Padre Pio and his spiritual directors

Padre Pio continues to be one of the most amazing people I have ever learned about. He was chosen for a special calling. He received mysterious wounds corresponding to the wounds of Christ, and he received them at the height of prayer, while meditating upon a crucifix. Below is his own recounting of this experience in which he received the "stigmata". It is from a letter dated October 1918.

"On the morning of the 20th of last month (Sept 1918), in the choir, after I had said Mass, I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. All the internal and external senses and even the very faculties of my soul were immersed in indescribable stillness. Absolute silence surrounded and invaded me. I was suddenly filled with such great peace and abandonment which effaced everything else. All of this happened in a flash. While this was taking place I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of August 5th. The only difference was that his hands and feet were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should die and really should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul...."

His spiritual director of course began to address this experience in his own letters to Padre Pio. In a letter of April 13, 1919, Padre Agostino writes to Padre Pio:
"Jesus is now crucified in you and you are crucified in him. His passion is now the continual food of your soul and indeed you can and must exclaim with St. Paul and with our Seraphic Father (St Francis) "I bear on my body the marks of Jesus!" But always remember that the gifts of God, freely given, are also intended for the sanctification of others. Say in favor of all the souls whom Jesus has confided to you: "The grace of Our Lord be with your spirit, brethren. Amen. May my own soul be among the number of these and may the divine will be always accomplished in me, through me and by me. You know the needs of all and Jesus has given you the power to provide a remedy for them. Make use therefore of the great condescension Jesus shows you for the benefit and salvation of our souls."

What is "brought out into the open" through this event in the life of Padre Pio, and through this exchange of correspondance of these educated and experienced men of prayer is the the doctrine of redemptive suffering, cooperative redemption with and in Christ.

Padre Pio participated in this mystery to a prophetic degree. His letters, those which have been preserved, emphasize continual suffering of a very mysterious nature. Every Christian, inspired and transformed by God also must have a will to participate in this core expression of discipleship.

Kahlil Gibran on Love

Kahlil Gibran was raised a Maronite Catholic. His artistic temperament led him in many directions afterwords. At the time of his death, it is said that he returned to his roots. Here is one of his more "timeless" passages from the book "The Prophet".

Kahlil Gibran on Love

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Good Friday Poem

When Jesus came to Golgotha
they nailed Him on a tree
they crowned Him with a crown of thorns
red were His wounds and deep
For those were crude and cruel days
when human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to our modern world
they only passed Him by
they would not hurt of hair of His
they only let Him die
for men had grown more tender then
they would not give Him pain
they only just passed down the street
and left Him in the rain.

And so it rained, a wintry rain
which drenched Him through and through
and when all the crowd had left the streets
without a soul to see
then Jesus crouched against a wall
and LONGED FOR CALVARY

Unity and Diversity

I have often perceived that the central motto or anthem of our present age, and within our western culture is "diversity". It is interesting to me that this is so. While it is obvious that God has placed an elemental diversity in all of creation, and one which is very glorious to behold, yet at the same time, within human existence the ideal of diversity carries something of a caveat. In Scripture we find a story, within early salvation history, of a people who sought to build a tower to the heavens as a grand ambition. God saw this happening, and saw that it was being carried out impiously. Man sought to glorify only himself through this. In punishment, God divided their language, so that they could not communicate well, one with another. Harmony was lost and their earthly ambitions failed miserably within the morass of individualism and self centered futility. In other words, a measure of diversity was given as a punishment. Also, when Moses was confounded in his leadership of the Israelite community by their lack of docility he would exclaim "every man to his own tent"! This too implies a punishment.
Original Sin, whether one chooses to believe in it or not, is at the heart of this scriptural reflection. One of the main currents flowing from the fall of man, into the lives of all descendants of Adam, is that current which flows into a self centered individualism. When Jesus comes on the scene, He orients his disciples to a "narrow way" which He would teach and which was to be "conformed" to. It is my belief that, in order to come to our proper and essential diversity, we must seek to conform to a pattern....and that pattern is found in the Personality of Christ. It is well for us to study the Gospels, especially the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in order to learn God's narrow way. Diversity is a major facet of God's beautiful creation. Because of Original Sin, we are not well equipped to become what we are meant to be. We error and contribute more to a general chaos than to a Godly harmony. What is being called for and promoted in this blog entry is self knowledge leading to a realized need of Divine Assistance...and this is a precious gift from God to be prayed for profoundly. Jesus speaks, "Narrow is the way to salvation, and few there are that find it".

