I was struck, following the visit last weekend, by a sense of how well Pope Francis knew the life and the charism of St Pio, who is a saint without an immediate attraction for me. The visit marked the centenary of the appearance of St Pio's stigmata and the fiftieth anniversary of his death. The address to the faithful in Pietrelcina and the homily at the celebration of Mass in San Giovanni Rotondo are, at the time of writing, not available in English on the website of the Holy See. Reading Pope Francis words during his visit, I am prompted to think that we can recognise in St Pio at least two key features of Pope Francis pontificate: his manner of speaking about the reality of the devil and his manner of speaking about the sacrament of Penance.
The most striking thing about the address in Pietrelcina is Pope Francis - and St Pio's - vivid sense of the reality of the Devil.
In quei terribili momenti padre Pio trasse linfa vitale dalla preghiera continua e dalla fiducia che seppe riporre nel Signore: «Tutti i brutti fantasmi – così diceva – che il demonio mi va introducendo nella mente spariscono allorché fiducioso mi abbandono nelle braccia di Gesù». Qui c’è tutta la teologia! Tu hai un problema, tu sei triste, sei ammalato: abbandonati nelle braccia di Gesù. E questo ha fatto lui. Amava Gesù e si fidava di Lui. Così scriveva al Ministro provinciale, asserendo che il proprio cuore si sentiva «attratto da una forza superiore prima di unirsi a Lui la mattina in sacramento». «E questa fame e sete anziché rimanere appagata», dopo averlo ricevuto, «si accresce[va] sempre più» (Lettera 31, in Epistolario I, p. 217). Padre Pio si immerse quindi nella preghiera per aderire sempre meglio ai disegni divini. Attraverso la celebrazione della Santa Messa, che costituiva il cuore di ogni sua giornata e la pienezza della sua spiritualità, raggiunse un elevato livello di unione con il Signore. In questo periodo, ricevette dall’alto speciali doni mistici, che precedettero il manifestarsi nelle sue carni dei segni della passione di Cristo.
[In these terrible moments Padre Pio drew his life blood from continuous prayer and from trust that they could be given over in the Lord: "All the horrible images", he said "that the devil introduced in the mind vanished as soon as I abandoned myself in the arms of Jesus". This is the whole of theology! If you have a problem, if you are sad, if you are sick: abandon yourself in the arms of Jesus. And this is what he did. He loved Jesus and entrusted himself to Him. This is what he wrote to the Provincial, assuring that his own heart felt "attracted by a higher force before uniting himself with HIm in the morning in the Sacrament". Padre Pio therefore immersed himself in prayer so as to always adhere more to the divine plans. By way of the celebration of Holy Mass, that constituted the heart of his every day and the fullness of his spirituality, he rose to a higher level of union with the Lord. In this time, he received from above special mystical gifts, the preceded the manifestation in his flesh of the signs of the passion of Christ.]
In the light of what I have written here about the relationship between St Pio's stigmata and his celebration of Mass, I find Pope Francis remarks at the end of this paragraph particularly interesting.
Preaching at Mass in San Giovanni Rotondo, Pope Francis spoke of three words from the scripture readings of the Liturgy - prayer, smallness, and wisdom - relating each to the life and charism of St Pio.
Conoscere Lui, cioè incontrarlo, come Dio che salva e perdona: questa è la via della sapienza. Nel Vangelo Gesù ribadisce: «Venite a me, voi tutti che siete stanchi e oppressi» (Mt 11,28). Chi di noi può sentirsi escluso dall’invito? Chi può dire: “Non ne ho bisogno”?. San Pio ha offerto la vita e innumerevoli sofferenze per far incontrare il Signore ai fratelli. E il mezzo decisivo per incontrarlo era la Confessione, il sacramento della Riconciliazione. Lì comincia e ricomincia una vita sapiente, amata e perdonata, lì inizia la guarigione del cuore. Padre Pio è stato un apostolo del confessionale. Anche oggi ci invita lì; e ci dice: “Dove vai? Da Gesù o dalle tue tristezze? Dove torni? Da colui che ti salva o nei tuoi abbattimenti, nei tuoi rimpianti, nei tuoi peccati? Vieni, vieni, il Signore ti aspetta. Coraggio, non c’è nessun motivo così grave che ti escluda dalla sua misericordia”. [To know him, that is, to encounter him, as God who saves and pardons: this is the way of wisdom. In the Gospel Jesus confirms: "Come to me, you who are tired and oppressed" (Mt 11:28). Who among us can feel themselves excluded from the invitation? Who can say: "I have no need of it?" St Pio offered his life and innumerable sufferings to enable the Lord to encounter his brothers. And the decisive means of encountering him was Confession, the sacrament of Reconciliation. There begins and begins again a life that is wise, loved and pardoned, the start of a healing of the heart. Padre Pio was an apostle of the confessional. Today also he invites us there; and he says: "Where are you going? To Jesus even in your anguish? Where do you turn? Towards him who saves you even in your despondency, in your regrets, in your sins? Come, come, the Lord is waiting for you. Courage, there is no reason so serious that it excludes from his mercy".]One can recognise here the language that Pope Francis has frequently used in encouraging confession, particularly during the Year of Mercy.
I gruppi di preghiera, gli ammalati della Casa Sollievo, il confessionale; tre segni visibili, che ci ricordano tre eredità preziose: la preghiera, la piccolezza e la sapienza di vita. Chiediamo la grazia di coltivarle ogni giorno. [The prayer groups, the sick of the Casa Sollievo, the confessional: three visible signs, that remind us of three precious inheritances: prayer, smallness and wisdom of life. Let us ask for the grace to cultivate them every day.]
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