- No fear on your mind -

From Padre Pio writings:

May Jesus always be at the centre of your heart, to fill it and make it abound with his holy love … Long live Jesus … this is the inner thought by which we must live and die. Have no fear as regards your spirit, because it is absolutely not true that you have taken the wrong path. The path you tread is the one that will lead you to Heaven. And it is all the safer because Jesus himself takes you by the hand.  Do not upset yourself at spiritual aridity and desolation.   On the contrary, be consoled in spirit,and remember what our Lord said : Blessed are the poor in spirit (…) blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. (Mt 5:3-6)  (Letters III,269)

From Padre Pio writings:

During this state of aridity and desolation of spirit, don’t worry if you are unable to serve God as you would like. While you adapt to His wishes, you serve him according to his will, which is better than yours. What does it matter to us whether we belong to God in one way or another? In truth, as we seek nothing but him, and we do not find him any less whilst we are walking on the waters of perceptible consolations, we must, therefore, be content with both paths. (Letters III,270)

From Padre Pio writings:

Live tranquilly in your present state also. Rise above yourself with frequent ejaculatory prayers and aspirations of the heart which are true, continual prayers. And bearing physical and moral ailments is the most worthy offering you can make Him who saved us through suffering. The framework of your life, then, my dearest daughter, should have no further reason to cause you to fear and be dejected in spirit. Jesus has pardoned everything with the fire of his holy love. (Letters III,270)

From Padre Pio writings:

Let us pray and beseech God to let us understand his will. Let us see to it that our will desires nothing at all except his. Live tranquilly without anxiety or agitation of heart. When we meet for the first time, God will be merciful towards us if he pleases. Lift up your heart, I beg you. Your state of soul is enviable and there is no reason to fear. Therefore, don’ t fail to keep present to the eyes of the divine Bridegroom. Let your soul expand before this divine Sun and don’ t  fear its burning rays, otherwise the cocoon will not open, and the beautiful butterfly will not emerge. Always be simple, because true simplicity is always good and acceptable to God.               (Letters III,321)

Letters III, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version, second edition, years  2001, edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

I desire one thing from you in this regard, more than anything else: Your usual meditation should possibly be on the Life, Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ … You could also meditate on His public life, His most painful passion and death, the institution of Blessed Sacrament, on that precise evening when men were preparing the most atrocious suffering for him. You could also meditate on Jesus meditating in the Olive Grove whrn He perspired blood at the sight of the suffering which men were preparing for Him, and of the ingratitude of those who would not take advantage of His merits. Meditate on Jesus dragged and beaten in the tribunals; scourged and crowned with the cross; His climb up the hill of Calvary laden with the cross; His Crucifixion and finally, His death on the cross amidst a sea of anguish as His most afflicted Mother looked on. ( Letters III,65/66)

From Padre Pio writings:

I exhort you to love a God crucified amidst the darkness; stay a while with him. Tell him: ” It does me good to stay here. Let us make three booths (Mk 9:5), one for our Lord, one for our Lady and the other for Saint John. Make three crosses anyway, stay at the foot of that of the Son, or that of the Mother, or that of the most beloved disciple. You will be welcomed everywhere. ( Letters III,181)

From Padre Pio writings:

If the longing to love God seems to you not to be satisfied, or let us even say that it really is not satisfied; if it seems to you that you always desire without ever arriving at the possesion of perfect love, all this means that your soul must never say it has enough, it means that we cannot and must not stop on the path to divine love and holy perfection. St. Augustine says very aptly: Our heart is not at rest till it rests in the object of its love. ( St. Augustine, Confessions, Bk.I,1) . ( Letters II,424)

From Padre Pio writings:

… The Lord is with you, he suffers with you, groans with you and is pleased with you. Love, and do whatever you wish …Even if you were to have committed all the sins of this world … Jesus tells you: Your sinsm which are many, are forgiven, for you have loved much. ( Lk 7:47) But then, you will say to me, what is the reason for this trial of heavenly love. I have come into deep waters and the flood sweeps over me. (Ps 69 (68) :2) But the Prophet added to the Lord: Let not the flood sweep over me or the deep swallow me up!. ( Ps 69 (68) : 15) This is the trial of souls who are particularly loved by that Jesus who was pleased to experience all the fear of that moral tempest in the desert, the Garden and Calvary. Every soul that wants to be saved must undergo something of that mysterious storm, because every predestined soul must resemble Jesus. ( Letters III,218/219)

