and all who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his confessional ministry would take over 10 hours a day. (Penitents had to take a number so that the situation could be handled). Many of them have said that Padre Pio knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned.

Even as Jesus frequently appeared in person to Padre Pio, so too did Mary. On one occasion he described her physical presence as she accompanied him to the altar: "With what care she accompanied me to the altar this morning! It seemed to me as though she had nothing to think about other than me filling my heart completely with saintly affections. I felt a mysterious fire from my heart which I couldn’t understand. I felt the need to put ice on it to extinguish this fire which was consuming me! I should like to have a voice strong enough to invite the sinners of the whole world to love our Lady!"

Padre Pio believed that the love of God was inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God was the way for the soul to reach God. He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. His followers also believe that the Devil used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. In one of Padre Pio's letters, he states that he remained patient in the midst of his trials because of his firm belief that Jesus, Mary, his Guardian Angel, Saint Joseph and Saint Francis were always with him and helped him always

Padre Pio saw Jesus in all the sick and suffering. At his urging, a hospital was built on nearby Mount Gargano. The idea arose in 1940; a committee began to collect money. Ground was broken in 1946. Building the hospital was a technical wonder because of the difficulty of getting water there and of hauling up the building supplies. This "House for the Alleviation of Suffering" has 350 beds.

Numerous cures have been reported received through the intercession of Padre Pio. Those who assisted at his Masses came away edified; several curiosity seekers were deeply moved. Like St. Francis, Padre Pio sometimes had his habit torn or cut by souvenir hunters.

Despite his supernatural gifts, Padre Pio never made prophecies about world events and never gave an opinion on matters that he felt belonged to Church authorities to decide. He died on September 23, 1968, the names of Jesus and Mary on his lips. His body is venerated in the Church of Our Lady of Grace.

At Padre Pio's canonization Mass in 2002, Pope John Paul II referred to that day's Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) and said: “The Gospel image of 'yoke' evokes the many trials that the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo endured. Today we contemplate in him how sweet is the 'yoke' of Christ and indeed how light the burden are whenever someone carries these with faithful love. The life and mission of Padre Pio testify that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted with love, transform themselves into a privileged journey of holiness, which opens the person toward a greater good, known only to the Lord.”

Padre Pio saw the benefits of suffering with joy, and the path of righteous suffering that leads to the Lord. How often do we pray for our suffering to be lessened or removed altogether? Rather, we might pray for the strength to embrace our suffering, to find our union with Christ within our earthly pain and loneliness, and in those quiet moments together with Our Lord, move closer to the sanctity and grace we are each called to.


Selected Quotations of Saint Padre Pio:

“Have courage and do not fear the assaults of the Devil. Remember this forever; it is a healthy sign if the devil shouts and roars around your conscience, since this shows that he is not inside your will."

"Mary has to be the star that illuminates your path and she will show you the secure way to go to the Celestial Father. She will be an anchor to which you must cling in the hour of temptation."

“Invoke your Guardian Angel, who will enlighten you and guide you. God has given him to you for your protection, therefore, you should use him accordingly."

“My God, I beg you; let me bear the punishments that have been prepared for sinners and the souls in Purgatory. Multiply these punishments for me, so that you may forgive and save the sinners and free their souls from purgatory."

“If I knew that a person was afflicted in his mind, body or soul, I would beg God to set him free of his affliction. I would gladly accept the transfer of his affliction to myself, so that he may be saved, and I would ask that he benefit from the fruits of these sufferings... if the Lord would allow me to do it."

“If the people of the World could only see the beauty of ones soul when it is in the grace of God, all sinners and unbelievers of this world would be instantly converted."

“It would be most fulfilling, if God would grant me just one wish (if it were possible); that He would say, “Enter Heaven!” This is my one true wish; “That God would take me to Heaven at the same time that the last of my children and the last of the people who submitted to my priestly care have entered."

