April 6, 2018 Mass with Padre Pio Relics at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Baton Rouge
April 6, 2018 Mass with Padre Pio Relics at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Baton Rouge
A few weeks ago (March 17, 2018), Pope Francis traveled to the two cities most associated with Padre Pio’s life to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Padre Pio’s death and the 100th anniversary of his receiving the stigmata. At his birth city of Pietrelcina, the Pope visited the Chapel of Stigmata where the saint received the wounds of Jesus’ passion. At the monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo where Padre Pio spent 52 years of his religious life, the Pope celebrated mass at the saint’s grave and left a gift of a purple confessional stole on top the glass reliquary holding the saint’s body. At the mass, Pope Francis said, “Saint Pio offered his life and innumerable sufferings to enable his brothers to meet the Lord. And the decisive way of meeting Him was Confession, the sacrament of Reconciliation. There, a wise life begins and starts over, loved and forgiven; there begins the healing of the heart. Father Pio was an apostle of the confessional.” In the confessional Padre Pio lifted up the spirit of those dejected by their weakness and failures. Padre Pio said, “You must not be discouraged or let yourself become dejected if your actions have not succeeded as perfectly as you intended. What do you expect? We are made of clay, and not every soil yields the fruits expected by the one who tills it. But let us always humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are nothing if we lack the divine assistance.”
In the Gospel today, we find Peter and apostles fishing by the Sea of Galilee. Peter’s heart was heavy after Jesus’ death. Peter, the rock on which Jesus promised to build his church, denied him three times. He also didn’t have the courage to be at Calvary with Blessed Mother, Mary Magdalene, and John. Shame and guilt were lingering in his heart even after Jesus’ resurrection. I wonder if Peter heard in his mind over and over, ‘I’m weak, cowardly, and unreliable. I can’t be trusted. I can’t even keep a promise.’ Peter decided to leave Jerusalem and return to his home district of Galilee, very likely so he could resume his fishing career. Peter was discouraged, and he went back to his previous career out of despair and uncertainty. Some of the other apostles followed him back to Galilee.Yet Jesus did not write off Peter. He didn’t even demote him. Instead, Jesus was waiting for him in Galilee. After the miraculous catch of fish, Jesus spent personal time with Peter. Jesus said to Simon Peter..."Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because Jesus said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" ...he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." Jesus knew how to lift the spirit of Peter from guilt and self-pity and to make him a fisher of men. This gospel speaks of God’s generosity and the future work the apostles will accomplish as fishers of people. With their trust in Jesus, the apostles will be able to accomplish far more than what they imagined.
Why is the confessional a place, as Pope Francis said, where ‘a wise life begins and starts over’? Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; Christ gave power to forgive sins to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time, would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and priests. Padre Pio received a special gift as a confessor. It is said that people would flock to Padre Pio’s confessional because he was able to read people’s souls. To confess to Padre Pio was not an easy task for most because as one said, “he looked right inside your soul.” As a confessor, he was strict and demanding. He sometimes withheld absolution and even told them to get out of the confessional until they have properly prepared. He had great moral strength in directing souls and he did not hesitate to tell the penitents what they needed to do in order to change their lives. Padre Pio warned other priests not to copy him in this practice. He said: “You cannot do what I do!” In today’s climate, such behavior by a priest would prompt the penitent to write an angry letter or call the Bishop’s office to complain. But people continued to flock to his confessional because there they encountered Jesus, who was merciful. Although some people perceived Padre Pio to be gruff , most of them came to see him as a compassionate father.
A young lady whose fiance broke off the relationship only weeks from wedding day went see Padre Pio for confession. She had been suffering from a deep depression since the break up. Even before she had a chance to introduce herself, he knew her name and what she was suffering from. In a fatherly way, he counseled her, “You must try to stop thinking about your fiancé and how he betrayed you. He was not worthy of you.” The young lady felt at peace for the first time in a very long time. Pio spoke to her with great tenderness, almost making light of the sins that she confessed. He then gave her a picture of Jesus. On the back of the picture, he had written the words, “Let Jesus be the center of all your aspirations.” After making her confession to Padre Pio, the young lady was able to put the past behind her and move forward in life.
Each time we come to the confessional, Jesus is waiting for us, just as he waited for Peter and just as Padre Pio waited for that young lady suffering from depression. Jesus already knows the challenges and personal failures that we experienced. He doesn’t fuss at us for failure. Rather, he says to us, “Where are you going? To God or to your sadness? Are you going to turn to Heavenly Father who saves you or, turn to your defeats, your regrets, your sins?” Padre Pio said, "Oh the souls! if you knew how much they cost!...God runs after the most stubborn souls. They cost him too much to abandon them." So come, come the Lord is waiting for you. Take courage, there is no reason so grave as to exclude you from His mercy. Take Padre Pio’s invitation and go to confession which is available to you throughout today in this very special occasion of his visit to Baton Rouge.
