Aug. 15, 2011 Monday: Solemnity of Assumption of Our Lady
The Sacrifice of the Mass
Padre Pio awoke every morning at 3:30am and he prayed the Divine Office for the readings. He was a prayerful priest and lover of prayer. He would repeatedly say, “Prayer is the bread and life of the soul; it is the breath of the heart. I do not want to be anything more than this, a friar who loves.” He celebrated the Holy Mass in the mornings accompanied by two religious. Everyone wanted to see him and touch him, but his presence inspired so much respect that no one dared to move in the slightest. Mass lasted almost two hours and all of those present would submerge in a particular way into the mystery of the sacrifice of Christ, multitudes would gather tightly around the altar holding their breath. Even though no essential difference exists in the celebration of the Holy Mass from any other priest because the priest and the victim is always Christ, with Padre Pio the image of the Savior, pierced in his hands, feet, and side, was more transparent.
Padre Pio lived the Holy Mass, suffering the pains of the Crucified and giving a profound sense to the liturgical prayers of the Church. In the annals of the Church, Padre Pio is the first priest with stigmatas; he was in essence a priest, and his holiness was essentially priestly. All of his life revolved around this reality in which he offered his mouth, his hands, and his eyes to Christ. When he would say, “This is my Body…This is my Blood,” his countenance would transfigure. Waves of emotions would toss him, all of his body would project itself in a mute imploration. “The Mass,” he said once to a spiritual son, “is Christ on the Cross, with Mary and John at the foot of the same one and the angels in adoration. Let us cry of love and adoration in this contemplation.” Meanwhile the Father celebrated the Holy Sacrifice, time seemed to detain itself. One time Padre Pio was asked how he could spend so much time standing on his wounds during the entire Holy Mass. To this he responded, “My daughter, during the Mass I am not standing, I am hung with Jesus on the Cross.”
Padre Pio loved Jesus with so much strength that he experienced in his own body a true hunger and thirst for Him. “I have such a hunger and thirst before I receive Jesus that I could soon die of anguish. And precisely because I could not be without uniting myself to Jesus, I often, even with fevers, see myself obliged to go and nourish myself with his body.” Padre Pio would say that “the world can survive without the sun, but never without the Mass.”
In one occasion, he was asked if the Blessed Virgin Mary was present during the Holy Mass and he responded, “Yes, she places herself at a side, but I can see her, what a joy. She is always present. How can it be that the Mother of Jesus, present in Calvary at the foot of the Cross, who offered her Son as a victim for the salvation of our souls, not be present in the mystical calvary of the altar?”
Some insights into the role of God's Mother by the Fathers of the Church, the Popes, the Doctors of the Church, and some of the Greatest Saints.
"Happy is he who lives and dies under the protection of the Blessed Virgin"- Saint Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney, the Cure D' Ars, ( 1786-1859)
"When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant."- Saint John Vianney (1786 - 1859)
"Do you know the surest way to learn the will of God ? It is the way of prayer to our good Mother Mary!" -Saint John Vianney (1786 - 1859)
"Those who have great devotion to Mary not only will be saved, but also will, through her intercession, become great Saints. Furthermore, their holiness will grow from day to day ."- Saint Vincent Pallotti (1795 - 1850)
"We find ourselves on earth as in a tempestuous sea, a desert , and a vale of tears. But Mary is the Star of the Sea, the Solace of our desert, and the Light that guides us to Heaven."- Saint John Bosco. (1815 - 1888)
"Do not be afraid to love the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her enough. And Jesus will be very happy, because the Blessed Virgin is His Mother."- Saint Therese of Lisieux.