“You must always keep yourself on the straight and narrow path in the Holy Catholic Church because She is the only Bride of Christ and can bring you peace. She alone possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, who is the true Prince of Peace."

"Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord, because even God needs our prayers."

“I have often raised my hand in the silence of the night and in my solitary cell, blessing you all and presenting you to Jesus and to our father, St. Francis of Assisi.”

"Always humble yourself lovingly before God and man, because God speaks to those who are truly humble of heart, and enriches them with His gifts."

"Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer."

"Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God's heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips, but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions you should only speak to Him with your heart."

"Do you not see the Madonna always beside the tabernacle?"

"The longer the trial to which God subjects you, the greater the goodness in comforting you during the time of the trial and in the exaltation after the combat. "

"Keep close to the Catholic Church at all times, for the Church alone can give you true peace, since she alone possesses Jesus, the true Prince of Peace, in the Blessed Sacrament."

"Fear not because God is with you."

"Prayer is the oxygen of the soul."

"Who can assure us that we will be alive tomorrow? Let us listen to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of the royal prophet: "Today, if you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." Let us not put off from one moment to another (what we should do) because the (next moment) is not yet ours. "

"Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!"

"The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain."

“Don't spend your energies on things that generate worry, anxiety and anguish. Only one thing is necessary: Lift up your spirit, and love God.”

”Our present life is given only to gain the eternal one and if we don't think about it, we build our affections on what belongs to this world, where our life is transitory. When we have to leave it we are afraid and become agitated. Believe me, to live happily in this pilgrimage; we have to aim at the hope of arriving at our Homeland, where we will stay eternally. Meanwhile we have to believe firmly that God calls us to Himself and follows us along the path towards Him. He will never permit anything to happen to us that is not for our greater good. He knows who we are and He will hold out His paternal hand to us during difficulties, so that nothing prevents us from running to Him swiftly. But to enjoy this grace we must have complete trust in Him.”

”You must speak to Jesus also with the heart, besides with the lips; indeed, in certain cases you must speak to Him only with the heart.”

”Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!”

”The gates of Heaven are open for all creatures. (who repent) Remember Mary Magdalene.”

“A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

”My heart feels as if it were being drawn by a superior force each morning just before uniting with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. I have such a thirst and hunger before receiving Him that it's a wonder I don't die of anxiety. I was hardly able to reach the Divine Prisoner in order to celebrate Mass. When Mass ended I remained with Jesus to render Him thanks. My thirst and hunger do not diminish after I have received Him in the Blessed Sacrament, but rather, increase steadily. Oh, how sweet was the conversation I held with Paradise this morning. The Heart of Jesus and my own, if you will pardon my expression, fused. They were no longer two hearts beating but only one. My heart disappeared as if it were a drop in the ocean.”

“Humility and purity are the wings which carry us to God and make us almost divine.

"Hold on tightly to the Rosary. Be very grateful to the Madonna because it was she who gave us Jesus.”

“Love our Lady and make her loved; always recite the Rosary and recite it as often as possible.”

“Imagine Jesus crucified in your arms and on your chest, and say a hundred times as you kiss His chest,
'This is my hope, the living source of my happiness; this is the heart of my soul; nothing will ever separate me from His love.'"

“Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You.”

“Love Jesus, love Him very much, but to do this, be ready to love sacrifice more.”

“Our Lord sends the crosses; we do not have to invent them.”

“Charity is the measure by which Our Lord judges all things.”

“Don't allow any sadness to dwell in your soul, for sadness prevents the Holy Spirit from acting freely.”




Dear God, You graciously blessed Your servant, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and death of Your Son. Endowed with the with the gift of discernment, St. Pio labored endlessly in the confessional for the salvation of souls. with reverence and intense devotion in the celebration of Mass, he invited countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Through the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I confidently beseech You to grant me the grace of my prayers. Amen.