Letters II, III, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version, second and third edition, years  2001,2002, edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

– Jesus Heart Lovely -

From Padre Pio writings:

The most afflicted souls are those who are closest to the divine heart. And you can be sure that Jesus has chosen your soul as that which is most dear to his adorable Heart. You must hide yourself in this Heart; you must pour out your most ardent desires there, and in this Heart you must still live those remaining days which Providence grants you; you must die in this Heart when the Lord wishes.

From Padre Pio writings:

… Without fully understanding it … you are hidden in this Heart. You pour out all your desires there. In this Heart, you are, you live and you move; it is in this heart that I have placed you; I have immolated your will there … This being the case, one can understand how your soul cannot, and must not be almost inactive and selfish at the sight of those creatures who flee from their Creator.

From Padre Pio writings:

No soul who has chosen divine love either for itself or others, as in your case, and who has sacrificed everything to Him should or could be selfish in the Heart of Jesus but it absolutely must feel itself burn also with that love for its brothers and sisters, which caused the apostle of people to exclaim: ” For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsman by race” ( Rom 9:3).

From Padre Pio writings:

… Before Jesus, and in his most sacred Heart, your heart beats also with holy affection for others. I know of your ardent prayers for the salvation of souls. I am certain of this and am pleased with the admirable behaviour of divine grace towards you. But all this has its foundation in the goodness of the Lord and your complete renunciation of your own will …

Letters  III p. 324/325 , edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version, second Edition, years  2001, edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writtings:

Listen to our Lord who says to the Patriarch Abraham, and to you also: Do not fear, ” I am your protector” (Gen 15:1). What do you seek on earth except God? Well, my daughter, know that you possess him. Be comforted by the thought that he is at the centre of your heart and that you are extremely pleasing to his divine Heart, and that he observes your great struggle with the enemy with pleasure. Be firm in your resolutions; stay in the boat in which our Lord has placed you and let the storm come. You will not perish. It appears to you that Jesus is sleeping, but let it be so. Don’t you know that if he sleeps, his heart vigilantly watches over you? Let him sleep, but at the right time, he will awaken to resore your calm. (Letters III,935/936)

From Padre Pio writtings:

Scripture tells us that dearest Saint Peter was frightened, and trembling, he exclaimed: ” O Lord, save me!” And our Lord, taking him by the hand replied: ” Oh, man of little faith, why did you doubt? ” ( Mt 14:30-31). My daughter, observe this holy apostle. He walks with dry feet on the water; the waves and winds do not submerge him, but the fear of the winds and waves discourage and dishearten him. Fear is an evil worse than the evil itself… What is there to fear? But if fear takes you by surprise, cry out aloud: ” Oh Lord, save me! “. He will stretch out his hand to you; hold on to it tightly and joyfully walk on the stormy sea of life… Therefore, let the world turn upside down, let everything be in darkness, in smoke, in tumult, nothing must agitate your soul since God is with you and you are fighting valiantly. (Letters III,936/937)

From Padre Pio writtings:

St. Bernard, in the scale of values he established for his cloistered monks, recognizes four degrees or means by which to reach God and perfection, namely, reading and meditation, prayer and contemplation. As proof of what he says, he quotes the divine Master’s own words:  Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. He goes on to apply these words to the four means or degrees of perfection and says that by reading Sacred Scripture and other holy and pious books we are seeking God; by meditation we ginf Him, by prayer we knock at the door of His heart and by contemplation enter the theatre of divine delights which has been opened to our mental gaze by reading, meditation and prayer. ( Letters II, 155)

From Padre Pio writtings:

Let the glory of the heavenly Father keep you always on your guard to ward off the enemy’s blows … I see no other way out than to abandon myself in the arms of Jesus where he often allows me to fall asleep. Blessed sleep! Happy refreshment for the soul in the struggles it endure. ( Letters I, 544)

