The saint we celebrate today could be very blunt and direct with people, telling them what he saw as the truth, without worrying about offering them. However, he is now one of our most beloved saints in the modern world. Padre Pio was born to a poor family of farmers in southern Italy in the late 19th century. On two different occasions, his father worked in the United States to provide financial support his for family. At the age of 15, he entered the Franciscan Capuchin religious order. After he served in WWI, he lived in the Capuchin friary in San Giovanni Rotondo in the province of Foggia in southern Italy. One day after Mass at the friary, he had a vision of Jesus, which produced the stigmata on his hands, feet, and side. Many questioned the authenticity of his stigmata. For a while, he was not allowed to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He was also known to bi-locate on different occasions.
When he was allowed to hear confession again, busloads of pilgrims would arrive as he became famous in Italy and throughout the world. He would be able to see into the hearts of people who came to him for confession in a very profound way. He saw Jesus in the poor and in the suffering. Many of the sick believed they received healing through the intercession of Padre Pio. hose who came to his Mass were deeply edified. He died in 1968. His canonization in 2002 by Pope John Paul II was attended by a crowd of more 300,000. To this day, the story of Padre Pio touches the hearts of many of the faithful.
The author of Proverbs tells the Lord that he wants neither poverty or riches, that he only asks that the Lord provide him with the food that he needs each day. Then in the Gospel from Luke, we hear about Jesus sending out his disciples on their journey as missionaries to the world. He tells them travel lightly, to take not a sack, or food, or money, or an extra tunic – they will find their needs fulfilled as they go on their journey. Those are two very minimalist, humble attitudes in our Scripture readings today.
This message is so much different from what our culture tells us, that we need that new car or new piece of technology or whatever is new and popular on the market. Many people want something that is new and flashy. The cell phone that we bought just a year ago, that seemed so stylish, can become out of date very quickly. It is so easy for us to forget that the things of this world are just temporary compared to what really matters. We need to constantly ask ourselves: how are we striving toward those values and those things in life that are part of God's eternal kingdom?
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