St. Pio of Pietrelcina [Padre Pio]

For your information and disucssion.

Lots of links to follow-----------

"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." Padre Pio

Padre Pio with Young Boy

Highlights of His Life
Biography
The Personality of Padre Pio
His Home Town, Pietrelcina
San Giovanni Rotondo
Biography from L'Osservatore Romano

"I want to be only a poor friar who prays - if God sees blemishes even in the angels, can you imagine what He sees in me!" Padre Pio

His Daily Life as a Capuchin

The Perfect Capuchin
St. Francis of Assisi
The Rule of St. Francis
Franciscan Order (in general)
Order of Friars Minor
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

"Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know...It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!" Padre Pio

Padre Pio and Christ's Priesthood

A Letter to a Directee

One with Christ, One with Sinners

"In order to attract us, the Lord grants us many graces that we believe can easily obtain Heaven for us. We do not know, however, that in order to grow, we need hard bread: the cross, humiliation, trials and denials." Padre Pio

His Spiritual Life

Padre Pio and the Immaculate Heart

Padre Pio and the Sacred Heart

Mysticism in general

Padre Pio's mysticism

Bilocation and Odor of Sanctity

Stigmata

Poor Souls

Guardian Angels

What Does It Means To Be Canonized.

For many, even in the Church, the Catholic practice of beatifying and canonizing is an enigma. Why does the Church do it? How does the Church do it? What are the implications of being beatified, or, as is now the case of Padre Pio, canonized?

General History.

First it should be noted that according to the testimony of Sacred Scripture every Christian is a saint. The Greek New Testament speaks in many places of the hagios (Acts 9:32; Rom 15:25, 31; Eph 1:1; Col. 1:2; Jude 1:3 and others). The Latin Vulgate speaks of the sancti, which is rendered in some English translations as the saints and in others as the holy ones. As St. Peter tells Christians, "you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." The saints are set apart by God through baptism, filled with His divine life (the Kingdom of God within), and called to announce that Kingdom's presence in the world to the whole human race. Thus it is that in the Scriptural usage all of those baptized into Christ and in the state of grace can rightly be called saints.

In another sense, stricter and more technical, the saints are those in whom Christ's victory over sin, the devil and death has not just begun, as it has in us, but has been completed. This is the case when the wayfaring state of earthy life is concluded and the holiness of life attained in the pilgrim's state is realized perfectly in heaven. Even while saying that no one is truly good but God (Mt 19:17), Christ called us to the perfection of goodness, of holiness, "be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48, Mt 19:21; Col. 4:12, James 1:4), since nothing imperfect will enter into heaven (Rev 21:27).

The early Church understood that only the Christian who followed Christ perfectly would go immediately into the heavenly Jerusalem. Others would enter the purifying fires of purgatory "to be made perfect," from which they would not depart until they had "paid the last penny" (Mt 5:26, 1 Cor 3:13, 15). Since perfection was conformity to Christ in His death, a process begun at baptism, the martyr (literally, witness) for Christ was seen to have achieved the goal. Thus, during the age of persecution (from Pentecost to 311 AD) esteem for those Christians who had been killed in hatred of the faith (in odium fidei) lead Christians to extol their example of heroic witness to Christ, to guard and preserve their relics (the trophies of victory over death), and to celebrate the anniversary of their birthday into eternal life. The Circular Letter of the Church of Smyrna on the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp (155 AD) illustrates this esteem perfectly.

We have at last gathered his bones, which are dearer to us than priceless gems and purer than gold, and laid them to rest where it was befitting they should lie. And if it be possible for us to assemble again, may God grant us to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom with gladness, thus to recall the memory of those who fought in the glorious combat, and to teach and strengthen by his example, those who shall come after us.

Finally, the greatest tribute of honor that could be rendered to the martyr was to have his or her name mentioned in the Canon (or Eucharistic Prayer) of the Mass, accompanying the Lord in His Redemptive Sacrifice. This was done on their feast day, the day of their entry into eternal life. The Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer 1) retains the eloquent testimony of the Roman Church for the Mother of the Lord, for the apostles, and the most significant martyrs of Rome and Italy.