Letters I, II, III, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version, second and third edition, years 1984, 2001,2002, edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

Do not fear, my good daughter, it is Jesus who is acting within you. Humble yourself  beneath God’s powerful hand, pray to him, thank him and let Jesus treat you as he pleases … The darkness in your soul is light, in fact it is the very Sun of justice that is shining in your soul.        ( Letters III,223)

From Padre Pio writings:

The spiritual martyrdom you are enduring is caused by God himself, that is, by that mysterious force of which you speak and which, as you say yourself, keeps you continually in a delightful and painful swoon. If this were not the work of God, could this swoon be delightful and painful simultaneously? It il love which wounds and heals, heals and wounds. ( Letters III, 224)

From Padre Pio writings:

You complain to the Lord and you want to know if this is a sin? No, these are the son’s complaints to his father, they are the sighs of the soul that is seeking its Supreme Good. And as these is no fault in seeking this Good, neither is there any fault in your complaining in order to gain this Good.The soul does not see Him but He is there within it. It seeks him with groans because it does not yet possess him perfectly. ( Letters III,224)

From Padre Pio writings:

If  this outline of life is comprised of the representation of sins committed, it is lying and therefore comes from the devil. You are loved by Jesus and Jesus has already forgiven your sins, so there can be no further reason for your spirit to be depressed. Your desire to convince yourself to the contrary is truly a waste of time; it is an offence to the Heart of this most tender Lover of ours. If on the contrary, the outline of life is the representation of what you could have and could still be, then this comes from God.   ( Letters III, 244)

Letters III, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version, 2nd edition, year 2001, edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

– The power of the holy Spirit and Mary-

From Padre Pio writings:

What a joy it is to serve Jesus in the desert without manna, water, or any other consolation, except that of being led by him and suffering for him! May the most holy Virgin be born in our hearts, to bring us her blessings. ( Letters III,487)

From Padre Pio writings:

Let us invariably unite with this dear Mother. With her, close to Jesus, let us go out from Jerusalem, the symbol and figure of Jewish obduracy, of the world which rejects and denies Jesus Christ and from which Jesus Christ declared himself to be separated when he said: ” I am not of this world ” (Jn 8:23) ( Letters I,673)

From Padre Pio writings:

I pray continually for your growth in the spiritual life, I will send up my feeble pleas to God’s throne with greater confidence and filial abandonment, imploring Him and doing gentle violence to His divine Heart so that He may grant me the grace of increasing heavenly wisdom in your soul …  The fact of having been chosen, having been elected among innumerable others and knowing that without any merit on our part, this choice, this election was decided by God from all eternity, before the foundation of the world (Jn 17:24; Eph 1:4), for the sole reason that we might be His in time and in eternity, is such a great and at the same time such an enchanting mystery that the soul, even though it understands so little of all this, cannot but melt away with love. ( Letters II,211/212)

From Padre Pio writings:

Jesus and Mary continue to act as parents to me. Oh, my dear Father, who could put into writing the consolations which this heavenly Mother makes me feel during this month! I continually feel a burning heart enclosed in this frozen body of mine. ( Letters I,321)

Letters I, II, III, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version, second and third edition, years 1984, 2001,2002, edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

From Padre Pio writings:

When Mass was over I remained with Jesus in thanksgiving. Oh, how sweet was the colloquy with paradise this morning! It was such that, although I want to tell you all about it, I cannot. There were things which cannot be translated into human language without losing their deep and heavenly meaning. The heart of Jesus and my own – allow me to use the expression – were fused. No longer were two hearts beating but only one. My own heart had disappeared, as a drop of water is lost in the ocean. Jesus was its paradise, its king. My joy was so intense and deep that I could bear no nore and tears of happiness poured down my cheeks … Praise be to the divine Prisoner! ( Letters I, 308)

From Padre Pio writings:

And who is not well with Jesus? What soul, thinking of what the divine Master declared: ” I delight in the sons of men “, doesn’t feel itself filled with infinite happiness? What soul, to whom Jesus has given himself as its inheritance, can be unhappy? Is he not the same Jesus who is the delight of the angels, and the only object of the heavenly Father’s pleasure? … Let us spend the whole of our lives giving thanks to the divine Father who, in an excess of love for us, sent His only – begotten Son and our most sweet Lover! ( Letters III, 100/101)

