(c) Mary TV
September 23, 2020
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, priest
Dear Family of Mary!
June 12, 1986 “Dear children! Today I call you to begin to pray the Rosary with a living faith. That way I will be able to help you. You, dear children, wish to obtain graces, but you are not praying. I am not able to help you because you do not want to get started. Dear children, I am calling you to pray the Rosary and that your Rosary be an obligation which you shall fulfill with joy. That way you shall understand the reason I am with you this long. I desire to teach you to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
This is the Feast day of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, our dear Padre Pio! During the Daily Rosary we have prayed a Novena in honor of Padre Pio, asking his powerful intercession for Mary TV and all our Mary TV Family! Today we are concluding that Novena. Here is a beautiful account of something Padre Pio shared with one of his brother priests, which shows how much he understood about Our Lady and the power of her Rosary in the work of salvation:
One day when Padre Pellegrino and Padre Pio were sitting together in the monastery garden enjoying a moment of relaxation, Padre Pio noticed one of his fellow Capuchins, Brother Costantino, who was sitting a short distance away.
The elderly Brother was praying his Rosary in the open air. Padre Pio recognized that Brother Costantino, in his great devotion to the Mother of God, was a great spiritual role model for all of the other Capuchins.
Padre Pio said to Padre Pellegrino: “Do you see Brother Costantino? Old and sick as he is, he seems now to be worth nothing. And yet, as an obedient son of Holy Mother Church, who knows how to hold a Rosary in his hand and knows how to pray to the Madonna, he is worth more than you or me.
“Do you know why he has so much peace of soul? Because he has placed all his trust in the Most Holy Virgin, and because he interests himself as little as possible in the problems of the world.
“His spirit of prayer and his devotion to the Most Holy Virgin are virtues that wash away all defects and all human weaknesses. He draws on himself the gaze of the Madonna and his prayers have saved many souls.
“You think that the penitents are attracted by the confessor, but instead they are spurred on to penance by these hidden prayers. The Madonna listens to these devout sons of the Holy Church. I would almost say that she gets her strength from the prayers of these men whom you consider useless.
“For me, these brothers in the faith always say something on behalf of the Most Holy Virgin, on behalf of the Church, and on behalf of God.”
Padre Pio’s love for Mary was evident as he prayed the Rosary whenever there was a free moment in his busy day. He carried a Rosary with him at all times and was either holding it in his hand or had it close by. One of the Capuchins who assisted Padre Pio in the morning when he washed his hands said that he would wash first one hand and then the other because he wanted to keep one hand free to hold his Rosary!
Padre Pio Newsletter Issue 75
https://padrepiodevotions.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/75-Apr2018-SaintPio_Web.pdf
We should not flag in our zeal for the Rosary. Clearly it is the Rosary that Padre Pio grasped as his weapon in the battle for souls. In our day it is no different! May we pray the Rosary in imitation of Padre Pio, and because we love Our Lady so much!
And here is a prayer that Padre Pio prayed often. Let’s ask Him to pray it for us today!
A Prayer by St. Pio of Pietrelcina
May your heart always be
the temple of the Holy Spirit.
May Jesus always be the helmsman
of your little spiritual ship.
May Mary be the star
which shines on your path
and may she show you the safe way
to reach the Heavenly Father.
Amen.
Thank you, Padre Pio, for receiving our prayer! Thank you for being our spiritual guide and friend!
In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
© Mary TV 2020