"In union with the whole Church ...we honor Mary ... Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude; we honor Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian." (Communicates)

"For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia and all the saints." (Nobis quoque peccatoribus)

Thus, in the early centuries of the Church the popular acclaim of sanctity in the martyrs, the veneration of their relics, the honoring of their names in private and liturgical prayer (with the consent of the local bishop) canonized important witnesses to Christ in the universal, and the local, Church, as examples of the perfect fidelity to which all Christians are called.

Although the age of martyrs has never truly ended, the relative peace that existed after the Edict of Milan in 311 meant that martyrdom was a rarer example of perfection than it had been. The Church began to look for other models of holiness, other ways in which conformity to Christ could be a witness to the faithful and the world, the living out in daily Christian life of the dying to self and living for Christ undertaken in baptism. This witness was found in those whose white martyrdom of heroic virtue confessed to the world the triumph of light over darkness, of grace over sin, of the new man over the old man (Eph 4:17-24), and thus of Christ over Satan. Thus, such Confessors, the witness of whose life had the fame of holiness, began to enter the roles of the canonized.

This cultus* (religious veneration) was generally of a single diocese, but as the fame of the person spread it could encompass several dioceses, and in the case of Mary, the apostles and other significant figures, be universal. Although the records of early Church Councils shows occasional interventions to correct abuses in the naming of saints and to establish criteria for their acclamation, the process continued to be a local one with some few examples of Popes declaring saints of universal veneration.

The first canonical process seems to be that of Pope Urban II (1089-99), in the "Cause" of Nicholas of Trani. The Bishop of Trani was ordered to conduct a local investigation into his alleged sanctity and miracles, which then would be submitted to the Pope for judgment. This first "Cause" dragged on over several pontificates, and seems not to have been concluded favorably. It also seems to have occasioned developments in the legal procedures themselves, Callistus II (1119-24) requiring all causes to include a critical biography of the Servant of God. As often happens in the Church, abuses brought about major developments in Church practice. In 1170 Pope Alexander III decreed that no one could be declared a saint without the permission of the Supreme Pontiff. This was precipitated by the acclamation as saint of a Swedish "martyr" who was killed while drunk, and thus could not be truly said to be a willing witness for Christ. This regulation was formally incorporated into Church law by Pope Gregory IX in 1234.

The centralization of the canonization process in Rome was an inevitable development of the Church's theological and canonical Tradition. While the acclamation of the faithful and the acceptance of the bishop is in most cases an adequate witness to the holiness of the person, it only provides a moral certainty, a reasonable credibility, that the person is in heaven. In order to give universal witness to the sanctity of someone a higher standard needed to be invoked, that of the charism of the infallibility of the Church. According to Catholic teaching the Church, the Mystical Christ, cannot err in matters of faith and morals (Jn 16:13). The practical exercise of this infallibility falls to the apostolic office, which in the name and by the authority of Christ the Head of the Church intends to bind the faithful in a matter of faith or morals. This can be done either by the college of bishops as a whole, as in a Council (Acts 15:28 15:28), or by the Successor of St. Peter (Lk 22:32, Acts 15:7-12). By the grace of the Holy Spirit Christ protects such judgments of universal import for the Church from error. The common opinion of theologians historically, therefore, is that papal Canonization is an exercise of the charism of infallibility, protecting the Church from raising an unworthy individual to the universal veneration of the faithful. As in the case of a dogmatic definition, the declaration of a saint inserts that person into the heart of the Church's life, into the central mystery of the faith, the Eucharist, and must by its nature be free from error.

Cause for Beatification/Cause for Canonization.