Reciprocity in Nature

The title of this blog entry certainly sounds philosophical. However the content is especially simple and comprehensible. The main point being made here is that we live in a universe of intelligent design. This does not imply merely that the order of things visible is intelligent, in some latent fashion, but rather that there is a living and active intelligence at work in all creation. Our Dynamic God is immanent in His handiwork.

Our relationship to all of created nature must be loving, respectful and nurturing. In my relationship to my two dogs, Charlie and Elijah, I can see how this attitude fosters symbiosis, harmony and happiness. Charlie and Elijah know that I love them, that I trust them, that I am gentle and playful. In response to this they are most loyal and seek to please me in accord with their capacities. We are filled with joy in each others presence. I believe that deep down inside, because of the good quality and nature of our relationship, we are healthfully nurtured from this in body and spirit. They are holistically good for me and I for them.

Back in 1988, Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical entitled: On Social Concern. In this he raised to the level of a serious moral issue the subject of environmental concern and stewardship. What this means is that we will reap what we sow in our relationship to the created world around us. I'm not a huge proponent of the message of "Global Warming", but I do believe there is some truth in it. It is just that this is a slow process of cause and effect and therefore hard to clearly and unequivocally evidence. Noxious gases and pollutants, when disproportionately placed into a balanced harmony will likely have an effect. The world, with reference to the intelligence placed within it, will war against those who pollute it. This is a LIVING dynamic. Fish and insects among other creatures, it is my speculation, which suffer harm from toxins produced inharmoniously by mankind, will absorb such toxins and produce and introduce what is harmful or deadly for mankind. This is a theory obviously. But one which I find most compelling.

The Holy Spirit, when truly and fruitfully lived, will lead us to a relationship of reciprocal concern and cautious reverence towards the earth and the cosmos. This is an attribute of Supernatural Justice and we who abide in the Love, which is God, must seek to desire deeply and safeguard this attribute. God knows those who truly belong to Him, through the gentle, contemplative, cautious and solicitous character of their souls in relation to His creation, which in truth is an extension of the Divine personality.

Lent: A Ripening Journey

One of the outcomes of the "coming of age" in the natural evolution of things human and rational is the frequent perception that "nothing surprises me anymore" or "nothing on this earth deeply excites me anymore". Doesn't that sound morbid? One might call this the "dumbing down of earthly idealism". Early in life, one might have been able to summon up a great deal of zeal and zest in pursuit of some sort of attractive goal. We climb. We climb further. We get somewhere. We grow old. We die. As the writer of Ecclesiastes once put it: "there is nothing new under the sun". But, here again, from a faith perspective, there is an upside to this dynamic. As we grow diminished in our relish for "temporal" life, we become more predisposed and resigned to what is ultimate and lasting. It has been said that: "hour by hour we ripe and ripe, hour by hour we rot and rot." It is the thrill of ripening that motivates this particular blog entry. We ripen to the depths as we lose our savor for all that is essentially unsatisfying. We find joy, inner peace and fulfillment through our understanding of where true happiness lies. This is a key component for our spiritual maturation. We become ready. It might even be said that we are fully ripe when we don't want to be here anymore. We want to be home with God. We pray, we long, we weep, we surrender, and suddenly we apprehend an ocean of gratitude in ourselves. It is only the most profound expression and realization of Homecoming Harvest that we seek, even as God the Giver of Grace is our Personal Gardener.

A Sort of Homecoming (For Lent)

With Lent being just around the corner, the theme of "homecoming" seems to carry a particular weight this year for me. And there is a passage in the psalms that always "strikes home" to me as being representative of human perfection. It speaks of happiness and security amidst all of life's varied responsibilities and challenges.

"Apart from you I want nothing on earth.... To be near God is my happiness. I have made the Lord God my refuge" (Ps 73[72]: 25, 28).