From Padre Pio writings:

O my daughter! How beautiful is His face, how sweet His eyes and what a good thing it is to stay close to Him on the Mount of His glory! We must place all our desires and affections there … You are not unaware of the fact that I desire to die and to love God: either death or love, given that life without this love is worse than death. ( Letters III, 409/410)

From Padre Pio writings:

The prophet Isaiah said: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. (Is 9:6). This child … is the affectionate brother, the most loving Spouse of our souls, of whom the sacred spouse of the Song, prefiguring the faithful soul, sought the company … This son is Jesus and we can kiss Him without betraying Him, give Him the kiss and the embrace of grace and love He expects from us and which He promises to return. We can do all this, St. Bernard tells us, by serving Him heavenly doctrine which we profess by our words… Thus we shall end our life in the holy kiss of the Lord, an admirable kiss of divine condescension by which, according to St. Bernard, it is not a matter of approaching face to face and mouth to mouth. Rather does it mean that the Creator draws close to His creature and man and God are united for all eternity. ( Letters II, 506/507)

Cf.St.Bernard, Sermones in Cantica, Sermo IV: PL.vol 183,col.796-798

Letters I, II, III, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version, second and third edition, years 1984, 2001,2002, edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

This is just a pallid idea of what Jesus is doing within me. Just as a torrent carries down to the depths of the sea everything it encounters on its way, so also my soul, immersed in the boundless ocean of Jesus’ love, by no merit of my own and without my being able to explain it, carries all its treasures along with it. But, my dear Father, as I write where do my thoughts fly? To the great day of my ordination… I have already begun to experience again the happiness of that day which is so sacred for me. Already this morning I began to have a taste of paradise… And what will it be when we taste it for all eternity? When I compare the peace of heart I experienced on that day with the peace of heart I have begun to feel since the eve of this feast, I find no difference… How happy I was and how I rejoiced on that day! ( Letters I,335,336)

From Padre Pio writings:

Accompany me continually, then, by your prayers that the divine Shepherd may give me what is lacking to me. Ask  Him to give me the holiness of  life that I lack. Oh, if only I could say at least once with the apostle of the nations, raising my voice to tell everybody: ” Be imitators of me as I am of Christ”. But alas, everything is lacking to me and I expect all things from your insistent prayers and those of others to the Heart of God. ( Letters II,558)

From Padre Pio writings:

Every minister of the Lord ough to work continually for the good of souls. He ought never admit weariness and never say: ” I have worked too hard for the souls of others”. This is image of the genuine Catholic priest. Can I say that I am like this without fear of lying? Alas, I know myself only too well. I occupy a place in the Lord’s house which is of no benefit to others and may God forbid that I should even be the ruin of other souls. It is true that in my own little way I do my best for the good of those souls whom the Lord enables me to meet, but I am convinced that I am of  little or no use to them. May the Lord assist me in the fulfilment of my duty. (Letters II,558)

Letters I, II, second and third edition, years 1984 and 2002, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

You belong totally to Jesus. Therefore, let nothing detain you from abandoning yourself totally to the mercy of his Providence. Therefore, my dearest daughter, stay amidst the darkness of the Passion. I say, in the midst of this darkness since this will enable you to consider the most holy Virgin and Saint John who, being at the foot of the cross admist the frightening darkness, no longer heard nor saw our Lord, but felt nothing except grief and sadness. And even though they were animated with faith, this too was in darkness, as it was necessary for them to participate in the abandonment of our Lord. Well, my most beloved daughter, consider yourself happy to be in such sweet company without understanding it. ( Letters III, 181)

From Padre Pio writings:

” The darkness in your soul is light, in fact it is the very Sun of justice that is shining in your soul “. This is the truth and the whole truth.   ” The spiritual martyrdom you are enduring is caused by God himself, that is, by that mysterious force of which you speak and which, as you say yourself, keeps you continually in a delightful and painful swoon. If this were not the work of God, could this swoon be delightful and painful simultaneously? It is love which wounds and heals, heals and woubds. ( Letters III,223/224)