According to an ancient theological axiom grace builds on nature. For this reason the Church is very careful to exhaust the human and reasonable means of determining the sanctity of a person before relying on supernatural ones. As noted earlier the papal canonization process quickly developed certain procedures which had to be followed in the diocese and in Rome, such as the collecting of evidence, of testimonies of witnesses and the writing of a critical biography. By the fourteenth century two regular processes were in place, the Cause for Beatification and the Cause for Canonization. The first, when successfully concluded, allowed some measure of veneration of the now Blessed by the faithful, in his or her diocese, by a religious order, by a nation. The second process, canonization, permitted universal veneration of the now Saint by the entire Church. The concluding stage of each was conducted in the form of a trial, with sides for or against. The office of the Promoter of the Faith or Devil's Advocate, who argued against the Servant of God, dates from this era.

The Processes have gone through several revisions and refinements over the centuries, including two recent ones, under Pope Paul VI in 1969 and under Pope John Paul II in 1983. Included in Pope Paul's reforms were the consolidation of the processes into a single Cause for Canonization. Notable in the reform of Pope John Paul II was the elimination of the Devil's Advocate, as well as many procedural changes.

The Cause for Canonization of Padre Pio.

Overlapping the period of two reforms Padre Pio's Cause has in many cases operated according to the rules under which it began. The following summary, based on Michael Freze's book The Making of Saints (Huntington, IN: OSV Press, 1991), is, therefore, not entirely coincident with the 1983 rules for the Canonization of Saints. It, however, shows the important stages through which any Cause must still pass.

I. The process of documenting the life and virtues of Padre Pio began almost immediately after his death, 4 November 1968. This was necessary to insure that precious testimony was not lost.

II. Communication of the results to the Congregation of Saints took place on 16 February 1973. The Congregation must examine them to make a recommendation to the Pope regarding the worthiness of the individual.

III. With the nihil obstat (nothing stands in the way) of the Holy Father the Process for the Cause for the Canonization of the Servant of God Padre Pio of Pietrelcina was begun on 29 November 1982. Prior to the 1983 reforms only the Pope could open a Cause, by granting a nihil obstat. Under the new norms the diocesan bishop of the place where the person died may open the Cause, after consulting with the Holy See, which makes its evaluation of the record known by letter, rather than formal decree.

IV. The following spring, on 20 March 1983, the diocesan Canonical Informative Process officially commenced, undertaken by the Archbishop of Manfredonia, the metropolitan archbishop of the ecclesiastical territory in which San Giovanni Rotondo, diocese of Foggia, is situated. Under the new norms this Process would be under the care of the Bishop of Foggia. Its task was to create a record, an Acta, of the life and virtues of the Servant of God, based on evidence and testimony. In the case of Padre Pio, who lived a very public life over a period of 50 years, these Acts ran to many volumes.

V. At the conclusion of the Informative Process in 1990 the Cause was submitted to the Roman Dicastery (department) called the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. On 7 December 1990 the Congregation recognized the validity of the Process (what had been done to date). At that point a theological commission of the Congregation began its work and a Positio summarizing the Servant of God's life and virtues prepared . This evaluation of the Cause concluded with a positive vote of the commission on 13 June 1997, the feast of St. Anthony. Its recommendation was then passed to the cardinals, archbishops and bishops assigned by the Holy Father to vote on the more serious matters presented to the judgement of the Congregation. It was approved at its Ordinary Session on 21 October 1997.

VI. Following this positive vote by the Congregation and his acceptance, Pope John Paul on 18 December 1997 approved the Decree on the Heroic Virtues of the Servant of God Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. By this decree Padre Pio was declared a Venerable Servant of God, or simply Venerable.

VII. The remaining step before beatification is the approval of a miracle, evidence of the intercessory power of the Servant of God and thus of their union after death with God. Those who propose a miracle do so in the diocese where it occurred, not in the diocese of the Cause. The diocese of the miracle then conducts its own Tribunals, scientific and theological, to determine whether a miracle can be said to have occurred. The results are then submitted to the Congregation for its evaluation. On 21 December 1998, Pope John Paul approved a miracle attributed to the Venerable Servant of God Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. This is the basis, together with the Decree on Heroic Virtues, on which the beatification of Sunday 2 May 1999 was held.