Day 266 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Joyful and courageous suffering.
Requested Intentions: Restoration of a relationship (H); For successful employment (I); For a daughter’s successful relationship (M); For a relationship sanctified by God (M); For health of father; For canonization of Pope John Paul II (A); For the conversion of a family (L); For the ill (A); For the health of a family (I); For a father’s successful surgery and recovery (G); For those who are ill, and their caretakers (D); For the safety of a sister who is traveling (A); Recovery of mother with cancer (R); Successful acquisition of a visa (T); Restoration of a marriage (A); For employment and health of mother (G); Successful employment (M); Restoration of a family, End to brother's addiction, Successful marriage (R); Employment (I); Successful recovery of a mother; for all stroke victims (D); Successful return to the faith (A); Emotional, physical, and financial healing (D); Diagnosis and recovery (A); For a successful relationship (J); Those suffering from depression (J); Successful adoption (S); Healing of a father battling cancer (S).

Today, July 9, we celebrate the feast of Saint Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727), Capuchin mystic and stigmatist. Regarded as one of the most extraordinary mystics of her time, Veronica was the recipient of the stigmata and visions of Christ in 1697. She impressed her fellow nuns by remaining remarkably practical despite her numerous ecstatic experiences, leading her order toward union with Christ in His suffering.


Saint Veronica was born named Ursula, in Binasco, Italy (near Milan), the daughter of pious parents. From an early age, Veronica demonstrated signs of sanctity. It is told that when she was only eighteen months old, she uttered her first words a shop clerk who was trying to sell her mother a false measure of oil, saying distinctly, "Do justice, God sees you."

At the age of three, Ursula was first graced with Divine communications, and as a result, began to show great compassion for the poor. Each day, she would set aside a portion of her food for them, and was even known to literally give the clothes off her back to poor children whom she would encounter. As she grew older, her devotion to God, especially her great love for the Cross and for the suffering of Christ, grew exponentially. By all reports, Ursula very much wished others to join her in her religious pursuits, prayer, fasting, and penance. However, her family and peers were less devout, and in these moments, she tended to demand their piety and participation in her routines—a character weakness she corrected following a vision of her heart as a heart of steel when she was sixteen.

Sometime in Ursula’s adolescence, her mother passed away, after first consecrating her daughter to the wounds of Christ. Her father, raising five girls on his own, also received a significant promotion at the time, becoming the superintendent of finance at Piacenza. In her writings, Ursula confessed that she enjoyed the privileges and wealth that her father’s position afforded the family, but through a series of visions came to realize that a religious life was her calling. Despite her father’s urging to marry—and his arrangement of several suitors for her—Ursula refused. She fell ill, and only recovered upon receiving her father’s permission to join the convent of Capuchin Poor Clares in Citt' di Castello.

Ursula joined the order in 1677, taking the name of Veronica in memory of the Passion. At the conclusion of her reception, the presiding bishop said to the abbess: "I commend this new daughter to your special care, for she will one day be a great saint." In her writings, Saint Veronica details the trials and struggles she underwent during her novitiate, tempted to leave the order and return to the world. However, she embraced her calling, and demonstrated obedience, Christian meekness, and submissiveness to her superiors, earning her the respect and admiration of her sisters. The following year, in 1678, she professed her entrance into the Capuchin Order, and began receiving heavenly visions, desiring to suffer in union with Christ for the conversion of sinners.

Saint Veronica’s first vision occurred one day, while praying alone in her cell. Jesus appeared to her, carrying His cross on His shoulder. He asked her, “What do you wish?”

Veronica replied, “That Cross, and I wish for You, for Your love.”

Jesus took the cross from His shoulder, placing it on hers. As Veronica wrote in her diary, the cross was too heavy, and she fell to the ground beneath its weight, but the Lord lifted her back up. Following this vision, she reported a physical pain in her heart for the remainder of her life, and upon examination following her death, an imprint of the cross was discovered on her heart.