(1873 - 1897) ***
"Let us bind ourselves tightly to the Sorrowful Heart of Our Heavenly Mother and reflect on its boundless grief and how precious is our soul." - Saint Padre Pio. (1887 - 1968)
"Some people are foolish enough to believe that they can get through their whole life without any help from the Blessed Virgin Mary." - Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)
"Do not fear the enemy; he will not launch anything against the little ship of your spirit because Jesus is the helmsman and Mary is the star." - Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)
"Love Our Lady, make others love her. Always say your Rosary and say it well. Satan always tries to destroy this prayer, but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone." -Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)
"Those who belong to Mary should do all they can to win the hearts of others to her. And Mary will enlighten those hearts , enkindle them with the love of her Maternal Heart, and inflame them with the fire of charity that burns in the Divine Heart of Jesus."- Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)
"Love the Immaculata! Confide in her and consecrate yourself to her without reservation. Strive to do everything that she herself would do it in your place, especially by loving God as she loves Him." - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)
"If you want to grow in perfection, you cannot advance by yourselves - you need a guide. Hence, when you go to God, go through Mary and with Mary!" - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 -
1941)
"When, O Mother Immaculate, will you become Queen of each and every soul? When will all the souls in the entire world know the goodness and love of your Heart towards them? When will every soul show you its gratitude with ardent love, and not only by passing affection, but by total dedication of the will to you, so that you reign in each and every heart and be able to form them according to the pattern of the Most Sacred Heart of thy Son, to make them happy , to divinise them? When will this come about ?" - Saint Maximilian Kolbe(1894 - 1941)
Some insights into the role of God's Mother by the Fathers of the Church, the Popes, the Doctors of the Church, and some of the Greatest Saints.
"Happy is he who lives and dies under the protection of the Blessed Virgin"- Saint Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney, the Cure D' Ars, ( 1786-1859)
"When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant."- Saint John Vianney (1786 - 1859)
"Do you know the surest way to learn the will of God ? It is the way of prayer to our good Mother Mary!" -Saint John Vianney (1786 - 1859)
"Those who have great devotion to Mary not only will be saved, but also will, through her intercession, become great Saints. Furthermore, their holiness will grow from day to day ."- Saint Vincent Pallotti (1795 - 1850)
"We find ourselves on earth as in a tempestuous sea, a desert , and a vale of tears. But Mary is the Star of the Sea, the Solace of our desert, and the Light that guides us to Heaven."- Saint John Bosco. (1815 - 1888)
"Do not be afraid to love the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her enough. And Jesus will be very happy, because the Blessed Virgin is His Mother."- Saint Therese of Lisieux.
(1873 - 1897) ***
"Let us bind ourselves tightly to the Sorrowful Heart of Our Heavenly Mother and reflect on its boundless grief and how precious is our soul." - Saint Padre Pio. (1887 - 1968)
"Some people are foolish enough to believe that they can get through their whole life without any help from the Blessed Virgin Mary." - Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)
"Do not fear the enemy; he will not launch anything against the little ship of your spirit because Jesus is the helmsman and Mary is the star." - Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)
"Love Our Lady, make others love her. Always say your Rosary and say it well. Satan always tries to destroy this prayer, but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone." -Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)
"Those who belong to Mary should do all they can to win the hearts of others to her. And Mary will enlighten those hearts , enkindle them with the love of her Maternal Heart, and inflame them with the fire of charity that burns in the Divine Heart of Jesus."- Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)
"Love the Immaculata! Confide in her and consecrate yourself to her without reservation. Strive to do everything that she herself would do it in your place, especially by loving God as she loves Him." - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)
"If you want to grow in perfection, you cannot advance by yourselves - you need a guide. Hence, when you go to God, go through Mary and with Mary!" - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 -
1941)
"When, O Mother Immaculate, will you become Queen of each and every soul? When will all the souls in the entire world know the goodness and love of your Heart towards them? When will every soul show you its gratitude with ardent love, and not only by passing affection, but by total dedication of the will to you, so that you reign in each and every heart and be able to form them according to the pattern of the Most Sacred Heart of thy Son, to make them happy , to divinise them? When will this come about ?" - Saint Maximilian Kolbe(1894 - 1941)