VIII. Finally after beatification a further miracle is needed before canonization can occur. The investigation of this miracle follows the same course as noted above with regard to beatification. Approved in the diocese of Manfredonia on 23 October 2000, by the Congregation in Rome on 18 December 2000, the miraculous cure of Matteo Pio Colella of San Giovanni Rotondo was accepted by the Holy Father on 20 December 2000. On 28 February 2002 the Decree of Canonization of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina was promulgated by Pope John Paul II and 16 June 2002 set for the rite.

What it means to be a Blessed or a Saint.

Up until the beatification of a Servant of God Catholics must observe a strict rule of non cultus, meaning that while they may privately pray to and venerate an individual whom they believe to be in heaven there may not be any public acts of religious veneration. Thus, the rule which the Cause for Padre Pio had been so insistent upon prior to beatification - no display of Padre Pio's picture in places of worship, no hymns to him and no public prayer directly to him - conforms to the strict norms of the Church in this matter. In fact, the presence of a cultus before the approval of the Church is given can end the candidacy of a Servant of God.

With Beatification a number of marks of veneration can be given to a person. The most important one is that a feast day, with its proper Mass and Office (Liturgy of the Hours), can be granted to particular dioceses and religious orders and congregations. For example, Blessed Takeri Tekawitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, is celebrated on the liturgical calendars of the U.S. and Canada, but could not be lawfully celebrated, for example, in Japan. St. Pio, while a Blessed, was celebrated by Franciscans and his home diocese of Manfredonia on his feast of 23 September. Other religious and diocesan communities would have needed the Indult (permission) of the Holy See to lawfully celebrate his feast day with public veneration. By analogy, beatification is somewhat akin to the practice of "local canonization" earlier in history, except that a bishop instead of "canonizing" someone himself manifests to the Holy Father the person's fame of holiness and his flock's desire to venerate the person. After sufficient investigation the Pope grants local veneration, that is, beatifies the individual. With beatification comes the restricted right to venerate the relics of the blessed, to have public prayers to him and to honor his images in places of worship, where this is granted by the Holy See.

Finally, the fame of holiness may suggest the fittingness of universal veneration for someone who is beatified. This is granted through canonization. The Holy Father confirms through the discernment of reason and the exercise of the Petrine charism that the person is in heaven and may be honored throughout the Church.

*Cultus. A certain negativity has attached itself to the English term cult (a false, exaggerated religious system) which should not be applied to the older, properly understood, Latin term cultus. The Latin term in the ancient world had the meaning of religious worship of God or a god. It could be applied to the True God (which would be legitimate) or to a pagan god among gods (which would be idolatry). In using the term, but with specific theological meaning, the Church distinguishes between the forms of worship appropriate to God, Trinity, Christ and the Blessed Sacrament (called latria, worship or adoration, in the strict sense), and the forms of veneration and honor appropriate to the Blessed Virgin, the angels and the saints (called hyperdulia or the greatest measure of veneration in the case of Mary and dulia or simple veneration in the case of the angels and other saints). It is a principle of justice that we must honor, respect and show gratitude in proper measure to those who are part of God's plan for our natural and supernatural life. God commands it in the Fourth Commandment. This includes our natural parents who gave us life, but also those to whom we owe a debt for their role in the redemption (1 Cor 4:14-16, Heb. 13:7), first among whom is the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lk 1:48).But without the fidelity of the angels, who served as God's messengers, of the prophets, of the apostles, the evangelists, the Fathers and the great and holy men and women of all ages, we today would not have the faith. That is the foundation of our individual and collective gratitude for the working of God's grace in their lives and thus of their cultus (in the way understood by the Church). Return to text

Multimedia On Padre Pio

Padre Pio - He Bore the Wounds of Christ Padre Pio: He Bore Christ's Wounds
Fr. Andrew Apostoli explores the extraordinary life of Padre Pio who has become one of the most famous stigmatists of recent history. This series shares Padre Pio’s life through his own writings and through the eyes of fellow Priests and contemporaries, from his humble beginnings as a child in Italy, to the documentation of the wounds given by Christ.