In 1693, Jesus again appeared to Saint Veronica, showing her a chalice full of liquid, which seemed to be on fire. He told her, “If you want to be Mine, you must taste this liquid for my love.” Veronica later wrote that when He placed just a few drops of the liquid on her tongue, she was filled with such indescribable bitterness and sadness, she thought she would die. Her tongue became dry and from that day on, she could not taste anything. From that time on, the suffering of the Passion of Christ was continuously experienced by Saint Veronica, causing her extreme suffering and sadness. Despite this great weight, she never complained, joining her suffering to that of Christ for the conversion of sinners.

On another occasion, in 1694, Jesus appeared again to Veronica, covered with sores, the crown of thorns on His head, and actively bleeding. He said to her, “See what sinners have done to me?”

Veronica wrote in her diary, following that vision: “Seeing the great agony that my Lord was in, I begged Him to give Me His Crown. He placed it on my head; I suffered so much, I thought I was dying.” Veronica received the stigmata of the crown of thorns, which remained permanently etched on her forehead. She could be observed to be bleeding beneath her veil, such was the wound she suffered. Her superior, and eventually her bishop, ordered her to receive medical care, which she obediently undertook. However, she received little comfort.

The last of her visions occurred on Christmas Day, when the Infant Jesus appeared to Veronica. She awoke with a deep pain in her heart, and found herself to be bleeding. Her heart ached so painfully, she was unable to sleep. Jesus told her that she would have to bears the marks of His wounds, feeling the lance and nails he felt on the cross. She wrote in her diary:

“In an instant, I saw five shining rays shooting out from His Wounds, coming towards me. I watched as they turned into little flames. Four of them (the flames) contained the nails, and the fifth one contained the lance, golden and all aflame, and it pierced my heart. The nails pierced my hands and feet.” Embracing the crucifix from her wall, Veronica said: “My Lord, pains with pains, thorns with thorns, sores with sores, here I am all Yours, crucified with You, crowned with thorns with You, wounded with You.”

Veronica was appointed Mistress of Novices, a role she filled for 34 years, guiding the novices with great prudence, and refusing to let them read any related to visions or mysticism, insisting that they instead become practical brides of Christ. During that time, she began to physically relive the Passion each night, carrying a heavy cross through the garden of the monastery. While she did so, she wore a robe lines with sharp thorns which pierced her body. She would often carry this heavy cross until the point of collapse, at which time her sisters observed her levitating. She further engaged in fasting, eating little more than bread and water in penance for sinners.

In 1716, Saint Veronica was elected Abbess, a position she held until her death eleven years later. Her body remains beautifully incorrupt and can be seen at the Monastery of St. Veronica Giuliani in Citt` di Castello, Italy.

Saint Veronica’s willingness to suffer—her desire to suffer—is remarkable. She endured the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain of the Passion without complaint. She never tried to prove her stigmata to be real, despite the scorn of some of her community, and would not have sought medical help without being ordered to do so. Instead, she bore her cross—the Cross of Christ—and turned to Him for comfort and assistance. The beautiful symbolism of her first vision, in which she fell beneath the weight of the cross, only to be lifted by Jesus, is a message that we can each carry into our own lives. While we may not be graced with the spiritual gifts of vision, ecstasy, or stigmata, we each have struggles and personal crosses to carry. In looking to the Lord, in joining with Christ’s suffering on Calvary, we find our own sorrows to be eased, our burdens to be lighter, our crosses to be lifted by He who suffered and died for us!


Inspired by the origins and spiritual history of the Holy Rosary, we continue our meditation on the psalms, one each day, in order, for 150 days.

Today’s Psalm: Psalm 75: God the Just Judge of the Wicked


1 We give thanks to you, O God,
we give thanks, for your Name is near;
men tell of your wonderful deeds.
2 You say, "I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge uprightly.
3 When the earth and all its people quake,
it is I who hold its pillars firm.
4 To the arrogant I say, 'Boast no more,'
and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horns.
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak with outstretched neck.' "
6 No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt a man.
7 But it is God who judges:
He brings one down, he exalts another.
8 In the hand of the LORD is a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs.
9 As for me, I will declare this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.