From Padre Pio writings:

” You complain to the Lord and you want to know if this is a sin? No, these are the son’s complaints to his father, they are the sighs of the soul that is seeking its Supreme Good”. And as there is no fault in seeking this Good, neither is there any fault in yuor complaining in order to gain this Good. ” The soul does not see Him but He is there within it “. It seeks him with groans because it does not yet possess him perfectly. And it is this Good that causes it to seek, and it is due to this searching that it preserves this same Good and this same Good becomes greater and greater always. The soul seeks this Good with groanings, because it cannot yet possess it perfectly. ” This Supreme Good has wounded your heart, and this is the wound of divine love. It is a spiritual wound but it also affects the body. This is why, in addition to the torment of divine love ” in your soul, you also feel that physical pain which sometimes makes you almost powerless. ( Letters III,224)

From Padre Pio writings:

From Padre Pio writings:

Deep darkness envelops me; an invisible and powerful force splits me up and disperses me to the four winds and while I am trying to gather up what remains of my scattered faculties, everything vanishes once more as if completely crushed and cancelled. Dear God! I come to you in deep cpnfusion, to you who are what you are, while I myself am a miserable nonentity worthy only of your contempt and commiseration. But I realize that I am dealing with God and that he is mine. Ah, yes, who can deny that he is mine ? … I re-read your repeated assurances and exhortotions and find it impossible to assimilate them fully, I ask myself if in my insensible belief there may not be something harmful to my soul, a lack of that conformity which God wants from me. Alas! The feelings which rise up in me on this account go to both extremes, they clash and reduce my soul to a state in which it is almost powerless to react and they keep it in greatest torment day and night. ( Letters I, 1229/1230)

From Padre Pio writings:

Where am I ? What is happenig within me ? Where can I find God ?  Where is my God ? It is a vicious circle which leaves me back at the starting point … Dear God ! I can no longer go on, my dear Father. I feel I am dying a thousand deaths at every instant. I feel myself being consumed by a mysterious force, a deep and penetrating force which keep me continually in a delightful but most painful languor. What on earth is this ? Is it a sin to complain to God of such harshness ? And if it is a sin, how am I to suffocate these laments when an irresistible force drives me to complain to our sweet Lord, a force over which I have absolutely no control ?         ( Letters I, 1230)

From Padre Pio writings:

Dear God, I certainly don’t want to lose hope. I certainly don’t want to wrong your infinite mercy, but in spite of  all these efforts to have confidence, I perceive within me keenly and unmistakably the dark picture of your abandonment and your rejection. Dear God, I trust in you, but this trust is full of fears … O my God ! If I could understand even ever so slightly that this state does not mean rejection by you and that I am not offending you, I should be willing to suffer this torment a hundredfold. ( Letters I, 1413)

From Padre Pio writings:

I left everything in order to please God and I should have given my life a thousand times to seal my love for him. But now, dear God, how bitter it is to feel deep down in my heart that you are irritated with me. I just cannot find peace in face of this misfortune. My heart is drawn irresistibly and vehemently towards its Lord, but an iron hand thrusts me away all the time. Imagine a poor shipwrecked man clinging to a piece of the ship’s timber while every gust of wind threatens to make him drown … Moreover, this state causes me to suffer even at dead of night when I endeavour more than ever to find my God. ( Letters I,1413)

Letters I, II Edition year 1984, Edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni.

English version edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

I am consumed by love for God and love for my neighbour. God is continually fixed in my mind and imprinted on my heart. I never lose sight of him. I have to admire his beauty, his benevolence, the agitation he causes, his mercies, his vengeance, or rather the severity of his justice. ( Ep. I,1393)

From Padre Pio writings:

When Mass was over I remained with Jesus in thanksgiving: Oh, how sweet was the colloquy with paradise that morning! It was such that, although I want to tell you all about it, I cannot. There were things which cannot be translated into human language without losing their deep and heavenly meaning. The heart of Jesus and my own – allow me to use the expression – were fused. No longer were two hearts beating but only one. My own heart had disappeared, as a drop of water is lost in the ocean. Jesus was its paradise, its king. My joy was so intense and deep that I could bear no more and tears of happiness poured down my cheeks. ( Ep. I, 308)