Click Here For This Series

A Eucharistic Journey II
Host: Sr. Joan Noreen

St. Pio of Pietrelcina Part 1
Listen

St. Pio of Pietrelcina Part 2
Listen

EWTN coverage

http://www.ewtn.com/tv/schedule_index.htm

September 23rd is the Memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.

September 23-Memorial of Pio of Pietrelcina-- EWTN

Selected Prayers

Meditation on the Immaculate Conception
A Spiritual Bouquet - Meditations by Padre Pio

Thank you.

Let me preface this post by saying that it is NOT intended to be argumentative. I am looking for explanations and help from a variety of sources, and the collective wisdom of the fine Christians on FR is one of them.

Also by way of preface: I am a Protestant, raised as an Episcopalian, in the past twenty or so years a member of a very conservative Christian church that has gradually grown into a mega-church. Something has been nagging me for years, a curiosity and attraction for Catholicism. I’m not ready to convert quite yet, but I’m slowly moving toward it. It’s starting to feel as though I almost have no choice, I’m being dragged into the Church kicking and screaming. And there is no human agency influencing me. Very odd sensation.

Also have read about Padre Pio, very inspiring and enlightening. It’s so good to read the truth when it’s clearly illuminated this way.

My questions are, does one pray to God asking that Padre Pio will hear the prayers and help one make spiritual progress? Or does one pray (as I was taught) just to God? Do we know padre Pio can hear the prayers now that he is dead? Can he intercede with the Lord? Does anyone have experience of this?

I think what’s holding me up on this point is that I don’t want to be in a position of demanding things of the Lord or nagging Him for things I want that He is not otherwise inclined to grant in response to prayers directed just at Him, whether those things are spiritual gifts or material ones. I’m afraid that if I ask a saint to help out, it’s a way of saying “Padre Pio, God didn’t do what I want, can you talk to Him for me? Persuade Him?”

Explanations would be gratefully accepted. It would be nice, rather comforting, to believe that someone like Padre Pio can work miracles or help people he didn’t even know in life, now that he is dead.

This is so interesting.

I love Padre Pio. He was one of the greatest people of our time.

What if Pio never made it to heaven???

"Sergio Luzzatto, whose book on Padre Pio "The Other Christ" is to be published next week after six years of research, has also found documents in the Vatican archives suggesting that Padre Pio may have faked his stigmata, the marks of the wounds of Christ, with acid. Vatican officials say both allegations are already well known and were fully taken into account in the beatification and canonisation process.
Mr Luzzatto said his discoveries did not detract from Padre Pio's importance in religious history or his power to attract millions of followers. He said Benedict XV and Pius XI had also been sceptical about the monk, but Pius XII had encouraged the Padre Pio cult, as did Paul VI and then John Paul II, who presided over the canonisation process.
Mr Luzzatto told Corriere della Sera he had found a note written by John XXIII dated 25 June 1960 recording his receipt of "very serious information on PP (Padre Pio) at San Giovanni Rotondo" from a Vatican investigator, Monsignor Pietro Parente of the Holy Office, who had taken notes and made secret films.
The note says Monsignor Parente "looked, and was, broken hearted". The Pope wrote: "I am sorry for PP, who has a soul to be saved, and I pray for him intensely. What happened - that is, the discovery because of the films - si vera sunt quae referentur (if it is true what they say) - of his intimate and incorrect relations with the women who constitute his Pretorian guard, which even now stands firm around him, leads one to think of a vast disaster of souls which has been diabolically set up to discredit the Holy Church in the world, and especially in Italy."
John XXIII added: " In the calmness of my spirit I humbly persist in believing that the Lord faciat cum tentatione provandum (is doing this as a test of faith), and that from this immense deception will come a teaching of clarity and health for a great many."

Monsignor Parente named three of Padre Pio's "most faithful female followers" as Cleonilde Morcaldi, Tina Bellone, and Olga Ieci, as well as a "mysterious countess", telling the Pope he suspected their devotion to the monk was "not merely spiritual"."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2739751.ece

I suspect that many that are prayed to, never made it to heaven.

As the Scriptures say, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and ye shall be saved.” For that reason, as well as many others, we are assured he made it to heaven.

