In our day, we don’t have the opportunity to celebrate a person who lived in our “time zone”. Today we remember a person know as Pedro Pio (1887-1968), who was a Capuchin Franciscan Friar. He is known for his holiness and that he was blessed with the stigmata that St. Francis once was blessed with.

It is interesting that the ones we venerate as saints. We expect them to be larger than life. They are able to “move mountains “ or heal the sick with just a touch of their hand. But when we look at the saints we remember throughout the year, most of them were women and men who were happy to be out of the limelight. They preferred to work behind the seines. They are very much like the men and women who work off stage making sure that the costumes are fitting well and the scenery is just right. I would say that these people make the action that is happening on the  stage almost as important as what the actors are about.

Our dear Padre tells us today. “Jesus is with you even when you don’t feel His presence. He is never so close to yours He is during your spiritual battles. He is always there, close to you, encouraging you to fight your battle courageously. He is there to ward off the enemy’s blows so that you may not be hurt.” (8/15/1914)

At first reading, we may feel that this is rather pietistical, old fashioned type of spirituality. But is we would take a moment and read this again, we may be able to seen behind the words and reflect on the meaning of Pio is telling us. You know as well as I that there are days when we just feel we cannot win. Whatever we do seems to fall apart as soon as we touch it. We all have had those days. It seems sometimes it would have been better if we had stayed in bed.

There is not a saint out there that would find fault with Pio’s words. The Lord is closer to us that we are to ourselves.

As Macys tells us at Christmas, “All you got to do is BELIEVE! “

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, osf and the

Bros and Srs of the

Franciscan House of Prayer.