From time to time I hear or remember a rock music song which to me carries spiritual significance and force. Much of rock music, as I choose to look at it now, is base, corrupting and "much ado about nothing". One particular song recorded by the Irish band U2, is entitled "A Sort of Homecoming" and produces an "elevating" influence through the imagery it employs. For me, through the words of this song, the notion of "homecoming" is carried to its ultimate definition: representing the return of a wayward or much distracted soul to a deepened state of communion or identification with God as its Source of Happiness.

Below I will paste the lyrics of this U2 song, from the album entitled "The Unforgettable Fire" of the mid 1980's. Notice the themes of "light in the darkness", hunger, healing, desire, bridge-building, weariness etc....Even the washed out atmosphere of this song reminds one of a spiritual journey through the "valley of tears", with the guitar chords slowly alternating in between two variations and sounding like the slow tolling of a heavy bell (a summons). It is really well done. The singer's voice is more "stylized" than professional, but is appropriate for this form of music. For those who are U2 fans, I suppose his voice is like an old friend. Some of you who have never liked rock music would probably be turned off by this song if you were to listen to it.

U2: A Sort of Homecoming

And you know it's time to go
Through the sleet and driving snow
Across the fields of mourning
Lights in the distance

And you hunger for the time
Time to heal, desired time
And your earth moves beneath
Your own dream landscape

Oh, oh, oh
On borderland, we run
I'll be there
I'll be there
Tonight
A high road
A high road out from here

The city walls are all pulled down
The dust, a smoke screen all around
See faces ploughed like fields
That once gave no resistance

And we live by the side of the road
On the side of a hill
As the valleys explode
Dislocated, suffocated
The land grows weary of its own

Oh come away, oh come away
Oh come, oh come away, say I
Oh come away, oh come away
Oh come, oh come away, say I

Oh, oh, oh
On borderland, we run
And still we run
We run and don't look back
I'll be there
I'll be there
Tonight
Tonight

I'll be there tonight, I believe
I'll be there, somehow
I'll be there, tonight
Tonight

Oh come away, I say, say oh my
Oh come away, I say

The wind will crack in winter time
This bomb-blast lightning waltz
No spoken words, just a scream, yeah, oh

Tonight we'll build a bridge
Across the sea and land
See the sky, the burning rain
She will die and live again
Tonight

And your heart beats so slow
Through the rain and fallen snow
Across the fields of mourning
Lights in the distance

Oh, don't sorrow, no don't weep
For tonight, at last
I am coming home
I am coming home

The Fate of the World from a Biblical Perspective

As we approach the season of Lent......

The previous blog entry which touched upon the belief that "we are being tested in love" in relation to the world and its seductions, might appear a bit "flighty", even from the perspective of common Christian faith, if it is not somehow "tied down" by more "objective" points of reference. The Bible, whether seen as the Word of God, or an ancient and influential collection of writings by men who promoted themselves as Divinely inspired, has many passages which bear out the belief that our relationship with the world ought to be of a cautious and informed nature. This blog is being written largely for believers...those whose lives have been somehow impacted and oriented on a deep level towards the Christian Faith. Those who have chosen to believe in the revealed Word of God.

As regards the "world" as a testing grounds, there is one primary passage which provided influence in my own life many years ago. This passage is very strong and clear:

"Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticements for the eye, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticements are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever." 1 John 2: 15-17

On a deeper and even "heavier" level, so to speak, the author to the epistle to the Thessalonians writes concerning an apostate generation:

"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay through His Word and render powerless through the manifestation of His presence...the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that deceive, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of Truth so that they may be saved. Therefore God is sending upon them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned".
2 Thessalonians 2: 8-12

Saint James in his epistle writes:
" Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their afflictions and to keep oneself unstained by the world".
James 1: 27

In the 18th Chapter of the Book of Revelation we find the exhortation:
Come out of her my people, so as not to take part in her sins and receive a share of her plagues, for her sins are piled up to the sky, and God remembers her crimes....she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord who judges her. Alas, alas, great city, wearing fine linen, purple and scarlet, adorned in gold, precious stones, and pearls. In one hour this great wealth has been ruined.....No melodies of harpists and musicians, flutists and trumpeters, will be heard in you again. No craftsmen in any trade will be found in you again. No sound of the millstone will be heard in you again. No light from a lamp will be seen in you again. No voices of bride and groom will be heard in you again.....Alleluia, smoke will rise from her forever and ever." ( a sequence of various quotations from the 18th and 19th chapter of the Book of Revelation).