Are you kidding? Someone who bore the stigmata and worked numerous miracles.

There is an excellent book about him by Ruffin. (But then you might not want to read it. Too much proof of how saintly Padre Pio really was!)

The ladies that you listed may have been among the “hatpin” ladies who would stick people to get ahead of them in line. Yes, there was a lot of curiosity about Padre Pio, but he rebuked them.

Are you kidding? Someone who bore the stigmata and worked numerous miracles.

One who studies the scripture knows that Satan and his minions are perfectly capable of performing miracles...

1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

The fact is, no one knows...And that goes for any and all Saints who have passed on...I wouldn't pray to any of them...

St. Pio wrestles with the devil......and won. You need to read his story.

Details of first investigation into Padre Pio’s stigmata revealed [Catholic Caucus]
St. Pio of Pietrelcina [Padre Pio]

THE HOLY WOUNDS OF CHRIST & Padre Pio's Secret: His Shoulder Wound [Devotional]
Popular Italian Catholic saint exhumed 40 years on (Padre Pio's body in fair condition)
Letter 33 - Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, 16 November 1914.
Padre Pio and the Mother Co-redemptrix(CATHOLIC CAUCUS)
Saint Padre Pio letters #29Correspondence with Raffaelina Cerase

Message, St. Padre Pio During Mass
Padre Pio and the Guardian Angel
Spiritual Counsels from Saint Padre Pio
What Does It Means To Be Canonized.(Padre Pio example)

Feast of St. Pio this FRIDAY! (Padre Pio - Pray for Texas!)
Padre Pio's Love for the Blessed Mother
St. Padre Pio
Padre Pio's Shrine, as the Architect Sees It - Renzo Piano Talks about Church, San Giovanni Rotondo
Padre Pio Aid Says Saint Accepted New Mass

Padre Pio: on Spirituality, Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Missae
Remarkable Transformation: Padre Pio
Cardinal Schotte (Head of the Synod of Bishops) and his view on Dallas; Rose petals for Padre Pio
Saint Padre Pio's Body Not Found in His Tomb?
Padre Pio Now A Saint - Wrestled With Devil, Predicted Future

Padre Pio Wrestled with Devil, Predicted Future
Pope Bestows Sainthood on Padre Pio
PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINA
Padre Pio to be Canonized This June
St. Pio Of Pietrelcina, 1887-1968

His Friends Remember Padre Pio
St. Padre Pio
St. Pio Of Pietrelcina, 1887-1968
Padre Pio: on Spirituality, Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Missae
Padre Pio Now A Saint - Wrestled With Devil, Predicted Future

Padre Pio Wrestled with Devil, Predicted Future
Pope Bestows Sainthood on Padre Pio
Remarkable Transformation: Padre Pio
His Friends Remember Padre Pio
PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINA

Saint of the Day Ping!

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Many people asked Padre Pio to pray for them while he was alive.

Catholics ask a saint to pray for them after they are a saint.

Basically it’s the same thing. Just asking someone to pray for you. The interesting thing, however, is that the saint has God’s ear, whereas, sometimes as humans, we don’t. (Or we don’t ask in the right way.)

Here's a thread with both historical and Church and Biblical information in it.

The Early Church Fathers on Intercession of the Saints - Catholic/Orthodox Caucus

There are those who enjoy muddying the distinction between the words “to” and “for us”.

Padre Pio continues to pray for us today.

What a wonderful portrait. He looks so kind.

It’s starting to feel as though I almost have no choice, I’m being dragged into the Church kicking and screaming.

******************

:)

Something has been nagging me for years, a curiosity and attraction for Catholicism. I’m not ready to convert quite yet, but I’m slowly moving toward it. It’s starting to feel as though I almost have no choice, I’m being dragged into the Church kicking and screaming. And there is no human agency influencing me. Very odd sensation.

:) Please, by all means take your time in exploring and asking questions, seeking answers. To try to do it all at once is very overwhelming. It's like anything else worth doing - slow, steady and right.