Day 190 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Comfort in our suffering; Union with Christ.
Requested Intentions: For a recovery and sanctification (X); For a daughter struggling with disease and illness (T); For all lost children (I); Prosperity, health, healing, and conversion for a family (M); Health and healing of a mother (A); Healing of heart and mind (T); Healing of a new relationship before marriage (K); Healing of a relationship (T); Eternal rest for the dearly departed, end to financial struggles, successful sale of home, ability to travel on pilgrimage (L); For healing of a stomach illness (L); For the repose of the soul of a sister (C); Vocational security for family, Financial security for daughter beginning college (M); Vocational guidance, courage and strength (I); Health for an ailing nephew (A); Those suffering from depression (J); Successful adoption (S); Healing of a father battling cancer (S).
Psalm: Psalm 75: God the Just Judge of the Wicked

Today, as Lent approaches, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Catherine de Ricci (born 1522, deceased 1589). Known for her sanctity and piety, Saint Catherine was both a mystic and a stigmatist, who spent her days serving others and deeply contemplating the Passion of Our Lord. Her devotion to the suffering of Jesus, coupled with her own personal suffering, led her to experience a beautiful “Ecstasy of the Passion” every week, from Thursday at noon until Friday at 4 p.m., for several years. In her ecstasy*, Catherine experienced the stages of Our Lord's Passion, actually realizing, and showing forth to others with wonderful vividness, all that His Blessed Mother suffered in witnessing it.


*Ecstasy, as recognized by the Church, is defined as a state which, while it lasts, includes two elements: (1) when the mind rivets its attention on a religious subject, generally internal and invisible to others; (2) when the activity of the senses is suspended, so that not only are external sensations incapable of influencing the soul, but considerable difficulty is experienced in awakening such sensation, generally visible to others through observable bodily signs. Many saints throughout the ages have been blessed with ecstatic experiences. Those of Saint Catherine de Ricci have been well studied and authenticated by the Church.

Catherine was born to a wealthy family in Florence, Italy. When her mother died, Catherine was raised by a loving and devout stepmother, who immediately recognized the holiness and sanctity of her charge. Even in infancy, Catherine was prone to spending long periods of time in solitary prayer, a practice her stepmother encouraged. In her youth, Catherine was determined to join a religious order, but none she encountered were serious enough for her, their rules too relaxed for her devotion to the Lord. At age fourteen, finding what she wanted, Catherine entered the Dominican convent of San Vincenzo in Tuscany. Her early years in the convent were marked by suffering and humiliation at the hands of the community. Her supernatural gifts of mysticism were not well understood, but eventually her sisters came to recognize her faith, humility, and service to others. Shortly thereafter she was chosen as Mistress of Novices, and at age 25, the community embracing her calling, Catherine was made Perpetual Prioress of the Order.

Gaining her position so young, Catherine served as counsel to many, including three future popes (Marcellus II, Clement VIII, and Leo XI). She corresponded supernaturally with Saint Philip Neri (“The Apostle of Rome, feast day: May 26), and she is reported to have miraculously appeared to him in visions during his life (they never having physically met).

Throughout her life, Catherine endured countless physical ailments and sufferings, the remedies offered at the time seemingly only increasing the severity of her symptoms. Despite her suffering, she engaged in extreme fasting and penance, and is said to have worn a heavy iron chain around her neck in recognition of the chains of sin that Jesus loosed for all humanity. As Father Stephen Razzi, a Dominican Friar who knew her, wrote in 1594, “Her obedience, humility, and meekness were still more admirable than her spirit of penance.” She was known for treating the poor, sick, and ill, traveling the countryside on her knees in service and humility to others.