A few weeks ago (March 17, 2018), Pope Francis traveled to the two cities most associated with Padre Pio’s life to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Padre Pio’s death and the 100th anniversary of his receiving the stigmata. At his birth city of Pietrelcina, the Pope visited the Chapel of Stigmata where the saint received the wounds of Jesus’ passion. At the monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo where Padre Pio spent 52 years of his religious life, the Pope celebrated mass at the saint’s grave and left a gift of a purple confessional stole on top the glass reliquary holding the saint’s body. At the mass, Pope Francis said, “Saint Pio offered his life and innumerable sufferings to enable his brothers to meet the Lord. And the decisive way of meeting Him was Confession, the sacrament of Reconciliation. There, a wise life begins and starts over, loved and forgiven; there begins the healing of the heart. Father Pio was an apostle of the confessional.” In the confessional Padre Pio lifted up the spirit of those dejected by their weakness and failures. Padre Pio said, “You must not be discouraged or let yourself become dejected if your actions have not succeeded as perfectly as you intended. What do you expect? We are made of clay, and not every soil yields the fruits expected by the one who tills it. But let us always humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are nothing if we lack the divine assistance.”
In the Gospel today, we find Peter and apostles fishing by the Sea of Galilee. Peter’s heart was heavy after Jesus’ death. Peter, the rock on which Jesus promised to build his church, denied him three times. He also didn’t have the courage to be at Calvary with Blessed Mother, Mary Magdalene, and John. Shame and guilt were lingering in his heart even after Jesus’ resurrection. I wonder if Peter heard in his mind over and over, ‘I’m weak, cowardly, and unreliable. I can’t be trusted. I can’t even keep a promise.’ Peter decided to leave Jerusalem and return to his home district of Galilee, very likely so he could resume his fishing career. Peter was discouraged, and he went back to his previous career out of despair and uncertainty. Some of the other apostles followed him back to Galilee.Yet Jesus did not write off Peter. He didn’t even demote him. Instead, Jesus was waiting for him in Galilee. After the miraculous catch of fish, Jesus spent personal time with Peter. Jesus said to Simon Peter..."Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because Jesus said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" ...he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." Jesus knew how to lift the spirit of Peter from guilt and self-pity and to make him a fisher of men. This gospel speaks of God’s generosity and the future work the apostles will accomplish as fishers of people. With their trust in Jesus, the apostles will be able to accomplish far more than what they imagined.
Why is the confessional a place, as Pope Francis said, where ‘a wise life begins and starts over’? Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; Christ gave power to forgive sins to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time, would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and priests. Padre Pio received a special gift as a confessor. It is said that people would flock to Padre Pio’s confessional because he was able to read people’s souls. To confess to Padre Pio was not an easy task for most because as one said, “he looked right inside your soul.” As a confessor, he was strict and demanding. He sometimes withheld absolution and even told them to get out of the confessional until they have properly prepared. He had great moral strength in directing souls and he did not hesitate to tell the penitents what they needed to do in order to change their lives. Padre Pio warned other priests not to copy him in this practice. He said: “You cannot do what I do!” In today’s climate, such behavior by a priest would prompt the penitent to write an angry letter or call the Bishop’s office to complain. But people continued to flock to his confessional because there they encountered Jesus, who was merciful. Although some people perceived Padre Pio to be gruff , most of them came to see him as a compassionate father.
A young lady whose fiance broke off the relationship only weeks from wedding day went see Padre Pio for confession. She had been suffering from a deep depression since the break up. Even before she had a chance to introduce herself, he knew her name and what she was suffering from. In a fatherly way, he counseled her, “You must try to stop thinking about your fiancé and how he betrayed you. He was not worthy of you.” The young lady felt at peace for the first time in a very long time. Pio spoke to her with great tenderness, almost making light of the sins that she confessed. He then gave her a picture of Jesus. On the back of the picture, he had written the words, “Let Jesus be the center of all your aspirations.” After making her confession to Padre Pio, the young lady was able to put the past behind her and move forward in life.
Each time we come to the confessional, Jesus is waiting for us, just as he waited for Peter and just as Padre Pio waited for that young lady suffering from depression. Jesus already knows the challenges and personal failures that we experienced. He doesn’t fuss at us for failure. Rather, he says to us, “Where are you going? To God or to your sadness? Are you going to turn to Heavenly Father who saves you or, turn to your defeats, your regrets, your sins?” Padre Pio said, "Oh the souls! if you knew how much they cost!...God runs after the most stubborn souls. They cost him too much to abandon them." So come, come the Lord is waiting for you. Take courage, there is no reason so grave as to exclude you from His mercy. Take Padre Pio’s invitation and go to confession which is available to you throughout today in this very special occasion of his visit to Baton Rouge.