My questions are, does one pray to God asking that Padre Pio will hear the prayers and help one make spiritual progress? Or does one pray (as I was taught) just to God? Do we know padre Pio can hear the prayers now that he is dead? Can he intercede with the Lord? Does anyone have experience of this?

The most important question here is is Padre Pio dead. According to Church teaching, no spirit ever dies. His spirit lives as part of the communion of saints. When one prays (meaning "to ask") to a saint, the ask, if you will, is for intercession by way of prayer to the Father that this or that may be so. That goes to praying to anyone who has gone before us. They are all part of the communion of saints and as such have not died. When it comes to canonized Saints - before one is canonized there is always a miracle confirmed by the Church. The vast majority are medical, but there are the occasional ones like St. Martin de Porres which was a grain bin filling. When miracles happen in a person's name, we say they are with God and are recognized as being so. Praying to the saints is somewhat like asking a mentor for help - praying that a heart may be opened, praying that one may love Christ as the saint did, etc. They will always pray for you. Believe me, there are some great saints who are amazingly generous in this way (thank you, St. Cecilia).

I think what’s holding me up on this point is that I don’t want to be in a position of demanding things of the Lord or nagging Him for things I want that He is not otherwise inclined to grant in response to prayers directed just at Him, whether those things are spiritual gifts or material ones. I’m afraid that if I ask a saint to help out, it’s a way of saying “Padre Pio, God didn’t do what I want, can you talk to Him for me? Persuade Him?”

Ahh. God's ways are not our ways. That's part of the rub of being human. I think the best way to think about "what to pray for" is to ask yourself, Is it for the good of the Kingdom and how does this serve God. The way to ask is, "Father, if it be your will...." What is God's will? My favorite line about that comes from Mother Angelica who founded EWTN, "Honey, if it's happening, it God's will." God answers prayer and not always in the way we want Him to. My life in the last 4-5 years is one example after another of learning how to do God's will. The major thing to remember is TRUST. If you honestly trust God, you will not be steered wrong.

I hope this helps. Reading up on people like Padre Pio is a really good way to begin to understand the power of prayer and suffering in the name of Christ. Seriously, anyone with Stigmata can be trusted, IMO.

Padre Pio was only canonized a few years ago, but already I rank him among the great post-Biblical Saints of the Church-—with St. Francis, St. Anthony, St. Basil, St. Theresa of Avila and so many others.

Thank you all for your help. I will continue to read, study, and pray. These things take time.

I will continue to read, study, and pray. These things take time.

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Yes. This forum is a wonderful resource if one can ignore some of the petty nonsense. A sense of humour helps, too. :)

Here is a good place to start,it's backed up with scripture and the writings of the Early Church Fathers

SAINTS AND INTERCESSORY PRAYER
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/saints.html#tradition-I

May Our Lord Bless you in your search for truth

Thank you for the wonderful thread!

**There are those who enjoy muddying the distinction between the words “to” and “for us”.**

Honesty reigns here! LOL!

Glad you are enjoying it. So many links. Far too much to post!

stop showing biblical references that backup the catholic teaching, that just confuses the issue for our mistakenly separated brethern....</s>

Apparently St. Pio has recently been exhumed and he has been found to be incorruptable.

Here is a blogspot with I assume a recent photo.

http://momentsofinspirationsaints.blogspot.com/2008/05/st-padre-pio-exhumed.html

Apparently St. Pio has recently been exhumed and he has been found to be incorruptable.

Minor quibble - he is incorrupt and one of the incorruptables.

wow, he joins some pretty big names.

What is the significance of Padre Pio? I have heard of him but don’t know why.

He bore the marks of crucifixion. Active bleeding from his hands, feet, side. Some even say he had a should injury.

Probably the greatest modern day saint for Catholics.

Thanks for asking.

BTW, the church that has been built in Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotunda is the SECOND largest Catholic Church after St. Peter’s Basilica. (Just learned that today.)

I bought a “used” book and there was a card in it with Padre Pio’s photo but no information at all. Then I saw your post so it was one of those coincidences. I do see your post also had some stuff on it (a little more than I can digest right now since there is so much info there).

Thanks for the “short” version.