Saint Catherine’s experience of the Passion of Our Lord occurred for twelve years, until she and the community prayed for it to stop. The attention and the visitors the convent was gaining due to her ecstasy had become disruptive to the Rules of the Order. During her weekly experience, Catherine’s body was tortured, allowing her sisters to follow the Passion step by step. Catherine would bleed as if being scourged, her forehead would run with blood as if she were being crowned with thorns, a large indentation on her shoulder appeared where Jesus had carried the cross. She further experienced the stigmata and bled from a wound in her side where the lance had been thrust. During these moments, and other moments of deeply penitential prayer, a coral ring would appear on Catherine’s finger, a sign of her marriage to the suffering of Christ. During her first ecstatic experience, she was presented with The Canticle of the Passion (text found below) by Our Blessed Mother—a prayer which Mary urged her to share with others, so that they, too, may contemplate the sufferings of the Lord.

Saint Catherine died in 1589, her body having suffered both the trauma of the Passion, as well as a long illness. Her remains repose in the Convent of San Vincenzo where the Dominican Order still serves the Lord and the world.

As we prepare to begin our Lenten journeys leading up to the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday and His glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday, we look to the faith, sacrifice, and suffering of Saint Catherine de Ricci. In her suffering, she experienced the joy of union with Christ. We can experience our daily sufferings in the same way, by linking our hardships in prayer and contemplation to those of Jesus-- remembering that without the suffering, there is no redemption; without the darkness of the crucifixion, there is no glory of the resurrection; without sacrifice, there can be no true joy.




THE CANTICLE OF THE PASSION

My friends and My neighbors
have drawn near and stood against Me.
I was delivered up and came not forth;

My eyes languished through poverty.
And my sweat became as drops of blood,
trickling down and upon the ground.

For many dogs have encompassed Me
the council of the malignant hath besieged Me.

I have given My body to the strikers
and My cheeks to them that plucked them.

I have not turned away My face from them that rebuked Me
and spit upon Me.

For I am ready for scourges,
and My sorrow is continually before Me.
The soldiers, plaiting a crown of thorns, placed it upon My head.

They have dug My hands and feet;
they have numbered all My bones.

And they gave Me gall for My food;
and in My thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

All they that saw Me laughed Me to scorn;
they have spoken with lips and wagged their heads.

They have looked and stared upon Me;
they parted My garments among them and upon My vesture they cast lots.

Into Thy hands I commend My spirit;
Thou has redeemed me, O God of truth.

Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants,
when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom.

And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice
gave up the ghost.

The mercies of the Lord
I will sing for all eternity.

Surely He hath borne our infirmities
and carried our sorrows.
He was bruised for our sins.

All we, like sheep, have gone astray;
every one hath turned aside into his own way.

For the Lord hath placed upon him
the iniquities of us all.

Arise, why sleepest Thou, O Lord?
Arise and cast us not off to the end.

Behold, God is my Savior,
I will deal confidently, and will not fear.

We beseech Thee, O Lord, help Thy servants
whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood.

Have mercy on us, O benign Jesus.
Who in Thy clemency didst suffer for us.

Look down, we beseech Thee, O Lord, on this Thy family for which Our Lord Jesus Christ did not hesitate to be delivered into the hands of the wicked, and suffer the torments of the Cross.






Day 44 of 365
Prayer Intentions: To find the joy of Christ in our suffering
Requested Intentions: For the renewed marriage of a son and daughter-in-law (V); For a niece suffering with autism, and for all those affected by autism (V); For a daughter’s employment (J); For a son’s employment and growth in faith (M); Those planning for surgery (L); Those who are unemployed or in danger of losing jobs (A); Those fighting depression (L); For a growing love of the Eucharist and peace within a family (A).
Special Intentions (Day 3 of 45-day Novena to Our Blessed Lady of Lourdes): The intentions of all those who read this blog, whether submitted or retained in the quiet of their hearts; Penance, Penance, Penance for sinners; For all those who are suffering.