From the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament:

"The earth fades and mourns, the world languishes and fades, both the sky and the earth languish. The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants, who have broken the ancient covenant. A curse devours the earth and they who dwell on it grow pale and few are left.....He who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit. He who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The earth will reel like a drunkard, its rebellion will weigh it down, until it falls, never to rise again."
( A sequence from Chapter 24)

From Psalm 9:
The nations fall into the pit they dig, in the snare they hide, their own foot is caught. The Lord has revealed Himself and given judgement, the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. Psalm 9: 16-17

I realize this is all SEEMS very gloomy. From the perspective of faith it describes the process by which fallen man returns to the dust. Every Ash Wednesday we hear the words "remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return". This can be reckoned and understood both individually and collectively, as regards the "human world". And that is really the basis of it all. Humanity stands in need of redemption, reconstruction, renewal. The spirit of the human world, no matter how gloriously and seductively it presents itself, is built upon and extended upon a wrongful, fallen and condemned choice of "freedom". Freedom in the absence of true self knowledge. Impious freedom. The world is passing away in judgement. And to heartfully attend to this fallen world as a source of entertainment, an object of desire, or as an immediate goal of human fulfillment is a "chase after wind". We fail the test. This is the path of condemnation. The call of the Gospel leads us to separate from and transcend the world spirit...To be counter cultural to the abiding culture of the world. This is the way of salvation. God, who is Love, and Who is the reference for Love defined in the Ultimate, is testing us for our obedience in love. As Jesus says: "He who "loses" his life for My sake will find it."

A Great Period of Testing

One of the fundamental beliefs within my own heart and soul as a person of faith is that which states that "our present life is a period of testing". Just as in the beginning, with our first parents, each of us is given a test in life. This test is related to personal allegiances and the orientation of our hearts. We are being tested "in love". In the book of revelation, reference is made to this "great period of testing", from which souls are drawn to "wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb".

For the past two hundred years or so, our world has become unbelievably complex and technological. Never before in all of history has there been an age like the one in which we are living presently. The human spirit can become enamored of many attractive activities, objects and sources of "entertainment". From my perspective, as one who sees life as a testing grounds, this technological complexity takes on an ominous appearance. Here is the basis of my perspective:

The human heart finds its sacred purpose and fulfillment through a prayerful and contemplative relationship with its Creator. As human beings, we grow in proportion to just how much our hearts are lovingly related to our God. This relationship is necessarily our first devotion in life and is sufficient unto itself as an exclusive source of happiness.

In this complicated world which surrounds us, relative to this fundamental purpose, we are being tested in relation to the many seductions of the present age. The activities, pastimes, material things and even ideas which we store up and "bring into our houses" have a powerful effect on us. These can easily derail us from our human identity and purpose. Our spirits become suffocated and dislocated from our most important goal.

I realize that there are other more positive ways at looking upon the contemporary world. And also, one might reasonably add that there is much "gray paint" in the mix, which precludes us from being too legalistic or judgmental of others in reference to this perspective. It is certainly possible that people can be "conquered" by the need to "play the world game" in order to live and provide for others. Their hearts may be in a good place, though their lives may be cluttered up. Nevertheless, as I see it, the ideal must be acknowledged, honored and striven for. That ideal is a humble, unselfish life of piety, simplicity, frugality, and detachment. THIS FORM OF LIFE IS PURE GIFT. If we become "predisposed" to the "gray paint" in the overall mix, as many do, we very likely will fall short of the goal of our life. But if we foster an urgent and unflagging desire for the ideal, so as to pass the test,we will pass into the realm of mercy in the end. God asks us: "Will you love Me or will you choose the world". We are being tested in Love.