From Padre Pio writings:

Don’t worry about eseless promises of tranquillity, enjoyment or merits, but present your hearts to your divine Spouse, totally emptying them of all other affections, except his chaste love … and you will see that God will help you, and that you will do a great deal, both in choosing and carrying matters to a conclusion. ( Ep. III,572/573)

From Padre Pio writings:

Always keep ( the soul ) situated in the presence of God, while you go about your exterior practices … When you pray, if ( your soul ) wants to fly, let it fly and do not prevent it from doing so. If  it wants to move, let il move even though its present tranquillity and simple rest in seeing God, in flying to him and tasting him, is excellent … Practise this truth and virtue a great deal in your heart. Practise interior and exterior sweetness a great deal, in your heart, and keep it tranquil amidst your multiple affections.  (Ep.III,759/760)

Letters I and III, 2nd Edition, year 1984 and 2001, Edited by Melchiorre da Pobladura and Alessandro da Ripabottoni.

English version, Edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri, O.F.M.Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

Those souls who throw themselves into the whirlpool of worldly preoccupations are poor and unfortunate. The more they love the worl, the more their passions multiply, the more their desires are lit, the more they find themselves incapable of carrying out their projects, and thus they are uneasy, impatient, affected by that shock that breaks their hearts; those hearts which do not beat with charity and holy love. Let us pray for these unfortunate and miserable souls, that Jesus may forgive them and draw them to himself in his infinite mercy. ( Letters III,1105)

From Padre Pio writings:

You who have received many gifts and graces from Jesus, continue to increase always in the life of virtue, and your piety and zeal will recall those who are far fom the right path, and thus you will praise the Lord along with our common father, Saint Francis, in all the works of the creation, obtaining copious reward on earth and in heaven. ( Letters III,1105)

From Padre Pio writings:

… May your way of life be totally heavenly; we are bound to this as Christians and also as children of the Seraphic Father, Saint Francis. In imitation of this Seraphic Father let us love Jesus in the Passion more than anything else. Let us often meditate on the suffering of the God-Man and then it will not be long before the great desire to suffer more for love of Jesus is awakened in us. ( Letters III, 69 )

From Padre Pio writings:

And our Seraphic Father understood well that without love for the cross, one cannot make much progress in the ways of Christian perfection. Therefore he continually carried, sculpted in his soul, the Passion, Death and the whole mortal life of the Son of God made Man. The fruit of such assiduous meditation was the generating in his heart of love for suffering without limit, so that often enraptured in loving ecstasy, he would exclaim: ” The good that awaits me is so great that all sufferins is my delight “. ( Letters III,69 )

From Padre Pio writings:

Keep your spirit always raised on high; may your heart always be turned towards the heavenly Homeland and do not take your gaze from there except in order to check where you are walking, so as to avoid making a mistake, and once again to see the road on which you are to travel in order to get to Jesus. ( Letters III, 68/69 )

Letters III, Edited by Melchiorre da Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni, 2nd Edition year 2001

Edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri, O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

I also suffer gratly Father, when I see how people ignore Jesus, and what is worse, how they even insult him, especially by those dreadful blasphemies.I should like to die, or least become deaf rather than hear so many insults offered to God by men. (Letters I,262)

From Padre Pio writings:

There are, moreover, three virtues which perfect the devout person with regard to control of his own senses. These are: modesty, continence and chastity. By the virtue of modesty the devout person governs all his exterior acts. With goog reason, then, does St. Paul recommend this virtue to all and declare how necessary it is; and as if this were not enough he considers that this virtue should be obvious to all. By continence the soul exercises restraint over all the senses: sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing. By chastity, a virtue which ennobles our nature and makes it similar to that of the Angels,we suppress our sensuality and detach it from forbidden pleasures.This is the magnificent picture of Christian perfection. Happy the one who possesses all these fine virtues,all of them fruits of the Holy Spirit who dwells within him.(Letters II,216)

From Padre Pio writings:

Let us now consider what we must do to ensure that the Holy Spirit may dwell in our souls. It can all be summed up mortification of the flesh with its vices and concupiscences, and in guarding against a selfish spirit. As regards mortification of the flesh St. Paul warns us that those who belong to“Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”.(Letters II,216/217)

From Padre Pio writings:

St. Paul tells us in this respect: ” If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit”, as if he wished to say for our edification: Do we want to live a spiritual life, moved and guided by the Spirit of the Lord ? Let us take care, then, to mortify our selfish spirit which puffs us up, makes us impulsive and leads to aridity of soul. In a word, we must be careful to subdue vainglory, irascibility and envy, three evil spirits to which most men are slaves. These three spirits are extremely opposed to the Spirit of the Lord.(Letters II,218)

Letters II, third edition, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni

English Version – edited by Father Gerardo Di Flumeri O.F.M. Cap.

From Padre Pio writings:

And who is not well with Jesus ? What soul, thinking of what the divine Master declared : ” I delight in the sons of men “, doesn’t feel itself filled with infinite happiness ? What soul, to whom Jesus has given himself as its inheritance, can be unhappy ? Is he not the same Jesus who is the delight of the angels, and the only object of the heavenly Father’s pleasure ? Therefore you are quite right to say you are well with Jesus. ( Letters III,100)

From Padre Pio writings:

Let all creatures praise him with one voice, and may their praise be eternal as he himself is eternal. May our souls always rejoice with happiness, o daughter, because there are those who love our God as he deserves tobe loved. May they exult and triumph because there are those who know of His goodness, and infinite perfection as it deserves to be known. ( Letters III,101)

From Padre Pio writings:

Let us spend the whole of our  lives giving thanks to the divine Father who, in an excess of love for us, sent His only-begotten Son and our most sweet Lover ! Protected, or rather, covered and defended by the uniform of this dear Lord, let us stand before him and pray with the humility of the creature and the confidence and freedom of the son. ( Letters III,101)

From Padre Pio writings:

From Padre Pio writings:

All of us are not called by God to save souls and propagate His glory by the noble apostolate of preaching. Remember, moreover, that this is not the only means of achieving these two great ideals. One can promote God’s glory and work for the salvation of souls by means of a truly Christian life, by praying without ceasing that “His kingdom come”, that His name “be hallowed”, that “we may not be led into temptation” and that He “deliver us from evil”. ( Letters II, p.77)

From Padre Pio writings:

St. Bernard, in the scale of values he established for his cloistered monks, recognizes four degrees or means by which to reach God and perfection, namely, reading and meditation, prayer and contemplation. As proof of what he says, he quotes the divine Master’s own words: “Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you”. He goes on to apply these words to the four means or degrees of perfection and says that by reading Sacred Scripture and other holy and pious books we are seeking God; by meditation we find Him, by prayer we knock at the door of His heart and by contemplation enter the theatre of divine delights which has been opened to our mental gaze by reading, meditation and prayer. ( Letters II, p.155)

From Padre Pio writings:

If you can speak to the Lord, do so, praise him, listen to him. If you are unable to speak, due to you clumsiness, don’t worry… The (…) reason for which one should place oneself in the presence of God during prayer, is in order to speak to him and to hear his voice through interior illumination and inspiration, and one ordinarily does this with great pleasure, because it is a grace for us speak to such a great Lord who, when he replies, spreads a thousand balms and precious ointments on us which render great sweetness to the soul, listening to his commands…(Letters III,p.991) Watchfulness, prayer and humility are the arms needed to overcome all temptations and they must never be unaccompanied by boundless trust in God, so that we never stop halfway. ( Letters II, p.447)

From Padre Pio writings:

May He multiply a hundredfold the number of chosen souls; send us many saints and learned ministers and sanctify those we already possess. May He, through them, make fervor return to all Christian souls. May the number of Catholic missionaries increase, as we once again have reason to complain to the divine Master: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few!… ( Letters III, p.64) Let us pray and beseech God to let us understand his will. Let us see to it that our will desires nothing at all except his. Live tranquilly without anxiety or agitation of heart.  ( Letters III, p.320)

Letters II, III, third and 2nd edition year 2002, 2003, edited by Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni