It is amazing to see the
devotion people have for the saints in our Church and in the world as
well. The people recognize something
special in the saints. Perhaps they can’t
even put a name to what draws them to a particular saint, but they indeed
recognize the holiness and the special qualities that a saint possesses. Padre Pio, the saint whom we celebrate today,
really captured the imagination of the people of his day for the holiness that
they saw in him. Born in 1887 in a small
farming community in Italy, he entered a Capuchin Franciscan monastery at the
age of 15. While praying to give thanks
to God after his first mass as a priest in 1918, he had a vision of Jesus and
received the stigmata on his hands, his feet, and his side. Very soon, word of him spread, and busloads
of people started visiting him in order for him to hear their confessions. Padre Pio had a special love for the poor and
the suffering, so he had a hospital built right near his monastery in
Italy. At his canonization as a saint in
1998 in St Peter’s square by Pope John Paul II, a huge crowd of over 300,000
people gathered for this event, showing how he had always been a saint in the
eyes of the people.
In the Gospel today, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do the
crowds say that I am?” Through his
humble example of faith, through his love for the poor and the sick and the
suffering, for the way he endured his sufferings and united them to the
sufferings of Christ, Padre Pio answered this question, telling the world in
his way the place Jesus had in his life.
We also must answer this question for ourselves. Perhaps the way we live out our life and live
out the Gospel values will tell the world our answer much more than any words
could ever say. Padre Pio used to tell
the faithful: “Fear not because God is with you.” God is indeed with us – may we never forget
that no matter what we are going through in our journey through life.
